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Mary-Dell Chilton

Mary-Dell Chilton (born February 2, 1939, in Indianapolis, Indiana) is one of the founders of modern plant biotechnology.

Early life and education
Chilton attended private school for her early education. She earned both a B.S. and Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She later completed postdoctoral work at the University of Washington at Seattle

Career and research
Chilton taught and performed research at Washington University in St. Louis. While on faculty there in the late 1970s and early 1980s, she led a collaborative research study that produced the first transgenic plants.

Chilton was the first (1977) to demonstrate the presence of a fragment of Agrobacterium Ti plasmid DNA in the nuclear DNA of crown gall tissue. Her research on Agrobacterium also showed that the genes responsible for causing disease could be removed from the bacterium without adversely affecting its ability to insert its own DNA into plant cells and modify the plant's genome. Chilton described what she had done as disarming the bacterial plasmid responsible for the DNA transfer. She and her collaborators produced the first genetically modified plants using Agrobacterium carrying the disarmed Ti plasmid (1983). She has been called the "queen of Agrobacterium."

Chilton is author of more than 100 scientific publications. She is a Distinguished Science Fellow at Syngenta Biotechnology, Inc. She began her corporate career in 1983 with CIBA-Geigy Corporation (a legacy company of Syngenta).

Awards and honors
For her work with Agrobacterium tumefaciens, she has been recognized with an honorary doctorate from the University of Louvaine, the John Scott Medal from the City of Philadelphia, membership in the United States National Academy of Sciences, and the Benjamin Franklin Medal in Life Sciences from the Franklin Institute.

She was honored by the Crop Science Society of America in 2011 with the organization's Presidential Award.

In honor of her many achievements, in 2002 Syngenta announced creation of the Mary-Dell Chilton Center – a new administrative and conference center which was added to the company's facility in Research Triangle Park, in North Carolina.

In June 2013, she was named a laureate of the prestigious 2013 World Food Prize.

In 2015, Chilton was elected to the National Inventors Hall of Fame. In 2020, she was one of eight women featured in "The Only One in the Room" display at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.

Chilton has been recognized as a Pioneer Member of the American Society of Plant Biologists.

The National Medal of Technology and Innovation was awarded to Chilton by President Biden in 2023.

title: Mary-Dell Chilton


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Talk:Virgin Megastores

Was the Original one on Oxford street as big as it is now?
If Richard Branson started the company as an independant record store, how could he possibly start with the one on Oxford street. It's Huge.--Richy 22:37, 14 August 2005 (UTC)

Forgotten, I'd asked that question. I know the answer now. No, it was a smaller one a few doors down.--Richy 23:54, 23 March 2007 (UTC)

 * I remember when it was opened in the 70s... I remember it was quite big!

Editor 'Not' part of the V Team!
The previous edition completely removed anything that seemed to show the chain in a negative way and revised it with a more 'promotional' edge. It is clear the editor is part of the Virgin family and I have thus re-edited the article from a completely un-biased point of view, complete with necessary researched information obtained from reliable sources.

It's still a totally promotional article. Richardrj 10:14, 7 April 2006 (UTC)

 * I hope it weren't my edits that you consider promotional as I'm the last editor (dismissing the robot), I've only been dealing with locations of stores in the article. Regards Captain scarlet 10:18, 7 April 2006 (UTC)

 * Sorry, I should have made it clearer - the section I object to is the one headed "Product selection", which is pure puffery. Richardrj 12:05, 7 April 2006 (UTC)

 * Blimmey ! Oh dear, i haven't had a lok at what it was but it still looks very much like advertising now. I might give it a go during the weekend. Regards, Captain scarlet 12:35, 7 April 2006 (UTC)

 * I work for Virgin in New York, and can tell you that I have no intentions of promoting this piece of shit store. The managers are ass-backward and corrupt and its head office in L.A. couldn't tell sand from dirt.  My additions are nothing more than factual--of course I could do what I truely feel I should do and just continuously vandlize the page--but what would that accomplish?  Almost Famous 07:43, 12 May 2006 (UTC)

Virgin downloads incompatibility ?
In Virgin Megastore is the following passage:
 * The download service has faced some criticism from consumer groups due to its in-compatibility with the highly popular iTunes program.

Other than possessing a PoV relating to iTunes, I am somewhat confused at the above statement claiming that virgin's system is not compatible with iTunes. Doesn't iTunes play mp3 files by default ? Are there any sources for the above statement ? 62.6.139.11 14:06, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

Virgin Stores in Canada...
I'm a little confused, Calgary still has a Virgin store in our airport. WestJet 01:10, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

This article is called "Virgin Megastore" so the airport outlet is likely not to be a megastore, I assume. Also, the non-megastore brand has changed hands over the years and isn't necessarily part of the same company as the megastores, or indeed any company connected with Richard Branson. 216.94.11.2 (talk) 20:09, 19 September 2008 (UTC)
 * mystery solved- virgin books and music Imperatore (talk) 23:19, 9 June 2009 (UTC)

Locations
Wikipedia is not a directory of store locations, nor is it a place for long lists. No other retailer article has a list of the locations of every single one of its outlets. This section should be rewritten in prose form (for example, take a leaf out of the H&M article) or deleted. WindsorFan 15:21, 20 May 2007 (UTC)

Zavvi
"Sir Richard Branson has sold his UK chain of Virgin record stores to a group of senior staff at the business. The deal, whose value has not been disclosed, will see Virgin's 125 UK and Irish Megastores rebranded as Zavvi.". violet/riga (t) 12:06, 17 September 2007 (UTC)

Is it Zavvi or even Zawi? There seems to be two spellings of the name on display of this page--Screen42 09:22, 18 September 2007 (UTC)

It's Z A V V I —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.130.189.170 (talk) 10:55, 18 September 2007 (UTC)

 * Zavvi now has it's own page. TubularWorld 17:20, 14 October 2007 (UTC)

Future of the "Virgin Megastore" name; Zavvi rebranding
Given the news that the "Virgin Megastore" brand name is to disappear from the United Kingdom and Ireland within a couple of months, what are the plans for the brand elsewhere? It appears that only the Japanese stores are still under the control of the Virgin group; does this mean that the Megastores in America, Australia, etc. will shortly have to give up the Virgin name? I think the acquisition and rebranding issue needs some more explanatory text. 217.155.20.163 13:08, 15 October 2007 (UTC)

 * It would appear that all of the stores not in the UK and Ire which are currently Virgin Megastores, will remain as Virgin Megastores. The Zavvi deal ONLY concerns the UK/ire stores which the Virgin Group still had.

For example the Virgin Megastores in the USA are still (and will still be called) Virgin Megastores even though the Virgin Group sold these stores in August. This is due to the company which owns the US stores, using the Virgin brand, as a franchise from the Virgin Group. TubularWorld 15:07, 15 October 2007 (UTC)

VM UK
Does anyone think that there should be a page made for the details on the 'former' UK stores, so that it doesn't conflict with the current international stores?TubularWorld 15:43, 16 November 2007 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:Lanyard.jpg
Image:Lanyard.jpg is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to ensure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

If there is other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images lacking such an explanation can be deleted one week after being tagged, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.

BetacommandBot (talk) 22:45, 13 February 2008 (UTC)

First person that changes this article to use past tense...
because the store down the road from them has a "Going out of Business" sign up gets slapped with a trout. - Richfife (talk) 17:38, 12 March 2009 (UTC)

Virgin Mega + Virgin Book and Music = merge proposed
i suggest both articles be merged, because there is little content on the Book and Music page. It is a stub with only a small intro and a location list. This can easily be merged with Virgin Mega, to create one article about Virgin's retail stores. --LABcrabs (talk) 13:51, 17 April 2012 (UTC)

External links modified
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I have just added archive links to 1 one external link on Virgin Megastores. Please take a moment to review my edit. If necessary, add after the link to keep me from modifying it. Alternatively, you can add to keep me off the page altogether. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/20121114155712/http://vimeo.com/user4617413 to http://vimeo.com/user4617413

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Cheers. —cyberbot II  Talk to my owner :Online 23:07, 18 October 2015 (UTC)

Sources about US stores
WhisperToMe (talk) 17:43, 23 November 2015 (UTC)
 * Sisario, Ben. "Retailing Era Closes With Music Megastore" (Archive). The New York Times. June 14, 2009.

External links modified
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I have just modified 2 one external links on Virgin Megastores. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20100513053859/http://www.virginmegastore.me/Sub.aspx?pageid=39 to http://www.virginmegastore.me/Sub.aspx?pageid=39
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20110309003048/http://www.muzink.com/afrn?articleid=170 to http://www.muzink.com/afrn?articleid=170

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If Virgin is opening. Why dont you change the map to make Kuwait red?
The map is still black in Kuwait Jurta 543 (talk) 13:15, 12 July 2019 (UTC)

 * There are two reason why the map has not been updated (yet).
 * 1) The store has yet to open. Until the store officially opens, the company is not officially in business in that country yet (i.e., receiving income).
 * 2) More importantly, not everyone have access to the proper software to generate maps. I would strongly suggest finding the creator of the map and make a request on that person's Talk Page since that person may not be aware of the impending need to update the map.

 * The information shown on the map is quite outdated since it was first uploaded in 2009 and does not reflect any changes since that time, such as the store closings in Syria (due to war) and openings in Oman. -- 108.71.214.235 (talk) 08:56, 17 July 2019 (UTC)

Virgin Import
There should be a note talking about how "Virgin imports" came from the UK. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.96.221.219 (talk) 05:58, 25 November 2020 (UTC)

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

title: Talk:Virgin Megastores


text:
Composting toilet

A composting toilet is a type of dry toilet that treats human waste by a biological process called composting. This process leads to the decomposition of organic matter and turns human waste into compost-like material. Composting is carried out by microorganisms (mainly bacteria and fungi) under controlled aerobic conditions. Most composting toilets use no water for flushing and are therefore called "dry toilets".

In many composting toilet designs, a carbon additive such as sawdust, coconut coir, or peat moss is added after each use. This practice creates air pockets in the human waste to promote aerobic decomposition. This also improves the carbon-to-nitrogen ratio and reduces potential odor. Most composting toilet systems rely on mesophilic composting. Longer retention time in the composting chamber also facilitates pathogen die-off. The end product can also be moved to a secondary system – usually another composting step – to allow more time for mesophilic composting to further reduce pathogens.

Composting toilets, together with the secondary composting step, produce a humus-like end product that can be used to enrich soil if local regulations allow this. Some composting toilets have urine diversion systems in the toilet bowl to collect the urine separately and control excess moisture. A vermifilter toilet is a composting toilet with flushing water where earthworms are used to promote decomposition to compost.

Composting toilets do not require a connection to septic tanks or sewer systems unlike flush toilets. Common applications include national parks, remote holiday cottages, ecotourism resorts, off-grid homes and rural areas in developing countries.

Terminology

The term "composting toilet" is used quite loosely, and its meaning varies by country. For example, in Germany and Scandinavian countries, composting always refers to a predominantly aerobic process. This aerobic composting may take place with an increase in temperature due to microbial action, or without a temperature increase in the case of slow composting or cold composting. If earth worms are used (vermicomposting) then there is also no increase in temperature.

Composting toilets differ from pit latrines and arborloos, which use less controlled decomposition and may not protect groundwater from nutrient or pathogen contamination or provide optimal nutrient recycling. They also differ from urine-diverting dry toilets (UDDTs) where pathogen reduction is achieved through dehydration (also known by the more precise term "desiccation") and where the feces collection vault is kept as dry as possible. Composting toilets aim to have a certain degree of moisture in the composting chamber.

Composting toilets can be used to implement an ecological sanitation approach for resource recovery, and some people call their composting toilet designs "ecosan toilets" for that reason. However, this is not recommended as the two terms (i.e. composting and ecosan) are not identical. Composting toilets have also been called "sawdust toilets", which can be appropriate if the amount of aerobic composting taking place in the toilet's container is very limited. The "Clivus multrum" is a type of composting toilet which has a large composting chamber below the toilet seat and also receives undigested organic material to increase the carbon to nitrogen ratio. Alternatives with smaller composting chambers are called "self-contained composting toilets" since the composting chamber is part of the toilet unit itself.

Applications

Composting toilets can be suitable in areas such as a rural area or a park that lacks a suitable water supply, sewers and sewage treatment. They can also help increase the resilience of existing sanitation systems in the face of possible natural disasters such as climate change, earthquakes or tsunami. Composting toilets can reduce or perhaps eliminate the need for a septic tank system to reduce environmental footprint (particularly when used in conjunction with an on-site greywater treatment system).

These types of toilets can be used for resource recovery by reusing sanitized feces and urine as fertilizer and soil conditioner for gardening or ornamental activities.

Components and use
A composting toilet consists of two elements: a place to sit or squat and a collection/composting unit. The composting unit consists of four main parts: Many composting toilets collect urine in the same chamber as feces, thus they do not divert urine. Adding small amounts of water that is used for anal cleansing is no problem for the composting toilet to handle.
 * storage or composting chamber
 * a ventilation unit to ensure that the degradation process in the toilet is predominantly aerobic and to vent odorous gases
 * a leachate collection or urine diversion system to remove excess liquid
 * an access door for extracting the compost

Some composting toilets divert urine (and water used for anal washing) to prevent the creation of anaerobic conditions that can result from over saturation of the compost, which leads to odors and vector problems. This usually requires all users to use the toilet in a seated position. Offering a waterless urinal in addition to the toilet can help keep excess amounts of urine out of the composting chamber. Alternatively, in rural areas, men and boys may be encouraged just to find a tree.

Construction
The composting chamber can be constructed above or below ground level. It can be inside a structure or include a separate superstructure.

A drainage system removes leachate. Otherwise, excess moisture can cause anaerobic conditions and impede decomposition. Urine diversion can improve compost quality, since urine contains large amounts of ammonia that inhibits microbiological activity.

Composting toilets greatly reduce human waste volumes through psychrophilic, thermophilic or mesophilic composting. Keeping the composting chamber insulated and warm protects the composting process from slowing due to low temperatures.

Odorous gases
The following gases may be emitted during the composting process that takes place in composting toilets: hydrogen sulfide (H2S), ammonia, nitrous oxide (N2O) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). These gases can potentially lead to complaints about odours. Some methane may also be present, but it is not odorous.

Pathogen removal
Waste-derived compost recycles fecal nutrients, but it can carry and spread pathogens if the process of reuse of waste is not done properly. Pathogen destruction rates in composting toilets are usually low, particularly of helminth eggs (such as those from the genus Ascaris). This carries the risk of spreading disease if a proper system management is not in place. Compost from human waste processed under only mesophilic conditions or taken directly from the compost chamber is not safe for food production. High temperatures or long composting times are required to kill helminth eggs, the hardiest of all pathogens. Helminth infections are common in many developing countries.

In thermophilic composting bacteria that thrive at temperatures of 40-60 C oxidize (break down) waste into its components, some of which are consumed in the process, reducing volume and eliminating potential pathogens. To destroy pathogens, thermophilic composting must heat the compost pile sufficiently, or enough time (1–2 years) must elapse since fresh material was added that biological activity has had the same pathogen removal effect.

One guideline claims that pathogen levels are reduced to a safe level by thermophilic composting at temperatures of 55 °C for at least two weeks or at 60 °C for one week. An alternative guideline claims that complete pathogen destruction may be achieved already if the entire compost heap reaches a temperature of 62 °C for one hour, 50 °C for one day, 46 °C for one week or 43 °C for one month, although others regard this as overly optimistic.

Environmental factors
Four main factors affect the decomposition process:
 * Sufficient oxygen is necessary for aerobic composting
 * Moisture content from 45 to 70 percent (heuristically, "the compost should feel damp to the touch, with only a drop or two of water expelled when tightly squeezed in the hand". )
 * Temperature between 40 C and 50 C, which is achieved through proper chamber dimensioning and possibly active mixing
 * Carbon-to-nitrogen ratio (C:N) of 25:1

Additives and bulking material
Human waste and food waste do not provide optimum conditions for composting. Usually the water and nitrogen content is too high, particularly when urine is mixed with feces. Additives or "bulking material", such as wood chips, bark chips, sawdust, shredded dry leaves, ash and pieces of paper can absorb moisture. The additives improve pile aeration and increase the carbon to nitrogen ratio. Bulking material also covers feces and reduces insect access. Absent sufficient bulking material, the material may become too compact and form impermeable layers, which leads to anaerobic conditions and odour.

Leachate management
Leachate removal controls moisture levels, which is necessary to ensure rapid, aerobic composting. Some commercial units include a urine-separator or urine-diverting system and/or a drain at the bottom of the composter for this purpose.

Aeration and mixing
Microbial action also requires oxygen, typically from the air. Commercial systems provide ventilation that moves air from the bathroom, through the waste container, and out a vertical pipe, venting above the roof. This air movement (via convection or fan forced) passes carbon dioxide and odors.

Some units require manual methods for periodic aeration of the solid mass such as rotating the composting chamber or pulling an "aerator rake" through the mass.

Pit latrines
Composting toilets convert feces into a dry, odorless material which is very different to the wet fecal sludge produced in pit latrines which has to be taken care of through a fecal sludge management system. Composting toilets do not cause groundwater pollution due to their safe containment of feces in above-ground vaults compared to pit latrines, allowing composting toilets to be sited in locations where pit-based systems are not appropriate.

Composting toilets have higher capital costs than pit latrines, but lower lifecycle costs. They require more involvement by the user than the "drop and forget" approach of pit latrines.

Flush toilets
Unlike flush toilets, composting toilets do not require a sewerage system and do not mix flushing water with urine and feces. They require more involvement by the user than the "flush and forget" approach of flush toilets connected to sewage treatment plants.

Urine-diverting dry toilets
Composting toilets, although similar to and sharing many advantages and disadvantages with urine-diverting dry toilets (UDDT), are more complex and require more maintenance to keep a consistent and relatively high moisture content. Some composting toilets are designed with urine diversion.

Types
Commercial units and construct-it-yourself systems are available. Variations include number of composting vaults, removable vault, urine diversion and active mixing/aeration.

Slow composting (or moldering) toilets
Most composting toilets use slow composting which is also called "cold composting". The compost heap is built up step by step over time.

The finished end product from "slow" composting toilets ("moldering toilets" or "moldering privies" in the US), is generally not free of pathogens. World Health Organization Guidelines from 2006 offer a framework for safe reuse of waste, using a multiple barrier approach.

Slow composting toilets employ a passive approach. Common applications involve modest and often seasonal use, such as remote trail networks. They are typically designed such that the materials deposited can be isolated from the operational part. The toilet can also be closed to allow further mesophilic composting. Slow composting toilets rely on long retention times for pathogen reduction and for decomposition of waste or on the combination of time and/or the addition of red wiggler worms for vermi-composting. Worms can be introduced to accelerate composting. Some jurisdictions of the US consider these worms as invasive species.

Active composters (self-contained)
"Self-contained" composting toilets compost in a container within the toilet unit. They are slightly larger than a flush toilet, but use roughly the same floor space. Some units use fans for aeration, and optionally, heating elements to maintain optimum temperatures to hasten the composting process and to evaporate urine and other moisture. Operators of composting toilets commonly add a small amount of absorbent carbon material (such as untreated sawdust, coconut coir, or peat moss) after each use to create air pockets to encourage aerobic processing, to absorb liquid and to create an odor barrier. This additive is sometimes referred to as "bulking agent". Some owner-operators use microbial "starter" cultures to ensure composting bacteria are in the process, although this is not critical.

Vermifilter toilet
A vermifilter toilet is a composting toilet with flushing water where earthworms are used to promote decomposition to compost. It can be connected to a low-flush or a micro-flush toilet which uses about 500 ml per use. Solids accumulate on the surface of the filter bed while liquid drains through the filter medium and is discharged from the reactor. The solids (feces and toilet paper) are aerobically digested by aerobic bacteria and composting earthworms into castings (humus), thereby significantly reducing the volume of organic material.

Other
Some units employ roll-away containers fitted with aerators, while others use sloped-bottom tanks.

Maintenance
Maintenance is critical to ensure proper operation, including odor prevention. Maintenance tasks include: cleaning, servicing technical components such as fans and removal of compost, leachate and urine. Urine removal is only required for those types of composting toilets using urine diversion.

Once composting is complete (or earlier), the compost must be removed from the unit. How often this occurs is a function of container size, usage and composting conditions, such as temperature. Active, hot composting may require months, while passive, cold composting may require years. Properly managed units yield output volumes of about 10% of inputs.

Uses of compost

The material from composting toilets is a humus-like material, which can be suitable as a soil amendment for agriculture. Compost from residential composting toilets can be used in domestic gardens, and this is the main such use.

Enriching soil with compost adds substantial nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, carbon and calcium. In this regard compost is equivalent to many fertilizers and manures purchased in garden stores. Compost from composting toilets has a higher nutrient availability than the dried feces that result from a urine-diverting dry toilet.

Urine is typically present, although some is lost via leaching and evaporation. Urine can contain up to 90 percent of the residual nitrogen, up to 50 percent of the phosphorus, and up to 70 percent of the potassium.

Compost derived from these toilets has in principle the same uses as compost derived from other organic waste products, such as sewage sludge or municipal organic waste. However, users of waste-derived compost must consider the risk of pathogens.

Pharmaceutical residues
Waste-derived compost may contain prescription pharmaceuticals. Such residues are also present in conventional sewage treatment effluent. This could contaminate groundwater. Among the medications that have been found in groundwater in recent years are antibiotics, antidepressants, blood thinners, ACE inhibitors, calcium-channel blockers, digoxin, estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, Ibuprofen, caffeine, carbamazepine, fibrates and cholesterol-reducing medications. Between 30% and 95% of pharmaceuticals medications are excreted by the human body. Medications that are lipophilic (dissolved in fats) are more likely to reach groundwater by leaching from fecal wastes. Sewage treatment plants remove an average of 60% of these medications. The percentage of medications degraded during composting of waste has not yet been reported.

History
In the late 19th century in developed countries, some inventors, scientists and public health officials supported the use of "dry earth closets", a type of dry toilet with similarities to composting toilets, although the collection vessel for the human waste was not designed to compost.

International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
In 2016, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) published the standard "Activities relating to drinking water and wastewater services — Guidelines for the management of basic on-site domestic wastewater services". The standard is meant to be used in conjunction with ISO 24511. It deals with toilets (including composting toilets) and toilet waste. The guidelines are applicable to basic wastewater systems and include the complete domestic wastewater cycle, such as planning, usability, operation and maintenance, disposal, reuse and health.

International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials
The International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO) is a plumbing and mechanical code structure adopted by many developed countries. It recently proposed an addition to its "Green Plumbing Mechanical Code Supplement" that, "...outlines performance criteria for site built composting toilets with and without urine diversion and manufactured composting toilets." If adopted, this composting and urine diversion toilet code (the first of its kind in the United States) will appear in the 2015 edition of the Green Supplement to the Uniform Plumbing Code.

United States
No performance standards for composting toilets are universally accepted in the US. Seven jurisdictions in North America use American National Standard/NSF International Standard ANSI/NSF 41-1998: Non-Liquid Saturated Treatment Systems. An updated version was published in 2011. Systems might also be listed with the Canadian Standards Association, cETL-US, and other standards programs.

Regarding byproduct regulation, several US states permit disposal of solids from composting toilets (usually a distinction between different types of dry toilets is not made) by burial, with varying or no minimum depth mandates (as little as 6 inches). For instance: The Environmental Protection Agency has no jurisdiction over the byproducts of a dry toilet as long as waste are not referred to as "fertilizer" (but instead simply a material that is being disposed of). Federal rule 503, known colloquially as the "EPA Biosolids rule" or the "EPA sludge rule" applies only to fertilizer. Thus, individual states regulate composting toilets.
 * Massachusetts: "Residuals from the composting toilet system must be buried on-site and covered with a minimum of six inches of clean compacted soil. Massachusetts requires that any liquids produced but, "not recycled through the toilet [itself be] either discharged through a greywater system on the property that includes a septic tank and soil absorption system, or removed by a licensed septage hauler."
 * Oregon: "Humus from composting toilets may be used around ornamental shrubs, flowers, trees, or fruit trees and shall be buried under at least twelve inches of soil cover."
 * Rhode Island: "Solids produced by alternative toilets may be buried on site" while "residuals shall not be applied to food crops."
 * Virginia: "All materials removed from a composting privy shall be buried," and "compost material shall not be placed in vegetable gardens or on the ground surface."
 * Vermont: "Byproducts may be disposed via "...shallow burial in a location approved by the Agency that meets the minimum site conditions [required for an onsite septic tank-based sanitation system]."
 * Washington: models its extensive regulations for what it refers to as "waterless toilets" on the federal regulations that govern sewage sludge.

Germany
The regulations for composting toilets and other forms of dry toilets in Germany vary from state to state and from one application to another (e.g. use in allotment gardens or use in family homes and settlements). In the different states of Germany, it is the "Landesbauordnung" (translates to "state civil engineering regulations") of the respective state that regulates the use of such alternative toilets. Most of them stipulate the use of flush toilets, however there are many exceptions, for example in the states of Hamburg, Lower Saxony, Bavaria, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. These generally make exceptions for the use of composting toilets in homes provided that there are no concerns for public health.

Regulations governing the use of compost and urine from composting toilets is less clear in Germany but it seems generally allowed provided it is used on one's own property and not sold to third parties.

Finland
Numerous sparsely settled villages in rural areas in Finland are not connected to municipal water supply or sewer networks, requiring homeowners to operate their own systems. Individual private wells, i.e. shallow dug wells or boreholes in the bedrock, are often used for water supply, and many homeowners have opted for composting toilets. In addition, these toilets are common at holiday homes, often located near sensitive water bodies. For these reasons, many manufacturers of composting toilets are based in Finland, including Biolan, Ekolet, Kekkilä, Pikkuvihreä and Raita Environment.

Estimates made by leading Finnish composting toilet manufacturers and the Global Dry Toilet Association of Finland provided the following 2014 figures for composting toilet use in Finland:
 * About 4% of single-family homes not connected to a public sewer network are equipped with a composting toilet.
 * Some 200,000 manufactured composting toilets are thought to serve holiday homes, matched by the number of other dry toilets. The simplest ones are sited in an outhouse.

Germany
Composting toilets have been successfully installed in houses with up to four floors. An estimate from 2008 put the number of composting toilets in households in Germany at 500. Most of these residences are also connected to a sewer system; the composting toilet was not installed due to a lack of sewer system but for other reasons, mainly because of an "ecological mindset" of the owners.

In Germany and Austria, composting toilets and other types of dry toilets have been installed in single and multi-family houses (e.g. Hamburg, Freiburg, Berlin), ecological settlements (e.g. Hamburg-Allermöhe, Hamburg-Braamwisch, Kiel-Hassee, Bielefeld-Waldquelle, Wien-Gänserndorf) and in public buildings (e.g. Ökohaus Rostock, VHS-Ökostation Stuttgart-Wartberg, public toilets in recreational areas, restaurants and huts in the Alps, house boats and forest Kindergartens).

The ecological settlement in Hamburg-Allermöhe has had composting toilets since 1982. The settlement of 36 single-family houses with approximately 140 inhabitants uses composting toilets, rainwater harvesting and constructed wetlands. Composting toilets save about 40 litres of water per capita per day compared to a conventional flush toilet (10 liter per flush), which adds up to 2,044 m3 water savings per year for the whole settlement.

United States
Slow composting toilets have been installed by the Green Mountain Club in Vermont's woodlands. They employ multiple vaults (called cribs) and a movable building. When one of the vaults fills, the building is moved over an empty vault. The full vault is left untouched for as long as possible (up to three years) before it is emptied. The large surface area and exposure to air currents can cause the pile to dry out. To counteract this, signs instruct users to urinate in the toilet. The club also uses pit latrines and simple bucket toilets with woodchips and external composting and directs users to urinate in the forest to prevent odiferous anaerobic conditions.

Worldwide
Composting toilets with a large composting container (of the type Clivus Multrum and derivations of it) are popular in US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Sweden. They can be bought and installed as commercial products, as designs for self builders or as "design derivatives" which are marketed under various names. It has been estimated that approximately 10,000 such toilets might be in use worldwide.

title: Composting toilet


text:
Talk:Aircraft flight control system

Variable-Response Research Aircraft
I can't find anything in wiki with this title. Is it hiding somewhere? Thanks.Pieter1963 (talk) 01:24, 1 November 2021 (UTC)
 * Looks like the last edit removed it. - Ahunt (talk) 02:00, 1 November 2021 (UTC)
 * Was the removed content objectionable? eg did it transgress some wiki guideline? Pieter1963 (talk) 14:12, 2 November 2021 (UTC)
 * Not that I can see. The edit summary was Again, COI / citespam, but the ref was a Princeton University slide presentation in PDF form: http://www.stengel.mycpanel.princeton.edu/FRL.pdf I don't see any reason there to remove it and I think it should be restored. - Ahunt (talk) 14:17, 2 November 2021 (UTC)
 * Looking back a bit one editor added the Ryan text and citation and another removed the text and citation and gave a cite spamming warning which looks like it was warranted. Tricky one, if it was the milestone in aircraft control it says then the text should be re-added but perhaps with a different source to keep everyone happy. Something ought to be added to the Navion article as well. The redirect title could be applied to any number of research aircraft and perhaps should be deleted or targeted to a better place. Cheers Nimbus (Cumulus nimbus floats by)  15:11, 2 November 2021 (UTC)
 * I think the title should be deleted from wikipedia because this particular term seems to be rare (perhaps too specialised?) and therefore difficult to source. Articles which refer to use of a Navion in this particular "variable response" research call it a variable stability aircraft. Variable Stability Research Aircraft is the correct title for a wiki article as there is plenty out there, egCalspan work, on the subject. Or VSRA could be a new section in this article or another existing article. Which would be the best place to put it? Thanks. Pieter1963 (talk) 00:21, 20 November 2021 (UTC)

I have nominated the redirect for deletion, feel free to comment at its entry, cheers. Nimbus (Cumulus nimbus floats by)  05:02, 20 November 2021 (UTC)

title: Talk:Aircraft flight control system


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Fidchell

Fidchell or gwyddbwyll (in Welsh, pronounced ) was a board game popular among the ancient Celts. Fidchell was played between two people who moved an equal number of pieces across a board; the board shared its name with the game played upon it. Based on the descriptions in Irish and Welsh literature as well as archaeological finds of game pieces, it is likely to have been a variant of ludus latrunculorum played in Ireland and Britain.

Etymology
The name of the game in multiple Celtic languages -- Old Irish fidchell, Middle Welsh gỽydbỽyỻ, Breton guidpoill~gwezboell, Cornish gwydhbol -- is a compound translating to "wood-intelligence" or "wood-sense". The fact that the compound is identical in both languages suggests that it is of extreme antiquity, with the unattested earlier form being reconstructed *widu-kweillā "wood-understanding" in Common Celtic. The game is often compared to or identified with chess, though chess was unknown in Europe until the 12th century. The Old Irish form evolved into ficheall, the word used in modern Irish for modern chess, along with Scottish Gaelic fidhcheall and Manx feeal; the similar gwyddbwyll is the name in Welsh for modern chess.

History
Fidchell or gwyddbwyll is mentioned often in ancient Celtic legends and lore, but the exact form of the game is open to speculation due to lack of detail on the rules, playing pieces, and the board. It is clear that it was played on a board with opposing sets of pieces in equal numbers. It should not be confused with similar games of Norse origin like tawlbwrdd or tafl (also called hnefatafl), which involved a king in the centre and pieces in a 2:1 ratio. Evidence suggests that it may instead have been derived earlier from the Roman game ludus latrunculorum ("game of highwaymen"), which is known to have spread into Germanic and Celtic lands by the early first millennium and is also known from post-Roman Britain. Thus it is possible that fidchell was a descendant of latrunculi. Fidchell shared with latrunculi the method of custodial capture, two around one enemy man on the same line. Archaeological finds such as the Stanway game discovered near Colchester with 13 pieces per side may also represent a British Celtic board game similar or identical to fidchell/gwyddbwyll.

Gameplay
Some details of the gameplay can be deduced from literary mentions in early Irish literature. One text reads: Leth a fóirni d'ór buidi, in leth aili d'findruine

"Half its pieces were of yellow gold, the other half of white bronze". suggesting that fidchell was played by equal forces. The method of custodial capture with two men around one enemy on the same line is also explained in the Middle Irish tale of Mac da Cherda and Cummaine Foda, where a cleric plays fidchell all day, refusing to take his opponent's pieces or allow his own to be taken: ''"Maith", or Guaire, "imrem fithchill." "Cinda gontar ind fir?", or Cummaine. "Ni anse, dias dub dam-sa im óinfer find duid-seo forsin n-óintí oc imchosnam na saigti thall." "Mo cubais, immorro," or Cummaine, ni cumgaim-se anaill; acht ni gonab-sa ni gonfa-so mo moindter-sa." Laa chaidcht do Guaire oca thetarracht ⁊ ni ruba fer dia muinter. "Segonda sein, a clerich," or Guaire.''

"Good," says Guaire, "Let's play fidchell." "How are the men slain?" says Cummaine. "Not hard, a black pair of mine about one white man of yours on the same line, disputing the approach on the far side(?)" "My conscience, indeed!" said Cummaine, "I cannot do the other thing(?), but I shall not slay (your men), you will not slay my men." For a whole day Guaire was pursuing him and he could not slay one of his men. "That is champion-like, o cleric," said Guaire. Unlike latrunculi with its usual pebble-shaped counters, however, conical pieces may also have been innovated among the Insular Celts, as stone cones for gaming have been found in sites at Shetland, Scotland and Knowth, Ireland. This is also suggested by Irish legends such as the Echtra Nerai where fidchell pieces become lodged in a skull during a fight: Doneco Fergus seco la soduin ocus bentoi sethnu a chinn do Briccriu cona durn co lotur na cuicfir fichilli batar hind-dum Ferguso hi cenn m-Briccriunn, co m-bo buan d'olcc do.

"On that Fergus glanced aside and struck with his fist at Bricriu's head, so that the five men of fidchell that were in his hand went into Bricriu's head, and it was a lasting hurt to him." The legends describe fidchell as a game played by royalty and by gods. In legend, it was invented by Lugh, god of light and inspiration, and was played skilfully by his son, the hero Cú Chulainn. A series of fidchell games form an important episode in the story Tochmarc Étaíne.

Lavish, sometimes mystical gwyddbwyll boards appear often in medieval Welsh literature. In The Dream of Rhonabwy, a prose tale associated with the Mabinogion, King Arthur and Owain mab Urien play the game with golden men on a silver board. In another prose tale, The Dream of Macsen Wledig, the character Eudaf Hen is carving men for his golden board when he is visited by the emperor Magnus Maximus. The board of Gwenddoleu ap Ceidio is named as one of the Thirteen Treasures of the Island of Britain in lists dating from the 15th and 16th centuries; according to the lists the board is gold and the men silver, and the pieces play against each other automatically. A magic gwyddbwyll comparable to Gwenddoleu's appears in the Arthurian romance Peredur son of Efrawg; a number of French versions of the Holy Grail story feature similar chessboards with self-moving pieces, following the Second Continuation of Chrétien de Troyes's Perceval, the Story of the Grail, though in these only one side moves, while the hero plays the other.

According to H. J. R. Murray's A History of Chess, the ultimate fate of Fidchell is shown a margin note upon one 15th-century manuscript about the Second Battle of Magh Tuireadh between the Tuatha Dé Danann and the Fomorians in Irish mythology. In the gloss, it is disputed whether Fidchell ("chess") could have been invented during the Trojan War, as both wars were traditionally believed to have taken place at roughly the same time and the Irish mythology manuscript refers to the playing of fidchell. While it is no longer possible to know whether it was introduced into Gaelic Ireland by the Hiberno-Norse or the Normans, by the 15th-century "Fidchell" had come to mean Chess in the Irish language and the original rules of the game had been completely forgotten.

Confusion with tafl
In the board games literature, it has often been suggested that fidchell is a variant of the Welsh game tawlbwrdd, itself descended from the Norse tafl games. These games, along with the Irish brandub, are played on a grid, often seven squares by seven, with the king in the middle. The king has a number of defending pieces around it at the beginning of the game, and they are surrounded by twice as many attackers. The object is to make a clear path for the king to the edge of the board, while the attackers must attempt to surround, and thereby capture, the king. However, tafl variants are usually played with unequal numbers of pieces, the attackers being twice as numerous as the defenders. Fidchell by contrast was played with equal numbers on both sides and there is no indication of a king piece. An artefact found in Ballinderry, County Westmeath in 1932, known as the Ballinderry Game Board, has been suggested to represent fidchell. This is a wooden board with Celtic symbols on it, with a seven-by-seven grid, marked off by 49 holes. This artefact may be a tafl variant, and perhaps even a brandub board; many commentators assume that it is the type of board upon which one would have played fidchell. Based on the assumption that the Ballinderry board represented fidchell, some recent tafl board reconstructions and apps have given the name of "fitchneal" to a particular 7x7 tafl arrangement (see image), which has extended the confusion.

Historically, tafl games, especially tawlbwrdd, were often played with a die, made of a sheep's knucklebone, and this feature seems absent in fidchell. In Wales, a clear distinction is made between tawlbwrdd and gwyddbwyll, which, if also true of Ireland, would tend to indicate a similar distinction between brandub and fidchell.

Historical impact
Fidchell, as described in the legends, often has a mystical or divinatory aspect to it. Battles ebb and flow as a result of the ebb and flow of a game of fidchell, games play themselves, great events are decided on the outcome of a fidchell match. This supernatural aspect is not as clearly reflected in the tafl games.

There is clear archaeological and textual evidence that a tafl variant was played in Ireland in ancient times; however, this is more likely to have been the game of brandub, which had a king piece. Fidchell was played with equal forces, and so was not a form of tafl.

Rules and boards

 * — a very clear set of Fitchneal rules.

 * — suggested by some scholars to be a Fidchell game.

 * — information about Fitchneal and other ancient Irish games.

 * — includes a Fitchneal game, although it uses a different board layout

Computer versions

 * — a Macromedia Shockwave version

 * — a Fitchneal widget for the Mac OS‑X dashboard

Gwezboell Gwyddbwyll

title: Fidchell


text:
File:Crinoline dresses 1860.jpg

These dresses, from around 1860, use crinolines to hold the skirts out.

This image was found at Truly Victorian.

title: File:Crinoline dresses 1860.jpg


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Warp Films

Warp Films is an independent film and television production company based in Sheffield and London, England, UK.

History 2001 – 2012
Warp Films was established by Warp Records founding partners Rob Mitchell and Steve Beckett. It was initially created with financial support from NESTA and had a remit to produce a number of short films.

After the death of Rob Mitchell in 2001, Beckett decided to continue with Warp Films and enlisted the expertise of Sheffield friend Mark Herbert (who had just produced the critically acclaimed first series of Peter Kay's Phoenix Nights for Channel 4) to run the company.

The first film, Chris Morris' My Wrongs, was shot in 2002. It won the award for Best Short Film at the 2003 BAFTA Film Awards and became the first short film DVD single in the UK market.

Through the star of My Wrongs, Paddy Considine, Herbert met director Shane Meadows and asked them to generate an idea for a film. Herbert raised the funding and the result was Warp Films debut feature, Dead Man's Shoes, directed by Shane Meadows in 2004.

Shot in 22 days on a tight budget, and produced from Warp Films' Sheffield office (at that time a shed in Herbert's garden), it earned a BAFTA nomination, was nominated for a record eight British Independent Film Awards, won the Hitchcock D'or at the Dinard Festival, and won the Southbank award for Best Film. It received strong critical acclaim and has been hailed as a landmark in British cinema. It was ranked No. 27 in Empire magazines list of the best British films ever

In 2005, Warp Films produced Rubber Johnny, an experimental short and 42-page book by director Chris Cunningham, featuring music by Warp Records artist Aphex Twin.

Warp Films break-out success came with Shane Meadows' This Is England, the story of Shaun, a boy who is adopted by a local skinhead gang after his father is killed in the Falklands war. Since its release in early 2007 it has gained many awards including the Best Film at the British Independent Films Awards, the Special Jury Prize at the Rome Film Festival and Best British Film at the BAFTAs.

At the same ceremony, Warp Films received its third BAFTA as Paddy Considine's directorial debut Dog Altogether won the Best Short Film award.

Three months after This Is England was released in cinemas, Warp's third feature film, Grow Your Own, was released by Pathe. The film was Warp's first collaboration with BBC Films. The film was directed by Richard Laxton and written by Frank Cottrell Boyce and Carl Hunter, developed from stories Carl had uncovered in his documentary work about the travails of immigrants. Produced by Barry Ryan for Warp Films, Luke Alkin for BBC Films and Carl Hunter for Art in Action.

In 2004, Warp Films made a significant expansion in its capacity. Robin Gutch joined Mark Herbert and Barry Ryan to devise the Warp bid for the Low Budget Film Scheme tender put out by Film4 and UK Film Council. The Warp bid was backed by Optimum Releasing, Screen Yorkshire and EM Media. Warp won the tender against stiff competition and Warp X was formally set up as Warp X in 2005 as a low-budget digital 'studio' to develop and produce films with focus on new talent and commercial potential.

The first projects under the new label were Chris Waitt's A Complete History of My Sexual Failures and Olly Blackburn's Donkey Punch, which were both launched at the Sundance International Film Festival in 2007. These were followed by Mark Tonderai's Hush Paul King's Bunny & the Bull (Toronto International Film Festival 2009, BIFA award for Best Production Achievement 2010, ) Xiaolu Guo's She, a Chinese ( in collaboration with Tiger Lily Films) which won the Golden Leopard at the Locarno International Film Festival ).

Another Warp X production was 2009 documentary All Tomorrow's Parties, covering the history of the All Tomorrow's Parties music festival. The film was created using footage generated by the fans and musicians attending the events themselves, on a multitude of formats including Super8, camcorder and mobile phone.

In 2009, Warp films produced Exhibit A, a groundbreaking pseudo-documentary film. The film was awarded the title of 'Best UK feature' at the Raindance Film Festival and was nominated for three British Independent Film Awards receiving particular credit for its standout cast.

In 2010, Warp Films produced Chris Morris’s debut feature Four Lions, a satirical comedy drama following a group of homegrown Islamic terrorists from Sheffield, England. The film was a critical and box office success, achieving impressive numbers at the box office on its opening weekend, generating the highest site average of all the new releases (£5,292) and making a total of £609,000. As of 8 August 2010, Four Lions grossed £2,932,366 at the UK box office. The film was nominated for two BAFTA awards; it won the 'Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, director, or Producer' BAFTA award for Chris Morris.

Richard Ayoade's debut feature Submarine starring Noah Taylor, Sally Hawkins and Paddy Considine premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2010 and was released in the UK during March 2011 by Optimum Releasing. It was distributed in the US by The Weinstein Company.

The film was met with high critical acclaim, and featured original songs by Arctic Monkeys front man Alex Turner. Submarine has won many awards worldwide, including the Best Screenplay award at the 2011 British Independent Film Awards. Richard Ayoade was nominated for a BAFTA for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer at the 65th British Academy Film Awards

Warp Films 2010 television production for Channel 4, Shane Meadows' This Is England '86, was a continuation from the 2006 film. It aired over four weekly episodes and received numerous plaudits, including a BAFTA award for leading actress Vicky McClure. It achieved record viewing figures for Channel 4.

Warp X production Kill List was released in the UK on 28 August 2011. Directed by Ben Wheatley, the film stars Neil Maskell, Michael Smiley and MyAnna Buring. It has gone on to win several awards internationally, including a British Independent Film Award for supporting actor Michael Smiley. Kill List has received strong critical acclaim, with Total Film declaring it 'Outstanding' and giving a 5 star rating. It was released in the US by IFC films.

Tyrannosaur, also produced through Warp X, was released in 2011. Directed by Paddy Considine, it was an exploration of how love and friendship can be found in the darkest of places. Tyrannosaur stars Peter Mullan, Olivia Colman and Eddie Marsan. It has received strong critical acclaim and won the BAFTA for 'Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, director, or Producer' for director Paddy Considine and producer Diarmid Scrimshaw.

2011 also saw the world premiere of Justin Kurzel's Snowtown in Semaine du Critiique at the Cannes International Film Festival. In 2008, Warp Films had established Warp Films Australia in Melbourne, headed up by Anna McLeish. The film has received widespread acclaim and won numerous awards internationally, including four awards at the Australian Academy Cinema Television Awards. In late 2015, the partnership ended with the setting up of Carver Films by Anna McLeish and Sarah Shaw.

This Is England '88, the sequel to the 2010 television series This Is England '86, aired on Channel 4 over three consecutive nights from 13 December 2011. Set two and half years after '86, it received strong critical praise. The series had high viewing figures, with 2.5 million people tuning-in to watch the first episode.

Warp Films / Warp X productions, Tyrannosaur, Kill List and Submarine were nominated for a total of 18 awards at the 2011 British Independent Film Awards.

Warp Films successfully ran a crowd-funding campaign to fund four short films shot at the All Tomorrow's Parties music festival by Vincent Moon, using the website Kickstarter.com. The project reached its funding goal on 15 October and the films are currently in post-production.

Warp Films produced three 30-minute television dramas for the Sky Arts Playhouse Presents season. These were The Minor Character, written by Will Self and starring David Tennant (which was Sky Arts highest rating commission on the channel ), The Snipist directed by Matthew Holness and The District Nurse starring Gina McKee.

title: Warp Films


text:
Swildon's Hole

Swildon's Hole is an extensive cave in Priddy, Somerset. At 9144 m in length, it is the longest cave on the Mendip Hills. It has been found to be connected to Priddy Green Sink and forms part of the Priddy Caves Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

The upper series of the cave compresses many features into a relatively short space. The cave goes far beyond this, however, and the lower reaches of the cave continue to provide challenges for even the most experienced of cave divers.

The name may be a corruption of Swithun, an Anglo-Saxon bishop of Winchester, as the land in the area was owned by St Swithin's Priory in Winchester.

History
The cave was first entered on 16 August 1901 by members of the Wells Natural History and Archaeological Society. Very rapid progression was made to what is now known as the 40 foot pot. Between 1903 and 1910, in spite of access being banned by the landowner, various trips took place to photograph and explore the passages.

In 1914 the limit of exploration was extended to Twenty Foot Pot, and in 1921 the first of the sumps was reached, but not passed (despite attempts to make progress by blasting). Sump 1 was finally successfully dived in 1936, and Sump 2 was passed soon afterwards. By this point a length of cave only one-fifth of the amount known today had been discovered.

Ever since 1936 caving groups have been seeking to extend the explored area of the cave, and thus far eleven principal sumps have been passed. Sump 12 has so far proved impassable. Work continues to find a way through the adjacent Sump 12b.

Access
The entrance to Swildon's Hole is now a small triangular opening contained within a stone blockhouse in a clump of trees 550 m north-east of Manor Farm, Priddy.

Swildon's Hole is a very popular cave and there are often several separate groups underground at the same time.

Description
The cave contains an active streamway, which has caused a highly varied cave system. Areas of the system range from low passages, through which cavers must crawl, to impressive chambers with sheer drops, and from dry fossil passages to thundering waterfalls and its infamous sumps. A plaque mounted on a stone plinth near Priddy village green shows a plan of the cave, overlaying a map of the village (see right).

The cave exhibits a combination of vadose development (formed above the water table), including continuing formation of the main streamway, and phreatic passages (formed below a latterly lowered water table). These resulted in very different types of passageway, with the phreatic tubes, since abandoned by much of the water, forming an undulating route, much of which is known as the ‘short round trip’.

Only a handful of the 11 principal sumps thus far passed can be dived without dedicated equipment (free-dived).

The length of cave between the sumps are known by the number of the sump at the end of the stretch; thus the stretch between the entrance and Sump 1 is known as Swildon's One, between Sumps 1 and 2 as Swildon's Two, and so on.

Sump 4 can be reached without going through Sumps 1 to 3, via Tratman's Temple, Mud Sump, Fault Chamber and Blue Pencil Passage; parts of this route are extremely difficult.

The connection between Swildon's Hole and Priddy Green Sink was the first major through route discovered on the Mendip Hills. Following a number of months of digging and blasting, the link was made in 1996 at the top of the Cowsh Avens Series, a 120 m climb above Sump 4.

The water in the cave resurges in Wookey Hole Caves. This was first demonstrated (by pouring dye into the water) by Graham Balcombe and Jack Sheppard of the Cave Diving Group, who first passed Sumps 1 and 2 in the 1930s.

title: Swildon's Hole


text:
Gary Paffett

Gary James Paffett (born 24 March 1981 in Bromley) is a British racing driver. Having become a household name in the DTM, following fifteen years in the series and two championship wins, Paffett moved onto Formula E for the 2018/19 championship, after it was announced in 2017 that Mercedes would no longer be taking part in DTM. Paffett was also a test driver for the Williams Formula One team, having previously worked in a similar role at McLaren for a number of years, during the team's successful title winning years. Paffett progressed through the ranks of karting and junior formulae in the United Kingdom, winning the McLaren Autosport BRDC Award in 1999. He now lives in Ousden, Suffolk, England.

1993 to 1999: Early Years
In 1993, Paffett joined the British Cadet Championships and earned himself a respectable third place. A year later he moved to British Junior TKM Championship and finished second overall. In 1995, he won the British Junior TKM Championship and also second place in the Junior ICA European Championship. Successes continued into 1996, winning the McLaren Mercedes Karting Champion of the Future award and also second in the British Junior ICA Championship. The next year he moved into single-seaters, winning the Formula Vauxhall Junior Winter Series, picking up the best newcomer's award in that series in the process. In 1998, he was Formula Vauxhall Junior Class B Champion with thirteen poles and thirteen wins, dominating every race of the season. He also set a track record which had never before been set by any "B" class car. He got promoted to the Formula Vauxhall Junior and won the championship with two track records, four wins, five fastest laps, three pole positions. At the season's end he was awarded the prestigious McLaren Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year award.

Formula Three
Moving up to Formula Three, he competed in the Scholarship class of the British F3 championship, becoming champion with twelve wins, thirteen fastest laps and thirteen pole positions. In 2001, moved overseas to the German F3 Championship racing with Keke Rosberg's race team, finishing sixth overall. Remaining in the series for 2002, he dominated the field winning the championship without ever losing the lead.

DTM
For 2003, Gary signed to drive for the new Brand Motorsport team in F3000, but the team withdrew from the series leaving Paffett and his team-mate Nicolas Minassian without drives. Mercedes contacted him and signed him to drive in the DTM with Rosberg's Mercedes AMG team in a year-old car, eventually finishing 11th overall. A year later, he was runner up with an up-to-date AMG-Mercedes C-Class and the HWA team taking four wins and one pole position. He was then champion the following year with five wins and four pole positions. In 2007, Gary returned to the DTM in a 2006 specification race car for the Persson Motorsport team alongside his McLaren F1 testing duties. At the second round at Oschersleben, Paffett became the first driver in the history of the series to win in a year old car. After a further year in older machinery, he was promoted back to the current Mercedes model for 2009, and finished runner-up in the championship, behind Timo Scheider.

2018 season
In 2017, Mercedes announced it would leave DTM after the 2018 season. Since 2018 did also feature a rule change resulting in the cars having less downforce meaning that small contact would less likely result in race ending damage, Mercedes could come back from a dip in form over the last couple of years. In the first race at Hockenheim the Mercedes proved a serious contender and allowed Gary Paffett to take his first win since the Lausitz ring in 2013 in the first race at Hockenheim. The second Hockenheim race featured a momentous battle between Gary Paffett and Timo Glock which was won by the BMW driver. From here on, the Mercedes proved a very good car all through the season and with taking 3 wins and further 7 podiums, Paffett was at or very near the top of the table all season. In the mid-season, his main competitor was fellow Mercedes driver Paul Di Resta with the lead of the championship changing a couple of times between the two notably in Brands Hatch and Misano World Circuit. With Paffett having an unlucky raceweekend in the latter. In the last 3 race weekends, René Rast and his Audi team gave Paffett a very real challenge taking a win in all 6 races. This didn't prove to be enough however with Paffett taking the crown in Hockenheim at the last race of the season and thus closing the book on DTM for Mercedes with the drivers title, team title and the manufacturers title, providing Paffett and the Mercedes-AMG team with the perfect fairytale ending to their DTM careers.

Formula One

In December 2005 it was announced that he would not be returning to the DTM series to defend his title but instead would test full-time for McLaren-Mercedes during the 2006 season alongside Pedro de la Rosa. After the departure of Kimi Räikkönen to Ferrari, it was speculated that he may have been in contention for a 2007 race seat in the team alongside World Champion Fernando Alonso. However, due to the arrival of GP2 Champion, Lewis Hamilton, Paffett was overlooked for the drive.

Further to this, Paffett was released from his McLaren contract in October 2006, to search for better opportunities. It was widely speculated that he was likely to sign as a test driver at Honda, but Christian Klien was signed instead. A few weeks later however, Paffett was re-signed by McLaren as the team's second test driver, alongside de la Rosa.

He publicly stated that he was looking for a Formula One race seat for 2008, and was linked with the abortive Prodrive F1 project for that season. However, Prodrive failed to make it to the grid so Paffett stayed with McLaren as a test driver. Paffett was signed as Force India's reserve driver for the 2012 Australian Grand Prix as regular reserve driver Jules Bianchi was unavailable due to Formula Renault 3.5 Series testing commitments. On 17 November 2014, it was announced that Paffett would leave McLaren at the end of the 2014 season. This coincided with McLaren's switch to Honda engines for 2015.

For 2016, Paffett signed on with Williams as a simulator driver, alongside his duties in DTM. Team deputy Claire Williams said: "We're delighted to have someone with Gary's experience join us at Williams. He is a highly professional racing driver and his level of testing knowledge, and ability to analyse data, will significantly help to drive forward development of the FW38 throughout the season."

Formula E
In the 2018–19 Formula E season, Paffett drove for the HWA Racelab Formula E team, together with the Belgian Stoffel Vandoorne. Marking a new adventure for Gary, following his fifteen legendary years in the German Touring Car Series, this season's Formula E championship, will mark both Gary's and the HWA team's debut campaign in the 12-round all electric series. He finished the season 19th in the driver's standings after scoring points in Hong Kong, Paris and New York City. On 11 September 2019, it was announced that Paffett would be replaced by Nyck de Vries for the new Mercedes-Benz EQ Formula E Team in the 2019–20 Formula E season. Paffett moved into a management role within the team, working as a sporting and technical advisor, while also being a test and reserve driver.

Complete German Formula Three results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete International Formula 3000 results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap).

Complete Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap). † – Driver did not finish, but completed 90% of the race distance. ‡ – Shanghai was a non-championship round.

Complete Formula E results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

title: Gary Paffett


text:
Pokémon Diamond and Pearl

Pokémon Diamond Version (ポケットモンスター ダイヤモンド) and Pokémon Pearl Version (ポケットモンスター パール) are role-playing video games developed by Game Freak and published by The Pokémon Company and Nintendo for the Nintendo DS in 2006. They are the first installments in the fourth generation of the Pokémon video game series. They were first released in Japan on September 28, 2006, and released in North America, Australia, and Europe in 2007. Pokémon Platinum, a third version, was released two years later in each region. Remakes titled Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl were released for the Nintendo Switch worldwide on November 19, 2021. A prequel, Pokémon Legends: Arceus, was released for the Nintendo Switch on January 28, 2022.

Like previous Pokémon games, Diamond and Pearl chronicle the adventures of a young Pokémon Trainer as they train and battle Pokémon while also thwarting the schemes of a criminal organization called Team Galactic. The games added many new features, such as Internet play over the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, changes to battle mechanics and Pokémon Contests, along with the addition of 107 new Pokémon. The games are independent of each other but feature largely the same plot, and while both can be played separately, it is necessary to trade between them in order to complete the games' Pokédex.

Development of Diamond and Pearl was announced at a Nintendo press conference in the fourth calendar quarter of 2004. The games were designed with features of the Nintendo DS in mind. It was forecasted to be released in Japan in 2005, but ultimately shipped in 2006, the 10th anniversary year of the franchise. In promotion of the games, Nintendo sold a limited-edition Nintendo DS Lite in Japan, and held a release party celebrating their North American release.

The games received generally favorable reviews. Most critics praised the addition of Wi-Fi features and graphics, and felt that the gameplay, though it had not received much updating from previous games, was still engaging. The games enjoyed more commercial success than their Game Boy Advance predecessors: with around 18 million units sold worldwide, Diamond and Pearl have sold over 2 million more units than their predecessors Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire and almost 6 million more units than Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, while also outselling their successors, Pokémon Black and White, by over 2 million copies. The games are among the most successful Pokémon games of all time.

Gameplay
Pokémon Diamond and Pearl are role-playing video games with adventure elements. The basic mechanics of the games are largely the same as their predecessors. As with all Pokémon games for handheld consoles, the gameplay is in a third-person overhead perspective, and consists of three basic screens: a field map, in which the player navigates the main character; a battle screen; and the menu, in which the player configures their party, items, or gameplay settings. Players begin the game with no Pokémon or Poké Balls but are given the choice of three Pokémon as a part of the storyline. Once Poké Balls are obtained, the player can capture more Pokémon. Players can use their Pokémon to deal damage to other Pokémon in battle. Whenever the player encounters a wild Pokémon or is challenged by a trainer to a battle, the screen switches to a turn-based battle screen where the Pokémon fight. During the battle, the player may use a move, use an item, switch the active Pokémon, or flee. Fleeing is not an option during battles against trainers. All Pokémon have hit points (HP); whenever a Pokémon's HP is reduced to zero, it faints and cannot battle unless revived at a Pokémon Center or with an item. If the player's Pokémon defeats the opposing Pokémon by causing it to faint, it receives experience points. After accumulating enough experience points, it will level up; most Pokémon evolve into a new species of Pokémon whenever they reach a certain level. Pokémon's stats also increase every time it levels up, and they will also learn new moves at certain levels as well. If a Pokémon is prevented from evolving it will learn new moves faster.

Apart from battling, capturing Pokémon returns as a critical component of Pokémon gameplay. Although other trainers' Pokémon cannot be captured, the player can use different kinds of Poké Balls on a wild Pokémon during battle. A successful capture adds the Pokémon to the player's active party or stores it if the player already has a maximum of six Pokémon in their party. Factors in the success rate of capture include the HP of the target Pokémon and the strength of the Poké Ball used; the lower the target's HP and the stronger the Poké Ball, the higher the success rate of capture is. Also, inflicting certain status effects such as sleep or paralysis adds a multiplier to the capture rate, making it easier to capture wild Pokémon. Each species has a capture rate of its own as well.

New features
As with other generations of Pokémon games, Diamond and Pearl retain the basic gameplay of their predecessors while introducing additional new features. The day-night cycle makes a return and has increased from three times of day in Gold and Silver to five time periods in Diamond and Pearl: morning, day, afternoon, evening, and night. Diamond and Pearl also introduce several changes to battle mechanics. In previous generations, Pokémon moves were classified as "physical" or "special" based on their type; for example, all Fire-type moves were special and all Ground-type moves were physical. In Diamond and Pearl, however, moves are categorized into three groups. Attacks that make physical contact with the opponent are "physical", attacks that do not make physical contact are "special", and moves that do not deal damage are classified as "status".

Some of the games' new features capitalize on the Nintendo DS's features. The Pokétch, a simulated smartwatch, resides on the DS's bottom screen and hosts various applications including a clock, calculator, map, counter, and a drawing pad. These applications are obtained throughout the game. Beneath Sinnoh's surface is the Underground, a large area used for wireless multiplayer gaming; in it, players can create and decorate secret bases, first featured in Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, and participate in minigames. The items mined in the Underground can then be transferred into the player's bag in the main game. Diamond and Pearl also employ support for the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection (since discontinued), allowing players to communicate through voice chat, trade, and battle online. The main system for trade is the Global Trade Station, which allows players to trade with people around the world. Players can search for any Pokémon that they have seen in the game and can offer their own; if another player is offering the requested Pokémon and is looking for the offered Pokémon, the trade occurs immediately. A trade does not have to be instant; an offer can be left for other players to browse and complete, even while the player is offline. Certain species of Pokémon traded internationally will have a Pokédex entry in the language of the game it originated from. According to Pokémon art director Ken Sugimori, the Global Trade Station was the new feature he was most pleased with.

Pokémon Contests are events in which the player's Pokémon compete in a show to win ribbons and, in Diamond and Pearl, they consist of three stages, two more than the Contests of the Game Boy Advance games. In the Visual Competition stage, players use the Nintendo DS's touchscreen to place accessories on their Pokémon to boost a particular trait, such as "Cool" or "Cute", and earn points. In the Dance Competition stage, the player must tap buttons on the touchscreen in rhythm with the music. The final stage, Acting Competition, is similar to Pokémon Contests of the Game Boy Advance games; Pokémon use their moves to appeal to the judges and crowd. Like Pokéblocks in the third-generation games, baked goods called Poffins can be made from berries and fed to Pokémon to boost a particular trait, and therefore, the likelihood of success in a relevant Contest.

Connectivity to other devices
In addition to compatibility with each other, Diamond and Pearl offer compatibility with the third generation Pokémon games, Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, Emerald, and FireRed and LeafGreen. They are also compatible with Pokémon Ranger and Pokémon Battle Revolution. After earning the National Pokédex in Diamond and Pearl, the player can "Migrate" Pokémon from the Game Boy Advance games to Diamond and Pearl by inserting a Game Boy Advance cartridge into the Game Boy Advance cartridge slot of the Nintendo DS while Diamond or Pearl is in the DS slot. After six Pokémon are uploaded from the cartridge, they are sent to the Pal Park, an area where the player can capture the transferred Pokémon. Pokémon uploads are restricted to six every twenty-four hours per Game Boy Advance cartridge, and the player must capture the uploaded Pokémon before performing another transfer. Pokémon transferred to Diamond and Pearl this way cannot be sent back to a Game Boy Advance cartridge. After completing a special mission in Pokémon Ranger, the player will be able to send a Manaphy egg or Riolu from Ranger to Diamond or Pearl. Finally, players can wirelessly upload Pokémon from Diamond and Pearl to the Wii games Pokémon Battle Revolution and My Pokémon Ranch.

Setting
Diamond and Pearl are set in the fictional region of Sinnoh, an island based on the Japanese island of Hokkaidō. Sinnoh is not directly connected to any other Pokémon region. It is characterized by large, snow-covered mountains; Mt. Coronet, a part of a mountain range, divides Sinnoh in half. Unlike previous regions, Sinnoh has a "northern" feel to it because it is the first region with snow-covered routes. Sinnoh is also characterized by its waterways with three main lakes, Verity, Acuity, and Valor, that form a triangle. Unlike the Hoenn region, however, which is mostly water routes, only 30 percent of Sinnoh's landscape comprises waterways. Underneath Sinnoh's surface is the Sinnoh Underground, which is a large maze of caves and tunnels.

Story
The games chronicle the adventures of a new Pokémon Trainer who strives to become the Pokémon League Champion by collecting and training Pokémon. Like most games in the series, Diamond and Pearl feature eight Pokémon Gyms led by Gym Leaders, professional trainers whose expertise lies in a particular Pokémon type. Gym Leaders serve as bosses and reward skilled trainers with Gym Badges, the key to the advancement of the plot. As with all core games, the protagonist must also thwart the schemes of a crime syndicate, in this case, Team Galactic, who plan to use Pokémon to create a new universe just for themselves, while destroying the current one.

As with all other Pokémon role-playing games, Diamond and Pearl begin in the protagonist's hometown. After viewing a television report about a media-conducted search for a red Gyarados, which was spotted at a faraway lake, the protagonist and their best friend, Barry by default, travel together to check the local lake for a Pokémon like it. They spot Professor Rowan, a Pokémon evolution researcher, and his assistant, the playable character not selected in the game: Lucas (boy) or Dawn (girl). After a short discussion, the professor and his assistant leave the lake, leaving a briefcase behind. When they are attacked by a wild Starly each, the protagonist and their rival decide to examine the briefcase. They are then given a choice of one of three Pokémon found within—the Grass-type Turtwig, the Fire-type Chimchar, or the Water-type Piplup—and proceed to battle the attacking Pokémon. After defeating the Starly, Lucas or Dawn retrieves and returns the briefcase to the professor. Noticing that a bond has been forged between the young protagonist and his or her chosen Pokémon, Rowan offers it to them, asking that they embark on a journey and fill their Pokédex.

The protagonist encounters the antagonistic group, Team Galactic, early in the game, when he or she must save Professor Rowan from some of their thugs; however, their motives are unclear until later. The player encounters Team Galactic again when they take over a wind farm and when they set up a base in Eterna City, before eventually taking over Sinnoh's three lakes in an attempt to capture the Mirage Pokémon Uxie, Azelf, and Mesprit. Shortly after the player earns their seventh Gym Badge, Team Galactic captures the Mirage Pokémon and imprisons them inside the science laboratory of the Team Galactic Headquarters Building, where its members extract crystals from the Pokémon to create the Red Chain, an object that can control the legendary Pokémon Palkia in Pearl, or Dialga in Diamond. After releasing the trio, the protagonist can access the Spear Pillar, an ancient ruin atop Mt. Coronet, where the leader of Team Galactic summons Dialga or Palkia. The legendary Pokémon's powers begin to overwhelm Sinnoh, causing the newly free Uxie, Azelf, and Mesprit to attempt to stop it. The player then battles Palkia or Dialga, and after defeating or capturing the Pokémon, Sinnoh returns to normal. Afterward, the player continues their journey, eventually reaching the Sinnoh Pokémon League. After defeating all Elite Four members, they battle the Sinnoh Pokémon League Champion, a blonded woman named Cynthia, who had appeared before in the game. After the protagonist defeats Cynthia, they become the new Sinnoh Pokémon League Champion, finishing the main story. In the post-game, a new island to explore contains Pokémon not seen in the main game and has some new stores and a tournament center. The protagonist's old friend, who challenged them to battles multiple times before, will also be waiting for them here and will challenge them to one more battle.

Development
Pokémon Diamond and Pearl were developed by Game Freak and Junichi Masuda served as game director. The game's music was scored by Hitomi Sato and Junichi Masuda under the supervision of Go Ichinose, with a few other fanfares composed by Morikazu Aoki. According to The Pokémon Company's Tsunekazu Ishihara, the games were designed with the DS's unique features in mind, such as the Wi-Fi capabilities and slot for Game Boy Advance cartridges. The command buttons in the battle screen are large and color-coded; according to Masuda, this feature would facilitate gameplay for players unable to read. Also, the touchscreen interface was designed to encourage players to use their fingers rather than the stylus to manipulate the screen. Though most of the graphics in Diamond and Pearl are 2D, some of the background elements are 3D. The decision to retain 2D graphics in Diamond and Pearl drew criticism; in response, Tsunekazu Ishihara said that "we wanted to maintain the original idea of Pokémon being a game that you played on this big map" and explained that physically, the games were in three dimensions but was designed to "maintain the original feel of the game". Responding to criticism over the use of Friend Codes in the games, Ishihara explained that it was a security measure taken to ensure that players would not be able to chat with strangers over the Wi-Fi connection. Nintendo released a statement detailing glitches found in Japanese releases of Diamond and Pearl. The glitches caused players to be stuck in an in-game wall or lose saved data. Nintendo released patches to certain retailers in Japan to fix these glitches.

In mid 2020, dataminers leaked the source code for Diamond and Pearl, revealing a collection of unused sprites and scrapped designs for new Pokémon. They were first leaked onto ResetEra, and were part of a series of Nintendo-related leaks of unfinished builds of games in development.

Release
Development of Pokémon Diamond and Pearl was announced at a Nintendo press conference in the fourth calendar quarter of 2004 alongside the reveal of Pokémon Dash and details on the Japanese launch of the Nintendo DS. Masuda stated it would "become a new type of game that offers a number of new forms of play" and that he was determined to create "the ultimate [Pokémon] version". Though Diamond and Pearl were expected to be released in Japan by 2005, Nintendo revealed that the developers were still working on aspects of the gameplay and that the games would not be released until 2006. The company said that Diamond and Pearl would be able to communicate with Pokémon games for the Game Boy Advance, allowing players to transfer their Pokémon to the new games. Nintendo also announced that the games would make full use of the Wi-Fi capabilities of the DS, allowing 16 players to communicate wirelessly at one time. Further information concerning the games was not released until mid-2006, when Nintendo President Satoru Iwata mentioned that connectivity with Pokémon Battle Revolution was also still in development; new features such as the Pokétch and time sensitivity were also mentioned.

The games were released in Japan on September 28, 2006. To commemorate the release, Nintendo sold a limited-edition DS Lite in Japanese Pokémon Center stores and through the Pokémon fan club by mail. The console featured the games' mascots Dialga and Palkia painted in silver and gold respectively on a metallic black finish. A two-disc soundtrack, Nintendo DS Pokémon Diamond & Pearl Super Music Collection, was also released in Japan on December 22, 2006. It peaked at #253 on Japan's Oricon charts and charted for one week. On December 20, 2006, Nintendo of America announced that the North American release of the games was slated for April 22, 2007, and that those who pre-ordered their copies of the games would receive special DS styluses branded with some of the new Pokémon. Shortly before the games' North American release, The Pokémon Company presented a limited demo of the games for Nintendo's booth at the Game Developer's Conference. To celebrate the games' North American release, Nintendo held a release party at the Nintendo World Store in New York City's Rockefeller Plaza. Nintendo of Europe announced a release date of July 27, 2007, for the European Union, and Nintendo Australia announced a June 21 release date. A launch event was held in GAME stores at Hamleys to celebrate the European release of the games. The event, held on July 26, 2007, offered a chance to purchase the games one day before their official release date and featured an appearance by band McFly. To celebrate the Australian release of the games, Nintendo launched the nationwide Nintendo DS Connection Tour 07; each stop in the tour featured events such as Pokémon Trading Card Game competitions and Pokémon trivia games.

The success of the games revived the popularity of the Pokémon brand. George Harrison, then Nintendo of America's vice president of marketing, noted that the games were attracting "players of all ages"—from younger children to "grown men and women" and older players who "played the original Pokémon games". As a result, Pokémon USA opened a temporary boutique in the Times Square Toys "R" Us that sold exclusively Pokémon licensed merchandise including Jakks Pacific-created action figures, plush toys, backpacks, and clothing. Ronald Boire, president of Toys "R" Us, stated that the store planned to open temporary boutiques in all 585 of its domestic locations. Other Pokémon merchandise included a BattleDome Playset and a talking Pokédex. Additionally, Pokémon USA partnered with Burger King in 2008 to launch a promotional campaign in which Burger King included exclusive Pokémon trading cards and accessories with Kids Meals. The promotion lasted from July 7 to August 3 in the United States and continued through the fall internationally.

Pokémon Platinum
Pokémon Platinum Version (ポケットモンスタープラチナ) is the third version after Pokémon Diamond and Pearl developed by Game Freak and published by The Pokémon Company and Nintendo for the Nintendo DS handheld game console. It was released on September 13, 2008, in Japan, March 22, 2009, in North America, May 14, 2009, in Australia, and May 22, 2009, in Europe.

Pokémon Platinum has been met with generally positive reception, holding aggregate scores of 84 and 83.14% at Metacritic and GameRankings respectively. It was praised for the additions and changes made to Diamond and Pearl by publications such as IGN, Nintendo Power, and GamePro, though it has been criticized for being too similar to them. IGN included it as the ninth-best Nintendo DS game ever made, as well as nominating it as one of the best DS role-playing games of 2009. It was the fastest-selling game in Japan at the time, shifting 7.6 million copies overall.

Reception
Pokémon Diamond and Pearl garnered slightly higher ratings than FireRed and LeafGreen and Ruby and Sapphire. The highest score given was a 92 by UK Official Nintendo Magazine, while the lowest was a 67 by Game Revolution. Official Nintendo Magazine would later go on to rank the game 20th in a list of the greatest Nintendo games. Ryan Davis of GameSpot gave the games an 8.5/10, "Great", and called the games "the most well-rounded Pokémon games to date." IGN and GameZone also gave the games an 8.5/10. The UK Official Nintendo Magazine gave the games 92%, and GameSpy gave them a 4.5/5. The games received slightly lower reviews from ComputerAndVideoGames.com than Ruby and Sapphire had, but earned an "A−" grade from 1UP.com, an improvement from Ruby and Sapphire's "B−".

Most reviewers felt that though the gameplay and storyline had not changed much since the first games, Diamond and Pearl were still engaging. Ryan Davis of GameSpot said, "[I]t's a little surprising how well the formula holds up in Diamond and Pearl, which is a testament to the strong fundamentals of the series as well as the quality of the execution." The games' Wi-Fi connectivity also earned largely positive reviews. 1UP.com called the addition of wireless connectivity the games' "biggest improvements". GameSpot and GameSpy both listed the addition of online play as one of the positive points of the games and called the system "robust" and "probably the most significant new feature." ComputerAndVideoGames.com said of the Global Trade Center, "Suddenly, Pokémon feels properly alive for the first time since playgrounds were abuzz with monsters in the late '90s – and you'll instantly forgive Game Freak their technical stubbornness the first time you switch on your DS and find the level 100 Munchlax you craved is on your cart."

The graphics generally received positive reviews. GameSpot praised the blend of 2D and 3D graphics, and GameZone said that the graphics were "better than what I had originally imagined" and that "a Pokemon title hasn't ever looked this good on a handheld." GameSpy felt that the graphics, though simple, made the game "a pleasure to explore". ComputerAndVideoGames.com, however, said that "the so-called '3D' isn't up to much: it's just a viewpoint shuffle, with DS's gutsy engine taking a nice long nap between the odd hypnotic windfarm or fog effect." The audio was not so well-received: IGN felt that the cries made by the Pokémon "still screech with the flair of the original Game Boy" and that the music, while "more advanced", was "not much beyond [Game Boy Advance] quality". GameZone also felt that the sounds had not been updated, saying "This [the audio] is the only area that hasn't taken one step forward. It remains stagnant and doesn't show any progression over the GBA titles". GameSpot cited the games' "recycled" sounds as one of the negative points.

Sales
First released in Japan in 2006, Pokémon Diamond and Pearl have the most successful launch week of games in the Pokémon series, and the best launch week for any Nintendo DS game for the country alone. Within forty-six days, the games sold three million units, becoming the fastest DS games to do so; by the end of the year, the number increased to five million units in just under three months, making Diamond and Pearl the best-selling Pokémon games in Japan. In the United States, pre-orders for Diamond and Pearl passed 533,000, almost twice the pre-sale numbers for FireRed and LeafGreen. Within five days of release, the games sold around one million copies and were the fastest-selling Pokémon games ever until the release of Pokémon Platinum. The games were the seventh-best-selling video games of 2007, with around 4.27 million units sold in the United States; in early 2009 sales passed 5.3 million units. As of September 30, 2017, Pokémon Diamond and Pearl combined have sold 17.67 million copies worldwide, making their sales totals around one million higher than those of Ruby and Sapphire and around six million higher than those of FireRed and LeafGreen. The games also boosted sales of hardware in the United States, spurring the sales of 471,000 DS units and causing the sales of video games in April 2007 to rise 20% from April 2006. In Europe, the games sold around 1.6 million units within just seven weeks of their release and topped the charts in Spain, Germany, and the United Kingdom. Additionally, there have been more than 10 million Pokémon trades via Wi-Fi.

Awards
At G4's G-phoria 2007, the games won "Best Handheld Game", and were nominated for "Best RPG". In 2008 Pokémon Diamond and Pearl were nominated for the British Academy of Film and Television Arts Children's Kids Vote Award. In IGN's Best of 2007 Awards, Diamond and Pearl were named the best Nintendo DS online multiplayer games and the best Nintendo DS RPG games of the year. In the 2006 Famitsu Game Awards, Diamond and Pearl won the Best Hit award and tied with Final Fantasy XII for the Game of the Year award.

Competitive battling in Pokémon became much more popular with Diamond and Pearl. The physical special split allowed Pokémon such as Gengar and Gyarados to use their higher attacking stat and gave special/physical coverage moves to formerly all-physical/special types, and online play made Pokémon battling possible all over the world.

Remakes and Prequel
Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are enhanced remakes of the games and were released for the Nintendo Switch on November 19, 2021. Pokémon Legends: Arceus is an action role-playing game which serves as a prequel to Diamond and Pearl and is set in an older version of the Sinnoh region known as the Hisui region. It was released for the Nintendo Switch on January 28, 2022. Both games were initially revealed in a Pokémon Presents presentation on February 26th, 2021.

Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl were produced by ILCA, and acted as "faithful" remakes to Diamond and Pearl, with the addition of game mechanics introduced in later titles. The games were released to "mixed" or average reviews, with positivity being directed towards its faithful nature, with criticism towards how the game handled newer features being meshed with older ones. Additionally, its graphics art-style, which made characters in the overworld resemble "chibis" received mixed responses from critics. As of May 2022, the games had sold over fourteen million copies.

Pokémon Legends: Arceus, while maintaining core gameplay mechanics, changed how the overworld was traversed, with players being able to freely explore five different areas or "biomes" of Hisui. Players can actively interact with Pokémon in the overworld, with hostile Pokémon capable of attacking and injuring the player character. Players can engage with Pokémon in battle from the overworld. The game received "generally favorable reviews" from critics, with many praising the new gameplay style and direction, with criticism being directed towards the game's art-style. The game was nominated for Best RPG at The Game Awards. By May 2022, the game had shifted over twelve million copies.

Related games
Pokémon Battle Revolution (ポケモンバトルレボリューション) is the first Wii incarnation of the Pokémon video game franchise. The game uses wireless connection in order to connect to the Nintendo DS, allowing players to use their Pokémon from Diamond and Pearl in the game's various modes.

My Pokémon Ranch (みんなのポケモン牧場) is a Wii game developed by Ambrella and released via the WiiWare download service. First released on March 25, 2008, in Japan, it was later made available in North America on June 9, 2008, and in Europe on July 4, 2008, for 1,000 Wii Points, equivalent to US$10.00. Like the GameCube's Pokémon Box: Ruby and Sapphire, Pokémon Ranch allows players to store and arrange Pokémon from Diamond and Pearl. Pokémon transferred from those games to My Pokémon Ranch are rendered in 3D and can interact with the player's Miis.

title: Pokémon Diamond and Pearl


text:
Talk:Swildon's Hole

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Its fairly obvious to anyone familiar with Swildons that this is a rather inadequate account (written during my coffee break), after all theres a whole book coming out soon. Anyway I thought that there really ought to be something there, even if its just to get teh ball rolling. List of things that should be added (please add to the list):

-History of exploration

-Geology (after all the page is about the cave, not just caving in the cave)

-Hydrology (I once spent a very cold Sunday taking water samples, which I hope was not in vain) in particular that the water comes out in Wookey.

SgtThroat 14:42, 19 Oct 2004 (UTC) (Ross, WCC)

title: Talk:Swildon's Hole


text: User talk:82.69.48.180

title: User talk:82.69.48.180