text:
Greg Hemphill

Gregory Edward Hemphill (born 14 December 1969) is a Scottish–Canadian comedian, actor, writer, and director. Born in Springburn, an inner–city district in Glasgow, Scotland, Hemphill moved to Montreal in Canada in the late 1970s before returning to Scotland in 1988.

Hemphill is one of the executive producers and co–owner of the production company Effingee Productions. His work with Ford Kiernan, his long standing comedy and script writing partner, includes the BBC Scotland comedy series Chewin' The Fat (1999–2005) and Still Game (2002–2007, 2016–2019). Hemphill was Rector of the University of Glasgow between 2001 and 2004.

Early and personal life
Hemphill was born in Glasgow, Scotland, the son of Edward, a chartered accountant, and Anne Hemphill (née Brophy) a teacher. The family left Scotland in the mid-1970s, and he spent much of his childhood in Montreal, which has contributed to his Scottish-Canadian accent.

He returned to Scotland in 1988 at the age of 18 to study at the University of Glasgow, where he achieved an MA Honours Degree in theatre, film and television. He is married to actress Julie Wilson Nimmo, best known for playing Miss Hoolie in Balamory. Hemphill said that despite living in Canada, he "always felt Scottish", claiming that "My dad was from Maryhill, my mum was from St George’s Cross, and it seemed that everyone on the West Island of Montreal was from somewhere else".

Early career
Hemphill has appeared in several projects. In 1990, he performed at the Edinburgh Fringe with Rab Christie and Neil Warhurst as the "Trio Brothers Troup", where they won the 1990 "So You Think You're Funny" trophy. He continued his stage work, appearing in the 1992 God Plus Support performance and in the popular 1995 Only an Excuse? tour. He also ventured into radio as the original presenter of football show, Off the Ball on BBC Radio Scotland and Eddie Mair Live.

Hemphill and Kiernan scripted seven episodes between 1999 and 2000, for then popular children's television show Hububb. These were, Lullabubb, Top of the Bubbs, Conquer Leserest, Casual-Tea, Bubb Goes Boo, 2010: A Space Bubbsy and No Go Pogo. He guest starred alongside Kiernan in one episode, which he also scripted with Kiernan, Casual-Tea. However, his best known performances are alongside Ford Kiernan in the television sketch show Chewin' the Fat and its spin off, Still Game. In series three of Still Game, Hemphill's brother Steve has a cameo as a CN Tower lift operative.

Still Game
Following the success of Chewin' The Fat, Kiernan and Hemphill wrote Still Game. Still Game was based on the original play that the pair wrote for the Edinburgh Festival in 1997. The Characters Jack Jarvis and Victor McDade had appeared throughout the four series of Chewin' The Fat. Six series and four specials were originally broadcast between 2002 and 2007. The series ended following the sixth series in 2007, with Ford Kiernan, Greg Hemphill and Paul Riley's company Effingee Productions which produced Still Game, thought to have split up after Riley walked away to go it alone after being refused more control over the future of the company by Kiernan. Hemphill stated that he didn't want a "boardroom battle". The split ultimately resulted in the indefinite hiatus of the series.

In 2012 actor and playwright Kenny Boyle acquired the rights to the original stage play of Still Game and toured the show, with a new cast, to The Tron theatre, FTH theatre, and The Ayr Gaiety Theatre. The original play had not been staged for 14 years. Kiernan and Hemphill came to see the performances and consequently began considering reviving Still Game officially.

On 15 October 2013, the Daily Record ran a front-page story that the show would be returning. On 23 October 2013, Ford Kiernan and Greg Hemphill announced details of live shows entitled  Still Game Live at The SSE Hydro in Glasgow at a press conference. They were scheduled to perform four shows beginning in September 2014, but due to high demand, it was extended to 16 and then 21 shows. On 24 October 2013 Kiernan confirmed in the Daily Record that Kenny Boyle's tour of the original stage show had been one of the instigating factors for Still Game's return. The 21 shows at The Hydro ran from 19 September 2014 until 10 October 2014, played to 210,000 fans and made £6,000,000 in ticket sales. The show received mixed reviews.

On 12 May 2016, the BBC announced that the show would return in 2016 with a six-part seventh series, nine years after the previous series concluded. Filming of the new seventh series started in the summer and the series began on 7 October 2016. The show's return attracted its highest ever overnight audience for a single episode on 7 October, taking a 58% share of the Scottish TV audience with 1,300,000 viewers. The show also aired for the first time on BBC One across the UK nationwide and drew a total audience of 3,200,000. On 16 March 2017, it was announced that an eighth series has been commissioned to air on BBC One with plans to broadcast towards the end of 2017. The series was pushed back to start on 8 March 2018. On 13 July 2018, the BBC announced that Still Game would return for the ninth and final series later in 2019, after which the show will end. Filming for the ninth series started in August 2018 and was completed on 14 September 2018.

In September 2016, a second live show Still Game Live 2: Bon Voyage was announced for the SSE Hydro. The second stage show was to run for ten nights beginning 4 February 2017, but in October 2016, a further five performances were added. Unlike the previous live show, this show was not televised or recorded in any other way. The third and final SSE Hydro live show Still Game: The Final Farewell was officially announced on 1 November 2018, with five shows in September 2019 taking place over three days. A further 5 shows were announced on 2 November.

University of Glasgow
Hemphill was elected Rector of the University of Glasgow in March 2001. He was one of five candidates and narrowly defeated Alasdair Gray for the post.

Other work
Hemphill appeared in the Scottish Gaelic-language drama, Eilbheas, in which Hemphill played the spirit of Elvis set in the Western Isles. It was first shown on the launch night of BBC Alba. He has also written Appointment with the Wicker Man with Donald McLeary for the National Theatre of Scotland, a stage production about a small community's attempts to produce a musical version of The Wicker Man.

Hemphill has been involved in the Scottish wrestling scene, matched against actor, comedian and writer, Robert Florence. They played bitter rivals at "Kelvin Brawl" in the Glasgow's Kelvin Hall on 21 June 2013. Comedian Frankie Boyle became part of this venture, unmasking himself at the end of the match.

Hemphill guest-starred in an episode of the award-winning children's television programme Katie Morag in 2014, playing the part of Donald John Cameron. Hemphill starred as Mr Sawdust in two series of the CBeebies television show Olga da Polga alongside his wife Julie Wilson Nimmo.

In 2022, Hemphill and Julie Wilson Nimmo starred in television programme Jules' and Greg's Wild Swim about wild swimming which aired on New Years Day 2023 on BBC Scotland and BBC iPlayer. The full series of six episodes was released in 2023.

In March 2023, Hemphill featured on a BBC Scotland programme as part of the broadcaster's centenary celebrations, alongside wife Julie Wilson Nimmo and Still Game co-star Sanjeev Kohli.

In 2024 Hemphill has featured as the father (Ade) on the BBC Programme Dinosaur.

In 2024, Hemphill is set to make his Hollywood debut where he is due to make an appearance in the film Deadpool & Wolverine as a bartender.

Directing
In 2016, alongside Donald McLeary, Hemphill wrote the script for the horror/comedy film West Skerra Light. At a length of one hour, this was his first full-length drama as a film director. In 2017, alongside Hopscotch Films, Hemphill was involved in directing the black comedy ghost-hunting drama Long Night at Blackstone.

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

title: Greg Hemphill


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Jaguar AJ-V6 engine

The Jaguar AJ-V6 engine is a piston engine based on the Ford Duratec V6 engine. The Duratec V6 was originally a Porsche design, purchased by the Ford Motor Company with Cosworth finishing the engineering to suit Ford's needs. One notable addition is the use of variable valve timing, a feature also shared with Mazda's version of the engine. It is available in 2099 cc, 2495 cc and 2967 cc displacements.

The AJ-V6 engine has an aluminium engine block and Jaguar Cars designed aluminium DOHC cylinder heads. It uses sequential fuel injection, has 4 valves per cylinder with VVT, features fracture-split forged powder metal connecting rods and a one-piece cast camshaft and has direct-acting mechanical bucket (DAMB) tappets, these design aspects differentiating the AJ-V6 from the Ford and Mazda versions.

AJ20
The AJ20 2099 cc version has an 81.6x66.8 mm bore and stroke. Although it displaces nearly 2099 cc, it is marketed as a "2.0". It produces 157 hp and 148 lbft. The compression ratio is 10.75:1.

This engine is used in the following vehicles:
 * Jaguar X-Type 2.0 (UK)

AJ25
The AJ25 is a 2495 cc version built. It shares the 2.1's 81.6 mm bore and is stroked to 79.5 mm, the same as the 2967 cc. It delivers 193 hp at 6800 rpm with 178 lbft of torque at 3000 rpm from 10.3:1 compression.

This engine is used in the following vehicles:
 * 2001-2009 Jaguar X-Type 2.5, 193 hp and 180 lbft
 * 2002-2006 Jaguar S-Type 2.5 (UK), 201 hp and 185 lbft

AJ30
The AJ30 is a 2967 cc version and is the most common, especially considering the Duratec 30. It has an 89 mm bore and shares the 2.5's 79.5 mm stroke. In the X-Type, it produces 228 hp and 209 lbft. The Jaguar XF debuted a refined version of the AJ30 with continuously variable cam-phasing and variable geometry air intakes to increase power and broaden the powerband up to its 6800 rpm redline.

This engine is used in the following vehicles:
 * 2000-2008 Jaguar S-Type, 240 hp and 221 lbft
 * 2002-2009 Jaguar X-Type, 228 hp and 209 lbft
 * 2003-2010 Jaguar XJ, 237 hp (177 kW; 240 PS) and 216 lbft
 * 2008-2011 Jaguar XF 240 hp and 221 lbft
 * 2000-2006 Lincoln LS

title: Jaguar AJ-V6 engine


text:
Wikipedia:WikiProject China/Chinese cities workgroup

The WikiProject China/Chinese cities workgroup aims primarily to standardize prefecture-level city and county-level city entries of the People's Republic of China. The 4 municipalities of the PRC (Beijing, Chongqing, Shanghai, Tianjin) are covered by the WikiProject China/Chinese provinces workgroup, but due to their nature as cities, they will also follow some of the guidelines given here. This WikiProject is likely not going to cover Taiwan, Macau, and Hong Kong at this stage.

 * Status Page

Participants

 * 1) Wuhan
 * 1) Wuhan
 * 1) Wuhan
 * 1) Wuhan
 * 1) Wuhan
 * 1) Wuhan
 * 1) Wuhan
 * 1) Wuhan
 * 1) Wuhan
 * 1) Wuhan
 * 1) Wuhan
 * 1) Wuhan
 * 1) Wuhan
 * 1) Wuhan
 * 1) Wuhan
 * 1) Wuhan
 * 1) Wuhan
 * 1) Wuhan
 * 1) Wuhan
 * 1) Wuhan

Template
When tagging, place on the article's talk page:

(Note that in this example the notice has been classified as "Project", as it is assessed by namespace. This will not happen normally if the above code is used.)

Infobox
All settlements in China should use the standard infobox of Infobox settlement. This infobox provides a consistent look between the various types settlements in China and in the other articles of the wikipedia like Toronto, Montreal, Mexico City, and Saigon. The default "settlement_type" is city, but it can be changed to reflect any type of settlement, like counties, towns, villages, etc. Infobox settlement also has a super imposable dot map feature that allows a map to be used with any settlement in China. It also as a location map feature that will automatically place a dot on a map of China if the coordinates are known (see Kunshan). Other examples include Beijing (see below) and Shanghai

History
Include:
 * How and when the city was founded
 * Worldly events since ancient times
 * Recent events
 * Recent list of Mayors
 * Recent list of Party secretaries

Geography
Note that city governments will often publish all of the information below, albeit in Chinese.

Some information to include:
 * Basic position within province or prefecture
 * Coordinate ranges
 * Notable features
 * Rivers
 * Mountains/Hills
 * Plains

Climate
Some information to include:
 * Basic climate classification. The Köppen system works well, though do not be excessively technical.
 * Monthly mean temperatures for January and July/August. Annual temperature if possible
 * Precipitation patterns, annual precipitation total if possible
 * Other notable features of the climate
 * Data in a table (e.g. Template:Weather box) or graph, if a source with enough precision is provided. Sources include the China Meteorological Administration, and the National Meteorological Centre, though you do need to be awfully good at reading graphs for the NMC source.

Administrative divisions
List the districts and/or county-level divisions of this city. Give number of township-level divisions.

List of Township-level divisions
This should be a separate article because the size of this table is huge. See examples of format at List of administrative divisions of Jilin, List of administrative divisions of Hebei. For conventions on how to name the townships, see Naming conventions (Chinese).

Economy
Include:
 * Major industries - agriculture first, then mining, then manufacturing, etc.
 * Major outputs
 * SEZ's and development if available, remember the link
 * Standard of living compared to other parts of country

Demographics
Include:
 * List major ethnic groups, population and percentage of each.
 * If possible, do indicate the amount of city population and rural population, and standards of living within each group.
 * Income levels of age groups and sex ratios may be useful.

Culture
Include:
 * Languages dialects or languages
 * Cuisine
 * Operas and music

Transportation
Include:
 * Air Transport, airports
 * Rail Transport (which major railway it's on), list of Railway stations
 * LRT/Metro and internal transportation.
 * Principal expressways and highways

Tourism
Include:
 * City sites (temples etc.)
 * Historical sites
 * Natural sites
 * World Heritage sites
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Education

 * List major Colleges and Universities
 * Also list famous high schools.

Miscellaneous topics
Include:
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text:
Talk:Millencolin

Band name
True or false: this word comes from the Latin prefix for 1000. 66.245.2.190 17:26, 6 Aug 2004 (UTC)

False. The band made up the name. It comes from the word 'melancholy' (read the first paragraph of the text...) Mattingly23 17:50, 6 Aug 2004 (UTC)

 * What is interesting is that the name Millencolin resembles the French language expression Mille collines (Thousand hills) more than the word Melancholy. Rwanda is nicknamed Pays de mille collines (Land of a thousand hills) and there's Hôtel des Mille Collines and Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines in Rwanda as well. Maybe in addition to the skateboard trick, the band took its name from the Rwanda's nickname, as the Rwandan Civil War was ongoing and in current news when the band was formed in 1992. JJohannes (talk) 19:25, 29 October 2019 (UTC)

Language
The text says that the band originally sang in Swedish. Could this be clarified by adding that the band now sings in ... English? I'm assumming English, but since I don't know for sure, I'm not going to make this change myself. --Spiff666 18:37, 26 July 2006 (UTC)

False. They began with english songs.

They did in fact originally sing in Swedish, I am unsure of when and why they changed to singing in English but they're bio on the millencolin website does confirm they originally sang in swedish. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.140.250.159 (talk • contribs)
 * From the web site: Erik, Mathias and Nikola started the band in October -92 in Örebro Sweden, back then we were playing in other punkbands and singing in Swedish. - They sang in Swedish with other bands, not with Millencolin. - Mattingly23 13:41, 6 May 2007 (UTC)

Founding the band vs. Years active
In the article it says the band was founded in 1992, but years active states 1988-present. Which is true? (Personally I cannot believe that they formed in 1988 only to wait for 5 years to have their first release, but that's just me and I simply don't know.)--82.83.212.208 09:04, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Since their website gives 1992 as the relevant date, I guess that is the right thing.--Asdirk 09:05, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Single List
It needs one, it was quite possibly deleted too, why? scatman839 (talk) 23:34, 29 June 2008 (UTC)
 * I just added the single list. Feel free to add if something is missing. Narking (talk) 17:14, 30 June 2008 (UTC)

Same Old Tunes
There's an album missing from the discography section. http://www.amazon.com/Same-Old-Tunes-Millencolin/dp/B00000AGA6

 * No there isn't. Read the very first entry: Tiny Tunes (later re-released as Same Old Tunes)... --IllaZilla (talk) 14:14, 10 September 2010 (UTC)

Mainstream Success?
I'm pretty sure the band have never had any "mainstream success". This section should be renamed. If they were successful in a particular country, that could be mentioned in this section. Jonathanmjefferies (talk) 12:31, 14 September 2012 (UTC)

External links modified
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External links modified
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Skate trick
What exactly is the "melancholy Skateboard trick"? KhlavKhalash (talk) 08:24, 14 September 2021 (UTC)

title: Talk:Millencolin


text:
Swamimalai

Swamimalai is a panchayat town that is a suburb near Kumbakonam in Thanjavur District in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It lies on the banks of river Kaveri and is the site of the fourth of the six abodes of the Hindu deity Murugan (Kartikeya).

Mythology
According to Hindu mythology, Kartikeya is described to explain the meaning of pranava mantra (Om) to father Shiva, the site of which is regarded to be Swamimalai in regional tradition. In the Murugan temple of the town, Kartikeya is depicted as a guru (teacher) and Shiva listening as shishya (disciple) in the gopuram of the temple complex. The form of Kartikeya is known by the epithet Swaminathan and Tagapan Swami in this site.

Geography
Swamimalai is located at 10.95°N, 79.33°W. It has an average elevation of 25 metres (82 feet).

Topography
It lies on the banks of river Kaveri

Population
India census, Swamimalai had a population of 6985. Males constitute 49% of the population and females 51%. Swamimalai has an average literacy rate of 75%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 80%, and female literacy is 70%. In Swamimalai, 11% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Government and politics
It is a panchayat town that is a suburb near Kumbakonam in Thanjavur District.

Art and handicrafts
Swamimalai Bronze Icons refers to bronze idols and statues manufactured in Swamimalai. It has been recognized as a Geographical indication by the Government of India in 2008–09. During the reign of Chola empire, Raja Raja I commissioned a group of sculptors for the construction of the Brihadeeswarar Temple at Thanjavur. The sculptors helped sculpt statues for Airavatesvara Temple and later settled at Swamimalai.

title: Swamimalai


text:
Alice Hoffman

Alice Hoffman (born March 16, 1952) is an American novelist and young-adult and children's writer, best known for her 1995 novel Practical Magic, which was adapted for a 1998 film of the same name. Many of her works fall into the genre of magic realism and contain elements of magic, irony, and non-standard romances and relationships.

Early life and education
Alice Hoffman was born in New York City and raised on Long Island, New York. Her grandmother was a Russian-Jewish immigrant. She graduated from Valley Stream North High School in 1969, and then from Adelphi University with a Bachelor of Arts. She was a Mirrielees Fellow at the Stanford University Creative Writing Center in 1973 and 1974, where she earned a Master of Arts in Creative Writing.

Career
When Hoffman was twenty-one and studying at Stanford, her first short story, "At the Drive-In", was published in Volume 3 of the literary magazine Fiction. Editor Ted Solotaroff contacted her, and asked whether she had a novel. At that point, she began writing her first novel, Property Of. It was published in 1977, by Farrar, Straus and Giroux, now a division of Macmillan Publishers. A section of Property Of was published in Solotaroff's literary magazine, American Review.

Hoffman's first job was at Doubleday, which later published two of her novels.

She was the recipient of a New Jersey Notable Book Award for Ice Queen. She won a Hammett Prize for Turtle Moon. She wrote the screenplay for the 1983 film Independence Day, starring Kathleen Quinlan and Dianne Wiest.

In September 2019 Hoffman released The World That We Knew based on a true story told to her by a fan at a book signing. The woman confided to Hoffman that during World War 2, her Jewish parents had her live with non-Jewish people to escape the Nazis. These were known as "hidden children" and Hoffman thought about this woman and her unusual upbringing for years before deciding to travel to Europe and learn more.

The third novel in her "Practical Magic" series, Magic Lessons, was released in October 2020. This prequel takes place in the 17th century and explores the life of Maria Owens, the family matriarch.

For Scholastic Press, Hoffman has also written the young adult novels Indigo, Green Angel, and its sequel, Green Witch. With her son Wolfe Martin, she wrote the picture book Moondog.

In 2015, Hoffman donated her archives to her alma mater, Adelphi University.

Personal life
Hoffman resides in Boston. After being treated for breast cancer at Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, she helped establish the hospital's Hoffman Breast Center.

Novels

 * Property Of (1977)
 * The Drowning Season (1979)
 * Angel Landing (1980)
 * White Horses (1982)
 * Fortune's Daughter (1985)
 * Illumination Night (1987)
 * At Risk (1988)
 * Seventh Heaven (1990)
 * Turtle Moon (1992)
 * Second Nature (1994)
 * Practical Magic (1995)
 * Here on Earth (1997)
 * Local Girls (1999)
 * The River King (2000)
 * Blue Diary (2001)
 * The Probable Future (2003)
 * Blackbird House (2004)
 * The Ice Queen (2005)
 * Skylight Confessions (2007)
 * The Third Angel (2008)
 * The Story Sisters (2009)
 * The Red Garden (2011)
 * The Dovekeepers (2011)
 * The Museum of Extraordinary Things (2014)
 * The Marriage of Opposites (2015)
 * Faithful (2016)
 * The Rules of Magic (2017) – prequel to Practical Magic
 * The World That We Knew (2019)
 * Magic Lessons (2020) - prequel to Practical Magic
 * The Book of Magic (2021) - sequel to Practical Magic
 * The Invisible Hour (2023)

Young adult novels

 * Aquamarine (2001)
 * Indigo (2002)
 * Green Angel (2003)
 * Water Tales: Aquamarine & Indigo (omnibus edition) (2003)
 * The Foretelling (2005)
 * Incantation (2006)
 * Green Witch (sequel to Green Angel) (2010)
 * Green Heart (omnibus of Green Angel & Green Witch) (2012)

Middle grade books

 * Nightbird (2015)

Children's books

 * Fireflies: A Winter's Tale (illustrated by Wayne McLoughlin) (1999)
 * Horsefly (paintings by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher) (2000)
 * Moondog (with Wolfe Martin; illustrated by Yumi Heo) (2004)

Short stories

 * Conjure (2014)

Nonfiction

 * Survival Lessons (2013)

Filmography

 * Independence Day (1983) (writer)
 * Practical Magic (1998) (novel)
 * Sudbury (2004) (novel)
 * The River King (2005) (novel)
 * Aquamarine (2006) (novel)
 * The Dovekeepers (2014) (novel)

title: Alice Hoffman


text:
Talk:List of United States representatives from Michigan

Untitled
My purpose in putting this list together is primarily as a checklist for creating articles about these people. I have no objections whatsoever if someone wants to reformat it, perhaps chronologically by district. Unfortunately, the source did not include districts. I will try to add the district info as I find it. older ≠ wiser 17:29, 6 Aug 2004 (UTC)

Untitled
The entry of William Broomfield is incorrect, in terms of birth and death years. I don't know what is the reason for the discrepancy, so I left it for someone better in a position to sort it out.

 * There are no birth and death years on this article -- the years given are the term of office. older ≠ wiser 03:34, 1 January 2007 (UTC)


text:
USS Pickering

USS Pickering was a brig, the 1st brig built for the UCRC Service, in the United States Revenue Cutter Service and then the United States Navy during the Quasi-War with France. She was named for Timothy Pickering, then the Secretary of State.

USRC Pickering was built at Newburyport, Massachusetts in 1798 for the Revenue Cutter Service. Captain Jonathan Chapman was her first commander. Taken into the Navy in July at the outbreak of the Quasi-War, she departed Boston on her first cruise on 22 August.

Service history
In 1799 and early 1800, she was part of Commodore Barry's squadron in the West Indies. Lieutenant Edward Preble commanded Pickering from January through June 1799, when he was promoted to captain and took command of the frigate USS Essex (1799).

On 21 April, 1799 she exchanged fire with Fort Dup Vieux and Fort Royall, Guadeloupe. On 29 April, 1799 she and USS George Washington recaptured American brig "Fair American" captured by 3 French letters of marque the previous day. On 1 May, 1799 she, and USS George Washington recaptured American brig "Francis", captured by a French privateer. "Francis" was Captained by Joshua Preble, Lieutenant Edward Preble's brother. Pickering was permanently transferred to the Navy on 20 May and re-designated USS Pickering. She arrived at New York 12-13 June, 1799 from her deployment to the Caribbean. Master Commandant Benjamin Hillar, U.S. Navy, assumed command in June, and continued command of the ship for its final years. She, USS Ganges, and USS Merrimack recaptured American merchant schooner "John" on 15 August, 1799. On 16 September, 1799 she captured (recaptured?) schooner Atalanta, condemned by prize court and sold in August, 1800. Pickering fought a notable engagement with the French privateer L'Egypte Conquise on 18 October 1799. The Frenchman was well fitted out and manned and should have been able to capture Pickering. While the French ship carried fourteen 9-pounders, four 6-pounders, and crew of 250, the American cutter had only fourteen 4-pounders and seventy men. After a nine-hour battle, however, the French ship was forced to surrender. A few days earlier she had a running battle with a French lugger that escaped due to springing of the Pickering's masts. Sometime in October she and USS Delaware recaptured brig "Henrich". On 27 December, 1799 she captured a French privateer, possibly "Voltiguese". Pickering continued to cruise in the West Indies, and before her return to the United States had captured four French privateers, including Atalanta, L'Active(sometime before 24 April), and Fly, and recaptured the American merchant ship Portland. Between 2 August to 31 December, 1799 she recaptured schooner "Cynthia", Unknown English sloop, French schooner "Helen", recaptured Danish brig "Helen", recaptured brig "Brothers" sometime in November, recaptured schooner "Harriet". On 2 February, 1800 she recaptured armed merchant ship "Portland" in the Sale Rock Passage, she had been captured by a privateer on 25 January (21.83333°N, -59.5°W). She arrived in Boston on 17 May, 1800.

Pickering departed from Boston on 10 June 1800. Ordered to join Commodore Thomas Truxton's squadron on the Guadeloupe Station in the West Indies, she sailed from New Castle, Delaware on 20 August, and was never heard from again. She is presumed to have been lost with all hands in a gale in September, but this was never proven. This storm is also thought to have sunk USS Insurgent, which likewise vanished without a trace. The exact cause of the cutter's disappearance remains a mystery.

title: USS Pickering


text:
User talk:Noldoaran/Utilities

Noldoaran t

title: User talk:Noldoaran/Utilities


text:
Illinois Attorney General

The Illinois attorney general is the highest legal officer of the state of Illinois in the United States. Originally an appointed office, it is now an office filled by statewide election. Based in Chicago and Springfield, the attorney general is responsible for providing legal counsel for the various state agencies including the governor of Illinois and Illinois General Assembly, as well as conducting all legal affairs pertaining to the state.

The office of Illinois Attorney General was established on December 3, 1818, based on guidelines adopted by a state constitutional convention. The attorney general is second (behind the lieutenant governor) in the line of succession to the office of Governor of Illinois. The first person to fulfill the duties of the office was Daniel Pope Cook who only served eleven days, and was later elected to the United States Congress. Cook County was named in his honor.

The current holder of the office is Kwame Raoul.

Role
Under the Constitution of Illinois, the attorney general is the state's chief legal officer, and has the powers and duties prescribed by law. The attorney general's duties include advocating for the people of Illinois, working with the General Assembly to push for new legislation, and litigating to ensure that state laws are followed. The state's attorney general Act specifies several duties, including:

The attorney general also oversees the Public Access Counselor, which is responsible for enforcing the state's Freedom of Information Act and Open Meetings Act.
 * Represent the people of Illinois before the Supreme Court where the state or the people of the state are interested parties
 * Prosecute all proceedings and actions in favor of the state
 * Defend state officers acting in their official capacities in any actions or proceedings against them
 * Consult with and advise the state's attorneys
 * Investigate violations of all statutes that the attorney general has a duty to enforce
 * Advise the governor and other state officers, and give written opinions on legal or constitutional matters when requested
 * Give written opinions to the General Assembly or any of its committees when requested
 * Prepare drafts of contracts in which the state is interested
 * Attend, present evidence to, and prosecute indictments by the statewide grand jury
 * Ensure the proper allocation of funds appropriated to public institutions, and prosecute breaches of trust

List of attorneys general

 * Parties

title: Illinois Attorney General


text:
The Western Star (Ohio)

The Western Star was a weekly newspaper published for 206 years, from February 13, 1807, to January 17, 2013. It had been the oldest weekly newspaper in Ohio, second oldest of any sort in Ohio after the daily Chillicothe Gazette, and the oldest paper bearing its original name published west of the Appalachian Mountains until it ceased publication with its January 17, 2013 printed edition. It had been published on Thursdays by Cox Media Group Ohio, the communications company founded by former Ohio Governor James Middleton Cox. Its coverage area was primarily Lebanon and southern Warren County.

The Western Star for most of its history was a paid-circulation paper and became a free saturation paper in the early 2000s. The paper, based in Lebanon, Ohio for more than 200 years, closed its Lebanon office in 2010 as part of a consolidation of Cox Media Group Ohio's weekly newspaper facilities to Liberty Township, Butler County, Ohio.

In November, 2012, Cox Media Group announced in a letter to advertisers that the paper would be combined with other Cox weeklies the Pulse-Journal and the Fairfield Echo into "The Pulse of Warren County" and "The Pulse of Butler County" beginning with the January 20, 2013 print editions. According to CMG, these are "two brand new weekly newspapers delivered to communities currently served by The Western Star, Fairfield Echo, and The Pulse-Journal" and "The Pulse county news editions will replace The Western Star." Subsequently, company representatives announced that the papers would be branded "Today's Pulse of Warren County, a product of The Western Star" and "Today's Pulse of Butler County, a product of the Fairfield Echo." An article (FAQ) on the Cox weeklies' websites during the week of January 13, 2013 stated, "The final issues of The Western Star, Fairfield Echo and the Pulse-Journal editions was on Thursday, January 17, 2013."

Founding and ownership
It was first published February 13, 1807 by John McLean (1785-1861), who eventually became an associate justice of the United States Supreme Court. For a century, no copy was known of the first issue, the paper itself lacking a copy. However, one eventually was found in the archives of the American Antiquarian Society in Worcester, Massachusetts.

McLean sold the paper in 1810 to his brother, Nathaniel McLean. Over the next four years, Nathaniel partnered successively with the Rev. Adjet McGuire, Samuel H. Hale, Henry Lazier, Joseph Henderson, and William Blackburn. In 1814, Nathaniel sold his interest to his brother William McLean (1794-1863) who published it with Blackburn until 1816, when Blackburn departed.

In 1817, William McLean sold to Abram Van Vleet, a justice of the peace, and John Eddy (1762-1824). Later that year they took on William A. Camron (died 1838) as a partner. Eddy left that year, replaced by a man named Cunningham who did not last the year. In 1825, Van Vleet and Eddy sold to Anthony Howard Dunlavy, an attorney who served in the Ohio General Assembly and as Warren County prosecutor, and William A. Sellers, a member of the General Assembly in 1838. In 1827, they sold the paper to Camron and Jacob Morris, who was married to Dunlavy's sister and later was Warren County treasurer. In 1828, Camron sold to Dunlavy, who was partners with his brother-in-law until 1829 when Morris assumed sole control. Morris took on an apprentice circa 1830, William H. P. Denny. He became Morris's partner, and in 1834, sole owner.

In 1858, Denny sold his interest and left town. The new owner was Dr. James Scott, who served in the Ohio General Assembly, followed by William H. Corwin, son of the founder of Lebanon, and, by the late 1860s, Seth W. Brown, an attorney who later served as Warren County prosecutor. The paper at this time was a Republican journal.

On January 19, 1871, Brown sold to William C. McClintock (born 1845) and Clements Hardy. McClintock assumed sole ownership on January 16, 1873. He published the paper, then a seven-column quarto, and introduced steam printing presses. He owned the paper until circa 1893 when ownership was assumed by a corporation, the Western Star Publishing Company, which was controlled by McClintock until 1907, when John M. Mulford took over and owned it until 1921. In May 1902, a linotype machine to set type was introduced. On September 6, 1923, the Brown Publishing Company, the company owned by Congressman Clarence J. Brown, bought the paper and owned it until 1998.

Brown's first act was to appoint as editor and publisher Gardner H. Townsley (circa 1897–1967), whose claim to fame was having been the Rev. Norman Vincent Peale's college roommate. He expanded the paper from twelve to sixteen pages. He subsequently served as publisher over a succession of editors: Warren Nelson, Ed Thompson, Jamyes Myers, and David Schneider. Townsley served as publisher until his death.

His son Robert N. Townsley (died April 17, 1994) replaced him as publisher, with Schneider continuing as editor. In October 1968, Townsley was replaced by William Kreeger, who had the title "general manager" until March 1970 when he was named publisher. Janet Goode became editor in January 1970 and served until October of that year when she was replaced by John Nichols. Nichols served until August 1971 when Joe Falter became editor. Falter served until he retired in 1994. Thomas Barr served as Western Star editor from 1994 until 2008. In 1990, Fred Gibson became publisher and served until the paper's sale in 1998. Under both Falter and Barr, through 2007 the paper earned many first or second place honors in General Excellence in the Ohio Newspaper Association Hooper Awards, and in 2007 the paper earned third place nationwide in the Best Non-Daily contest by the national Suburban Newspapers of America.

In the 1998, Brown traded The Western Star along with the Star Press in Springboro, Today's Express in Morrow, the Monroe Times, and the Miamisburg-West Carrollton News to The Thomson Corporation, a Canadian newspaper company known for the poor quality of its publications, in exchange for three daily papers, the Piqua Daily Call, the Xenia Daily Gazette, and the Greenville Daily Advocate. When the company decided to exit the newspaper business, Thomson sold The Western Star to Cox on September 1, 2000, though only after Thomson's original plans to sell the paper to Gannett, owner of The Cincinnati Enquirer, fell apart. From late 1991 to January 13, 2013, the paper issued a free Sunday edition, although for its last few years it contained exclusively advertising. Under Cox it surrendered its second class mailing permit, ceased its distribution in the southern part of Warren County, and began to be distributed free to homes in Lebanon and Turtlecreek Township.

Publication history
The paper was first published on Friday, February 13, 1807, under the name The Western Star and continued to Saturday, August 10, 1822, when it merged with another weekly, The Lebanon Gazette. Effective with the issue of Saturday, August 17, 1822, it assumed the name The Western Star and Lebanon Gazette, continuing under that name until Saturday, June 12, 1824. With the issue of Saturday, June 19, 1824, it shortened its name to the Star and Gazette, continuing under that name until the issue of Monday, September 5, 1825.

With the issue of Monday, September 13, 1825, it went back to the old name, The Western Star and Lebanon Gazette and published under that title until the issue of Saturday, July 26, 1828. Effective Saturday, August 2, 1828, the name was shortened back to The Western Star and continued until Thursday, October 27, 1859. With the issue of Thursday, November 3, 1859, the titled changed to The Weekly Western Star. By 1866, the word weekly was dropped but with the issue of Thursday, January 26, 1871, it was once more The Weekly Western Star until Thursday, December 26, 1872. Weekly was once more dropped with the Thursday, January 2, 1873, issue.

It continued under this name until Thursday, February 16, 1893, the paper that week merging with another paper called The Lebanon Gazette. As of Thursday, February 23, 1893, the paper appeared as The Western Star and Lebanon Gazette until Thursday, January 12, 1899. The title was shortened back to The Western Star effective with the issue of Thursday, January 19, 1899, and continued as a weekly until the issue of Thursday, August 29, 1935. The following Monday, September 2, 1935, the paper began a brief existence as a daily, publishing every day except Sundays. This continued to Thursday, December 31, 1936. The following week it resumed its existence as a weekly with the issue of Thursday, January 7, 1937. That issue also marked a change in the name of the paper to The Western Star and Lebanon Patriot with its absorption of another weekly, The Lebanon Patriot. The title went back to The Western Star with the issue of Thursday, July 7, 1938.

The paper then switched its publication day to Wednesday but returned to Thursdays circa 2002.

title: The Western Star (Ohio)


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Weltklasse Zürich

Weltklasse Zürich (World Class Zurich) is an annual, invitation-only, world-class track and field meeting at the Letzigrund in Zürich, Switzerland, generally held at the end of August or beginning of September. Previously one of the IAAF Golden League events, it now serves as a final of the Wanda Diamond League, alongside Memorial Van Damme between 2010 and 2019. In 2021, Welklasse Zürich will serve as the sole final of the Diamond League. One of the first large-scale international athletics events (outside the Summer Olympics), it is sometimes referred to as the one-day Olympics. Weltklasse Zürich first took place on 12 August 1928. In the beginning, the meeting was nicknamed by the public the "Nurmi meeting" after the most admired and celebrated participant at the time, Paavo Nurmi. On 21 June 1960, on the Letzigrund track, Armin Hary became the first human to run the 100 m dash in 10.0 seconds.

UBS has supported Weltklasse Zürich as its main sponsor since 1981. Other sponsors are Vaudoise Assurances, Migros, Le Gruyère Switzerland, Medica, Omega, Swiss, Lexus, Erdgas and Puma.

History
The meeting was conceived in 1924 by athletic section of the FC Zürich which became 1934 the Leichtathletik Club Zürich and first held at the Letzigrund on a dirt track on 12 August 1928 as the Internationales Leichtathletik-Meeting in Zürich. The meet would not be held regularly on an annual basis until 1973, and the Weltklasse introduced electronic timing the following year.

Track surface
The first surface was made of dirt in 1928, and the first synthetic track surface in Europe was installed in 1968. The number of lanes was increased to eight in the early 1970s which forced the Weltklasse to be put on hold for a few years for the construction to take place.

The current surface at the Letzigrund Stadium was developed in 2014 by the Swiss company CONICA. The new surface was installed in June 2014 at a cost of 800,000 CHF and was paid for by the city of Zurich, which owns Letzigrund Stadium.

World records
Over the course of its history, numerous world records have been set at Weltklasse Zürich.

title: Weltklasse Zürich


text:
Ceiling fan

A ceiling fan is a fan mounted on the ceiling of a room or space, usually electrically powered, that uses hub-mounted rotating blades to circulate air. They cool people effectively by increasing air speed. Fans do not reduce air temperature or relative humidity, unlike air-conditioning equipment but create a cooling effect by helping to evaporate sweat and increase heat exchange via convection. Fans add a small amount of heat to the room mainly due to waste heat from the motor, and partially due to friction. Fans use significantly less power than air conditioning as cooling air is thermodynamically expensive. In the winter, fans move warmer air, which naturally rises, back down to occupants. This can affect both thermostat readings and occupants' comfort, thereby improving the energy efficiency of climate control. Many ceiling fan units also double as light fixtures, eliminating the need for separate overhead lights in a room.

History
Punkah style ceiling fans are based on the earliest form of the fan, which was first invented in India around 500 BC. These were cut from an Indian palmyra leaf which forms its rather large blade, moving slowly in a pendular manner. Originally operated manually by a cord and nowadays powered electrically using a belt-driven system, these punkahs move air by going to and fro. In comparison to a rotating fan, it creates a gentle breeze rather than an airflow.

Some of the first rotary ceiling fans appeared in the early 1860s and 1870s in the United States. At that time, they were not powered by any form of electric motor. Instead, a stream of running water was used, in conjunction with a turbine, to drive a system of belts which would turn the blades of two-blade fan units. These systems could accommodate several fan units, and became popular in stores, restaurants, and offices. Some of these systems survive today, and can be seen in parts of the southern United States where they originally proved useful.

The electrically powered ceiling fan was invented in 1882 by Philip Diehl. He had engineered the electric motor used in the first electrically powered Singer sewing machines, and in 1882 he adapted that motor for use in a ceiling-mounted fan. Each fan had its own self-contained motor unit, with no need for belt drive.

Almost immediately he faced fierce competition due to the commercial success of the ceiling fan. He continued to make improvements to his invention and created a light kit fitted to the ceiling fan to combine both functions in one unit. By World War I most ceiling fans were made with four blades instead of the original two, which made fans quieter and allowed them to circulate more air. The early turn-of-the-century companies who successfully commercialized the sale of ceiling fans in the United States were what is today known as the Hunter Fan Company, Robbins & Myers, Century Electric, Westinghouse Corporation and Emerson Electric.

By the 1920s, ceiling fans became commonplace in the United States and had started to take hold internationally. From the Great Depression of the 1930s, until the introduction of electric air conditioning in the 1950s, ceiling fans slowly faded out of vogue in the U.S., almost falling into total disuse in the U.S. by the 1960s; those that remained were considered items of nostalgia.

Meanwhile, ceiling fans became very popular in other countries, particularly those with hot climates, such as India and the Middle East, where a lack of infrastructure and/or financial resources made energy-hungry and complex freon-based air conditioning equipment impractical. In 1973, Texas entrepreneur H. W. (Hub) Markwardt began importing ceiling fans into the United States that were manufactured in India by Crompton Greaves, Ltd. Crompton Greaves had been manufacturing ceiling fans since 1937 through a joint venture formed by Greaves Cotton of India and Crompton Parkinson of England. These Indian manufactured ceiling fans caught on slowly at first, but Markwardt's Encon Industries branded ceiling fans (which stood for ENergy CONservation) eventually found great success during the energy crisis of the late 1970s and early 1980s since they consumed less energy than the antiquated shaded pole motors used in most other American made fans. The fans became the energy-saving appliances for residential and commercial use by supplementing expensive air conditioning units with a column of gentle airflow.

Due to this renewed commercial success using ceiling fans effectively as an energy conservation application, many American manufacturers also started to produce, or significantly increase the production of, ceiling fans. In addition to the imported Encon ceiling fans, the Casablanca Fan Company was founded in 1974. Other American manufacturers of the time included the Hunter Fan Co. (which was then a division of Robbins & Myers, Inc), FASCO (F. A. Smith Co.), and Emerson Electric; which was often branded as Sears-Roebuck. Smaller, short-lived companies include NuTone, Southern Fan Co., A&G Machinery Co., Homestead, Hallmark, Union, Lasko, and Evergo.

Through the 1980s and 1990s, ceiling fans remained popular in the United States. Many small American importers, most of them rather short-lived, started importing ceiling fans. Throughout the 1980s, the balance of sales between American-made ceiling fans and those imported from manufacturers in India, Taiwan, Hong Kong and eventually China changed dramatically with imported fans taking the lion's share of the market by the late 1980s. Even the most basic U.S-made fans sold for $200 to $500, while the most expensive imported fans rarely exceeded $150.

Ceiling fan technology has not evolved much since 1980, with a notable exception being the semi-recent increase in availability of energy-efficient, remote/app controlled brushless DC fans to the masses. However, important inroads have been made in design by companies such as Monte Carlo, Minka Aire, Quorum, Craftmade, Litex and Fanimation - offering higher price ceiling fans with more decorative value. In 2001, Washington Post writer Patricia Dane Rogers wrote, "Like so many other mundane household objects, these old standbys are going high-style and high-tech."

Uses
Ceiling fans have multiple functions. Fans increase mixing in a ventilated space, which leads to more homogenous environmental conditions. Moving air is generally preferred over stagnant air, especially in warm or neutral environments, so fans are useful in increasing occupant satisfaction. Because fans do not change air temperature and humidity, but move it around, fans can aid in both the heating and cooling of a space. Because of this, ceiling fans are often an instrumental element of low energy HVAC, passive cooling or natural ventilation systems in buildings. Depending on the energy use of the fan system, fans can be an efficient way to improve thermal comfort by allowing for a higher ambient air temperature while keeping occupants comfortable. Fans are an especially economic choice in warm, humid environments.

Ceiling fans can be controlled together in a shared space, and can also be individually controlled in a home or office setting. In an office environment, individually controlled ceiling fans can have a significant positive impact on thermal comfort, which has been shown to increase productivity and satisfaction among occupants. Ceiling fans aid in the distribution of fresh air in both mechanically ventilated and naturally ventilated spaces. In naturally ventilated spaces, ceiling fans are effective at drawing in and circulating fresh outdoor air. In mechanically ventilated spaces, fans can be focused to channel and circulate conditioned air in a room.

Direction
The direction that a fan spins should change based on whether the room needs to be heated or cooled. Unlike air conditioners, fans only move air—they do not directly change its temperature. Therefore, ceiling fans that have a mechanism for reversing the direction in which the blades push air (most commonly an electrical switch on the unit's switch housing, motor housing, or lower canopy) can help in both heating and cooling.

While ceiling fan manufacturers (mainly Emerson) have had electrically reversible motors in production since the 1930s, most fans made before the mid-1970s are either not reversible at all or mechanically reversible (have adjustable blade pitch) instead of an electrically reversible motor. In this case, the blades should be pitched with the upturned edge leading for downdraft, and with the downturned edge leading for updraft. Hunter's "Adaptair" mechanism is perhaps the most well-known example of mechanical reversibility.

For cooling, the fan's direction of rotation should usually be set so that air is blown downward—usually counter-clockwise from beneath, but dependent upon manufacturer. The blades should lead with the upturned edge as they spin. The breeze created by a ceiling fan creates a wind chill effect, speeding the evaporation of perspiration on human skin, which makes the body's natural cooling mechanism much more efficient. As a result of this phenomenon, the air conditioning thermostat can be set a few degrees higher than normal when a fan is in operation, greatly reducing power consumption. Since the fan works directly on the body, rather than by changing the temperature of the air, it is recommended to switch all ceiling fans off when a room is unoccupied, to further reduce power consumption. In some cases, like when a fan is near walls like in a hallway, updraft may cause better airflow. Another example of how updraft can cause better cooling is when the ceiling fan is in middle of a bedroom with a loft bed near a wall, meaning breeze can be felt better when airflow is coming from the top.

For heating, ceiling fans should be set to blow the air upward. Air naturally stratifies, i.e. warmer air rises to the ceiling while cooler air sinks, meaning that colder air settles near the floor where people spend most of their time. A ceiling fan, with its direction of rotation set so that the warmer air on the ceiling is pushed down along the walls and into the room, heating the cooler air. This avoids blowing a stream of air directly at the occupants of the room, which would tend to cool them. This action works to equalize, or even out the temperature in the room, making it cooler at ceiling level, but warmer near the floor. Thus the heating thermostat in the area can be set a few degrees lower to save energy while maintaining the same level of comfort.

Though reversible models of industrial-grade ceiling fans do exist, most are not reversible. High ceiling heights in most industrial applications render reversibility unnecessary. Instead, industrial ceiling fans typically de-stratify heat by blowing hot air at ceiling level directly down toward the floor.

Blade shape
Residential ceiling fans, which are almost always reversible, typically use flat, paddle-like blades, which are equally effective in downdraft and updraft. Industrial ceiling fans typically are not reversible and operate only in downdraft, and therefore are able to make effective use of blades that are contoured to have a downdraft bias.

More recently, however, residential ceiling fan designers have been making increasing use of contoured blades in an effort to boost ceiling fan efficiency. This contour, while serving to effectively boost the fan's performance while operating in downdraft, can hinder performance when operating in updraft.

Air conditioning
The most commonplace use of ceiling fans today is in conjunction with an air conditioning unit. Without an operating ceiling fan, air conditioning units typically have both the tasks of cooling the air inside the room and circulating it. Provided the ceiling fan is properly sized for the room in which it is operating, its efficiency of moving air far exceeds that of an air conditioning unit, therefore, for peak efficiency, the air conditioner should be set to a low fan setting and the ceiling fan should be used to circulate the air.

Flicker and strobing
Ceiling fans are usually installed in a space with other lighting fixtures, but if the fan is positioned too close to a light panel or fixture, a strobe or flicker effect may occur. A strobe or flicker effect is a phenomenon which occurs when light brightens and dims consistently as it penetrates and passes through a moving ceiling fan. This is due to the fan blades intermittently blocking the light, causing shadows to appear across the room's interior surface leading to visual discomfort. The rotating area of a moving fan blade can commonly obstruct the light source when a ceiling fan is positioned underneath an artificial lighting fixture, which can be increasingly distracting to occupants within the space. To ensure that the ceiling fans seamlessly co-exists with the lighting fixtures to avoid strobing, it is recommended that the horizontal separation between the blade and the lighting fixture is maximized. In addition, increasing the vertical distance between the light and the blade will reduce the concentration and frequency of strobing. Never position a light fixture directly above a ceiling fan's blades, and downlight and point source fixtures should be set such that their beam angles don't cross them. Generally, to ensure uniformly adequate light levels, any recessed ceiling lighting and fixtures that emit light above the level of the fan blades should be placed as far away from the ceiling fan as possible. Another recommended strategy is to ensure that the light’s angle of dispersion or the field angle is reduced, which minimizes the strobing effect from the fan blades. It is well known that human eyes can detect flicker at low frequencies (between 60 and 90 hertz), but not at high frequencies (beyond 100 hertz), which is also known as non-visible flicker. The strobe effect can have significant physiological and psychological effect on humans. Two test rooms were utilized in an experiment to compare the effects of visual flicker induced the ceiling fan. The findings revealed statistical proof that one out of three cognitive performances (digit-span task) may have been reduced slightly as a result of an increased effect of visual flicker.

Parts
The key components of a ceiling fan are the following:
 * An electric motor
 * Blades (also known as paddles or wings) usually made from solid wood, plywood, steel, aluminium, MDF or plastic
 * Blade irons (also known as blade brackets, blade arms, blade holders, or flanges), which hold the blades and connect them to the motor.
 * Flywheel, a metal, plastic, or tough rubber double-torus that is attached to the motor shaft and to which the blade irons may be attached. The flywheel inner ring is locked to the shaft by a lock-screw and the blade irons to the outer ring by screws or bolts that feed into tapped metal inserts. Rubber or plastic flywheels may become brittle and break, a common cause of fan failure. Replacing the flywheel may require disconnecting wiring and requires removing the switch housing that's on the way for the flywheel to be removed and replaced.
 * Rotor, an alternative to blade irons. First patented by industrial designer Ron Rezek in 1991, the one-piece die-cast rotor receives and secures the blades and bolts right to the motor, eliminating most balance problems and minimizing exposed fasteners.
 * A mechanism for mounting the fan to the ceiling such as:
 * Ball-and-socket system. With this system, there is a metal or plastic hemisphere mounted on the end of the downrod; this hemisphere rests in a ceiling-mounted metal bracket, or self-supporting canopy, and allows the fan to move freely (which is very useful on vaulted ceilings).
 * J-hook and Shackle clamp. A type of mounting system where the ceiling fan hangs on a hardened metal hook, screwed into the ceiling or bolted through a steel I-beam. The fan can be mounted directly on a ceiling hook, making the junction box optional. A porcelain or rubber grommet is used to reduce vibration and to electrically isolate the fan from the ceiling hook. This type of mounting is most common on antique ceiling fans and ceiling fans made for industrial use. A variation of this system using a U-bracket secured to the ceiling by means of lag bolts is often used on heavy-duty ceiling fans with electrically reversible motors in order to reduce the risk of the fan unscrewing itself from the ceiling while running in clockwise. This type of mount is ideally suited to the RC flat roof with metal hooks and has become ubiquitous in South Asia, including Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, etc.
 * Flush mount (also known as "low profile" or "hugger" ceiling fans). These are specially designed fans with no downrod or canopy like a traditional mount fan. The motor housing appears to be directly attached to the ceiling, that is where the name "hugger" comes from. They are ideal for rooms with low ceilings ranging in height between 2.286 m and 2.5908 m. A disadvantage to this design is that since the blades are mounted so close to the ceiling, air movement is greatly reduced.
 * Some ball-and-socket fans can be mounted using a low-ceiling adapter, purchased specially from the fan's manufacturer. This allows the same design to be used in both a high and low ceiling environment, simplifying the buying decision for consumers. In recent years, it has become increasingly common for a ball-and-socket fan to be designed such that the canopy (ceiling cover piece) can optionally be screwed directly into the top of the motor housing, thus eliminating the need for a downrod. The whole fan can be secured directly onto the ceiling mounting bracket; this is often referred to as a dual-mount or tri-mount.

Other components, which vary by model and style, can include:
 * A downrod, a metal pipe used to suspend the fan from the ceiling. Downrods come in many lengths and widths, depending on the fan type.
 * A decorative encasement for the motor (known as the "motor housing").
 * A switch housing (also known as a "switch cup" or "nose column"), a metal or plastic cylinder mounted below and in the center of the fan's motor. The switch housing is used to conceal and protect various components, which can include wires, capacitors, and switches; on fans that require oiling, it often conceals the oil reservoir which lubricates the bearings. The switch housing also makes for a convenient place to mount a light kit.
 * Blade badges, decorative adornments attached to the visible underside of the blades for the purpose of concealing the screws used to attach the blades to the blade irons.
 * Assorted switches used for turning the fan on and off, adjusting the speed at which the blades rotate, changing the direction in which the blades rotate, and operating any lamps that may be present. Some fans have remote controls to adjust speed and turn the light off and on.
 * Lamps
 * Uplights, which are installed on top of the fan's motor housing and project light up onto the ceiling, for aesthetic reasons (to "create ambience")
 * Downlights, often referred to as a "light kit", which add ambient light to a room and can be used to replace any ceiling-mounted lamps that were displaced by the installation of a ceiling fan
 * Decorative lights mounted inside the motor housing — in this type of setup, the motor housing side-band often has glass or acrylic panel sections, which allow light to shine though.

Operation
The way in which a fan is operated depends on its manufacturer, style, and the era in which it was made. Operating methods include:
 * Pull-chain/pull-cord control. This style of fan is equipped with a metal-bead chain or cloth cord which, when pulled, cycles the fan through the operational speed(s) and then back to off. These fans typically have between one and four speeds. Fans with lights usually have a second pull chain which is to control light, and it's usually on/off, but sometimes it's three way, in which case it would be some lights, other lights, all lights, and off. Some fans, usually outdoor rated or Canadian, have another pull chain to change direction.
 * Variable-speed control. During the 1970s and into the mid-1980s, fans were often produced with a solid-state variable-speed control. This was a dial mounted either on the body of the fan or in a gang box at the wall, and when turned in either direction, continuously varied the speed at which the blades rotated—similar to a dimmer switch for a light fixture. A few fans substituted a rotary click-type switch for the infinite-speed dial, providing a set number of set speeds (usually ranging from four to ten).
 * Different fan manufacturers used variable-speed controls in different ways:
 * The variable-speed dial controlling the fan entirely; to turn the fan on, the user turns the knob until it clicks out of the "off" position, and can then choose the fan's speed.
 * Variable speed pull-chain. This setup is similar to the variable-speed dial discussed above, except that a "dual chain" setup is used to turn the potentiometer shaft.
 * A pull-chain present along with the variable-speed control; the dial can be set in one place and left there, with the pull-chain serving only to turn the fan on and off. Many of these fans have an option to wire an optional light kit to this pull-chain in order to control both the fan and the light with one chain. Using this method, the user can have either the fan or light on individually, both on, or both off.
 * Vari-Lo. A pull-chain and variable-speed control are present. Such a fan has two speeds controlled by a pull-chain: high (full power, independent of the position of the variable-speed control), and "Vari-Lo" (speed determined by the position of the variable-speed control). In some cases, maximum speed on Vari-Lo setting is slower than high.
 * Wall-mounted control. Some fans have their control(s) mounted on the wall instead of on the fans themselves; these are very common with industrial and HVLS fans. Such controls are usually proprietary and/or specialized switches.
 * Mechanical wall control. This style of switch takes varying physical forms. The wall control, which contains a motor speed regulator of some sort, determines how much power is delivered to the fan and therefore how fast it spins. Older such controls employed a choke— a large iron-cored coil— as their regulator; these controls were typically large, boxy, and surface-mounted on the wall. They had anywhere from four to eight speeds. Newer versions of this type of control do not use a choke as such, but much smaller capacitors and/or solid-state circuitry; the switch is typically mounted in a standard in-wall gang box. The old one is called electrical fan regulator that works on the principle of reducing voltage and the new one is called electronic fan regulator that works on the principle of switching that control the time duration of the power supply. The new electronic fan regulator is more power efficient.
 * Digital wall control. With this style of control, all of the fan's functions— on/off status, speed, the direction of rotation, and any attached light fixtures— are controlled by a computerized wall control, which typically does not require any special wiring. Instead, it uses the normal house wiring to send coded electrical pulses to the fan, which decodes and acts on them using a built-in set of electronics. This style of control typically has anywhere from three to seven speeds.
 * Wireless remote control. In recent years, remote controls have dropped in price to become cost-effective for controlling ceiling fans. They may be supplied with fans or fitted to an existing fan. The hand-held remote transmits radio frequency or infrared control signals to a receiver unit installed in the fan. However, these may not be ideal for commercial installations as the controllers require batteries. They can also get misplaced, especially in installs with many fans.
 * Directional Switch. Most ceiling fans typically feature a small slide switch on the motor body of the fan itself, which controls the direction in which the fan rotates. In one position, the fan is caused to rotate clockwise, in the other position the fan is caused to rotate counter-clockwise. Given that the fan blades are typically slanted, this results in the air either being drawn upwards or brought downwards. While the user can select which they prefer, typically air is blown downwards in summer and lifted upwards in winter. The downwards blowing is experienced as "cooling" in summer, while the upwards convection brings ceiling-hugging warm air back down throughout the room in winter.

Classifications
Ceiling fans can be classified into three main categories based on their use and functionality. Each type offers some unique advantages over the others and hence is suitable for a specific application. These include household, industrial and large-diameter fans.
 * Household fans usually have 4 or 5 wooden blades, a decorative motor housing, and a standard three speed motor with pull-chain switch control. These fans come in two varieties, with or without a light kit, depending on the price and consumer preferences.
 * Commercial or industrial ceiling fans are typically used in stores, schools, churches, offices, factories, and warehouses. Such a fan is designed to be more cost-effective and energy-efficient than its household counterpart. Industrial or commercial ceiling fans typically use three or four blades, typically made of either steel or aluminum, and operate at high speed. These energy-efficient ceiling fans are designed to push massive amounts of air across large, wide open spaces. From the late 1970s to the mid-1980s, metal-bladed industrial ceiling fans were popular in lower-income American households, likely due to them being priced lower than wood-bladed models. Industrial style ceiling fans are very popular for household applications in Asia and the Middle East.
 * HVLS fans are large-diameter ceiling fans, intended for large spaces such as large warehouses, hangars, shopping malls, railway platforms and gymnasiums. These fans generally spin at a lower speed but due to their large diameter, ranging between 7' and 24' (2.1m and 7.3m), can provide a large area with a gentle breeze. Modern HVLS fans use airfoil-style blades for optimized air movement at a reduced energy cost. One of the most notable manufactures of HVLS fans is Big Ass Fans.
 * Indoor/outdoor ceiling fans are designed for use in partially enclosed or open outdoor spaces. The body and blades are made of materials and finishes that are not as drastically affected by moisture, temperature swings, or humidity as traditional materials and finishes. UL Damp-rated fans are suitable for covered outdoor areas like patios and porches that aren't directly exposed to rainwater from above, as well as moisture-prone indoor areas such as bathrooms and laundry rooms. In open places where the fan may come in contact with water, one must use wet-rated fans. UL Wet-rated fans have a completely sealed motor which can withstand direct exposure to rainwater, snow and can even be washed off with a garden hose. Both industrial and residential fans come in dry-rated as well as damp and wet-rated varieties.

Types
Many styles of ceiling fans have been developed over the years in response to several different factors such as growing energy-consumption consciousness and changes in decorating styles. The advent and evolution of new technologies have also played a major role in ceiling fan development. Following is a list of major ceiling fan styles and their defining characteristics:
 * Cast-iron ceiling fans. These account for almost all ceiling fans made since their invention in 1882 through the mid-1960s. A cast-iron housing encases a very heavy-duty motor, usually of the shaded-pole variety. These motors are lubricated by means of a thrust bearing submerged in an oil-bath and must be oiled periodically, usually once or twice per year. Because these fans are so sturdily built, and due to their utter lack of electronic components, it is not uncommon to see cast-iron fans aged eighty years or more running strong and still in use today.
 * The Hunter 'Original' (manufactured by the Hunter Fan Co.) is by far the most recognizable example of a cast-iron ceiling fan today. It has enjoyed the longest production run of any fan in history, dating from 1906 to the present day. The Hunter Original employed a shaded-pole motor from its inception until 1984 (the 91.44 cm Original remained shaded pole before it was replaced with the 106.68 cm Original in 1985), at which point it was changed to a much more efficient permanent split-capacitor motor. Though the fan's physical appearance remains virtually unchanged, the motor was downgraded in 2002 when production was shipped to Taiwan; the motor, though still oil-lubricated, was switched to a "skeletal" design, as discussed below, with a shortened main shaft that inadvertently caused reliability issues. In 2015, this motor design was revised, and once again employs a full-length main shaft; the key element to the longevity of the pre-2002 motors.
 * 20 pole Induction "Pancake" motor ceiling fans. These fans with highly efficient cast aluminum housings, were invented in 1957 by Crompton-Greaves, Ltd of India and were first imported into the United States in 1973 by Encon Industries. This Crompton-Greaves motor was developed through a joint venture with Crompton-Parkinson of England and took 20 years to perfect. It is considered the most energy-efficient motor ever manufactured for ceiling fans (apart from the DC motor) since it consumes less energy than a household incandescent light bulb.
 * Stack-motor ceiling fans. In the late 1970s, due to rising energy costs prompted by the energy crisis, Emerson adapted their "K63" motor, commonly used in household appliances and industrial machinery, to be used in ceiling fans. This new "stack" motor, along with Encon's cast aluminum 20 pole motor, proved to be powerful, yet energy-efficient, and aided in the comeback of ceiling fans in America, since it was far less expensive to operate than air conditioning. With this design (which consists of a basic stator and rotor), the fan's blades mount to a central hub, known as a flywheel. The flywheel which is made of either metal or reinforced rubber can be mounted either flush with the fan's motor housing (concealed) or prominently below the fan's motor housing (known as a "dropped flywheel"). Many manufacturers used and/or developed their own stack motors, including (but not limited to) Casablanca, Emerson, FASCO, Hunter, and NuTone. Some manufacturers trademarked their personal incarnation of this motor: for example, Emerson's "K63" and later "K55" motors, Fanimation's "FDK-2100", and Casablanca's "XLP-2000" and "XLP-2100". The earliest stack-motor fan was the Emerson, which was an earlier version of the model that was later called "Heat-Fan", a utilitarian fan with a dropped metal flywheel and blades made of fiberglass and later moulded plastic depending on the model. This fan was produced in numerous different forms from 1962 through 2005 and, while targeted at commercial settings, also found great success in residential settings. Casablanca Fan Co. also made stack-motor fans with concealed flywheels rather than dropped flywheels. While this motor is not nearly as widely used as in the 1970s and 1980s, it can still be found in Razzetii Italy brand. One disadvantage of this type of fan is that the flywheel, if it is made from rubber, will dry out and crack over time and eventually break; this is usually not dangerous, but it renders the fan inoperable until the flywheel is replaced.
 * Direct-drive ceiling fans employ a motor with a stationary inner core with a shell, made of cast iron, cast aluminum, or stamped steel, that revolves around it (commonly called a "spinner" motor). The blades are attached directly to this shell. Direct-drive motors are the least expensive motors to produce, and on the whole are the most prone to failure and noise generation. While the very first motors of this type (first used in the 1960s) were relatively heavy-duty, the quality of these motors has dropped significantly in recent years. This type of motor has become the de facto standard for today's fans; it is used in all Hampton Bay and Harbor Breeze ceiling fans sold today, and has commonly been used by most other brands.
 * Spinner-motor fans, sometimes incorrectly referred to as "spinners", employ a direct-drive (spinner) motor and do have a stationary decorative cover (motor housing). "Spinner-motor" fans account for nearly all fans manufactured from the late 1980s to the present.
 * Spinner fans employ a direct-drive motor and do not have a stationary decorative cover (motor housing). This accounts for most industrial-style fans (though such fans sometimes have more moderate-quality motors), and inexpensive residential fans commonly found in Brazil, South Asia, Southeast Asia and many Middle Eastern countries.
 * Skeletal motors, which are a high-end subset of direct-drive motors, can be found on some higher-quality fans. Examples of skeletal motors include Hunter's "AirMax" motor, Casablanca's "XTR200" motor, and the motors made by Sanyo for use in ceiling fans sold under the Lasko name, and post-2002 Hunter "Original" ceiling fans. Skeletal motors differ from regular direct-drive motors in that:
 * They have an open-frame ("skeletal") design, which allows for far better ventilation and therefore a longer lifespan. This is in comparison to a regular direct-drive motor's design, in which the motor's inner workings are completely enclosed within a tight metal shell which may or may not have openings for ventilation; even when openings are present, they are almost always small to the point of being inadequate.
 * These are typically larger than regular direct-drive motors and, as a result, are more powerful and less prone to burning out.
 * Friction-drive ceiling fans. This short-lived type of ceiling fan was attempted by companies such as Emerson and NuTone in the late 1970s with little success. Its advantage was its tremendously low power consumption, but the fans were unreliable and very noisy, in addition to being grievously underpowered. Friction-drive ceiling fans employ a low-torque motor that is mounted transversely in relation to the flywheel. A rubber wheel mounted on the end of the motor's shaft drove a hub (via contact friction, hence the name) which, in turn, drove the flywheel. It was a system based on the fact that a low-torque motor spinning quickly can drive a large, heavy device at a slow speed without great energy consumption (see Gear ratio).
 * Gear-drive ceiling fans. These were similar to (and even less common than) the friction drive models; however, instead of a rubber wheel on the motor shaft using friction to turn the flywheel, a toothed gear on the end of the motor shaft meshed with gear teeth formed into the flywheel, thus rotating it. The company "Panama" made gear driven ceiling fans and sold them exclusively through the "Family Handyman" magazine in the 1980s, and some HVLS ceiling fans have a gearbox motor.
 * Internal belt-drive ceiling fans. These were also similar in design to gear-drive and friction-drive fans; however, instead of a rubber friction wheel or toothed gear, a small rubber belt linked the motor to the flywheel. The most notable internal belt-drive ceiling fans were the earliest models produced by the Casablanca Fan Co. and a model sold by Toastmaster.
 * Belt-driven ceiling fans. As stated earlier in this article, the first ceiling fans used a water-powered system of belts to turn the blades of fan units (which consisted of nothing more than blades mounted on a flywheel). For period-themed decor, a few companies (notably Fanimation and Woolen Mill) have created reproduction belt-drive fan systems. The reproduction systems feature an electric motor as the driving force, in place of the water-powered motor.
 * Orbit fans use a mechanism to oscillate 360 degrees. They are also typically flushed to the ceiling like hugger type fans. They are also very small in size, usually, about 40.64 cm and have a similar construction to that of many pedestal fans and desk fans, and usually have finger guards. These are once again, popular mostly in many developing countries as they are a cheap alternative to traditional paddle type ceiling fans. Many American manufacturers, such as "Fanimation" have started producing high quality designer versions of such fans.
 * Mini ceiling fans are mostly found in less developed places, such as the Philippines and Indonesia, and today are constructed similarly to most oscillating pedestal and table fans, predominantly out of plastic. These fans, hence the name "mini" ceiling fan are relatively small in size, usually ranging from 40.64 cm to 91.44 cm, however, some still span to sizes as large as 106.68 cm in diameter. Additionally, unlike traditional ceiling fans, these fans typically use synchronous motors.
 * Bladeless ceiling fans. This type was introduced in 2012 by Exhale fans and uses a bladeless turbine to push air outwards from the fan, which is also the case of regular ceiling fans on updraft mode. These fans feature a brushless DC motor instead of a normal direct-drive motor.
 * A pendulum fan or flap fan is a type of low velocity ceiling fan that can be used for air circulation around a targeted area. The back and forth motion increases turbulence around cooling sources, like chilled waterfalls at the Lavin Bernick Center at Tulane, helping to cool a greater volume of air.
 * Brushed DC ceiling fans. Before the current switched from DC to AC, there were productions of brushed DC ceiling fans. Those are wired directly to DC wires.
 * Brushless DC ceiling fans. This type of fans uses BLDC technology which offers much higher efficiency than normal fans driven with traditional AC motors. These are quieter than AC motor fans due to the fact that they are commutated electronically and use permanent magnet rotors. Among the other advantages, these fans offer are high efficiency, lower noise level, less rotor heat, integration of remote control and other convenience technologies etc. The only drawbacks are the high cost and the presence of complex electronics which may be more prone to failure and difficult to service. However, with the advent of new technologies and better quality control techniques, the latter is becoming less of a concern. Those are wired to AC wires along with AC/DC adaptor.
 * Smart ceiling fans. These fans can be controlled by Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa Assistant, Apple Homekit and Wifi. A vast majority of these fans use BLDC motors due to their microcontroller based design, flexibility in fine controls and firmware upgrade capability. The speed, brightness and timing of the fans can be adjusted with a smartphone app.

Effects on Airborne Transmission & Distribution
Ceiling fans provide a more affordable and energy-efficient alternative to air-conditioning, especially when used in conjunction with warmer room air temperature. Overall, the use of ceiling fans results in a lesser impact on global warming when looking at carbon generation suppression. In addition to improving thermal comfort and reducing energy consumption from air-conditioning, ceiling fans have been studied as a tool that could potentially affect airborne transmission and distribution. This is important, for the risk of aerosol transmission in poorly ventilated places is much higher as proven by cases in hospital wards, restaurants, and offices. According to an experiment using tracer gas it was found that ceiling fans could reduce the exposure risk of the breathing ozone by 20%. Another study found that with better aerosols’ dispersion through mixing air and creating local air movements, the ceiling fan operation reduced the exposed individual’s breathing ozone concentrations by more than 20%. Airflow patterns generated from ceiling fans recirculates air vertically because ceiling fans generate inflow from overhead which creates an air distribution that is different from the typical wind which has horizontal flow directions. Ceiling fan airflow has a greater effect than supply air on aerosol transmission because the downward movement of the ceiling fan’s airflow can protect the underneath subject from exposure than when the subject was further from the fan. In a study comparing the airflow of ceiling fans to the supply air of diffusers, ceiling fans were proven to have a more significant effect on the droplet and airborne transmission, for it achieved a stronger protection for the subject under cough exposure. The research proved that ceiling fans showed strong potential to reduce the exposure risk to coughs that directed horizontally through the transient process.

Safety concerns with installation
A typical ceiling fan weighs between 3.6 and 22.7 kg when fully assembled. While many junction boxes can support that weight while the fan is hanging still, a fan in operation exerts many additional stresses—notably torsion—on the object from which it is hung; this can cause an improper junction box to fail. For this reason, in the United States the National Electric Code (document NFPA 70, Article 314) states that ceiling fans must be supported by an electrical junction box listed for that use. It is a common mistake for homeowners to replace a light fixture with a ceiling fan without upgrading to a proper junction box. Ultimately, the weight of the fan must be carried by a strong structural element of the ceiling, such as a ceiling joist. Should an improperly mounted fan fall, especially a 22.7 kg cast iron fan, the result could be catastrophic.

Low-hanging fans/danger to limbs
Another concern with installing a ceiling fan relates to the height of the blades relative to the floor. Building codes throughout the United States prohibit residential ceiling fans from being mounted with the blades closer than seven feet from the floor; this sometimes proves, however, to not be high enough. If a ceiling fan is turned on and a person fully extends his or her arms into the air, as sometimes happens during normal tasks such as dressing, stretching or changing bedsheets, it is possible for the blades to strike their hands, potentially causing injury. Also, if one is carrying a long and awkward object, one end may inadvertently enter the path of rotation of a ceiling fan's blades, which can cause damage to the fan. Building codes throughout the United States also prohibit industrial ceiling fans from being mounted with the blades closer than 10 feet from the floor for these reasons.

In other countries, ceiling fans usually come with a warning to install the fan so that the blades are 2.3 meters above the floor or higher, as instructed by the IEC and similar bodies. This rule applies to all "high level fans" including but not limited to ceiling fans.

In Australia, building codes require fans to be mounted at least 2.1 meters high.

MythBusters: "Killer Ceiling Fan"
In 2004, MythBusters tested the idea that a ceiling fan is capable of decapitation if an individual was to stick his or her neck into a running fan. Two versions of the myth were tested, with the first being the "jumping kid", involving a kid jumping up and down on a bed, jumping too high and entering the fan from below and the second being the "lover's leap", involving a husband leaping towards his bed and entering the fan side-on. Kari Byron and Scottie Chapman purchased a regular household fan and also an industrial fan, which has metal blades as opposed to wood and a more powerful motor. They busted the myth in both scenarios with both household and industrial fans, as tests proved that residential ceiling fans are, apparently by design, largely incapable of causing more than a minor injury, having low-torque motors that stop quickly when blocked and blades composed of light materials that tend to break easily if impacted at speed (the household fan test of the "lover's leap" scenario actually broke the fan blades.) They did find that industrial fans, with their steel blades and higher speeds, proved capable of causing injury and laceration - building codes require industrial fans to be mounted with blades 3.048 m above the floor, and the industrial fan test of the "lover's leap" scenario produced a lethal injury where the fan sliced through the jugular and into the vertebrae - but still lost energy rapidly once blocked and were unable to decapitate the test dummy.

Wobble
Wobbling is usually caused by the weight of fan blades being out of balance with each other. This can happen due to a variety of factors, including blades being warped, blade irons being bent, blades or blade irons not being screwed on straight, or weight variation between blades. Also, if all the blades do not exert an equal force on the air (because they have different angles, for instance), the vertical reaction forces can cause wobbling. Wobble can also be caused by a motor flaw, but that very rarely occurs. Wobbling is not affected by the way in which the fan is mounted or the mounting surface.

Contrary to popular misconception, wobbling alone will not cause a ceiling fan to fall. Ceiling fans are secured by clevis pins locked with either split pins or R-clips, so wobbling will not have an effect on the fan's security, unless of course, the pins/clips were not secured. To date, there are no reports of a fan wobbling itself off the ceiling and falling. However, a severe wobble can cause light fixture shades or covers to gradually loosen over time and potentially fall, posing a risk of injury to anyone under the fan, and also from any resulting broken glass. When the MythBusters were designing a fan with the goal of chopping off someone's head, Scottie used an edge finder to find the exact center of their blades with the aim of eliminating potentially very dangerous wobbling of their steel blades.

Wobbling may be reduced by measuring the tip of each blade from a fixed point on the ceiling (or floor) and ensuring each is equal. If the fan has a metal plate between the motor and blade, this may be gently adjusted by bending. It can also be reduced by making sure all blades have the same pitch, and all blades have the same distance from adjacent blades. It can also be reduced by having balancing weight on the blades.

Even a very slight wobble can also cause a pull chain to swing, if fan is at right RPM, and as the pull chain swings, it can weaken the part that flexes, which can eventually cause it to break, meaning that a pull chain can fall on someone.

Wobble in some case can cause wires inside the motor to wriggle, and then eventually reach the top of the motor, which can then yank the wires out of the windings. That is fixable, but it may not be very easy to fix.

Humming
Humming is often caused by using a dimmer switch or a solid state speed control (those are usually made for industrial setting where humming noise is acceptable) to control the fan speed, since those controls cause chopping current, which causes windings to vibrate. Humming can also be caused by a bad start/run capacitor, or a capacitor with a wrong capacitance size for the motor. A bad or wrong start/run capacitor causes the winding current phase on main windings and auxiliary windings to not sync properly and can cause a hum. Also, humming may be reduced by having windings varnished.

title: Ceiling fan