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Did You Know That If You Defraud the Government, You Can Still Have Your Own Podcast?

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You can never really escape the mafia and ABC’s ‘Truth and Lies: The Last Gangster’ proves it. So, who is Michael Franzese, what did he do, and where is he now?

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The actual true story of The Conjuring, namely the Perron family and Enfield haunting, is scarier than the movies themselves.

When The Conjuring was released in 2013, it was met with critical acclaim. Critics everywhere praised it for its all-too-realistic portrayal of the demonic haunting of an innocent family in Rhode Island.

Most viewers assumed that the movie was nothing but the wild imaginings of director James Wan. However, the true story of The Conjuring is actually rooted in a horrifying true experience of Ed and Lorraine Warren.

Ed Warren was a World War 2 veteran and a former police officer who became a self-professed demonologist after studying the subject on his own. His wife, Lorraine, claimed to be a clairvoyant and medium who was capable of communicating with the demons that Ed discovered.

In 1952, Ed and Lorraine founded the New England Society for Psychic Research, the oldest ghost hunting group in New England. They quickly gained notoriety as respected paranormal investigators after their initial investigation of the Amityville hauntings.

Their two most famous cases, however, were heavily popularized by the Conjuring franchise, a series of movies that focuses on Ed and Lorraine's experiences exercising demons from two possessed families.

Though the movies seem over-dramatized and impossible to believe, the Warrens maintain that all of the events depicted actually transpired. Though Ed died in 2006, Lorraine was a consultant on the film and claims that she didn't let the directors take any more dramatic license than was necessary.

Nevertheless, the true story of The Conjuring remains almost unbelievably chilling to this day.

The True Story Of The Conjuring: The Perron Family

The true story of The Conjuring begins with the first film which focuses on the Perron family.

In January 1971, the Perron family moved into a 14-room farmhouse in Harrisville, Rhode Island, where Carolyn, Roger, and their five daughters began to notice strange things happening almost immediately after they moved in.

It started small. Carolyn would notice that the broom went missing, or seemed to move from place to place on its own. She would hear the sound of something scraping against the kettle in the kitchen when no one was in there. She'd find small piles of dirt in the center of a newly-cleaned kitchen floor.

The girls began to notice spirits around the house, though for the most part, they were harmless. There were a few, however, that were angry.

Carolyn allegedly researched the history of the home and discovered that it had been in the same family for eight generations and that many of them had died under mysterious or horrible circumstances. Several of the children had drowned in a nearby creek, one was murdered, and a few of them hanged themselves in the attic.

The spirit that was depicted in the film, Bathsheba, was the worst of them all.

"Whoever the spirit was, she perceived herself to be mistress of the house and she resented the competition my mother posed for that position," said Andrea Perron, the oldest of the five girls.

It turns out there was actually a real person named Bathsheba Sherman who lived on the Perrons property in the mid-1800s. She was rumored to have been a Satanist, and there was evidence that she had been involved in the death of a neighbor's child, though no trial ever took place. She was buried in a nearby Baptist cemetery in downtown Harrisville.

The Perrons believe that it was Bathsheba's spirit that was tormenting them.

According to Andrea, the family experienced other spirits as well that smelled like rotting flesh and would cause beds to rise off the floor. She claims her father would enter the basement and feel a "cold, stinking presence behind him." They often stayed away from the dirt-floored cellar, but the heating equipment would often fail mysteriously, causing Roger to venture down.

Over the ten years that the family lived in the house, the Warrens made multiple trips to investigate. At one point, Lorraine conducted a seance to attempt to contact the spirits that were possessing the family. During the seance, Carolyn Perron became possessed, speaking in tongues and rising from the ground in her chair.

Andrea claims to have secretly witnessed the seance.

"I thought I was going to pass out," Andrea said. "My mother began to speak a language not of this world in a voice not her own. Her chair levitated and she was thrown across the room."

Though the movie version of events culminates with Ed performing an exorcism rather than a seance, Lorraine insists that she and her husband would never attempt one, as they must be performed by Catholic priests.

After the seance, Roger kicked the Warrens out, worried about his wife's mental stability. According to Andrea, the family continued to live in the house due to financial instability until they were able to move in 1980, at which point the spirits were silenced, and the hauntings ceased.

The Enfield Haunting

Six years after the Perron family was terrorized by their demon, another family in Enfield, England began to experience similar things.

In August of 1977, the Hodgson family started seeing and hearing strange things. Janet, who was 11 at the time, recalled sitting up in bed to see her dresser slide across the room that she shared with her brother.

"We shouted 'Mum! Mum!'," said Janet. "We were sort of frightened, but also intrigued."

Later the family began to hear knocking coming from all sorts of places in the house. She remembers her mom thinking there were burglars, or drifters hiding out in their home, and calling the police to investigate.

The officer who arrived reported witnessing a chair rise up and move across the floor on its own. Reporters from the Daily Mirror, who were also called in to report on the Enfield haunting experienced them for themselves too.

Legos and marbles were reported flying around the room, hot to the touch when picked up. Clothing folded on tabletops would leap off of them and fly across the room. The sound of dogs barking would be heard in empty rooms, lights would flicker, coins would drop out of thin air, and furniture would spin or tip over without being touched.

Then, one day, the iron fireplace in an upstairs bedroom was ripped out of the wall. After that, paranormal investigators from all around the world showed up, claiming to be able to contact spirits, and wanting to know more about the Enfield haunting.

Most of them decided that the children had been faking their experiences, as one of them had admitted to doing so on one occasion, but the Warrens were different.

They showed up and immediately believed that a demonic presence was present. However, their claims were overlooked, as a noted skeptic at the time accused Ed Warren of "exaggerating and even making up incidents... often transforming a "haunting" into one case of "demonic possession."

This is where the story differs from the movie as there was no exorcism-like practice from the Warrens. In 1979, two years after they began, the hauntings abruptly stopped, though the family maintains they did nothing to stop them.

After reading about the real story behind The Conjuring, check out the shocking murders behind the Amityville horror house and Robert the Doll, a haunted doll that Ed and Lorraine Warren would have loved.

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The Creepy True Stories Behind 'The Conjuring' Films

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When The Conjuring was released in 2013, it was met with critical acclaim. Critics everywhere praised it for its all-too-realistic portrayal of the demonic haunting of an innocent family in Rhode Island. Most viewers assumed that the movie was nothing but the wild imaginings of director James Wan.

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Meet Jon Brower Minnoch — The Heaviest Man Who Ever Lived

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https://www.fleischerstudios.com/origins.html

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https://images.app.goo.gl/HZGEbPDtUfEXzCza7

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Please click here if you are not redirected within a few seconds.

Images
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Please click here if you are not redirected within a few seconds. Images Don Rosa's Duck Family Tree | Scrooge McDuck Wikia | Fandom scrooge-mcduck.fandom.com Images may be subject to copyright.

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Rita: John Wayne Gacey aka the killer clown

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Rita: John Wayne Gacey aka the killer clown

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Who Was the Zodiac Killer?

The self-proclaimed Zodiac Killer was directly linked to at least five murders in Northern California in 1968 and 1969 and may have been responsible for more. He taunted police and made threats through letters sent to area newspapers from 1969 to 1974, before abruptly ceasing communication. Despite intensive investigations, no one was ever arrested for the crimes and the case remains open. The mystery surrounding the murders has been the subject of numerous books and movies, including director David Fincher's acclaimed 2007 feature Zodiac.

Zodiac Killer Letters, Symbol & Cipher

On August 1, 1969, the San Francisco Examiner, San Francisco Chronicle and Vallejo Times-Herald each received an identical handwritten letter in an envelope without a return address. Beginning, "Dear Editor: I am the killer of the 2 teenagers last Christmas at Lake Herman," the letters contained details from the Zodiac Killer's murders that only the killer could have known. The killer went on to threaten further attacks if the letters weren't printed on the front page of the papers.

Each letter closed with a symbol consisting of a circle with a cross through it, in what would come to be known as the Zodiac Killer's symbol. The letters were also each accompanied by one part of a three-part cipher that he claimed contained his identity.

While Bay Area police departments, with the support of the FBI, worked feverishly to track down the killer, another letter soon arrived at the San Francisco Examiner. Beginning, "Dear Editor: This is the Zodiac speaking," it also described the murders in detail and taunted police for not having been able to crack his code or catch him.

Several days later, high school teacher Donald Harden and his wife, Bettye, were able to solve the cipher. "I like killing people because it is so much fun," it read. "It is more fun than killing wild game in the forest because man is the most dangerous animal of all."

Three days after the fourth known Zodiac killing, the 1969 murder of taxi driver Paul Stine, the San Francisco Chronicle received a letter claiming the crime. Written in the same erratic print as the Zodiac's previous letters, it gave the details of Stine's murder and was accompanied by a bloody scrap of Stine's shirt. At the end of the letter, the killer mused that he would next shoot out the tire of a school bus and "pick off the kiddies as they come bouncing out."

The Zodiac Killer continued his taunting correspondence with Bay Area papers, in which he included more ciphers, claimed to have committed several more murders, and mocked the police for their inability to catch him.

In 1974 the letters stopped, although the investigation has not.

Photo: Bettmann Archives/Getty Images

Zodiac Killer Movies

The Zodiac Killer was the inspiration for the psychopath in the 1971 Clint Eastwood classic Dirty Harry, which includes a scene involving a school bus full of children being hijacked.

Years later, Robert Graysmith's writing fueled the creation of David Fincher's critically acclaimed Zodiac, which hit the big screen in 2007 with Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo and Robert Downey Jr. in starring roles.

Subsequent dramatized takes on the subject include the 2017 feature Awakening the Zodiac, about a couple that investigates the murderer before falling into his crosshairs.

The History Channel also featured a 2017 nonfiction TV series, The Hunt for the Zodiac Killer, about investigators' hunt to decipher the Zodiac Killer's code.

Victims & Attacks

At present, four separate attacks have been definitively attributed to the Zodiac Killer. The first confirmed incident took place on the night of December 20, 1968, when 17-year-old David Faraday and his 16-year-old girlfriend, Betty Lou Jensen, were shot to death near their car at a remote spot on Lake Herman Road, on the outskirts of Vallejo, California. Police were baffled, unable to determine the motive for the crime or a suspect.

Early in the morning of July 5, 1969, Darlene Ferrin, age 22, and her boyfriend, Mike Mageau, age 19, were sitting in parked car in a similarly remote Vallejo location, when they were approached by a man with a flashlight. The figure fired multiple shots at them, killing Ferrin and seriously wounding Mageau.

Within an hour of the incident, a man called the Vallejo Police Department, giving them the location of the crime scene and claiming responsibility for both that attack and the 1968 murders of Faraday and Jensen.

Despite evidence that included fingerprints, Mageau's description, the decoded cipher and a wave of tips and leads, police were unable to track down the Zodiac Killer.

On the evening of September 27, 1969, he struck again, approaching young couple Cecelia Shepard and Bryan Hartnell as they relaxed on an isolated part of the shore of Lake Berryessa in Napa County. Wearing a hood and a shirt bearing a circle-cross symbol, he tied them up before brutally stabbing them, scrawling a message for police on their car door and leaving the scene. He then called the Napa Police Department to claim responsibility. Shepard and Hartnell were both in critical condition but alive when emergency services arrived, but Shepard died of her wounds shortly thereafter.

Two weeks later, on October 11, 1969, the Zodiac claimed another life, shooting 29-year-old taxi driver Paul Stine in San Francisco's Presidio Heights neighborhood. As the murder did not seem to fit the Zodiac's pattern, it was initially deemed a robbery until the San Francisco Chronicle received a letter claiming the crime.

At least five other murders have been tentatively linked to the Zodiac Killer, including the 1963 shooting of Robert Domingos and Linda Edwards near Santa Barbara, California, and the 1966 stabbing death of college student Cheri Jo Bates in Riverside, California.

Sketch of the Zodiac Killer

With descriptions from witnesses who had seen a man leaving the scene of Paul Stine's 1969 murder, police were able to create and circulate a composite sketch of the killer. But despite mounting evidence and the investigation of numerous suspects, the Zodiac remained at large.

Was the Zodiac Killer Ever Caught?

In both the known and presumed Zodiac murders, no suspect has ever been arrested. In the nearly five decades since the Faraday-Jensen murders, the inability to identify the Zodiac Killer has continued to frustrate law enforcement.

Zodiac Killer Theories & Suspects

The mystery surrounding the Zodiac case also continues to fascinate the public and has inspired more than its fair share of theories regarding the killer's identity. Ranging from plausible to crackpot, these include the claims that he was Unabomber Ted Kacznyski or convicted murderer Charles Manson, or that he eventually moved to Scotland and committed more murders there before finding happiness and giving up his wicked ways.

Arthur Leigh Allen

True-crime author and former San Francisco Chronicle cartoonist Robert Graysmith wrote two separate works on the killer (1986's Zodiac and 2002's Zodiac Unmasked), ultimately identifying a man named Arthur Leigh Allen as the most likely suspect. Allen died in 1992, however, and was never conclusively connected to any of the murders.

Earl Van Best Jr.

In 2014 HarperCollins published The Most Dangerous Animal of All by Gary Stewart, in which he claims that his father, Earl Van Best Jr. - who bears a strong resemblance to the man in the police sketch - was the Zodiac Killer.

Louie Myers

Another man came forward in 2014 to reveal that a friend named Louie Myers had confessed to being the killer before his death in 2002. Certain events in Myers' history matched up with those connected to the Zodiac, but as with Allen and Van Best, there was no conclusive proof.

In 2020, after more than 50 years, amateur codebreakers solved the Zodiac Killer's cipher. The decoded message read:

"I hope you are having lots of fun in trying to catch me that wasn't me on the TV show which brings up a point about me I am not afraid of the gas chamber because it will send me to paradice all the sooner because I now have enough slaves to work for me where everyone else has nothing when they reach paradice so they are afraid of death I am not afraid because I know that my new life is life will be an easy one in paradice death."

In October 2021, a team of 40 former law enforcement investigators called the Case Breakers, claimed to have identified the Zodiac Killer. However, the FBI stated that the case was still open.

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The self-proclaimed Zodiac Killer was directly linked to at least five murders in Northern California in 1968 and 1969 and may have been responsible for more. He taunted police and made threats through letters sent to area newspapers from 1969 to 1974, before abruptly ceasing communication.

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Ted Bundy described himself as "the most cold-hearted son of a bitch you'll ever meet." His crimes certainly prove that statement true.

During the spring and summer of 1974, police in the Pacific Northwest were in a panic. Young women at colleges across Washington and Oregon were disappearing at an alarming rate, and law enforcement had few leads as to who was behind it.

In just six months, six women had been abducted. Panic in the area reached a fever pitch when Janice Ann Ott and Denise Marie Naslund disappeared in broad daylight from a crowded beach at Lake Sammamish State Park.

But the boldest of the abductions also yielded the first real break in the case. On the day Ott and Naslund vanished, several other women remembered being approached by a man who had tried and failed to lure them to his car.

They told the authorities about an attractive young man with his arm in a sling. His vehicle was a brown Volkswagen Beetle, and the name he gave them was Ted.

After releasing this description to the public, the police were contacted by four people who identified the same Seattle resident: Ted Bundy.

These four people included Ted Bundy's ex-girlfriend, a close friend of his, one of his co-workers, and a psychology professor who had taught Bundy.

But the police were inundated with tips, and they dismissed Ted Bundy as a suspect, thinking it unlikely that a clean-cut law student with no adult criminal record could be the perpetrator; he didn't fit the profile.

These types of judgments benefitted Ted Bundy many times throughout his murderous career as one of history's most infamous serial killers, which saw him take at least 30 victims across seven states in the 1970s.

For a time, he fooled everyone - the cops who didn't suspect him, the prison guards whose facilities he escaped from, the women he manipulated, the wife who married him after he was caught - but he was, as his final lawyer said, "The very definition of heartless evil."

As Ted Bundy himself once remarked, "I'm the most cold-hearted son of a bitch you'll ever meet."

Ted Bundy's Childhood

Ted Bundy was born in Vermont, across the country from the Pacific Northwest communities he would one day terrorize.

His mother was Eleanor Louise Cowell and his father was unknown. His grandparents, ashamed of their daughter's out-of-wedlock pregnancy, raised him as their own child. For nearly all of his childhood, he believed his mother to be his sister.

His grandfather would regularly beat both Ted and his mother, causing her to run away with her son to live with cousins in Tacoma, Washington, when Bundy was five years old. There, Eleanor met and married hospital cook Johnnie Bundy, who formally adopted the young Ted Bundy and gave him his last name.

Bundy disliked his step-father and would later describe him to a girlfriend disparagingly, saying he wasn't very bright and didn't make much money.

Little else is known for sure about the remainder of Bundy's childhood, as he gave conflicting accounts of his early years to different biographers. In general, he described an ordinary life punctuated by dark fantasies that affected him powerfully - though the degree to which he acted on them remains unclear.

The reports of others are similarly confused. Though Bundy described himself as a loner who would stalk the seedy streets at night to spy on women, many who remember Bundy from high school describe him as reasonably well-known and well-liked.

College Years And His First Attack

Ted Bundy graduated from high school in 1965, then enrolled in the nearby University of Puget Sound. He spent just one year there before transferring to the University of Washington to study Chinese.

He dropped out briefly in 1968 but quickly re-enrolled as a psychology major. During his time out of school, he visited the East Coast, where he likely first learned that the woman he believed to be his sister was actually his mother.

Then, back at UW, Bundy started dating Elizabeth Kloepfer, a divorcée from Utah who worked as a secretary at the School of Medicine on campus. Later, Kloepfer was among the first to report Bundy to police as a suspect in the Pacific Northwest murders.

Also among the four people who gave police Bundy's name was former Seattle police officer Ann Rule, who met Bundy at around this same time while they were both working at Seattle's suicide hotline crisis center.

Rule would later write one of the definitive biographies of Ted Bundy, The Stranger Beside Me.

In 1973, Bundy was accepted into the University of Puget Sound Law School, but after a few months, he stopped attending classes.

Then, in January of 1974, the disappearances began.

Ted Bundy's first known attack was not an actual murder, but instead an assault on 18-year-old Karen Sparks, a student and dancer at the University of Washington.

Bundy broke into her apartment and bludgeoned her unconscious with a metal rod from her bed frame before sexually assaulting her with the same object. His assault left her in a 10-day coma and with permanent disabilities.

Ted Bundy's First Murders In Seattle

Ted Bundy's next victim and his first confirmed murder was Lynda Ann Healy, another UW student.

A month after his assault on Karen Sparks, Bundy broke into Healy's apartment in the early morning, knocked her unconscious, then clothed her body and carried her out to his car. She was never seen again, but part of her skull was discovered years later at one of the locations where Bundy dumped his bodies.

Afterward, Bundy continued targeting female students in the area. He developed a technique: approaching women while wearing a cast or appearing otherwise disabled and asking them to help him put something in his car.

He would then bludgeon them unconscious before binding, raping, and killing them, dumping their bodies in a remote location in the woods. Bundy would often revisit these sites to have sex with their decaying corpses. In some cases, Bundy would decapitate his victims and keep their skulls in his apartment, sleeping beside his trophies.

"The ultimate possession was, in fact, the taking of the life," Bundy once said. "And then . . . the physical possession of the remains."

"Murder is not just a crime of lust or violence," he explained. "It becomes possession. They are part of you . . . [the victim] becomes a part of you, and you [two] are forever one . . . and the grounds where you kill them or leave them become sacred to you, and you will always be drawn back to them."

Over the next five months, Bundy abducted and murdered five female college students in the Pacific Northwest: Donna Gail Manson, Susan Elaine Rancourt, Roberta Kathleen Parks, Brenda Carol Ball, and Georgann Hawkins.

Responding to this rash of disappearances, police called for a major investigation and enlisted a number of different government agencies to help look for the missing girls.

One of these agencies was the Washington State Department of Emergency Services, where Bundy worked. There, Bundy met Carole Ann Boone, a twice-divorced mother of two whom he would date on and off for years as the murders continued.

Relocation To Utah And Arrest For Kidnapping

As the manhunt for the abductor continued, more witnesses produced descriptions that matched Ted Bundy and his car. Just as some of his victims' bodies were being discovered in the woods, Bundy was accepted to law school in Utah and moved to Salt Lake City.

While living there, he continued to rape and murder young women, including a hitchhiker in Idaho and four teenage girls in Utah.

Kloepfer was aware that Bundy had relocated to the area, and on learning of the Utah murders, she called the police a second time to reaffirm her suspicion that Bundy was behind the killings.

There was now a mounting pile of evidence pointing toward Ted Bundy, and when Washington investigators compiled their data, Bundy's name appeared at the top of the suspect list.

Unaware of law enforcement's growing interest in him, Bundy continued killing, journeying to Colorado from his home in Utah to murder more young women there.

Finally, in August 1975, Bundy was pulled over while driving through a Salt Lake City suburb, and police discovered masks, handcuffs, and blunt objects in the car. While this was not enough to arrest him, a police officer, realizing that Bundy was also a suspect in the earlier killings, put him under surveillance.

The officers then found his Beetle, which he had since sold, where they discovered hair matching three of his victims. With this evidence, they put him in a lineup, where he was identified by one of the women whom he had attempted to abduct.

He was convicted of kidnapping and assault and sent to prison while police attempted to build a murder case against him.

Ted Bundy Escapes Jail In Aspen

But arrest didn't stop Ted Bundy from killing.

He was soon able to, for the first of two times in his life, escape from custody.

In 1977, he escaped from the law library at the courthouse in Aspen, Colorado.

Because he was serving as his own lawyer, he had been allowed into the library during a break in his preliminary hearing. Nominally, he was researching the laws pertaining to his case. But the fact that he was his own counsel also meant he was unshackled - and when he saw his chance, he took it.

He jumped from the library's second-floor window and hit the ground running, disappearing into the trees before the guard returned to check on him.

He planned to make his way toward Aspen Mountain, and he broke into a cabin and later a trailer for supplies. But resources were scarce, and it wasn't long before he scrapped his plan to vanish into the wilderness.

Back in Aspen, he stole a car, thinking to put some distance between himself and the jail cell he was fleeing.

But the reckless speed with which he left Aspen made him conspicuous, and police officers spotted him. He was recaptured after six days of being on the run.

The Chi Omega Murders At Florida State

Bundy's next escape took place just six months later, this time from a jail cell.

After carefully studying a map of the prison, Bundy realized that his cell was directly beneath the living quarters of the prison's chief jailer; the two rooms were separated only by a crawl space.

Bundy traded with another inmate to get a small hacksaw, and while his cellmates were exercising or showering, he worked away at the ceiling, scraping away layer after layer of plaster.

The crawl space he made was small - very small. He began deliberately cutting back on meals in an effort to lose weight.

He also planned ahead. Unlike last time, when his escape had failed because he was without resources in the outside world, he stowed away a small pile of money smuggled to him by Carole Ann Boone, the woman who would later marry him in prison.

When he was ready, Bundy finished the hole and crawled up into the chief jailer's room. Finding it unoccupied, he swapped his prison jumpsuit for the man's civilian clothes and strolled out the jail's front doors.

This time, he didn't dawdle; he stole a car immediately and got out of town, making his way to Florida.

It had been Bundy's intention to keep a low profile, but Florida life was presenting unexpected challenges. Unable to produce identification, he couldn't get a job; he was back to grifting and stealing for money. And the compulsion toward violence was simply too strong.

On January 15, 1978, two weeks after his escape, Bundy broke into a Chi Omega sorority house on the Florida State University campus.

Within the span of just 15 minutes, he sexually assaulted and killed Margaret Bowman and Lisa Levy, bludgeoning them with firewood and strangling them with stockings. He then assaulted Kathy Kleiner and Karen Chandler, who both suffered horrific injuries, including broken jaws and missing teeth.

He then broke into the apartment of Cheryl Thomas, who lived several blocks away, and beat her so badly she lost her hearing permanently.

Still on the run on February 8, Bundy abducted 12-year-old Kimberly Diane Leach from her middle school and murdered her, concealing her body on a pig farm.

And then, once again, his reckless driving caught the attention of the police. When they realized that his plates belonged on a stolen car, they pulled him over and found the IDs of three dead women in his vehicle, linking him to the FSU crimes.

"I wish you had killed me," Bundy told the arresting officer.

The Trial And Execution Of Ted Bundy

Throughout his ensuing trial, Ted Bundy sabotaged himself by ignoring the advice of his lawyers and taking charge of his own defense. He unnerved even those assigned to work with him.

"I would describe him being as close to being like the devil as anyone I ever met," said defense investigator Joseph Aloi.

Bundy was ultimately convicted and placed on death row at Florida's Raiford Prison, where he suffered abuse from other prisoners (including a gang rape by four men, some sources say) and conceived a child with Carole Ann Boone, whom he'd married while he was on trial.

Bundy was finally executed by electric chair on January 24, 1989. Hundreds of people gathered outside the courthouse to celebrate his death.

"For everything he did to the girls - the bludgeoning, the strangulation, humiliating their bodies, torturing them - I feel that the electric chair is too good for him," said Eleanor Rose, the mother of victim Denise Naslund.

Though he confessed to many murders before his death, the true number of Bundy's victims remains unknown. Bundy denied certain killings, despite physical evidence tying him to the crimes, and alluded to others that were never substantiated.

Ultimately, all of this has led authorities to suspect Bundy killed anywhere from 30 to 40 women, making him one of the most infamous and terrifying serial killers in American history - and perhaps "the very definition of heartless evil."
Next, learn how Ted Bundy helped police catch Gary Ridgway, perhaps America's deadliest serial killer. Then, read up on Ted Bundy's daughter Rose.

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"The Very Definition Of Heartless Evil": The Story Of Ted Bundy

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Even Ted Bundy described himself as "the most cold-hearted son of a bitch you'll ever meet." His crimes certainly prove that statement true.

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Cora - The Origins of Zombies, Vampires, and Werewolves

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Cora - The Origins of Zombies, Vampires, and Werewolves

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https://www.history.com/topics/folklore/history-of-the-werewolf-legend#:~:text=Early%20Werewolf%20Legends,-It%27s%20unclear%20exactly&text=According%20to%20the%20legend%2C%20Lycaon,emerged%20in%20early%20Nordic%20folklore

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The werewolf is a mythological animal and the subject of many stories throughout the world-and more than a few nightmares. Werewolves are, according to some legends, people who morph into vicious, powerful wolves. Others are a mutant combination of human and wolf. But all are bloodthirsty beasts who cannot control their lust for killing people and animals.

Early Werewolf Legends

It's unclear exactly when and where the werewolf legend originated. Some scholars believe the werewolf made its debut in The Epic of Gilgamesh, the oldest known Western prose, when Gilgamesh jilted a potential lover because she had turned her previous mate into a wolf.

Werewolves made another early appearance in Greek mythology with the Legend of Lycaon. According to the legend, Lycaon, the son of Pelasgus, angered the god Zeus when he served him a meal made from the remains of a sacrificed boy. As punishment, the enraged Zeus turned Lycaon and his sons into wolves.

Werewolves also emerged in early Nordic folklore. The Saga of the Volsungs tells the story of a father and son who discovered wolf pelts that had the power to turn people into wolves for ten days. The father-son duo donned the pelts, transformed into wolves and went on a killing rampage in the forest. Their rampage ended when the father attacked his son, causing a lethal wound. The son only survived because a kind raven gave the father a leaf with healing powers.
READ MORE: Before America Had Witch Trials, Europe Had Werewolf Trials
Infamous Werewolves

Many so-called werewolves from centuries ago were in fact serial killers, and France had its fair share. In 1521, Frenchmen Pierre Burgot and Michel Verdun allegedly swore allegiance to the devil and claimed to have an ointment that turned them into wolves. After confessing to brutally murdering several children, they were both burned to death at the stake. (Burning was thought to be one of the few ways to kill a werewolf.)

Giles Garnier, known as the "Werewolf of Dole," was another sixteenth-century Frenchman whose claim to fame was also an ointment with wolf-morphing abilities. According to legend, as a wolf he viciously killed children and ate them. He too was burned to death at the stake for his monstrous crimes.

Whether Burgot, Verdun or Garnier were mentally ill, acted under the influence of a hallucinogenic substance or were simply cold-blooded killers is up for debate. But it likely didn't matter to superstitious Europeans during the 16th century. To them, such heinous crimes could only be committed by a horrific beast such as the werewolf.

The Bedburg Werewolf

Peter Stubbe, a wealthy, fifteenth-century farmer in Bedburg, Germany, may be the most notorious werewolf of them all. According to folklore, he turned into a wolf-like creature at night and devoured many citizens of Bedburg.

Peter was eventually blamed for the gruesome killings after being cornered by hunters who claimed they saw him shape-shift from wolf to human form. He experienced a grisly execution after confessing under torture to savagely killing animals, men, women and children-and eating their remains. He also declared he owned an enchanted belt that gave him the power to transform into a wolf at will. Not surprisingly, the belt was never found.

Peter's guilt is controversial since some people believe he wasn't a killer but the victim of a political witch hunt-or perhaps a werewolf-hunt. Either way, the circumstances surrounding his life and death stoked rampant fears at the time that werewolves were on the loose.

The Shape-Shifter as Werewolf

Some legends maintain werewolves shape-shifted at will due to a curse. Others state they transformed with the help of an enchanted sash or a cloak made of wolf pelt. Still others claim people became wolves after being scratched or bit by a werewolf.

In many werewolf stories, a person only turns into a wolf when there's a full moon-and that theory may not be far-fetched. According to a study conducted at Australia's Calvary Mater Newcastle hospital, a full moon brings out the "beast" in many humans. The study found that of the 91 violent, acute behavior incidents at the hospital between August 2008 and July 2009, 23 percent happened during a full moon.

Patients attacked staff and displayed wolf-like behaviors such as biting, spitting and scratching. Although many were under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time, it's unclear why they became intensely violent when the moon was full.

Are Werewolves Real?

The werewolf phenomenon may have a medical explanation. Take Peter the Wild Boy, for instance. In 1725, he was found wandering naked on all fours through a German forest. Many thought he was a werewolf or at least raised by wolves.

Peter ate with his hands and couldn't speak. He was eventually adopted by the courts of King George I and King George II, and lived out his days as their "pet" in England.

Research has shown Peter likely had Pitt-Hopkins syndrome, a condition discovered in 1978 that causes lack of speech, seizures, distinct facial features, difficulty breathing and intellectual challenges.

Other medical conditions that may have encouraged werewolf-mania throughout history are:

lycanthropy (a rare, psychological condition that causes people to believe they're changing into a wolf or other animal)

food poisoning

hypertrichosis (a rare, genetic disorder causing excessive hair growth)

rabies

hallucination, possibly caused by hallucinogenic herbs

Throughout the centuries, people have used werewolves and other mythic beasts to explain the unexplainable. In modern times, however, most believe werewolves are nothing more than pop culture horror icons, made famous thanks to Hollywood's 1941 flick, The Wolf Man.

Still, werewolves have a cult following, werewolf sightings are reported each year, and werewolf legends will likely continue to haunt the dreams of people throughout the world.

Sources

The Saga of the Volsungs. D. L. Ashliman, University of Pittsburgh.
Burgot and Verdun: Werewolves or hallucinating murderers. Monstrum Athenaeum.
Real-life werewolves: Psychiatry re-examines rare delusion. LiveScience.com.
Hospital study shows full moon werewolf effect. Sydney Morning Herald.
Peter the Wild Boy's condition revealed 20 years after his death. The Guardian.
Gilgamesh. Ancient History Encyclopedia.
Hypertrichosis. DermNet New Zealand.
Lycaon. Encyclopedia Mythica.
The Werewolf of Bedburg. ThoughtCo.com.
What is Pitt Hopkins syndrome? Pitt Hopkins Research Foundation.

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The werewolf is a mythological animal and the subject of many stories throughout the world-and more than a few nightmares. Werewolves are, according to some legends, people who morph into vicious, powerful wolves. Others are a mutant combination of human and wolf. But all are bloodthirsty beasts who cannot control their lust for killing people and animals.

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https://projects.ncsu.edu/cals/course/ent425/text01/impact1.html#:~:text=They%20feed%20on%20natural%20

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http://www.madehow.com/Volume-1/Mirror.html

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World War II: Summary, Combatants & Facts

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World War II was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. Rising to power in an unstable Germany, Adolf Hitler and his National Socialist (Nazi Party) rearmed the nation and signed treaties with Italy and Japan to further his ambitions of world domination. Hitler’s invasion of Poland drove Great Britain and France to declare war on Germany, and World War II had begun. The majority of the world’s countries eventually formed two opposing alliances: the Allies and the Axis.

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One of the strange things about dreams is that most of the time, we aren't aware we're dreaming. Typically, our memory and our reflective ability are substantially limited within dreams (Fosse et al. 2003; Hobson et al. 1998), causing us not to notice incongruencies within the dream and to take for granted that what we experience is real. It simply doesn't occur to us to consider whether it might not be.

Perhaps even more strangely, even when we do on occasion become aware that we're dreaming-and according to various surveys carried out around the world, anywhere from 26 percent to 92 percent of people have had at least one lucid dream (Stepansky et al. 1998; Erlacher et al. 2008; Palmer 1979; Yu 2008)-the "sensory" experiences of the dream can remain just as convincingly real. I remember in one of my own dreams, realizing that it was a dream and then marveling at how solid and real the cell phone in my hand still felt.

The ability of the dream world to appear real has led many thinkers-philosopher René Descartes (1641) being the most prominent Western example-to wonder whether the world we experience while awake might itself be a dream. If the dream world feels just as real as the waking one (at least while we are in it), how can we know for sure that we're not currently living in a dream-a dream from which we may one day wake up?

One way that philosophers have tried to dispel such worries is by appealing to differences between the dream world and the waking one. For instance, our waking world has a coherence that the dream world often lacks. (For an example of a coherence-based argument against the skeptical hypothesis, see Norman Malcolm (1959).) You may recall that in the feature film Inception, the characters learn to recognize that they're dreaming by asking themselves how they came to be in a certain situation, then realizing that they can't remember because the dream just dropped them there.

But does the coherence of our waking world guarantee that it's real?

I believe the coherence of our waking world does give us evidence that it is not merely a figment of our imagination. Specifically, it gives us evidence that when we are awake, something is causing our experience that is independent of the experience itself. For instance, the relative permanence of the objects and environments we experience in waking life would appear to be best explained by there being something real and enduring that our experiences are reflecting.

However, the relative permanence of the objects and environments we encounter in the waking world is no guarantee that the waking world is as real as it gets. After all, a high degree of permanence is also found in the worlds of video games, in which the "environments" and "objects" one interacts with are merely the creations of computer code. So, while perceived permanence does seem to point to there being something objective or enduring out there, the true nature of whatever is "out there" might resemble our experience of it as little as computer code resembles the images we see when we play a video game.

In fact, physics teaches us that the objects we experience as being solid are actually made up almost entirely of empty space. And the results of quantum mechanical experiments indicate that, under certain conditions, the building blocks of matter do not behave as discrete particles at all, but rather as waves of probability. If we nevertheless experience the world as full of enduring, solid objects, this is due to the usual way that our senses interact with it and to the way these interactions are represented in consciousness.

This means that there is, in fact, an important sense in which all of us do constantly live within a dream-that is, within a world created by our own minds. It's just that when we're awake, our minds conform our dreaming to a reliable set of patterns, which we assume to be determined by a reality that exists independently of our experience of it, though we have no way of knowing that reality except through the complex ways in which it affects our "dream."

But might there be an even deeper sense in which our waking life is a dream?

Just as we often wake from sleep to realize that what we were experiencing in the sleep state was not nearly as coherent and "real" as what we experience when awake, could there possibly come a day when we will emerge from the dream of waking reality to experience a world that is even more coherent and vividly real, a state in which we experience levels of knowledge, memory, and other cognitive function that vastly surpass those we experience in our current lives?

In fact, a rather startling number of people report having already had experiences like this. That is, they report having had experiences that appear to them as even more real than those they have in their normal, waking state of mind. For example, "realer than real" is a description often used by those who have had near-death experiences (Moody 1975; Thonnard et al. 2013; Palmieri et al. 2014), those who have used psychedelic drugs such as DMT (Strassman 2001), and those who, by various other means, have experienced non-ordinary states of consciousness.

Many near-death experiencers also report enhanced cognitive function and a sudden increase in knowledge (Owens et al. 1990; Greyson 2003). This perception of enhanced cognitive function and increased knowledge is often dismissed as an illusion by those who are unfamiliar with the scientific literature on near-death experiences, but careful investigation has shown that concrete, verifiable information has been obtained in these states which were not available to the experiencer by way of their five senses (Rivas et al. 2016).

The experience of those who have tasted non-ordinary states of consciousness raises the possibility that the age-old question of whether "life is but a dream" is more than the idle worry of a few philosophers comfortably ensconced in their armchairs by the fire. The answer to this question could very well have major empirical consequences, including startling implications for the types of experiences that are available to the human mind. We have every reason to stay alert to this possibility as we continue to investigate the true nature of the world that we take ourselves to be living in.
Facebook image: BOKEH STOCK/Shutterstock

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One of the strange things about dreams is that most of the time, we aren't aware we're dreaming. Typically, our memory and our reflective ability are substantially limited within dreams (Fosse et al. 2003; Hobson et al. 1998), causing us not to notice incongruencies within the dream and to take for granted that what we experience is real.

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emma- whats the top places to visit in hawaii 

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emma- whats the top places to visit in hawaii 

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https://www.prideofmaui.com/blog/hawaii/top-10-places-visit-hawaii

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Aloha and welcome to our Top Places to Visit in Hawaii list. We love to provide our readers with the latest insiders knowledge and tips about the best Hawaii things to do from a local perspective. Whether you live in Hawaii or are planning your next island-style vacation, please enjoy this short lis

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Top 10 Places to Visit in Hawaii

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Madysen- What are the most popular flowers?

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Madysen- What are the most popular flowers?

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Flowers are the magic that God has performed to make this planet look beautiful and to give it a touch of heaven. With vibrant colours and lots of different shapes, there are different types of flowers in the world. And one may never be able to see all the different flowers in a single life term. But, what you can do is to witness the beauty of the most popular flowers and also to have them in your garden till you are alive.

Just like many other things, humans' eyes get attracted towards some flowers more than others, and that's what makes those flowers the most popular flowers. It is the beauty of flowers that people use them as a token of love and as a present when visiting someone who is feeling unwell. From expressing feelings to bringing positivity in life, flowers can do a whole lot of wonders. This is the reason why we decided to surprise you with the list of popular flowers of not just this season, but all seasons.

Okay! Okay!

We know you are here because you adore flowers so without an extra glitch in time, here are the top 10 popular flowers

Rose

In the list of top 10 flowers, roses have got to be on top for obvious reasons. They have such an international appeal to them. So, no doubt that roses are amongst the most popular flowers. They are available in different colors. A red rose flower is most commonly used to denote love and romance.

Tulip

Tulips are large and distinctive flowers that are initially cultivated by the Turks. The Tulip flower is considered the symbol of the Ottoman Empire by Europeans. Tulip might not be commonly mentioned amongst the popular types of flowers but it doesn't change a thing about how beautiful and delightful they are.

Sunflower

Sunflower is one of the popular flowers names,as it is easy to grow and is also used for human consumption on a considerable level. It symbolizes loyalty as it always keeps its face towards the Sun. If someone asks you "what is the most popular flower", we are more than sure you wouldn't waste a minute before saying sunflower or roses, depending on your mood.

Daffodil

A representative of regard and respect, Daffodils are native to Asia, North America, and Europe. And there are about more than a hundred species of Daffodils.

Marigold

Marigold is one of the flower types, famous for its thick and lush foliage, and its beauty and name led it amongst our list of most popular flowers. Marigold also has spiritual significance!

Daisy

Daisy is easily found around the planet, and people also call it the cousin of the sunflower. Their beauty makes them a favorite pick as a home garden flower. Daisies make for the most popular garden flowers because they are so pleasant to look at.

Orchid

The orchid belongs to a huge family of flowers and has blooms that are colourful and fragrant. These flowers are known to symbolize large families, particularly families with many children. Orchids have got their name reserved amongst the most popular flowers in the world. So, it goes without saying that they are very commonly used on all sorts of occasions. Send orchids online to express your love and loyalty.

Carnations

Carnations are the most popular flowers and also the most commonly used flower for the bouquets. And they are most used for Mother's Day celebrations!

Gerberas

Gerbera generates its beauty from a wide capitulum with outstanding two-lipped ray florets. It symbolizes innocence and purity.

Jasmine

Apart from being one of the most popular flowers, Jasmine is a national flower of Indonesia. The scent of jasmine is highly used in deodorants and soaps around the world.When kids are taught about the popular flower names they learn about jasmine alongside roses. This speaks volumes about the craze of jasmine flowers.

While we can debate on famous flowers all we want but secretly we all know that all flowers are beautiful in their own way, just like us humans. See you on the other side of flowers!!

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Flowers are the magic that God has performed to make this planet look beautiful and to give it a touch of heaven. With vibrant colours and lots of different shapes, there are different types of flowers in the world. And one may never be able to see all the different flowers in a single life term.

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http://relivearth.com/articles/nature-facts-articles/who-is-the-king-of-the-earth/

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Posted on 04 June 2012 by RE Team

Various animals and species have been capturing the imagination of Humans since the beginning of the civilization due to their majestic powers. Myhtology and history of Human beings usually referred to various animals as the kings. The limitation on geographical and biological knowledge caused various civilizations to accept different animals as the King.

We have compiled a list of animals that can be considered as the most powerful in various nature kingdoms. There can't be an absolute definition to the crown in Natural world, so the list is open for debate!

King of the Animal Kingdom on Land - The Lion has been considered as the King of the animals by most of the civilizations for it's Majestic look, strength and top predatory nature. But unfortunately once well spread across the globe, the King is currently confined to only African Savannah and India. The Lion can grow beyond 300 kg in weight and 9 feet in length(excluding tail). The mane of the male Lion gives it a royal look making it the King of all the animals. Lion takes the top position in the predator list and no other animal keeps the strength to kill a full grown Lion.

Though Lion is the King of animals, it lives only in Savannah, there is another distant relative of it who rules the dense Jungles of Earth. Yes, it is the biggest of all big cats, Tiger. With black stripes on rusty reddish or brown coat and the white fringes around it's face make the Tiger attractive and very much different from others. A large tiger may weigh more than 350 kg and more than 12 feet in length (excluding tail). Tiger is the most powerful and intelligent hunter in the jungle and is unbeatable.

The King of the sky is the giant Eagles in various part in the world. The Philippine Eagle in South-East Asia, Steller's Sea Eagle in the coastal region of Asia, The Wedged-tailed Eagle in Australia, Martial Eagle in Africa and Harpy Eagle in America are rulers of the sky in their respective regions. They are expert hunters and the most powerful as no other species can beat them in the sky. The Steller's Sea Eagle which the heaviest among them can grow beyond 9 kgs in weight. These eagles have body lengths of more than 1 meter and can have wingspan of 3 meter (Wedged-tailed and Martial).

The King of the Oceans is Killer Whale or Orca. Though blue whale is the largest animal in the Oceans and White Shark is the largest and sharpest predatory fish, Killer Whale is known to even kill both of them. This mammal is gigantic in size and is equally intelligent and powerful hunter. They are known to hunt seals, sea lions, dolphins and at times large blue and grey whale and also giant white shark. There is no species in the sea water that kill this King.

And at last the King of the whole planet Earth, whether it's land or water or sky, is Homo Sapien or Human due to their intelligence. No other species can even close human. They are a keepers of the planet and have the responsibility to save all other species.

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Who is the King of the Earth? - Nature's Facts -RelivEarth

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Posted on 04 June 2012 by RE Team Various animals and species have been capturing the imagination of Humans since the beginning of the civilization due to their majestic powers. Myhtology and history of Human beings usually referred to various animals as the kings.

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Quentin Rice (JFK assassination theories)

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Quentin Rice (JFK assassination theories)

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https://spyscape.com/article/10-crazy-jfk-conspiracies-ranked-including-one-that-might-even-be-true

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At least 1,000 books have been written about the 1963 assassination of US President John F. Kennedy but conspiracy theorists are still whispering about who pulled the trigger. We've analyzed 10 of the wildest theories and one of the bizarre explanations may actually be true.
‍

Author Bonar Menninger believes Oswald fired on JFK and a Secret Service agent fired back with a Colt AR-15 high-velocity rifle. As the theory goes, the officer lost his balance when the car suddenly braked and he accidentally discharged his weapon, killing the US president. There were no eyewitnesses or evidence to back up this theory, however. None of the Secret Service agents or presidential aides reported a bullet whizzing past either. But that didn't stop Menninger from publishing a book outlining his theory.

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9. Umbrella Man did it

Some pin JFK's murder on a man standing under a black umbrella on November 22, 1963 - by all accounts a sunny day. It must have been a signal, if not the murder weapon, right? The theory is so popular Oliver Stone fingered him in and he appears in Umbrella Academy. Unfortunately Umbrella Man, Louie Steven Witt, said it was a protest at the appeasement policies of Joseph P. Kennedy when he was ambassador to the Court of St. James, and a reference to British PM Neville Chamberlain's umbrella and appeasement of Hitler and the Nazis... Oh, right. We knew that.

8. The Coca-Cola conspiracy of one theory‍

Shooter Lee Harvey Oswald was a Dr. Pepper fan, and we know that as fact because even Oswald's favorite beverage is part of the intrigue. In Conspiracy Of One (1990), author Jim Moore sets out a theory that Oswald acted alone because after the assassination, Oswald was seen in the Texas School Book Depository drinking Coca-Cola instead of his beloved Dr. Pepper. Moore believes there can only one realistic explanation: Oswald must have shot the president and chose the wrong soft drink from the vending machine because he was nervous.
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7. Woody Harrelson's dad was supposedly involved

Was Texas-born Charles Harrelson, father of Now You See Me actor Woody Harrelson, really the killer? The Man on the Grassy Knoll claims Harrelson Sr. was one of two gunmen and that he was later arrested dressed as a 'tramp' in Dealey Plaza. Dallas police eventually named three other men as the 'tramps'. In 1968, Harrelson Sr. was convicted of murdering a businessman in a contract hit in South Texas, however.

6. The 'Better Call Saul' theory

‍In Appointment in Dallas, police officer Hugh McDonald blames the Soviets for contracting 'Saul', a rogue CIA agent and assassin, to kill JFK. Apparently McDonald freelanced for the CIA and met 'Saul' at the Agency's HQ. He later tracked down 'Saul' to obtain a confession (but not, it appears, an arrest warrant). 'Saul' apparently shot JFK from a building across the street from Oswald's perch in the Texas School Book Depository. If true, did 'Saul' conspire with Oswald? Or did two men just happen to assassinate the president at the same time?

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5. The 'Black Dog Man' theory‍

In The Killing of A President, Robert Groden argues that a 'Black Dog Man' figure can be seen in a pyracantha bush in frame 413 of the Zapruder film. The problem with that theory is that the House Select Committee on Assassinations concluded that an individual was in front of the bushes, not behind them. Bill Miller argues that the man is actually the groundskeeper Emmett Hudson. No one's ruled out the black doggie yet, however.

4. Oswald's Mexican trip‍

Oswald's visit to Mexico before Kennedy's death may have been to finalize assassination plans and plot his escape. Oswald visited the Cuban and Russian embassies on his six-day trip. Three of those days may have been spent with pro-Castro groups, seemingly confirmed by journalist Óscar Contreras Lartigue. The Conversation,however, believes the journalist lived far away at the time, however, and wasn't in a position to know who Oswald was with.

‍

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3. The CIA was involved

When America's most trusted broadcaster Walter Cronkite announced JFK's death the world was in shock. Everyone remembered what they were doing at that moment, but what exactly was the CIA doing? Dave Perry, a former insurance claims adjuster, who has been digging through JFK assassination records since 1976, pointed out that the CIA may have had Oswald on the payroll or overheard Oswald plotting with the Soviets at their Russian embassy in Mexico. Does he have any proof though? Nyet.
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2. The Illuminati are to blame‍

As the conspiracy theory goes, JFK delegated presidential power to issue silver certificates to the Treasury, which threatened the power of the Illuminati-controlled Federal Reserve. In fact, Kennedy signed an executive order to do the opposite, intending to phase out silver certificates in favor of Federal Reserve notes, but why ruin a good conspiracy with facts?

1. Aliens organized the hit

Milton William Cooper, a former US radio personality, author, and gun-rights advocate, spread the news about Project Luna, a secret alien base on the dark side of the Moon. Furthermore, he promoted the conspiracy theory that JFK was assassinated by a 'gas pressure device' that aliens supplied to the driver of the presidential limo because JFK was about to expose Washington-alien collusion.

Which one of these theories might be true? You'll have to sift through the JFK assassination files for yourself, but we can give you a hint: It is likely not Number 1.

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10 Crazy JFK Conspiracies Ranked - Including One That Might Even Be True

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At least 1,000 books have been written about the 1963 assassination of US President John F. Kennedy but conspiracy theorists are still whispering about who pulled the trigger. We've analyzed 10 of the wildest theories and one of the bizarre explanations may actually be true.‍ Author Bonar Menninger believes Oswald fired on JFK and a Secret Service agent fired back with a Colt AR-15 high-velocity rifle.

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Who are athletic trainers?

Athletic trainers (ATs) are highly qualified, multi-skilled health care professionals who collaborate with physicians to provide preventative services, emergency care, clinical diagnosis, therapeutic intervention and rehabilitation of injuries and medical conditions. Athletic trainers work under the direction of a physician as prescribed by state licensure statutes.

Athletic trainers are sometimes confused with personal trainers. There is, however, a large difference in the education, skillset, job duties and patients of an athletic trainer and a personal trainer. The athletic training academic curriculum and clinical training follows the medical model. Athletic trainers must graduate from an accredited baccalaureate or master's program, and 70% of ATs have a master's degree. Learn more about the education of athletic trainers.

The Guide to Athletic Training Services (pdf) describes the qualifications of athletic trainers and the clinical tasks they routinely perform in the delivery of quality health care.

If you are a current high school student and interested in athletic training, you can learn more about the profession by reading the Becoming an AT (pdf), Profile of Athletic Trainers (pdf) and Who is Taking Care of Your Athletes? (pdf) infographics.

Regulation of athletic trainers

Athletic trainers are licensed or otherwise regulated in 49 states and the District of Columbia. Efforts continue to add licensure in California.

NATA has ongoing efforts to update obsolete state practice acts that do not reflect current qualifications and practice of ATs under health care reform.

48 states and the District of Columbia require ATs to hold the Board of Certification credential of "Athletic Trainer Certified" (ATC). Learn more about the certification of athletic trainers.

Athletic trainers are qualified to apply for a National Provider Identifier (NPI) as mid-level health care professionals. The taxonomy code for athletic trainers is 2255A2300X.

Why use athletic trainers?

Athletic trainers provide medical services to all types of patients, not just athletes participating in sports, and can work in a variety of job settings. Athletic trainers relieve widespread and future workforce shortages in primary care support and outpatient rehab professions and provide an unparalleled continuum of care for the patients.

Athletic trainers improve functional outcomes and specialize in patient education to prevent injury and re-injury. Preventative care provided by an athletic trainer has a positive return on investment for employers. ATs are able to reduce injury and shorten rehabilitation time for their patients, which translates to lower absenteeism from work or school and reduced health care costs.

Reimbursement of athletic training services

The Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes for athletic training services are: athletic training evaluation (97005) and re-evaluation (97006). These codes are part of the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PMR) CPT family of codes. The American Hospital Association established Uniform Billing (UB) codes - or revenue codes - for athletic training in 1999. The term "qualified health care professional," as found in the CPT code book, is a generic term used to define the professional performing the service described by the code. The term "therapist" is not intended to denote any specific practice or specialty field within PMR.

ATs can find resources to help demonstrate their value in the Revenue and Reimbursement section.

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Athletic trainers (ATs) are highly qualified, multi-skilled health care professionals who collaborate with physicians to provide preventative services, emergency care, clinical diagnosis, therapeutic intervention and rehabilitation of injuries and medical conditions. Athletic trainers work under the direction of a physician as prescribed by state licensure statutes. Athletic trainers are sometimes confused with personal trainers.

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MacKenzie: Left vs Right side of the brain 

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MacKenzie: Left vs Right side of the brain 

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Have you ever heard people say that they are more of a left-brained vs. a right-brained thinker? From books to TV shows, you've probably heard the phrase mentioned numerous times. Or perhaps you've even taken an online test to determine whether you are right-brained or left-brained.

Given the popularity of the idea of "left-brained" and "right-brained" thinkers, it might surprise you to learn that this idea is just one of many myths about the brain.

Left Brain vs Right Brain Traits

People described as left-brain thinkers are told they have strong math and logic skills. On the other hand, those who are described as right-brain thinkers are told that their talents are more on the creative side of things. Here are a few traits of each.

Traits of a Left-Brained Person

The left side of the brain is adept at certain tasks. Characteristics of the left brain include those related to:

What are "left-brained" people like? They are described as logical, analytical, and orderly. The theory suggests that people who are left-brain dominant do well in careers that involve linear thinking, math, and verbal information. This includes careers such as accountant, scientist, or computer programmer.

Traits of a Right-Brained Person

According to the left-brain, right-brain dominance theory, the right side of the brain is best at expressive and creative tasks. There are several abilities popularly associated with the right side of the brain. Based on these, a right-brained thinker is good at:

Recognizing faces

Expressing emotions

Creating music

Reading emotions

Appreciating color

Using imagination

Being intuitive

Being creative

So what are so-called "right-brained people" like? They are often described as being more emotional, intuitive, and creative. They are often described as doing well in careers that involve creative expression and free-thinking, such as becoming an artist, psychologist, or writer.

Theory of Left Brain vs Right Brain Dominance

According to the theory of left brain or right brain dominance, each side of the brain controls different types of thinking. Additionally, people are said to prefer one type of thinking over the other.

For example, a person who is "left-brained" is often said to be more logical, analytical, and objective. A person who is "right-brained" is said to be more intuitive, thoughtful, and subjective.

In psychology, the theory is based on the lateralization of brain function. The brain contains two hemispheres that each perform a number of roles. The two sides of the brain communicate with one another via the corpus callosum.

The left hemisphere controls the muscles on the right side of the body, while the right hemisphere controls those on the left. This is why damage to the left side of the brain, for example, might have an effect on the right side of the body.

History of Left Brain vs. Right Brain Theory

So does one side of the brain control specific functions? Are people either left-brained or right-brained? Like many popular psychology myths, this one grew out of observations of the human brain that were then dramatically distorted and exaggerated.

The left-brain-right-brain theory originated in the work of Roger W. Sperry, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1981. He studied brain functioning in patients who had their corpus callosum (the structure that connects the two hemispheres of the brain) surgically severed to treat refractory epilepsy.

However, these patients also experienced other symptoms after the communication pathway between the two sides of the brain was cut. For example, many split-brain patients found themselves unable to name objects that were processed by the right side of the brain but were able to name objects that were processed by the left side of the brain. Based on this information, Sperry suggested that language was controlled by the left side of the brain.

Generally speaking, the left side of the brain tends to control many aspects of language and logic, while the right side tends to handle spatial information and visual comprehension.

Left Brain vs. Right Brain Research

Later research has shown that the brain is not nearly as dichotomous as once thought. For example, research has shown that abilities in subjects such as math are strongest when both halves of the brain work together.

Today, neuroscientists know that the two sides of the brain collaborate to perform a broad variety of tasks and that the two hemispheres communicate through the corpus callosum. "No matter how lateralized the brain can get, though, the two sides still work together," science writer Carl Zimmer explained in an article for Discover magazine.

"The pop psychology notion of a left brain and a right brain doesn't capture their intimate working relationship. The left hemisphere specializes in picking out the sounds that form words and working out the syntax of the phrase, for example, but it does not have a monopoly on language processing. The right hemisphere is more sensitive to the emotional features of language, tuning in to the slow rhythms of speech that carry intonation and stress."

In one study by researchers at the University of Utah, more than 1,000 participants had their brains analyzed in order to determine if they preferred using one side over the other.

"It's absolutely true that some brain functions occur in one or the other side of the brain. Language tends to be on the left, attention more on the right. But people don't tend to have a stronger left- or right-sided brain network. It seems to be determined more connection by connection," explained the study's lead author Dr. Jeff Anderson.

So while people are often described as being either right-brained or left-brained, the truth is that they are actually both. While the idea of left-brain vs. right-brain thinkers has been debunked, its popularity persists.

Persisting Myths of the Left Brain vs. Right Brain

Researchers have demonstrated that left-brain/right-brain theory is a myth, yet its popularity persists. Why? Unfortunately, many people are likely unaware that the theory is outdated. In fact, the idea seems to have taken on a mind of its own within popular culture.

Today, students might continue to learn about the theory as a point of historical interest-to understand how our ideas about how the brain works have evolved and changed over time as researchers have learned more about how the brain operates.

While over-generalized and overstated by popular psychology and self-help texts, understanding your strengths and weaknesses in certain areas can help you develop better ways to learn and study. For example, students who have a difficult time following verbal instructions (often cited as a right-brain characteristic) might benefit from writing down directions and developing better organizational skills.

Clinical psychologist Rachel Goldman, PhD, FTOS recommends that we take time to think about our unique strengths and traits and think about what areas we may want to work on or improve. "We can all benefit from improving our brain health, but first we have to identify what may be working for us, or not, and what areas we may want to exercise in order to make them stronger," she explains. "The great news is that we can improve our brain health, build on our strengths, and create new ways of thinking and doing-it just takes identifying it and then practicing it!"

Rachel Goldman, PhD, FTOS

- Rachel Goldman, PhD, FTOS

The important thing to remember if you take one of the many left-brain/right-brain quizzes you will likely encounter online is that they are entirely for fun, and you shouldn't place much stock in your results.

Improving Brain Health Whether You Feel Left-Brained or Right-Brained

Whether you feel like you tend to be more of a creative type or an analytical type, there are things that you can do to keep your mind sharp and your brain healthy.

Get regular exercise: Research has found that exercise has a protective effect on cognition and brain health as people age.

Keep your mind active: Studies found that people who are mentally active and work in mentally challenging fields, such as academics, tend to have better brain health.

Socialize: Social support is important for psychological well-being, but it is also essential for the health of your brain, particularly as you age.

Eat a healthy diet: The foods you eat can also impact your brain's health and function. Focus on eating a balanced diet focused primarily on fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, healthy fats, and complex carbs.

Get enough rest: Sleep is essential to brain health and mental function, so focus on getting enough rest each night. Practice healthy sleep habits and stick to a regular sleep-wake schedule.

No matter what type of thinking you are doing, both sides of your brain are involved. The right-brain, left-brain theory might be inaccurate, but that doesn't mean that understanding your strengths is not helpful. You can also take steps to protect the health of your brain by getting regular exercise, sleeping well, staying social, and putting your mind to use.

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Are right-brained thinkers more creative and left-brained thinkers better at math and logic? Learn whether left brain vs right brain differences actually exist.

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‘Me Too’ Global Movement - What is the ’Me Too” Movement

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The ‘Me Too’ groundbreaking survivor-focused leadership on SGBV went viral in 2017. Learn more about how Global Fund for Women is supporting the ‘Me Too’ Movement.

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lauren: why do people prefer dogs over cats

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lauren: why do people prefer dogs over cats

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https://bigthink.com/life/dogs-versus-cats/

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There's no way to say this without making some people upset: When looking for a four-legged companion, most humans prefer dogs over cats. Studies have shown that self-identified dog people tend to be less neurotic, less likely to suppress their emotions, and tend to have overall higher scores of wellbeing than cat people. Young children significantly prefer dogs over cats. And in the U.S., 60.2 million households have a dog, while about 47.1 million have cats.

In a new paper titled, "Dogs have masters, cats have staff: Consumers' psychological ownership and their economic valuation of pets," Dr. Colleen Kirk of the New York Institute of Technology explains why this discrepancy exists. It has to do with the degree of psychological ownership we feel toward our pets.

Rather than legal ownership, psychological ownership refers to what we feel to be ours. You could, for instance, have a favorite booth that you like to sit in at a neighborhood restaurant. If somebody were to be sitting there when you walked in, you might feel annoyed; obviously, they have the right to sit there, but that's your booth!

We feel the same way about pets. We treat pets like family, but we also treat them like living possessions. A sense of psychological ownership comes from two primary sources: self-investment, which differs from financial investment and deals more with the time and energy we devote to something; and control. When we can control something, we tend to feel that it belongs to us. Typically, this works with physical objects. Cars, for example, are only controlled by the owner. Nobody feels that they "own" a car they can't even unlock. Importantly, psychological ownership is connected to an emotional attachment to the target as well.

Through a series of experiments, Dr. Kirk - her findings were published in the Journal of Business Research - discovered that people feel more psychological ownership over dogs than they do with their cats. What's more, the resulting psychological ownership didn't arise because of self-investment, but instead it came from a sense of control. People feel that dogs are more controllable than cats, and therefore, they feel more psychological ownership over them. As a result, people tend to prefer dogs.

Measuring psychological ownership

Dr. Kirk uncovered this mechanism over the course of three studies. In the first, she administered a survey designed to measure how much psychological ownership people felt toward their pet based on how much control they felt they had and how much self-investment they had made into their pet. The surveys also asked what amount of money a person would be willing to spend on their pet for, say, a life-saving surgery or a personalized food bowl. The results showed that dog owners would pay more for their pet and that this tendency was linked to their sense of psychological ownership and control.

The second study worked much like the first, except this time, half of the respondents were told, "Now, for the rest of the survey, imagine that your pet had originally lived with someone else. Imagine that the pet's behavior as you know it is entirely the result of any training that someone else did before you got the pet."

The idea here is that this imaginative activity would reduce the respondents' sense of psychological ownership. In this case, the findings from the first study were not replicated. The respondents who imagined that another owner had trained their pet felt less psychological ownership and were correspondingly less willing to pay for their pets.

The third study examined emotional attachment, an aspect of pet ownership that hadn't yet been considered in this study. While psychological ownership is associated with attachment, the two are not mutually exclusive. You could feel very attached to a pet you do not see as your own, and you could not care at all about a pet that you do see as your own. That being said, a sense of control (and therefore a sense of psychological ownership) does encourage emotional attachment.

The results confirmed those of the previous two studies, suggesting that dog owners were more willing to spend money on their pet and additionally showed that their emotional attachment to their dog was due to the sense of control they felt. What's more, when a dog's behavior was described as being more typical to that of a cat, this effect diminished, and the opposite was true as well: when a cat was described as behaving more dog-like, pet owners believed they had more control over the pet and were willing to spend money on their pet.

Taken together, the results paint a pretty clear picture. Because psychological ownership can arise from feeling a sense of control, and because it produces an emotional attachment, people tend to prefer dogs over cats. Both animals make fantastic companions, but as author Mary Bly put it, "Dogs come when they're called; cats take a message and get back to you."

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Why do people prefer dogs over cats? They're more controllable, study finds.

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There's no way to say this without making some people upset: When looking for a four-legged companion, most humans prefer dogs over cats. Studies have shown that self-identified dog people tend to be less neurotic, less likely to suppress their emotions, and tend to have overall higher scores of wellbeing than cat people.

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Carson-Who are the best bull riders of all time?

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Carson-Who are the best bull riders of all time?

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Bull riding is a dangerous and thrilling discipline of rough stock, which are pro rodeo events. Bull riders must stay on a bucking bull for at least 8 seconds to earn a qualified ride. The rest of the performance is judged on the bull's buck as well as the cowboy's form. Read more to learn about some of the best bull riders in the sport's history.

Who are the best bull riders of all time?

1. Tuff Hedeman

Three-time Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association Bull Riding World Champion

Won the 1995 Professional Bull Riders World Championship

Inducted into four rodeo hall of fames, including Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame and the Bull Riding Hall of Fame

Tuff Hedeman is an iconic bull rider with an impressive career. He has toured the country for over 30 years producing shows and has won four PRCA World Championships. In fact, he has held bull riding competitions in the El Paso County Coliseum for 17 consecutive years. His career led to him co-founding and eventually becoming president of the Professional Bull Riders organization. Hedeman started bull riding early in his youth and won several bull riding competitions in New Mexico. Hedeman is known for his dangerous rides on the bull Bodacious, as well as his friendship with another fellow bull rider, Lane Frost.

2. Lane Frost

Won the 1987 Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association Bull Riding World Championship

National High School Bull Riding Champion (1981)

Inducted into the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame

Conquered a famous bull, Red Rock, four times

Lane Frost was known as a man who embodied the career of bull riding and unfortunately died at 26 years old during a tragic bull riding accident at the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo. Frost's family and friends remember him for his kindness and selflessness. Frost won his first award for bull riding when he was 10 years old and had an incredible career after that. He won the PRCA World Championship in 1987 and, after his death, was inducted into the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame and the Bull Riding Hall of Fame. He was also one of the only bull riders able to successfully ride Red Rock, a bull named Bucking Bull of the Year in 1987. The movie 8 Seconds tells his story, and the Lane Frost Award was created in his honor, which is awarded to the person in the bull riding industry who best emulates Frost's passion for promoting rodeo.

3. Ty Murray

Seven-time Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association All-Around Champion

Two-time Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association Bull Riding World Champion

Competed in all three bull riding disciplines

Won PRCA's Overall and Bareback Rookie of the Year (1988)

Ty Murray, also known as "King of the Cowboys," is a skilled bull rider most known for his seven All-Around World Championship titles. He has won the most money in bareback, saddle bronc, and bull riding events. Murray is also the cowboy with the most All-Around Championship titles. He won his first World Championship at just 20 years old, making him the youngest bull rider to ever do so. He is well recognized for his ability to compete in three of the riskiest rodeo events: bareback, saddle bronc, and bull riding. He started bull riding at just 8 years old, taught by his father, who was a ranch hand. Murray co-founded the Professional Bull Riders organization with Tuff Hedeman and other bull riders.

4. Larry Mahan

Six-time Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association World All-Around Champion

Two-time Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association Bull Riding World Champion

Inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame

When Larry Mahan was at the peak of his career, he was the best in history thus far. Mahan began competing in rodeos at 14 years old and soon after began riding for the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. Mahan's eight world championship wins made it clear he was a talented rider in rough stock sports. His last PRCA World Championship win in 1973 is the subject of the documentary The Great American Cowboy. He was the first bull rider to compete in three events (saddle bronc riding, bareback riding, and bull riding) and also the first bull rider to win more than $50,000 in a single season.

5. Jim Shoulders

Five-time Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association World All-Around Champion

Seven-time Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association Bull Riding World Champion

Four-time Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association Bareback Riding World Champion

Inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame

First competitor to win bareback bronc, bull riding, and all-around

Jim Shoulders, also known as the Babe Ruth of rodeo, is most known for his 16 total world championship titles in all-around riding, bull riding, and bareback riding categories. At 21 years old, he won his first world championship title, then continued to win world championships in three different rodeo categories over an impressive span of ten years. He is also known for his impressive ability to withstand pain. Shoulders would frequently compete while he was injured and continued to earn winnings despite his injuries. He did have a surprising introduction to bull riding. He grew up in the city without any experience with livestock, but was inspired to enter his first rodeo at fourteen years old after he watched one. Outside of bull riding, he is also known for his commercial work with Cowboy Cut Jeans and Miller Lite. Shoulders passed away in 2007 after fighting against heart disease.

6. J.B. Mauney

Two-time Professional Bull Rider World Champion

2006 Professional Bull Rider Rookie of the Year

2006 Professional Bull Rider Touring Pro Division Champion

Holds record for second-most rides in PBR history

J.B. Mauney is the bull rider with the most recent career on this list. He frequently picks the most aggressive bull in the pens and is currently one of the most talented bull riders on the scene. In 2016, Mauney was the first bull rider to earn $7 million in earnings. Not only has he won two PBR World Championships, but he is also one out of three riders to stay on the bull Bushwacker for a complete 8 seconds. In 2019, Mauney tied Justin McBride for the most elite televised wins in Professional Bull Riding's history.

Honorable Mentions

Donnie Gay

Eight-time PRCA Bull Riding World Championship winner

Qualified for National Finals Rodeo 13 times

Inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 1979

Don Gay is an American bull rider who holds the record for the most PRCA Bull Riding World Championships. He began bull riding at a young age and declared that he wanted to be a world champion at age five. His father, Neal Gay, was also a hall of fame bull rider, and the two are the only father-son duo in the ProRodeo Hall of Fame. Gay began his professional bull riding career after high school and joined a traveling rodeo circuit. During his career, Gay dominated the sport, winning eight PRCA Bull Riding World Championships and qualifying for the National Finals Rodeo 13 times. After his retirement in 1989, he was a commentator for many years before becoming the manager of the Frontier Rodeo Company. Gay now runs his own rodeo tour, called the Don Gay Bull Riding Tour, and remains active in the sport. He was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 1979 and the PBR Ring of Honor in 1997.

Chris Shivers

Two-time Professional Bull Riders World Champion

22 Bud Light Cup Series and Built Ford Tough Series wins

94 90-point bull rides (most in history)

Bull Riding Hall of Fame Inductee (2017)

Chris Shivers is a former professional bull rider from Natchez, Mississippi. Shivers set a few records during his career, including becoming the first bull rider to win over $300,000 in a single year. He also was the first bull rider to earn $1 million, $2 million, and $3 million in a career. Shivers won two PBR World Championships, gaining those accolades in 2000 and 2003. He also holds the record for most 90-point bull rides with a total of 94. After retiring in 2012, Shivers was nominated to the PBR Ring of Honor in 2013 and the Bull Riding Hall of Fame in 2017.

FAQ

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Who are the best bull riders of all time? What makes these bull riders the best? Here is a list of the top six best bull riders of all time and their accomplishments.

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The Best Soccer Cleats, According to Coaches and Players

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We asked five coaches and former pros to tell us the best synthetic soccer shoes, best leather soccer shoes, best indoor soccer shoes and best outdoor soccer shoes for adults. Their picks include cleats from Nike, Adidas, Puma, and Mizuno.

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https://www.healthdigest.com/376485/are-celsius-energy-drinks-actually-good-for-you/#:~:text=Vitamins%20and%20minerals%20in%20Celsius%20drinks&text=This%20vitamin%20plays%20a%20huge,recommended%20daily%20intake%20of%20riboflavin.

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Cara Goodwin, Ph.D. on March 12, 2022 in Parenting Translator

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The expression “nature vs. nurture” describes the question of how much a person’s characteristics are formed by either “nature” or “nurture.” “Nature” means innate biological factors (namely genetics), while “nurture” can refer to upbringing or life experience more generally.

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Magic Johnson and Larry Bird went together like bread and butter in the 1980s. At the end of their careers, these two were clearly close friends.

Magic and Bird's friendship remains strong even to this day, which is a great thing to see. But what if I told you at one point these two basketball juggernauts despised each other?

1979 NCAA Championship Game

Larry Bird's college career was taking off at Indiana State after Bird almost quit college after originally attempting to go to Indiana University.

As a senior at Indiana State, Bird led his school to a 33-0 record.

Magic Johnson was also having success in college at Michigan State. In his senior year, Magic led his school to a 26-6 record that was good enough to earn a bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Both Bird and Magic would lead their schools to the national championship game, a matchup that would begin their historic rivalry.

The 1979 NCAA Championship Game was and still is the most-watched NCAA game in history, and the viewers got to witness Magic Johnson's Michigan State get their first win over a top-ranked team when they defeated Indiana State 75-64.

NBA Rookie Rivalry

The Los Angeles Lakers earned the first pick of the 1979 NBA Draft by winning a coin flip against the Chicago Bulls. The Lakers received the pick from an earlier trade with the New Orleans Jazz.

The Lakers would go on to select Magic Johnson with that first pick, setting up a team to dominate the decade.

Larry Bird was not a part of the 1979 NBA Draft, instead, Bird was selected 6th overall by the Boston Celtics in the 1978 NBA Draft.

Bird, however, decided to return for his senior year, which led to the showdown against Magic in the NCAA Championship game.

Bird would declare for the NBA after his senior year, so Bird would officially become a rookie in the NBA the same year as Magic. This would set up their new rivalry in the NBA to see who was the best rookie.

If you look at their individual play, Bird won the matchup as best rookie. Bird, in fact, would win the Rookie of the Year Award.

When it came to the overall best season as a rookie, Magic clearly won this as his Lakers not only won the NBA title, but Magic won Finals MVP behind his incredible Game 6 performance of 42 points, 15 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals, and 1 block.

NBA Finals Showdowns

The Lakers and Celtics would play in every NBA Finals during the 1980s, winning the title an incredible eight times.

Now, these two teams would meet in the NBA Finals three times, in 84, 85, and 87.

The first matchup saw Bird's Celtics come out on top, with a 4-3 series victory.

The Lakers stole Game 1 in Boston, which had fans in "Bean Town" nervous, but an overtime win in Game 2 had the Celtic faithful feeling a little better.

The teams would split the pair of games in LA before each team holding home-court through games 5 through 7.

Game 5 would be the hottest game on record, as it was 97 degrees and the Boston Garden was not air-conditioned.

Game 7 was also hot (91 degrees) and the Celtics would avail 111-102 with Bird being named Finals MVP.

Bird would get his revenge for Magic defeating him in college. Bird was at the top of his game, winning the MVP three consecutive seasons (84, 85, 86).

In 1985, Magic would get his chance at revenge, and he would be ready. The 1985 NBA Finals would be the first Finals to adapt the 2-3-2 format, which would stay the regular Finals format until 2011.

The Celtics held home-court advantage for the second consecutive Finals, and after Game 1, many fans believed the Celtics were a sure bet to repeat.

The Celtics dominated Game 1 by winning 148-114. This game would be dubbed the "Memorial Day Massacre". The Lakers, even though they were down, they were not out.

The Lakers would bounce back by winning 4 of the next 5 games to take the series 4-2. This marked the first time the Lakers had defeated the Celtics in an NBA Finals.

Two years later in 1987, the Bird led Celtics would face off against the Magic led Lakers for the last time in the NBA Finals.

This time, the Lakers had home-court advantage and the Lakers would win all three games in LA. The one game the Lakers would win in Boston was the famous "baby hook shot" game by Magic Johnson.

The Lakers won the series 4-2, and this was Magic's fourth title in the 80s. Magic would win one more against the Detroit Pistons in 1988.

Bird won three titles in the 80s, making him and Magic the ultimate winners of the decade. But with their heated rivalry, was their love or hate between the two ballplayers?

A Love-Hate Relationship

In 2010, Magic and Bird, along with Jackie MacMillan released their book titled, When the Game Was Ours, and the book detailed Magic and Bird's relationship.

"We're so competitive anyway that there was a dislike there," Magic said about his early relationship with Bird. "I even hated him more because I knew he could beat me."

Not only did Bird and Magic have that showdown in college, the fact that they joined two teams in the NBA that were already bitter rivals, set up this hatred for one another.

"We did it in a way where we caught the imagination of everyone in America," Bird said. "People wanted to see us play against one another... If you like competition you want to play against the best, and that's what we wanted to do."

When Bird was playing, he admitted the only player he kept track of was Magic Johnson.

"I really didn't care what anyone else did," Bird said. "I always checked what Magic was doing because I knew he was a special player. I was always trying to keep up with things he's done."

Magic had the exact same feeling toward Bird when he played.

"I really liked the fact that we came in [the NBA] together because it gave a sense of shooting for the stars," Johnson said. "I knew that I had to play every single night to keep up with Larry Bird over here on the East [Coast]."

There was a strong sense of hate between the two. They both wanted to keep that "edge" against each other. Then, the 1986 Converse commercial happened.

The filming of this commercial is what made Magic and Bird friends. They realized, even though they seemed to be completely different, they were also very similar in certain ways.

After they shot the first part of the commercial, it was time for lunch, and Magic was headed to his trailer until Bird invited him to his home.

Magic agreed, and at Bird's house, he was greeted with a hug from Bird's mother.

"His mom greeted me on the porch," Johnson said. "It was a 'Mom Bird' hug like my mom would hug me. I got to know Larry the man that day, and he got to know Earvin."

This newfound friendship would become so strong that it's still going on today.

The Announcement

Magic Johnson tested positive for HIV after the 1991 NBA season. This essentially ended his career (other than his Olympics games and his short 1996 comeback).

One of the first people Magic called about his diagnosis was Bird, and the news struck him hard.

"Man, that really hit me. It really hit me hard," Bird said. "That was the first time in my life I played in a game that I didn't want to play (vs. Atlanta). I didn't have anything that night."

This emotion by Bird showed the world how close these two really were, and it was touching to see.

We, as NBA fans, are grateful to be able to see this friendship still today, that Magic has continued to live a happy and healthy life, and that both have had success since their playing days.

Next

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Larry Bird vs. Magic Johnson: How Their Bitter Rivalry Turned Into A Great Friendship

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Magic Johnson and Larry Bird went together like bread and butter in the 1980s. At the end of their careers, these two were clearly close friends. Magic and Bird's friendship remains strong even to this day, which is a great thing to see.

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https://www.space.com/32728-parallel-universes.html

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Parallel universes are no longer just a feature of a good sci-fi story. There are now some scientific theories that support the idea of parallel universes beyond our own. However, the multiverse theory remains one of the most controversial theories in science.

Our universe is unimaginably big. Hundreds of billions, if not trillions, of galaxies spin through space, each containing billions or trillions of stars. Some researchers studying models of the universe speculate that the universe's diameter could be 7 billion light-years across. Others think it could be infinite.

But is it all that's out there? Science fiction loves the idea of a parallel universe, and the thought that we might be living just one of an infinite number of possible lives. Multiverses aren't reserved for "Star Trek," "Spiderman" and "Doctor Who," though. Real scientific theory explores, and in some cases supports, the case for universes outside, parallel to, or distant from but mirroring our own.

Multiverses and parallel worlds are often argued in the context of other major scientific concepts like the Big Bang, string theory and quantum mechanics.

Eternal inflation, the Big Bang theory and parallel universes

Around 13.7 billion years ago, everything we know of was an infinitesimal singularity. Then, according to the Big Bang theory, it burst into action, inflating faster than the speed of light in all directions for a tiny fraction of a second. Before 10^-32 seconds had passed, the universe had exploded outward to 10^26 times its original size in a process called cosmic inflation. And that's all before the actual expansion of matter that we usually think of as the Big Bang itself, which was a consequence of all this inflation: As the inflation slowed, a flood of matter and radiation appeared, creating the classic Big Bang fireball, and began to form the atoms, molecules, stars and galaxies that populate the vastness of space that surrounds us.

Related: How an inflating universe could create a multiverse

That mysterious process of inflation and the Big Bang have convinced some researchers that multiple universes are possible, or even very likely. According to theoretical physicist Alexander Vilenkin of Tufts University in Massachusetts, inflation didn't end everywhere at the same time. While it ended for everything that we can detect from Earth 13.8 billion years ago, cosmic inflation in fact continues in other places. This is called the theory of eternal inflation. And as inflation ends in a particular place, a new bubble universe forms, Vilenkin wrote for Scientific American in 2011.

Those bubble universes can't contact each other because they continue to expand indefinitely. If we were to set off for the edge of our bubble, where it might butt up against the next bubble universe over, we'd never reach it because the edge is zipping away from us faster than the speed of light, and faster than we could ever travel.

Related: How many stars are in the universe?

But even if we could reach the next bubble, according to eternal inflation (combined with string theory), our familiar universe with its physical constants and habitable conditions could be totally different from the hypothetical bubble universe next to our own.

"This picture of the universe, or multiverse, as it is called, explains the long-standing mystery of why the constants of nature appear to be fine-tuned for the emergence of life," Vilenkin wrote. "The reason is that intelligent observers exist only in those rare bubbles in which, by pure chance, the constants happen to be just right for life to evolve. The rest of the multiverse remains barren, but no one is there to complain about that."

Vilenkin's explanation implies that in some of the infinite bubble universes outside our own, there could be other intelligent observers. But in every instant that passes, we get farther away from them, and we will never intersect.

Quantum mechanics and parallel universes

Some researchers base their ideas of parallel universes on quantum mechanics, the mathematical description of subatomic particles. In quantum mechanics, multiple states of existence for tiny particles are all possible at the same time - a "wave function" encapsulates all of those possibilities. However, when we actually look, we only ever observe one of the possibilities. According to the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics as described by the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, we observe an outcome when the wave function "collapses" into a single reality.

But the many-worlds theory proposes instead that every time one state, or outcome, is observed, there is another "world" in which a different quantum outcome becomes reality. This is a branching arrangement, in which instant by instant, our perceived universe branches into near-infinite alternatives. Those alternate universes are completely separate and unable to intersect, so while there may be uncountable versions of you living a life that's slightly - or wildly - different from your life in this world, you'd never know it.

Related: Black holes, aliens, multiverse & Mars: Space TED talks you need to watch

The many-worlds theory is the most "courageous" take on the quandary of quantum mechanics, physicist Sean Carroll wrote in his book, " Something Deeply Hidden: Quantum Worlds and the Emergence of Spacetime" (Dutton, 2019). He also argued that it is the most straightforward theory, although not without wrinkles.

One of those wrinkles is that the many-worlds idea is not really falsifiable. This is an important component of scientific thought and is the way the scientific community develops ideas that can be explored with observation and experimentation. If there's no opportunity to find evidence against a theory, that's bad for science as a whole, science journalist John Horgan argued in a blog post for Scientific American.

Infinite space, infinite universes?

(Image credit: Weerakarn Satitniramai via Getty Images)

Some physicists believe in a flatter version of multiple universes. That is, if the universe that we live in goes on forever, there are only so many ways that the building blocks of matter can arrange themselves as they assemble across infinite space. Eventually, any finite number of particle types must repeat a particular arrangement. Hypothetically, in a big enough space, those particles must repeat arrangements as large as entire solar systems and galaxies.

So, your entire life might be repeated elsewhere in the universe, down to what you ate for breakfast yesterday. At least, that's the theory.

But if the universe began at a finite point, as nearly every physicist agrees that it did, an alternate version of you likely doesn't exist, according to astrophysicist Ethan Siegel's 2015 Medium article.

According to Siegel, "the number of possible outcomes from particles in any Universe interacting with one another tends towards infinity faster than the number of possible Universes increases due to inflation."

"So what does this mean for you?" Siegel wrote. "It means it's up to you to make this Universe count."

The mirror-image universe

(Image credit: NASA / WMAP Science Team)

In a relatively recent addition to the pantheon of multiverse theories, researchers from the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Waterloo, Ontario, have proposed that the universe began at the Big Bang - and on the opposite side of the Big Bang timeline, stretching backwards in time, a universe once existed that was the exact mirror image of our own.

"Instead of saying there was a different universe before the bang, we're saying that the universe before the bang is actually, in some sense, an image of the universe after the bang," Neil Turok, a Perimeter Institute researcher, told Space.com sister site Live Science.

That means everything - protons, electrons, even actions like cracking an egg - would be reversed. Antiprotons and positively charged electrons would make up atoms, while eggs would un-crack and make their way back inside chickens. Eventually, that universe would shrink down, presumably to a singularity, before expanding out into our own universe.

Seen another way, both universes were created at the Big Bang and exploded simultaneously backward and forward in time.

Multiverse: Arguments for and against

Arguments for the multiverse theory
Cosmic inflation
Our universe grew exponentially in the first moments of its existence, but was this expansion uniform? If not, it suggests different regions of space grew at different rates - and may be isolated from one another.
Mathematical constants
How are the laws of the universe so exact? Some propose that this happened only by chance - we are the one universe out of many that happened to get the numbers right.
The observable universe
What is beyond the edge of the observable space around us? No one knows for sure, and until we do (which could be never), the thought that ou universe extends indefinitely is an interesting one.

Arguments against the multiverse theory
Falsifiability
There is no way for us to ever test theories of the multiverse. We will never see beyond the observable universe, so if there is no way to disprove the theories, should they even be given credence?
Occam's razor
Sometimes, the simplest ideas are the best. Some physicists argue that we don't need the multiverse theory at all. It doesn't solve any paradoxes, and only creates complications.
No evidence
Not only can we not disprove any multiverse theory, we can't prove them either. We currently have no evidence that multiverses exists, and everything we can see suggests there is just one universe - our own.

Parallel universes in fiction

(Image credit: Marvel.com)

Countless works of myth and fiction draw from ideas of parallel universes and the multiverse. Overlapping worlds make appearances in Norse mythology as well as Buddhist and Hindu cosmology. The idea of multiple universes coming into contact showed up in print as early as Edwin A. Abbott's novella "Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions" (Seeley & Co., 1884), and can still be seen in recent movies such as the 2016 Marvel film "Doctor Strange." An entire genre of Japanese graphic novels, called isekai, deals with characters transported to parallel worlds, as described by the New York Public Library.

Nearly every "Star Trek" series incorporates some form of mirror universe, and the 2009 reboot film starring Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto took subsequent "Star Trek" movies into an entirely new timeline that explicitly branches off from the original series.

And comics, as well as their corresponding movies, delve deeply into the idea of parallel worlds. Recent Marvel Comics' storylines (both film and in print), DC's Flashpoint arc and 2018's "Into the Spider-Verse" all explore multiple universes and the intersections between them.

This is an incomplete list of some appearances of multiverses, split-timeline universes and parallel universes in fiction:

Movies

Into the Spider-Verse (2018)

Terminator Genisys (2015)

Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Across the Second Dimension (2011)

Star Trek (2009)

Donnie Darko (2001)

Run Lola Run (1998)

Sliding Doors (1998)

Back to the Future 1-3 (1985, 1989, 1990)

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984)

Television

Star Trek: Discovery, multiple episodes

Star Trek: Enterprise, multiple episodes

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, multiple episodes

Star Trek: The Next Generation, "Parallels" (Episode 11, Season 7) (1993)

Star Trek: The Original Series, "Mirror, Mirror", (Episode 4, Season 2) (1967)

Doctor Who, multiple episodes

Sliders, entire series

Community, "Remedial Chaos Theory" (Episode 4, Season 3) (2011)

Rick and Morty, multiple episodes

Futurama, multiple episodes

Eureka, multiple episodes

Agents of Shield, multiple episodes

Print

"The Chronicles of Narnia" series (Geoffrey Bles, 1950-56) by C. S. Lewis

"His Dark Materials" series (Scholastic, 1995-2000) by Phillip Pullman

The "Discworld" series (HarperCollins, 1983-2015) by Terry Pratchett

"Men Like Gods" (Macmillan, 1923) by H. G. Wells

"The Dark Tower" series (Donald M. Grant, 1982-2012) by Stephen King

Video games

BioShock Infinite, 2013

Kingdom Hearts, 2002-2020

Chrono Cross, 1999

Half-Life, 1998-2020

Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, 2004

Zero Escape, 2009-2016

This article was adapted in part from previous work by Space.com contributor Elizabeth Howell.

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Parallel universes are not just for science fiction. Scientific theories can sometimes support the case for universes outside or parallel to our own.

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Autumn- why would people rather have EV's 

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Autumn- why would people rather have EV's 

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consumerreports.org/hybrids-evs/cr-survey-shows-strong-interest-in-evs-a1481807376/

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Despite concerns about a dearth of public charging stations, 71 percent of respondents said they would do most of their charging at home. CR has found that the owner of an EV with 250 miles of range can do 92 percent of their charging at home, assuming they have access to a garage or parking space with a home charger. The survey reveals that residents of large apartment buildings are more likely to say that , if they had an EV, they would charge it at a public fast charging station.

"American drivers are accustomed to having ready access to gas stations, and may not realize that if they have a personal garage or driveway, they'll be doing most of their charging at home with an EV," Harto says. "Even though we have found that the typical driver would make as few as six stops at a public charging station every year, a more robust network of fast charging stations would help alleviate buyers' concerns about switching to an electric vehicle."

More than a third of those surveyed said state and federal governments should require automakers to offer EVs, compared with about a quarter who are against that idea. More than half support state spending on EV charging infrastructure. Sixty percent of drivers supported state and federal incentives to help bring down the purchase price of an EV.

According to CR's survey results, younger drivers are more likely than older ones to buy an EV for their next vehicle. But it appears that by and large, there's growing interest across different groups.

"These results show that there is robust consumer interest in electric vehicles, but consumers need automakers to deliver more compelling choices at competitive prices," Harto says.

CR conducted the survey by phone and internet over the summer in both English and Spanish.

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Consumer Reports Survey Shows Strong Interest in Electric Cars

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Despite concerns about a dearth of public charging stations, 71 percent of respondents said they would do most of their charging at home. CR has found that the owner of an EV with 250 miles of range can do 92 percent of their charging at home, assuming they have access to a garage or parking space with a home charger.

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https://www.schumachercargo.com/jp/import-car-from-japan/#:~:text=The%20cost%20to%20import%20a,the%20origin%20and%20destination%20ports.

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When you need to import a car from Japan, working with an experienced Japanese auto importer like Schumacher Cargo Logistics will ensure your vehicle is transported safely and securely.

With over 40 years of experience in shipping cars to the US from Japan, we make the process easy and offer competitive rates.

Get the cost for importing your car from Japan to the US now using our online quote form.

How to Import a Car from Japan

Read our easy 4 step Japanese Car Import Guide for how to import a vehicle from Japan.
When working with Schumacher Cargo Logistics, our Japanese auto import specialists will make sure you have all of the information you will need for importing your vehicle from Japan.

Step 1. Check Vehicle Eligibility

Make sure the JDM you want to export from Japan to the US is actually eligible to enter the USA.
US customs is very strict with what type of vehicles are eligible. If the car is a returning US vehicle, there should not be an issue. Otherwise, your vehicle will have to meet specific exemptions to enter.

The most common exemption is the Japanese vehicle must be over 25 years old. In this circumstance the vehicle is classified as a classic car and does not need to meet EPA and DOT regulations. Starting in 2021, Japanese vehicles produced before 1996 become eligible under this rule.
There are rare cars people want to import from Japan like the Nissan GTR, Toyota Supra, and MR2. These cars are slowly being imported to the US from Japan and will become more commonplace over the next decade as they gain eligibility to enter the country.

Another common way to import cars from Japan is to import them temporarily. With this type of import, there is no need to make changes to the vehicle. In this instance, the tradeoff is the car must leave within 1 year of entry.

Reasons to import a car from Japan temporarily:

Step 2. Get a Price Quote For Your Shipment

How Much Does it Costs to ship a Car from Japan?
The cost to import a car from Japan to USA starts around $2000+ per car. The price for importing a car from Japan will depend on the type of vehicle, the shipment type chosen for ocean transit, and the distances from the origin and destination ports. Those are just some of the factors that affect the price of shipping a car from Japan to the United States.

As an example the cost to import car from Japan to LA will be cheaper than to NY even with all else the same.
To see how much it would cost to import your car from Japan to the US, please fill out our Online Quote Form. Select USA as your destination country and you will be able to add more specifics later in the form.

Step 3. Ship the Car from Japan to the US

How shipping car from Japan to the US with Schumacher works.
Once you agree to a quote, we can collect the vehicle in Japan and begin the shipment to the US. Alternatively, you can drop off the vehicle at the port warehouse as well.
With our transport network, people have actually bought cars in Japan without ever seeing them in person overseas. As your car enters the port warehouse, the vehicle is prepped for shipment. Then as the ship leaves the port, you will receive a Bill of Lading and notification with the ETA.
How long does it take to import a car from Japan to the USA?
Shipping a car from Japan will take on average 8-10 weeks.

Step 4. Receive the Car in the US

How to receive your Imported Car in the US from Japan.
Once you begin working with your Schumacher representative, they will advise you on the requirements to import your car from Japan.
The car will enter one of our port warehouses and begin to clear customs. Once your vehicle has cleared customs a Schumacher representative will let you know the car is ready to go.

Origin Import Destinations

Our main warehouses where Japanese cars will enter the US are as follows:

From these warehouses the imported Japanese car can be transported right to your door or you can pick up the vehicle from the warehouse itself.

All that is left is for you to enjoy your Japanese car on the American roads!

More Resources

Fill out our Online Quote Form and start importing a car from Japan.

For any additional car import assistance, call one of our representatives at:

USA 562-408-6677 // Toll-Free 800-599-0190

SCL Japanese Car Importer Reviews
4.7/5 Based on 5141 Reviews

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Import a Car from Japan to the USA - Schumacher Cargo Logistics

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When you need to import a car from Japan, working with an experienced Japanese auto importer like Schumacher Cargo Logistics will ensure your vehicle is transported safely and securely. With over 40 years of experience in shipping cars to the US from Japan, we make the process easy and offer competitive rates.

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At WearTesters, our team of expert reviewers tests hundreds of basketball shoes each year. After testing, we collect the Best Basketball Shoes available and include them here for easy reference.

We regularly update this page to feature the highest performing, currently available basketball shoes. The shoes listed are in no particular order. Check back any time you buy new basketball shoes.

We've also reviewed many other basketball shoes that didn't make this page. Every foot is different, so read the reviews carefully to find the best shoes for you. For details on methodology, see the detailed description at the bottom of the page.

Also, if you enjoy our content, you should know that we have a great community where we discuss sneakers, reviews, and all sorts of other topics. Community members also enjoy behind-the-scenes footage, invitations to WearTesters events, early access to merchandise, and automatic entry into shoe giveaways.
Updated 04/29/2022
Best Basketball Shoes Overall

In this article, we will go over the best shoes in several different categories, but to start everything off, we will go over the top 10 best basketball shoes overall. Whether you are playing indoors or outdoors, whether you are a shifty guard or an explosive forward, these basketball shoes will serve you well.

We have chosen these shoes because out of the hundreds of shoes we have tested this year, these offer a great blend of performance features that will accommodate most playing styles. Check it out.

Puma MB.01

The Puma MB.01 is an awesome, well-rounded on-court performer. The MB.01 is LaMelo Ball's first signature shoe and is considered by many to be the best first signature shoe ever.

The shoe features excellent grippy traction, a supportive, lightweight upper, and a well-balanced iteration of Nitro Fusion foam for cushion. It is a huge improvement on Puma's previous offering, the Puma Nitro Fusion, and is reminiscent of a more supportive version of the Puma Clyde All-Pro. Easily one of the best basketball shoes on the market today. Read the full review. Price: $ 125

Under Armour Curry 9

The Under Armour Curry 9 is an improved version of an already great shoe, the Curry 8 (which is also on this list). Steph Curry's signature line has been one of the most consistently great signature lines on the market, and the Curry 9 is another gem.

The shoe features Under Armour's Flow cushioning/ traction system (as does the Curry 8). Flow offers great impact protection and a seamless ride from heel to toe. It feels almost like a running shoe that has been beefed up to be able to play basketball in them. The Curry 9 also features an improved and more supportive upper as well as a more solid torsional plate in the midfoot. Read full review. Price: $ 160

Nike Kyrie 8 (Infinity)

The Nike Kyrie 8 is amazing, and the best shoe in Kyrie's signature line, alongside the Kyrie 6. The shoe offers a perfect blend of cushioning and low-profile performance, which makes you wonder why Nike doesn't use the same setup in every Kyrie shoe.

The shoe features a large volume forefoot Zoom stroble unit and another standard unit in the heel. On top of that, you get excellent lockdown and some really great premium materials along the upper. The shoe is like a less clunky version of the Jordan 13, which is high praise. The traction does take some time to break in, so keep that in mind. Read the full review. Price: $ 140

Nike KD 14

The Nike KD 14 provides great traction, great cushion, decent materials, solid fit, and decent support. It's a well-rounded, all-around performer, perfect for any type of player, and one of the best basketball shoes out there. The fit is tricky so going up a half size or trying them on in-store is recommended. If you get the fit right, your body will enjoy the cushioning combo of a full-length Zoom Air strobel and Cushlon midsole. It's the perfect recipe for playing multiple hours without pain. Read the full review. Price: $ 150

Nike Air Zoom GT Cut

The Nike Air Zoom GT Cut is the first entry in Nike's Greater Than series and is an impressive start. The GT Cut features a low-profile, lightweight setup that compares favorably to the classic Nike Kobe 8. The React, full-length Air Zoom Strobel, and heel Zoom unit work well together and provide solid cushioning despite how low this shoe sits to the ground. It's a quick guard's dream shoe but big guys may want to look elsewhere. Read the full review. 160

Under Armour Curry 8

The Under Armour Curry 8 is the first shoe from Curry Brand (an Under Armour sub-brand) and the first shoe to use the new UA Flow foam. Flow is awesome and immediately becomes UA's top cushion tech. The beastly traction also exceeded expectations for outdoor durability. To top it off, the lightweight sock-like knit upper is really comfortable and more stable than expected because of the typical wide platform that Steph Curry prefers. Read the full review. 160.

Nike Air Zoom GT Jump

The Nike GT Jump boasts one of the best cushion set-ups of all time. Just on that fact alone, these shoes deserve to be on this list, but they are a very good all-around performer as well.

The Nike GT Jump features a full-length Air Strobel, 2 large volume Zoom Air units in the heel and forefoot, and a cushlon midsole. if you love cushion, or you just flat out need it because you are a larger player, you will love these shoes.

The shoe's upper is also very lightweight and breathable and requires no break-in time. Read the full review 200

adidas Trae Young 1

The adidas Trae Young 1 is the first signature sneaker of the Atlanta Hawks' superstar Trae Young.

The shoe packs a hell of a performance punch in a very minimal setup. Traction and support are on point, and the cushion set-up was fantastic. The shoe combines two of adidas' foam cushioning systems Light Strike and Boost and they held up great, even outdoors. Read the full review 140.

Under Armour Embiid 1

The Under Armour Embiid 1 is a solid all-around shoe that can be worn by any player and position. If you play primarily outdoors then these will also make for a great pickup. They're moderately priced at $120. They include enough cushion and traction to ensure you can enjoy them for longer than the typical modern-day basketball shoe. Read the full review. 120.

Puma Clyde All-Pro

The Puma Clyde All-Pro was a surprise and ended up being our best basketball shoe in 2020, and since there are still pairs available, it had to be on our 2022 best basketball shoes list as well. It's the Kobe 9 reincarnated and improved. Traction is fantastic in all situations. The cushioning combo of ProFoam+ and the Pebax heel puck is balanced and responsive. Also, they fit true to size, snug, and supportive. They aren't signature shoes but perform better than most of those. Read the full review. 130.

Best Outdoor Basketball Shoes

If you play outdoors often, these shoes have the durability and cushioning to keep you going during long hours on the concrete or asphalt. If you want to know how to pick the best basketball shoes for outdoors, we also have an article that can help you out, and you can also check out our full list of the best outdoor basketball shoes.

New Balance TWO WXY

The New Balance TWO WXY has everything you need and nothing you don't. The traction is primed for outdoor play because it grips everything and doesn't collect dust. The FuelCell cushion needs some time to break-in. Once it does, a couple hours of playing on asphalt or concrete isn't a problem. The synthetic upper is also super durable and can easily handle the rough conditions inherent in outdoor play. Just be sure to go down a half size from your normal shoe size to get the right fit. Read full review. 140

Most Comfortable Basketball Shoe

Our choices for the most comfortable basketball shoes on the market will always have to excel in two key features: materials, and most importantly, cushion. This is our current top choice, but you can check out our full list here.

Nike Air Zoom GT Jump

The Nike GT Jump features some of the bounciest cushions of all time. Nike designers describe them as "what the Shox should have been".

The shoe features 2 large volume Zoom Air units in the heel and forefoot, a cushlon midsole, and a full-length zoom air stroble on top of that. That's just an INSANE amount of cushion. To top it off it features a synthetic upper that requires no break-in time and is very breathable and lightweight. The shoe is probably better suited for bigger players that need a lot of cushion, but without a doubt, they are the most comfortable shoe out there. Read the full review 200

There are a lot of great budget basketball shoe options out there. Since they don't get as much hype as other shoes, you may not be as aware of them, but since we at Weartesters test almost every single basketball model released every year, we can help you find great the best basketball shoes on a budget. Here is our top-budget basketball shoe pick, but you can also check out the full list of our top budget basketball shoes if you like.

There are a lot of great budget basketball shoe options out there. Since they don't get as much hype as other shoes, you may not be as aware of them, but since we at Weartesters test almost every single basketball model released every year, we can help you find great the best basketball shoes on a budget. Here is our top-budget basketball shoe pick, but you can also check out the full list of our top budget basketball shoes if you like.

Best Budget Basketball Shoes

Nike Air Max Impact 3

The Nike Air Max Impact 3 was a big surprise. Easily the best budget model on the market today. The cushion setup is the shoe's best feature. They are incredibly soft and comfortable and feature an upper that needs no break-in time. The shoe's support is also a stand-out feature with two outriggers that make sure your hoot is secure during play. There's really no other shoe under $100 that performs this well, this consistently. Read the full review. 90.

Best Low Top Basketball Shoes

Low-cut basketball shoes are some of the most popular styles of basketball shoes on the market. They feel sleeker and more agile than other styles and after Kobe Bryant re-popularized them back in 2008, hoopers can't get enough of low-top basketball shoes. You can check our full list of the best low-top basketball shoes if you would like to as well.

Under Armour Curry 9

The Under Armour Curry 9 looks a bit like the Curry 8 but it takes all the great features of that shoe and ramps it up. Both shoes feature Under Amour 's awesome Flow cushioning, but the latest model is simply more comfortable than the Curry 8. The transition is a bit smoother and the impact protection is just a bit plusher.

The Under Armour Curry 9 feels more like a running shoe that has been beefed up to be able to play basketball in them, than a traditional basketball shoe. You also get really good traction and a great lightweight upper to go along with that. One of the best basketball shoes you can buy that just happens to be a low top. Read the full review. 160

Best High Top Basketball Shoes

Some people like low-top basketball shoes, some people like high-top basketball shoes, it all depends on your personal taste while on the court. If you are in the market for the best high-top basketball shoe currently on the market, this is our top pick and you can check out our full list of the best high-top basketball shoes available as well, for extra info and context.

Nike Air Zoom GT Jump

The Nike GT Jump is just a really solid basketball shoe that happens to be a high-top, and actually one of the highest high-tops out there. As we have mentioned, the Nike GT Jump has the best cushioning set up in 2022, herringbone traction that works well, all encased in a sturdy high-top package, that somehow remains lightweight. If you like to play in high-tops, you will love these, especially if you are a bigger player that needs a little extra impact protection. Read the full review 200

Best Basketball Shoes for Wide Feet

There are not a ton of great options for wide-footers out there. With the explosion in popularity of online shopping wide footers might not get the chance, to try on sneakers in-store. But, have no fear, Weartesters is here to help you find the best shoe for you. Here you will find our top choice for the best basketball shoe for wide footers, and you can also check out our full list of wide-foot-friendly options here.

Under Armour Curry 8

The Under Armour Curry 8 makes its second appearance on this page. The wide forefoot build makes the shoe wide-footer-friendly and the lightweight sock-like knit upper is really comfortable and more stable than expected. The Curry 8 also features UA Flow foam, one of the best foam cushioning setups currently on the market. Read the full review. 160.

Best Basketball Shoes for Flat Feet

It is a big hassle to find good basketball shoes for people with flat feet. Close to 30% of the population is flat-footed, and finding proper footwear for flat-footed basketball players can be difficult. With this in mind, and after hundreds of hours and models tested, we have chosen the top basketball shoe for flat feet, and we have curated a full list of flat-foot-friendly options as well.

Nike LeBron 19

The Nike LeBron 19 makes another appearance on our list. Flat-footers will really enjoy playing in these.

You will find a huge forefootunit that basically covers the whole front half of the shoe. There's also a plastic piece that comes up the midfoot that will act as a containment piece for side-to-side movements. As an added bonus, the midsole is full-length Cushlon for added impact protection when you land. The Nike LeBron 19 is one of the best basketball shoes available and at the same time is a great flat-foot-friendly option. Read the full review. 200.

Best Basketball Shoes for Ankle Support

The main source of ankle support while playing basketball is provided by your ankle itself, and not necessarily from your shoes. If you are looking for a shoe to boost your confidence and get a little extra support, here is our top pick, and you can check our full list as well.

Air Jordan 36, in general, is an excellent performance model, and the best of the best of what Jordan currently has to offer. The shoes feature full-length Zoom Air, top-notch traction, and most importantly, great support features. The shoe provides a midfoot torsional shank plate, a strong internal heel counter, a secure 1-to-1 fit, and a wide base for added stability. The only issue is the protruding forefoot Zoom Air bag but that just takes some getting used to. Read full review. 185.

Best Basketball Shoes by Brand

If you have a favorite brand, here you can check out our top picks from the top brands. We also have a list of the best basketball shoes by every brand that we have reviewed in the last year.

The Anta KT 7 is Klay Thompson's signature shoe and it is a well-rounded and supportive hoop shoe. Read the full review. Price: $149

Use promo code WEARTESTERS for a discount.

adidas Trae Young 1

The adidas Trae Young 1 is the first signature sneaker for Trae Young and adidas best offering this year. The Trae Young 1 is a great guard's shoe. Read full review. Price: $140

Best Retro Basketball Shoe

adidas Forum 84

The adidas Forum 84 was almost Michel Jordan's first signature shoe. The shoes feature awesome materials on the upper that has been expertly aged to give the shoe a vintage look. The shoe also boasts a radial traction pattern, a cup sole, and a full-length EVA wedge as cushioning. One of the best basketball shoes when it comes to it's build and materials. Read full review. 100.

Most Hyped Basketball Shoe

adidas Yeezy QNTM BSKTBL

After spending years teasing it, Kanye West finally released his own basketball shoe. The years of build-up made the Yeezy BSKTBL highly anticipated. And it ended up being a solid performer by including a full-length Boost midsole and a herringbone outsole. One of the best basketball shoes you can play in if you are all about the hype. Read full review. 200.

Best Basketball Shoe Insoles

Move Insoles

Move Insoles come with the backing of the likes of Damian Lillard, Chris Paul, and Jamaal Crawford. If that weren't enough they come packed with performance features including Shock-Free foam for step-in comfort, DS37 foam as the main cushion booster, a forefoot grip layer, a EVA torsion plate, and a Nylon-based torsion plate on Game Day Pro. They are easily one of the best basketball insoles on the market. There are two models to choose from. The Game Day and the Game Day Pro, check them out!. Price: $39.99 or $59.99.

What is the best basketball shoe of all time?

That's a very difficult question to answer. The truth is that there isn't just one "best basketball shoe" of all time, especially when we're talking about performance basketball shoes. If we're talking most iconic, you could probably argue it's the Jordan 1 or maybe the Converse All-Star, but when we go into on-court performance, the conversation gets more nuanced.

To give as concise an answer as possible, we'll go over some of the top performers of all time, keeping in mind that personal preference and playing style are huge variables to keep in mind:

Air Jordan 12

To start things off, let's go with a retro Jordan. The Air Jordan 12 is one of the greatest performance models of all time, and a shoe that was way ahead of its time. The Air Jordan 12 was originally released in 1997 and featured tech that, even by today's standards, makes it a great on-court shoe. The Air Jordan 12 features herringbone traction, full-length Zoom Air, and a super supportive leather upper (the OG's feature full-grain leather). An all-around awesome performer. Read full review. Current Retail Price: $200

Air Jordan 29

A more modern Jordan model, the Jordan 29 was released back in 2014. Its predecessor, the Jordan 28, was an amazing performance model and the Jordan 29 improved on the blueprint established by the 28. With the Jordan 29 you will get great traction, one of the best Air Zoom setups in the forefoot for cushion, one of the best uppers on a basketball shoe of all time, and all the lightweight support you can handle. Another all-time great from Jordan Brand. Read full review. Original Price: $225

Under Armour Curry 4

The Curry signature lineis one of the most consistently great signature lines out there. The Under Armour Curry 4 is one of the best guard shoes ever produced. The shoe offers great traction, responsive low profile cushioning, and hall of fame level support and fit. The shoe was meant to conform to your foot like a sock, so finding your correct size is crucial. Once you do, you'll have one of the most agile and responsive shoes ever created. Read full review. Original Price: $130

Nike Kobe 9

First off, the Nike Kobe 9 features the best traction of all time. Period. The Nike Kobe 9 was a very technologically advanced shoe at the time. The traction pattern was thermally mapped and engineered to adapt perfectly to the foot's anatomy. On top of that, the shoe featured a Lunarlon drop-in midsole (a very innovative set-up at the time) and an engineered mesh upper. All these features allowed the shoe to remain extremely lightweight and supportive. Probably the best performance Kobe you can buy. Read full review. Original Price: $160

adidas Harden Vol 3

One of adidas' greatest contributions to performance footwear is Boost cushioning. Boost is one of the greatest cushion setups of all time and the Harden Vol 3 features one of the best iterations of it on a basketball shoe. Aside from flawless cushioning, James Harden's 3rd signature shoe also features great traction, a highly supportive and Hall-of-fame-level fitting woven upper. The fit and support of the shoe are generated primarily by the upper itself, keeping everything lightweight. James Harden shoes can be a bit hit or miss, but the adidas Harden Vol 3 is definitely the line's greatest hit to date. Read full review. Original Price: $160

Methodology

Keep in mind that all of these best basketball shoes will accommodate any position or player as long as the shoe in question meets your specifications or requirements. Detailed information on each shoe is featured in its respective performance review. Performance reviews feature an in-depth look at each shoe's pros and cons, price, weight, technology, and other performance specifics. Click on the image or link to read the full performance review for each shoe.

If a model isn't featured, it's either because the model has yet to be tested/reviewed or because we feel it does not belong among the current top basketball shoes. Please reach out via Twitter if you have any follow-up questions.

What are the best basketball shoes?

The best basketball shoes will always be the ones that allow you to perform at your highest, but finding that pair of hoop shoes isn't as easy as it may seem. Even if you're a seasoned basketball player, you may not be sure what features are best suited for your playing style, and which of the many basketball shoes you could pick up actually have the features you need.

You might prefer just to pick up the best basketball shoes from your favorite brand, but a shoe that caters to your playing style, physique, and foot shape really can enhance your performance on court and help prevent injuries.

A great basketball shoe should be able to:

Grip the playing surface in a way that allows you to cut, change directions and stop on a dime.

Provide a level of cushioning that protects your joints from the multiple impacts you will suffer while playing. Every time you land after a jump, you're putting stress on your joints. On average a player jumps 50 times during a basketball game. Without the proper impact protection, your joints will feel it later.

The shoe's upper should be comfortable but at the same time lock down your foot. If the materials are too soft, your foot will likely slide over the top of the midsole. Too tight and the shoe might be too painful to play in.

The shoe should also provide support and give you confidence in more explosive movements. A shoe's support will come from a mix of several features, but the main source of support is your own ankle.

Lastly, you will want a shoe with durable materials worth the hefty price tag of many shoes nowadays, and that are ready to handle the court you play on, whether it be indoors or outdoors.

How do I find a basketball shoe that fits my playing style?

No two basketball players are the same. Everything from a player's height to their weight, to their build, their skill level, etc. are factors that will determine their playing style. And even players that seem very similar, can have different tastes in what they like from their footwear. Damian Lillard and Kyrie Irving for example have vastly different signature shoes, but somewhat comparable styles on court.

Smaller, more agile players will usually favor shoes that can accommodate their shiftier style of play. This means that they will need great traction, great support features, and reactive cushioning. The Curry line and the Kyrie line are good examples of this type of setup.

For bigger, more powerful players, on the other hand, the main focus will probably be a plush cushioning system that will absorb a lot of impacts and a very supportive build. In this case, LeBron's signature line is the best example available.

This of course is a general rule of thumb, and each player will have their individual tastes, but this is a good starting point to find the best basketball shoes for you.

Indoor Basketball vs Outdoor Basketball

This is the question of where you'll use your shoes. If you play primarily indoors, durability won't be a huge issue. But if you're an outdoor hooper, that's a different story.

The best basketball shoes for outdoor basketball will need more durable materials along the upper, harder rubber on the outsole, more cushion to protect against the hard blacktop, and an appropriate traction pattern. We have a full guide on how to choose outdoor basketball shoe s that you can check out.

High-tops, Mid-tops, and Low-tops

Lastly, there is the question of the cut of the shoe. The issue of the cut of a basketball shoe is a bit of a myth. High tops and mids are perceived as offering more support for your ankles and will supposedly help you avoid ankle injuries.

This is not true, however. Low-tops are as supportive as high-tops because the main source of support when playing basketball is actually your ankle itself. NBA players have been playing in low-top basketball shoes for decades, but Kobe Bryant was actually the player that most notoriously debunked this myth.

But there is something to say about the placebo effect that mid-tops and high-tops can provide. Especially people who have already injured their ankles feel safer in mids and highs, and confidence is essential when stepping on the court. So, in this case, stick with what works for you.

Finding the best fit from your basketball shoes

With the boom of online shopping, going into your local sneaker shop and trying on a pair of shoes is practically a thing of the past. If you aren't going in and trying on your shoes, fit can be more of an issue than you might think.

For starters, different brands fit differently. In particular, adidas is notoriously inconsistent with its sizing and is the most different fitting of any of the major brands. But even within more traditional fitting brands, different lines within each brand might fit wider or more narrow.

Fortunately, at WearTesters we break down the fit of every shoe we review. And we actually wear and test every shoe we review. That's not something a lot of other shoe review websites do.

How to break in a basketball shoe

Nowadays, performance basketball shoes are usually made using synthetic textile materials along the upper, which cuts down on break-in time dramatically. However, there are a few quick tips to break in your basketball shoes even quicker.

Wear your hoop shoes casually

Before taking your basketball shoes out on the court, you can wear them casually or around the house for a couple of days to get them formed to your foot. You can also wear them to the weight room for light exercise. After 2 or 3 days, you should be ready to take them to court.

Wear your basketball shoes to practice

Before you break out your new kicks during an official game, take them for a test drive in a more controlled environment. Use them for a shootaround. Or get a few practices in before game day.

If you follow the above recommendations, your shoes should be nicely broken in and ready for action.

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The 10+ Best Basketball Shoes in 2022. Expert-tested and Reviewed. - WearTesters

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At WearTesters, our team of expert reviewers tests hundreds of basketball shoes each year. After testing, we collect the Best Basketball Shoes available and include them here for easy reference. We regularly update this page to feature the highest performing, currently available basketball shoes. The shoes listed are in no particular order.

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Affiliation

¹ Center for Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston University, 72 East Concord St, 7380, Boston, MA 02118, USA. bobstern@bu.edu

Abstract

Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) has been linked to participation in contact sports such as boxing and American football. CTE results in a progressive decline of memory and cognition, as well as depression, suicidal behavior, poor impulse control, aggressiveness, parkinsonism, and, eventually, dementia. In some individuals, it is associated with motor neuron disease, referred to as chronic traumatic encephalomyelopathy, which appears clinically similar to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Results of neuropathologic research has shown that CTE may be more common in former contact sports athletes than previously believed. It is believed that repetitive brain trauma, with or possibly without symptomatic concussion, is responsible for neurodegenerative changes highlighted by accumulations of hyperphosphorylated tau and TDP-43 proteins. Given the millions of youth, high school, collegiate, and professional athletes participating in contact sports that involve repetitive brain trauma, as well as military personnel exposed to repeated brain trauma from blast and other injuries in the military, CTE represents an important public health issue. Focused and intensive study of the risk factors and in vivo diagnosis of CTE will potentially allow for methods to prevent and treat these diseases. Research also will provide policy makers with the scientific knowledge to make appropriate guidelines regarding the prevention and treatment of brain trauma in all levels of athletic involvement as well as the military theater.

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Chronic traumatic encephalopathy: a potential late effect of sport-related concussive and subconcussive head trauma.

Gavett BE, Stern RA, McKee AC. Gavett BE, et al. Clin Sports Med. 2011 Jan;30(1):179-88, xi. doi: 10.1016/j.csm.2010.09.007. Clin Sports Med. 2011. PMID: 21074091 Free PMC article. Review.

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national center for biotechnology information

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Long-term consequences of repetitive brain trauma: chronic traumatic encephalopathy - PubMed

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Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) has been linked to participation in contact sports such as boxing and American football. CTE results in a progressive decline of memory and cognition, as well as depression, suicidal behavior, poor impulse control, aggressiveness, parkinsonism, and, eventually, ...

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Area 51 and aliens: the myth, the meme, and the strange reality, explained

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It’s been 30 years since the public first heard about Area 51. Here’s why UFO hunters are still obsessed.

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Still $6,000 for a dependable TT motor swap is a bargain. You'll spend maybe alittle less for a NA Turbo kit however there are alot more possibilities of issues that may arise. I think I'm still going to do this swap. Heck for $6-7k to have a good US Spec TT Low milage Engine may be worth the hassle.

And if your going to stay with the JDM Specifications, and keep all the sensors and ECU, you'll have a even cheaper project on your hands. I'm getting all that you said one would need minus the Water Pump, Assembly, and (if needed) engine mounts for $3,848. That's the Aristo TT Motor, JDM ECU/Harness, Stock TT SMIC, and Oil Pans. (Thanks Sherbaz) Wish me Luck.

and that $300 for his 2jzgte swap belongs to me cause my manifold never ended here???

JDMSUPRA your the biggest scam of all..not returning any emails or PM's..

MPF_SUPRA,

I'm getting tired of your little cry outs.. If you have a problem, take it to PM, don't add bull shit to a thread that don't fucking concern you!! If you read through.. um, I'm not selling shit!! Just giv'n others an idea on what it costs..

Hey JDM, what year Aristo Motor and ECU/Harness did you have?

begone

I had the non-vvti Aristo JZS-147. The one that everyone else would get.

godelfer

The differences between the oil pans is the TT has hole already for the oil return flange, where as the NA would have to be drilled.

There's a pin out on the JDM/ USDM ECUs on the australian/ new zeland? MKIV web site. The plug for the ECUs are the exact same for the Aristo, and both Supras. However, the connector pin out is differen. For instance the Jap Supra has a Map sensor so the pins dedicated for that go to the MAF on the US Supra etc. Also, the Jap Supra doesn't have a second 02 sensor etc.. The Aristo is way different.. The AEM will plug and play both the US and Jap Supras but not the Aristo..

The parts that need to be replaced is easy if you have automotive experiance.. You could hard wire any wiring harness to any car, so nothing is impossible. The major difference is if you use the Aristo ECU harness etc and swap to a manual trans you will have a problem because there are no MT Aristo ECU's. Your best bet is to use the US Supra harness with an AEM.. That would be the fastest and cheapest (in the long run) and would allow you to later on go manual or TH400..

Steve

As far as I know all the connectors are the same.. I've never messed with the NA.. But the ECUs look like they have the same connector.

The US Supra has 3 connectors too? The US Supra and Jap version harnesses probably plug in and out, but might have a pin or 2 different..

On the other hand I belive the aristo's engine harness ties into the fuse box in the engine bay unlike the Supra with the body connectors on the inside..

I ran the Aristo ECU in my Supra, it started and ran but it was kinda miss firing at idle and didn't have a tach signal either.. If your have proffesional Automotive wiring then this should be a piece of cake.. Just remember installing stereo's in completly different!!

You can use the JDM map sensor and AIT sensor for the AEM, but do to limited boost and heat soaking I would replace them.. It's a good start tho..

Any other Q's?

Thanks for the good tip on it going to the fuse box. As for the wiring jobs I have done. I have built from scratch/ extended/ modified more engine harnesses than I have installed car radios. I have probably installed 10-15 times more motors than Radios I have installed. ( dont worry I completely understand where the comment came from). I am trying to get as much info as possable before I purchase my motor. The cost difference is too great to go and purchase a USDM motor. Not to mention the cost difference. If I could get a low mileage USDM motor for ~1000 more total cost (including water pump and other misc stuff) I would jump on it. But at 2-2500 more I just cant justify it if I can purchase a motor for as Cheap as I can get it. I am going to replace the cams, injectors, and turbo. So that stuff I am not worried about. My biggest thing I am looking at right now is the harness. I called the dealership and they wanted 1500 for a harness. I have not been able to find a harness and ECU by them self (ecu yes, harness no)

Do you have a link for the aussie site. I can not find it..

Thanks

Danny

Of course the US harness will plug directly into the US spec Supra. The Supra Jap spec harness sounds simular to the US harness, but nobody has tried it. As I mentioned earlier the Aristo is completly different and I wouldn't even attemt to wire it into a US MKIV, maybe a different car that was going to remain auto and non modded.

Your best bet is to get the US Supra harness, US ECU then the ABC soup or the Map Ecu.. If you want to run the AEM, then skip the piggy backs and the OEM ECU..

godelfer

Didn't mean to insult.. just making sure we're on the same subject.

If the aristo harness runs to the fuse box, then just open the harness and bring back the wires towards the ECU. Since the Supra has all the conections in 1 location it will be easy. It can and will work, just needs modification. The engine will run with only a couple wires hooked up, it's getting the dash to work is the hard part..

The hard part is when you want to upgrade to a manual trans or TH400, you won't be able to find a compatible ecu..

supdawg79

You buy the Aristo engine and replace the Aristo for the US harness with the Supra US one and that's it. But don't forget the oil pan, engine mounts and water pump as previous mentioned.

I looked at the post you linked to.. but there's so much wrong incorrect information there, i would take to long to fix it..

No insult taken

I see what you are saying. I have a question though. You mentioned you started your car on a Aristo ECU? What harness was in the car?

If it was a USDM harness than Bingo. They plug up.

If it was sputtering and misfiring on a USDM harness than what about the MAP MAF difference.

As I said. If I can find the wiring diagram I might jump into it...

Thanks

Danny

I found the site but guess I am to tired to find where the diagram is on it. I will try some more.

Thanks

godelfer

Sorry about the confusion, but I live in Japan and my Supra is a Jap spec, that's why I could put the Aristo ECU in. Don't try it with a US harness, you could start a fire.

The wiring (ECU pin out) is towards the bottom, you have to scroll down. Check out that site for Japanese only mods, since these mods can apply to your set up.. i.e. free speed cut etc..

Ahh I see.

I found the wiring for the JDM supra. I am looking for the wiring for the Aristo. I will keep on searching...

Thanks man

Danny

There isn't any for the Aristo on this site.. If you search you may find it..? I went to toyota here and got the ECU pin out before..

It would be hard for toyota to give me the Aristo Wiring here in the US...

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JDM 2JZ-GTE engine swap info!! what's needed and...

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This swap will work for all mkiv NA Supra's and SC300's. If you want to make this a sticky, then go for it!! Ok, since I seem to get asked the difference's or the "how to" swap in a JDM 2JZ-GTE into my NA mkiv, I decided to do a write up on it.

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Seth: The mental battle of Earl Sweatshirt

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Seth: The mental battle of Earl Sweatshirt

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https://medium.com/@Russell_28_/i-stopped-going-outside-understanding-earl-sweatshirts-disappearance-80e4cacf2f38

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Image: Verge Campus Music

In 2009, Tyler, the Creator was a young rapper out of California who had just started an upstart Hip-Hop collective full of misfits and rejects that was just beginning to take shape. And the first recruit was a 15 year old black kid from Los Angeles named Thebe Kgositsile, who had originally started rapping under the name Sly Tendencies, but he become later known more by his second moniker, Earl Sweatshirt. Earl released his first self-titled mixtape at 16 years old, and was well regarded as one of Hip-Hop's next young lyricists. Unfortunately, his career was put on hold while his mom made the decision to send him away to Samoa for Boarding School as an attempt to deter him from entering into the wrong crowd separate from Odd Future. The chant of "Free Earl" would ring out over all OF performances during his absences, and while it did hurt his development as a commercial property, he also grew as a person, becoming a mentor for the new students at his Samoan school, and also becoming a cult hero for the young teenage Odd Future fans while he was away.

Earl would then return and go on to forge a path as a soulful songwriter, connecting with listeners through his intimate portrayals of depression, loneliness and parental absence, specifically referencing his father Keorapetse, a well-known African Poet who separated from Earl's mother at when he was 8 years old. Earl's first two studio albums, Doris and I Don't Like Shit, I Don't Go Outside, were both centered around Earl's struggles with these more personal topics and established him as a deeply personal artist who can eloquently describe his experiences without really ever telling you them flat out.

Earl's struggles with Mental Illness were fully revealed on Doris and only expanded upon further on IDLSIDGO, and the way they were discussed in such depth and accuracy lead many to the assumption that this was a battle Earl was fighting every day as opposed to just brief periods of sadness. This was deeper than just songwriting material, this was real, deep, depression.

After his second album dropped in 2015, Earl went quiet for the rest of the year after the promotional cycle had ended, only doing a few interviews with major publications and keeping a somewhat active presence on his social media pages. Which is not uncommon, and was similar to what his Odd Future cohort Frank Ocean had done after his breakout release of CHANNEL Orange in 2012. Frank broke out of his slumber in 2016, releasing Endless and Blonde to massive fanfare and acclaim, Earl also released a few singles in 2016, and prepared fans for what seemed like a new album coming sometime in 2017.

But the album never came.

Earl's presence slowly diminished, as he retreated away from the public eye further than ever before, 2017 came and went, with Earl promising "New Chunes for 2018" on the eve of the New Year over his Twitter, leaving fans hopeful that Earl's third studio album would be delivered sometime soon.

But unfortunately, tragedy struck when Earl's estranged father Keorapetse Kgositsile passed away in Johannesburg after a short battle with illness at 79 years old, just four days into the new year. By January 10th it had been announced that Earl had understandably cancelled his upcoming Australian tour dates to mourn the loss. More surprising though was the cancellation of his European dates just last month in June mere hours before the first performance was scheduled to get underway. The reasons cited were "depression and anxiety compounded by the grief of the death of his father", and Earl promised his fans that he would be back whenever he felt he was ready.

The key word in that statement is "compounded". Implying that this is a battle Earl has been fighting throughout his absence, and could be the reason why his third album has gone unreleased. The final date of Earl's year, an appearance at the 2018 Pitchfork Music Festival, was cancelled just recently on July 16th, effectively putting Earl Sweatshirt's 2018 on hold, and possibly taking any hopes for new music with it.

If you are an Earl Sweatshirt fan, the news of his depression and anxiety wouldn't have come as a surprise, it's been the one thing he has shed considerable light on in life otherwise shrouded in varying degrees of mystery. But Earl didn't want to be just known as the "sad rapper" of the mainstream, in an interview with PigeonsAndPlanes at the end of 2015, Earl had this to say about his depression:

I'm not as depressed as I was last year when I hurt my knee, so I can't keep making music about being in a cage 'cause I'm not in a cage. I have a thing with myself where, like I have to be truthful with s**t I write, so with me not doing a repeat of I Don't Like S**t, I have to make sure [I] don't get to the space again where I don't like s**t. That's why a lot of times I end up isolating myself, because I O.D. on people.

And this is why I feel like the album is taking so long to complete. Earl feels some sort of internal pressure to not continue down the path he is currently paving himself with I Don't Like Shit and Doris before that, he wants to make some more positive music and fully display the versatility we've seen glimpses of throughout his career. But unfortunately, his mindset keeps getting drawn back into the dark thoughts, whether it be because of his father's death, the knee injury he mentioned in the Pigs and Planes interview, or just the unrelenting pain depression can sometimes bring. And while he's shown he can make phenomenal art while being trapped in that mindset, I think he just doesn't want to anymore.

Many artists gripe about how outside pressures can pigeonhole them into a certain lane or sound against their will, but tragically for Earl, his mind may be doing it to him instead. If this is the case, I hope he finds peace, whether it be through therapy or some sort of escape to his own personal Samoa, his fans will be happy to wait.

@Russell_28_ on Twitter.

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I Stopped Going Outside: Understanding Earl Sweatshirt's disappearance

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In 2009, Tyler, the Creator was a young rapper out of California who had just started an upstart Hip-Hop collective full of misfits and rejects that was just beginning to take shape.

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Mark: Extinct Animals That Could Be Resurrected

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Mark: Extinct Animals That Could Be Resurrected

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Can a lost species become un-extinct? In the 1993 film "Jurassic Park," dinosaurs are cloned back to life after their DNA is found intact within the bellies of ancient mosquitoes preserved in amber. While the science of cloning is still in its infancy, many scientists believe it's only a matter of time before extinct animals again walk the Earth.

To successfully clone an extinct animal, scientists need to find animal DNA that is almost entirely intact. Some species have substantial potential as candidates because of the availability of what is called ancient DNA, or genetic material from fossils or artifacts. For instance, recently extinct animals, museum specimens, and species preserved in permafrost during the last Ice Age provide ancient DNA. That leaves tackling whether undertaking revivifying or resurrecting an extinct species is sensible, ethical, safe, and affordable.

Because of the sheer amount of time that has passed, dinosaurs are unlikely candidates. A real-life Jurassic Park is probably best reserved for the imagination, but a real-life Pleistocene Park? Well, that's another story. Here's our list of 14 extinct animals considered for de-extinction through cloning.

Saber-Toothed Cats

Looking at the epic canine teeth of these once-fearsome cats of Pleistocene lore, you may wonder whether resurrecting saber-toothed cats is a good idea.

Fossil specimens have survived into modern times thanks to the frigid habitats they once roamed. Ancient tar deposits, like those at the La Brea Tar Pits, preserved intact specimens, though whether there is enough ancient DNA to create a database is doubtful.

This one fires up the imagination and enthusiasm in a science-fiction scenario, but the realities of finding an unrelated surrogate able to carry the embryo, raising it, and providing suitable habitat mean this one is a long shot. IUCN guidelines certainly seem to recommend against it.

Carolina Parakeet

Once the only parrot species native to the United States, the Carolina parakeet was tragically driven to extinction after being hunted for its feathers, which were popular in ladies' hats. The last known specimen died in 1918. Because mounted birds, remnant feathers, and eggshells remain in circulation and museums, DNA extraction and cloning of the species could soon become a possibility.

Virginia Tech has a project underway to implant a Carolina parakeet genome into the egg of a relative, the Jandaya parakeet. In the bird's favor: there's enough suitable climate for the bird to inhabit, but that raises the risk that the bird could become an invasive species.

Woolly Rhinoceros

The woolly mammoth wasn't the only massive hairy creature on the chilly Pleistocene tundra. The woolly rhinoceros also stomped through the Arctic snow as recently as 10,000 years ago. The animal also appears frequently in ancient cave art, such as at Chauvet-Pont-d'Arc Cave in France.

Woolly rhinos share many of the same pros as candidates as the woolly mammoth. Well-preserved specimens frequently become exposed in Arctic permafrost. Scientists have successfully sequenced the DNA and a rhinoceros could potentially carry the embryo. However, this victim of climate change lacks suitable areas for repopulation. What habitat does remain is rapidly shrinking due to anthropogenic or human-influenced climate change.

Passenger Pigeon

As recently as 200 years ago, flocks of passenger pigeons numbering in the billions blanketed the North American sky. By 1914, ruthless hunting campaigns wiped out the species.

Now thanks to cloning technology, the animal that was once the most numerous bird in North America might have a second chance. Museum specimens, feathers, and other remnants of these birds still exist, and because they are so closely related to the mourning dove, finding a surrogate mother would be easy.

Revive and Restore, an organization that actively seeks to recover extinct species, has a project well underway. They claim that returning passenger pigeons to the forests of North America will serve as a critical species in conserving that ecosystem.

Neanderthal

The Neanderthal is perhaps the most controversial species eligible for cloning, primarily due to logistics: The surrogate species would be us.

A Neanderthal clone would also probably be most viable. Scientists have already completed a rough draft of the Neanderthal genome, for instance. As the most recently extinct member of the Homo genus, Neanderthals are widely considered a subspecies of modern humans.

The question is not so much, "could we do this?" but "should we?" The ethical considerations seem to outweigh the technical in the case of Neanderthals. A United Nations declaration and many countries ban the cloning of humans.

Cloning Neanderthals is controversial, but it could also be illuminating. It also could strengthen the human genome by adding hybrid vigor to the species when humans and Neanderthal peoples mate and create offspring.

The ethics of having human surrogates carry the engineered Neanderthal bear examining. Early experiments may result in stillbirths or defects incompatible with life. If successful, there's no way to know whether the child would have immunity to modern bacteria and viruses. If cloning were to take place, considerations of whether sports would allow the stronger Neanderthal to take part, whether the resulting children would find peers among human children. There also is debate on whether Neanderthals would have the ability to communicate and independently manage the functions of modern daily life.

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14 Extinct Animals That Could Be Resurrected

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Can a lost species become un-extinct? In the 1993 film "Jurassic Park," dinosaurs are cloned back to life after their DNA is found intact within the bellies of ancient mosquitoes preserved in amber. While the science of cloning is still in its infancy, many scientists believe it's only a matter of time before extinct animals again walk the Earth.

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Black Holes Explained – From Birth to Death

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The ESPN documentary series "The Last Dance" showed a younger generation of NBA fans that Michael Jordan is much more than a guy who sells retro sneakers. For those who witnessed Jordan's excellence over the course of two three-peats with the Bulls, it reinforced the belief that he is the greatest player to ever touch the court.

A current star has complicated that GOAT (greatest of all time) conversation, of course. There is an argument to be made for putting LeBron James over Jordan, and James' case only grew stronger after he passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the NBA's all-time leading scorer.

The Sporting News' Bill Bender has a helpful guide with the most important talking points if you're ready to discuss MJ vs. LeBron, but we're simply here to provide the facts you need to justify your choice. Don't be the person yelling "six rings" with no backup plan.

Here's a closer look at where the GOAT debate stands...
(All stats current as of May 23, 2023)
Michael Jordan vs. LeBron James: Regular season stats

On a per-game basis, Jordan is superior in the scoring department, but James grabs rebounds and dishes out assists at a higher rate. While both players are known for tenacious defense on the wing, Jordan finished first in the league in steals three times in his career. James has not yet claimed a steals title.

In terms of longevity, James holds a clear advantage. The gap in total numbers will widen as long as James stays healthy, and he doesn't appear to be slowing down at age 38.

Now that James is the NBA's all-time leading scorer, one question remains: Will he put the record out of reach? There's a very good chance that James blows by 40,000 career points. Could 45,000 be in play?

Michael Jordan vs. LeBron James: Regular season advanced stats

It's all about which category you choose when it comes to advanced statistics. VORP and Win Shares favor James, but PER and Box Plus/Minus go to Jordan.

Pick a side, nerds! (That's a term of endearment.)

Michael Jordan vs. LeBron James: Playoff stats

The playoff statistics mirror what Jordan and James produce during the regular season. Despite James' increased usage and efficiency from beyond the arc over the course of his career, it's worth noting that he shoots about the same percentage as Jordan from 3-point range.

Oh, and the lazy narrative claiming James shrinks in big games - his postseason lines are often more impressive than his regular-season performances. That's not a smart way to argue against him.

Michael Jordan vs. LeBron James: Playoff advanced stats

Jordan is the all-time playoff leader in PER and Box Plus/Minus, and he has the highest usage percentage. But James tops everyone in VORP and Win Shares.

So, yeah, these guys are pretty good.

Michael Jordan vs. LeBron James: Accolades and awards

And here's the big one. Jordan fans have championships in their back pockets. MJ went a perfect 6-0 in the NBA Finals and never needed a Game 7 to win those series.

James has gone 4-6 in his 10 NBA Finals appearances, but he also controlled the Eastern Conference with the Cavaliers and Heat for almost an entire decade.

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Michael Jordan vs. LeBron James: The key stats you need to know in the GOAT debate | Sporting News

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There is an argument to be made for putting James over Jordan, and James' case only grew stronger after he passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the NBA's all-time leading scorer.

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Targeted advertising is a way for marketers to present consumers with ads that reflect their specific traits, interests, and shopping behavior. This is generally done by using customer data to segment audiences by factors such as basic demographics, shopping interests, or browsing behavior, and then creating unique advertisements tailored to each audience segment.

For digital marketers and ecommerce brands, targeted advertising is an essential tool for cutting through the noise of ads that internet users constantly experience, serving personalized content where users will see and engage with it. Targeted advertising also includes retargeting, which further hones ad personalization and encourages customers to continue down the conversion funnel.
For a beginner's guide to ad targeting:
Benefits of Targeted Advertising

1) Deliver a higher level of personalization

Ad personalization has become one of the "Holy Grails" of digital marketing, thanks to its well-documented effects on customer acquisition and retention, click-through rate (CTR), and customer lifetime value (CLV). Targeted advertising allows brands to send different messaging to different consumers based on what the brand knows about the customer. The better a brand can demonstrate that it understands what its customers want and need, the more likely customers respond to advertising and engage with the brand. Research bears out the facts:

71% of customers prefer personalized advertisements.

Personalization in digital marketing can boost revenue by 15%.

Personalization encourages repeat purchases, with 44% of customers becoming repeat buyers with ad personalization.

2) Establish brand awareness and increase brand perception

If a brand's ads are generic or poorly placed, potential customers will notice. Filling a customer's browser with ads that don't speak to their interests or offer something personally relevant will only hurt a brand's perception and reputation among consumers. Conversely, brands can improve their reputation by presenting relevant ads and valuable content to the audiences that are likely to appreciate them. This will help boost recognition with high-value customers and establish the brand with strong brand equity in its niche.

3) Streamline marketing efforts and keep resources focused on growth

Targeted advertising maximizes each piece of creative and content that a brand publishes to the internet. Generic advertising is low-reward and often costly relative to its concrete benefits, but targeting helps focus resources on the most rewarding audience groups. Paired with basic automation to publish ads that fit each audience segment, targeted advertisement takes much of the legwork out of finding high-potential customers and attracting them to the brand.

4) Increase brand marketing ROI on marketing spend

Targeted advertisements rely on data already collected about customers, using demographics, interest, and behavior trends to approach consumers the way they prefer to be engaged. Leveraging customer data takes the guesswork out of customer acquisition and reduces spending on users who are unlikely to convert.

Types of Targeted Advertising

Contextual

Contextual targeting helps marketers place ad content alongside other content that is related to the thing being advertised. Instead of pasting ads all over the web in places that have nothing to do with the brand or the product offered, contextual targeting matches the ad's content with the context in which it's placed. This creates a more integrated experience for customers that helps tell them that your product is related to something they're interested in. An example of contextual advertising would be an athletic shoe brand presenting an ad on a blog about running and training. Typically, marketers will create an ad and associate it with specific keywords, which the ad publisher scans to match with relevant positioning.
For a full guide to contextual targeting: Pro Tip: Learn more about getting started with Contextual Targeting using AdRoll
Behavioral

Behavioral targeting is similar to contextual advertising but considers user behavior and browsing activity when positioning ads across the web. In this type of ad targeting, you can place ads for customers based on their search or browsing history. Other factors that can shape behavioral ad targeting include links clicked, purchases, time spent on web pages, social media follows, and more.
Pro Tip: Learn more about getting started with Behavioral Targeting using AdRoll
Geotargeting

Geotargeting is an essential tool in a marketer's arsenal, especially for brands that operate regionally or in specific locations. Geotargeting simply directs ads to publish for consumers based on their geographical location. This is also useful for brands that sell a location-dependent product or for advertisers marketing an event in a particular place.

Pro Tip: Whenever you launch an ad using AdRoll, regardless of format or type, you can set specific audience locations.

Social media has become a hotspot for advertising and ecommerce business, to the point that many shoppers now prefer to make purchases through social media instead of a brand's website or in a retail store. Social media targeting helps brands leverage consumers' behavior on the web, search engines, and social media sites to present ads that reflect consumer interests. Social media targeting can also be considered a kind of behavioral targeting.
For more social media retargeting strategies: Pro Tip: Learn more about getting started with Social Media Targeting using AdRoll
Retargeting

Retargeting is an essential tool for digital marketers because it capitalizes on customers who have already demonstrated interest in or engaged with a brand. It works by associating sets of ad messaging (display ads, emails, social media ads, etc.) with given behaviors when a customer is engaging with a brand online. For instance, a customer who purchases a pair of running shoes will likely be retargeted with ads about other running accessories.
Pro Tip: Learn more about getting started with Cross-channel Retargeting using AdRoll's Marketing Recipe
Meeting Customers Where They Are

In today's digital marketing ecosystem, customers are so accustomed to seeing ads during the course of their browsing that they often stop recognizing the ads entirely. For that reason, brands need to develop marketing strategies that meet customers where they are with personalized content and messaging that reflects an understanding of consumer desires as they relate to a particular product. AdRoll offers 6 types of audience targeting features to help you engage with your current and future customers wherever they are online.

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Targeted advertising is a way for marketers to present consumers with ads that reflect their specific traits, interests, and shopping behavior. This is generally done by using customer data to segment audiences by factors such as basic demographics, shopping interests, or browsing behavior, and then creating unique advertisements tailored to each audience segment.

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https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/food-staple/#:~:text=Rice%20is%20a%20food%20staple,in%20about%203%2C000%20years%20ago.

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Encyclopedic Entry Vocabulary

A food staple is a food that makes up the dominant part of a population's diet. Food staples are eaten regularly-even daily-and supply a major proportion of a person's energy and nutritional needs.

Food staples vary from place to place, depending on the food sources available. Most food staples are inexpensive, plant-based foods. They are usually full of calories for energy. Cereal grains and tubers are the most common food staples.

There are more than 50,000 edible plants in the world, but just 15 of them provide 90 percent of the world's food energy intake. Rice, corn ( maize), and wheat make up two-thirds of this. Other food staples include millet and sorghum; tubers such as potatoes, cassava, yams, and taro; and animal products such as meat, fish, and dairy.

Food staples traditionally depend on what plants are native to a region. However, with improvements in agriculture, food storage, and transportation, some food staples are changing. For example, in the islands of the South Pacific, roots and tubers such as taro are traditional food staples. Since 1970, however, their consumption has fallen.

Foods that were particular to one region are becoming popular in regions where they don't traditionally grow. Quinoa, for instance, is a grain-like plant that is grown high in the Andes Mountains of South America. Today, quinoa is popular far outside of Latin America.

Although staple foods are nutritious, they do not provide the full, healthy range of nutrients. People must add other foods to their diets to avoid malnutrition.

Rice

Rice is a food staple for more than 3.5 billion people around the world, particularly in Asia, Latin America, and parts of Africa. Rice has been cultivated in Asia for thousands of years. Scientists believe people first domesticated rice in India or Southeast Asia. Rice arrived in Japan in about 3,000 years ago. The Portuguese most likely introduced it into South America in the 16 th century.

Today, the world's largest rice producers are China, India, and Indonesia. Outside of Asia, Brazil is the largest rice producer. Rice grows in warm, wet climates. It thrives in waterlogged soil, such as in the flood plains of Asian rivers like the Ganges and the Mekong. "Deepwater rice" is a variety of rice that is adapted to deep flooding, and is grown in eastern Pakistan, Vietnam, and Burma.

Corn (Maize)

Corn, known outside the United States as maize, is native to Central America, where it was domesticated by the Aztecs and Mayans. Corn remains the most widely grown crop in the Americas today. The United States is the world's largest corn grower, producing more than 40 percent of the world's corn. China, Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina also produce large amounts of corn.

Corn is used in a variety of ways, and can be stored relatively easily. This is why it is such a popular food staple.

Dried, ground corn is called cornmeal. Many cultures make porridge out of cornmeal, including polenta in Italy and sadza in Zimbabwe. Cornmeal is also used to make cornbread, or treated with limewater to make masa, the main ingredient in tortillas.

Corn kernels can be soaked in lye to produce hominy. Coarsely ground hominy is used to make grits, a popular food in the southeastern United States. Grits are a popular breakfast food, as are corn flakes and other cereals made from corn. Brazilians make a dessert called canjica by boiling corn kernels in sweetened milk.

In the Americas and the United Kingdom, many people like to boil, grill, or roast whole ears of corn and simply eat the kernels off the cob. Cooked kernels may also be removed from the cob and served as a vegetable. Certain varieties of corn kernels, when dried, will explode when heated, producing popcorn.

Corn is also used to produce corn oil, sweeteners such as corn syrup, and cornstarch, which is used as a sweetener and thickening agent in home cooking and processed food products. Alcohol from fermented corn is the source of bourbon whiskey.

Wheat

Wheat was first domesticated in the Middle East, in the area known as the Cradle of Civilization near what is now Iraq. Domesticating this reliable, versatile staple food was key to the development of agriculture.

Wheat grows well in temperate climates, even those with a short growing season. Today, China, India, the United States, Russia, and France are among the largest wheat producers in the world.

The majority of breads are made with wheat flour. Wheat flour is also used in pasta, pastries, crackers, breakfast cereals, and noodles. Wheat can be crushed into bulgur, which has a high nutritional value and is often used in soups and pastries in the Middle East.

Roots and Tubers

In addition to cereal grains, roots, and tubers are common food staples, particularly in tropical regions. Yams are an important food in the rainforests of West Africa. They are most commonly peeled, boiled, and pounded into a pulp to make a dough called fufu.

Cassava, also known as manioc, is a food staple for more than 500 million people. This tuber originated in the Amazon rainforest of South America, and was introduced into West Africa in the 16 th century. Now, cassava is important to the diets of many people in Latin America and Africa.

Taro is a staple food on some of the Pacific islands, such as Hawai'i, Fiji, and New Caledonia, and also in West Africa. The Hawaiian national dish, poi, is a thick paste made from taro that has been boiled, mashed, and fermented.

Potatoes are native to the cold climate of the Andes Mountains. They were the food staple of the Inca Empire in the 15 th and 16 th centuries. Introduced to Europe by explorers of the 16 th century, potatoes are now a food staple in Europe and parts of the Americas. The leading potato producers are China, Russia, India, the United States, and Ukraine.

Other Food Staples

Although cereal grains and tubers make up the majority of the world's food staples, they are not the only dominant foods in the world. The Maasai of Kenya and Tanzania have traditionally relied on food provided by cattle for the majority of their diet. Milk, meat, and blood are traditional ingredients in Maasai diets. Today, grain has become a staple food of the Maasai, but they still drink large quantities of milk.

Cultures indigenous to polar climates, where fresh fruits and vegetables are scarce, rely on meat and fish as food staples. For example, Eskimo tribes of Alaska and northern Canada have traditionally eaten seal, walrus, and whale meat in addition to many kinds of fish.

In tropical climates, people often rely on starchy fruits such as plantains and breadfruit. In parts of Africa and Asia, especially India, legume s such as beans, lentils, and chickpeas are staple foods.

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Writers

Kim Rutledge
Tara Ramroop
Diane Boudreau
Melissa McDaniel
Santani Teng
Erin Sprout
Hilary Costa
Hilary Hall
Jeff Hunt

Illustrators

Mary Crooks, National Geographic Society
Tim Gunther

Editors

Jeannie Evers, Emdash Editing
Kara West

Educator Reviewer

Nancy Wynne

Producer

Caryl-Sue, National Geographic Society

Sources

Dunn, Margery G. (Editor). (1989, 1993). "Exploring Your World: The Adventure of Geography." Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society.

Last Updated

Feb. 22, 2011

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Writers

Kim Rutledge
Tara Ramroop
Diane Boudreau
Melissa McDaniel
Santani Teng
Erin Sprout
Hilary Costa
Hilary Hall
Jeff Hunt

Illustrators

Mary Crooks, National Geographic Society
Tim Gunther

Editors

Jeannie Evers, Emdash Editing
Kara West

Educator Reviewer

Nancy Wynne

Producer

Caryl-Sue, National Geographic Society

Sources

Dunn, Margery G. (Editor). (1989, 1993). "Exploring Your World: The Adventure of Geography." Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society.

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This lists the logos of programs or partners of NG Education which have provided or contributed the content on this page. Powered by Encyclopedic Entry Vocabulary A food staple is a food that makes up the dominant part of a population's diet.

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NEW YORK - The NBA today announced the finalists for six awards that honor top performers for the 2021-22 regular season: NBA Coach of the Year, Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year, Kia NBA Most Improved Player, Kia NBA Most Valuable Player, Kia NBA Rookie of the Year and Kia NBA Sixth Man of the Year.

The three finalists for each annual award, based on voting results from a global panel of sportswriters and broadcasters, are listed in alphabetical order below.

Presenting your 2021-22 NBA Coach of the Year finalists:

- NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) April 17, 2022

Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year

Kia NBA Most Improved Player

Kia NBA Most Valuable Player

Kia NBA Rookie of the Year

Kia NBA Sixth Man of the Year

TNT will announce the winner of each award during its coverage of the 2022 NBA Playoffs presented by Google Pixel. Each voter's complete ballot for each award will be posted at PR.NBA.com after the announcement of all end-of-season awards.

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Finalists announced for 2021-22 NBA awards

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NEW YORK - The NBA today announced the finalists for six awards that honor top performers for the 2021-22 regular season: NBA Coach of the Year, Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year, Kia NBA Most Improved Player, Kia NBA Most Valuable Player, Kia NBA Rookie of the Year and Kia NBA Sixth Man of the Year.

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https://hiphopunrapped.com/articles-hiphop-rap-socialissues/the-real-meaning-behind-kendrick-lamar-u-survivorsguilt-impostorsyndrome

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The Real Meaning Behind Kendrick Lamar’s ‘U’ — Hip Hop Unrapped

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On “U,” Kendrick Lamar locks himself in a hotel room with a bottle of liquor and starts screaming, battling survivor’s guilt and impostor syndrome. This is the story of how he got to that breaking point.

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These six "experiments" by Unit 731 rank among some of the most horrifying war crimes ever committed - and they went virtually unpunished.

World War II devastated the lives of more than 100 million people around the world. And out of all the areas in which World War II was fought, none were active as long as what would come to be known as the Pacific Theater. In fact, Japan arguably started the war by attacking Manchuria in 1931, and it inarguably waged war with China by invading in 1937.

The disturbances and upheavals that these invasions caused shook China to its very foundations, triggered a civil war and a famine that probably killed more people than currently live in Canada and Australia combined, and lasted until the country's Soviet "liberation" in 1945.

And out of all the atrocities that Imperial Japan unleashed upon the Chinese people during this brutal occupation, probably none were as gratuitously hateful as the operations of Unit 731, the Japanese biological warfare unit that somehow plumbed new depths in what was already a genocidal war.

Despite innocent beginnings as a research and public health agency, Unit 731 eventually grew into an assembly line for weaponized diseases that, if fully deployed, could have killed everyone on Earth several times over. All this "progress" was, of course, built on the limitless suffering of human captives, who were held as test subjects and walking disease incubators until Unit 731 was shut down at the end of the war.

But before Unit 731 was broken up in 1945, it committed some of the most torturous human experiments in recorded history.

Unit 731 Experiments: Frostbite Testing

Yoshimura Hisato, a physiologist assigned to Unit 731, took a special interest in hypothermia. As part of Maruta's study in limb injuries, Hisato routinely submerged captives' limbs in a tub of water filled with ice and had them held until the arm or leg had frozen solid and a coat of ice had formed over the skin. According to one eyewitness account, the limbs made a sound like a plank of wood when struck with a cane.

Hisato then tried different methods for rapid rewarming of the frozen appendage. Sometimes he did this by dousing the limb with hot water, sometimes by holding it close to an open fire, and other times by leaving the subject untreated overnight to see how long it took for the person's own blood to thaw it out.

Vivisection Of Conscious Captives

Unit 731 started out as a research unit, investigating the effects of disease and injury on the fighting ability of an armed force. One element of the unit, called "Maruta," took this research a little further than the usual bounds of medical ethics by observing injuries and the course of disease on living patients.

At first, these patients were volunteers from the ranks of the army, but as the experiments reached the limits of what could be non-invasively observed, and as the supply of volunteers dried up, the unit turned to the study of Chinese POWs and civilian captives.

And as the concept of consent went out the window, so did the restraint of the researchers. It was around this time that Unit 731 began referring to confined research subjects as "logs," or "Maruta" in Japanese.

Study methods in these experiments were barbaric.

Vivisection, for example, is the practice of mutilating human bodies, without anesthesia, to study the operations of living systems. Thousands of men and women, mostly Chinese communist captives as well as children and elderly farmers, were infected with diseases such as cholera and the plague, then had their organs removed for examination before they died in order to study the effects of the disease without the decomposition that occurs after death.

Subjects had limbs amputated and reattached to the other side of the body, while others had their limbs crushed or frozen, or had the circulation cut off to observe the progress of gangrene.

Finally, when a prisoner's body was all used up, they would typically be shot or killed by lethal injection, though some may have been buried alive. None of the Chinese, Mongolian, Korean, or Russian captives assigned to Unit 731 survived their confinement.

Unit 731's Horrifying Weapons Tests

The effectiveness of various weapons was of obvious interest to the Japanese Army. To determine effectiveness, Unit 731 herded captives together on a firing range and blasted them from varying ranges by multiple Japanese weapons, such as the Nambu 8mm pistol, bolt-action rifles, machine guns, and grenades. Wound patterns and penetration depths were then compared on the bodies of the dead and dying inmates.

Bayonets, swords, and knives were also studied in this way, though the victims were usually bound for these tests. Flamethrowers were also tested, on both covered and exposed skin. In addition, gas chambers were set up at unit facilities and test subjects exposed to nerve gas and blister agents.

Heavy objects were dropped onto bound victims to study crush injuries, subjects were locked up and deprived of food and water to learn how long humans could survive without them, and victims were allowed to drink only sea water, or were given injections of mismatched human or animal blood to study transfusions and the clotting process.

Meanwhile, prolonged X-ray exposure sterilized and killed thousands of research participants, as well as inflicting horrible burns when the emitting plates were miscalibrated or held too close to the subjects' nipples, genitals, or faces.

And to study the effects of high G-forces on pilots and falling paratroopers, Unit 731 personnel loaded human beings into large centrifuges and spun them at higher and higher speeds until they lost consciousness and/or died, which usually happened around 10 to 15 G's, though young children showed a lower tolerance for acceleration forces.

Syphilis Experiments On Unit 731 Captives

Venereal disease has been the bane of organized militaries since ancient Egypt, and so it stands to reason that the Japanese military would take an interest in the symptoms and treatment of syphilis.

To learn what they needed to know, doctors assigned to Unit 731 infected victims with the disease and withheld treatment to observe the uninterrupted course of the illness. A contemporary treatment, a primitive chemotherapy agent called Salvarsan, was sometimes administered over a period of months to observe the side effects, however.

To ensure effective transmission of the disease, syphilitic male victims were ordered to rape both female and male fellow captives, who would then be monitored to observe the onset of the disease. If the first exposure failed to establish infection, more rapes would be arranged until it did.

Rape And Forced Pregnancy

Beyond just the syphilis experiments, rape became a common feature of Unit 731's experiments.

For example, female captives of childbearing age were sometimes forcibly impregnated so that weapon and trauma experiments could be done on them.

After being infected with various diseases, exposed to chemical weapons, or suffering crush injuries, bullet wounds, and shrapnel injuries, the pregnant subjects were opened up and the effects on the fetuses studied.

The idea seems to have been to translate the teams' findings into civilian medicine, but if Unit 731's researchers ever published these results, the papers seem not to have survived the war years.

Germ Warfare On Chinese Civilians

The totality of Unit 731's research was in support of their larger mission, which by 1939 was to develop horrific weapons of mass destruction for use against the Chinese population, and presumably American and Soviet forces, if the time ever came.

To this end, Unit 731 cycled through tens of thousands of captives at several facilities across Manchuria, which had been occupied by imperial forces for years. Inmates of these facilities were infected with several of the most lethal pathogens known to science, such as Yersinia pestis, which causes bubonic and pneumonic plague, and typhus, which the Japanese hoped would spread from person to person after being deployed and depopulate disputed areas.

To breed the most lethal strains possible, doctors monitored patients for rapid onset of symptoms and quick progression. Victims who pulled through were shot, but those who got sickest fastest were bled to death on a mortuary table, and their blood was used to transfect other captives, the sickest of whom would themselves be bled to transfer the most virulent strain to yet another generation.

One member of Unit 731 later recalled that very sick and unresisting captives would be laid out on the slab so a line could be inserted into their carotid artery. When most of the blood had been siphoned off and the heart was too weak to pump anymore, an officer in leather boots climbed onto the table and jumped on the victim's chest with enough force to crush the ribcage, whereupon another dollop of blood would spurt into the container.

When the plague bacillus had been bred to what was felt to be a sufficiently lethal caliber, the last generation of victims to be infected were exposed to huge numbers of fleas, Y. pestis' preferred vector of contagion. The fleas were then packed in dust and sealed inside clay bomb casings.

On October 4, 1940, Japanese bombers deployed these casings, each loaded with 30,000 fleas that had each sucked blood from a dying prisoner, over the Chinese village of Quzhou. Witnesses to the raid recall a fine reddish dust settling on surfaces all over town, followed by a rash of painful flea bites that afflicted nearly everyone.

From contemporary accounts, it is known that more than 2,000 civilians died of plague following this attack, and that another 1,000 or so died in nearby Yiwu after the plague was carried there by sick railway workers. Other attacks, using anthrax, killed approximately 6,000 more people in the area.

A few years later, as the war was nearing its end, Japan likewise planned to bomb America with plague-ridden fleas, but never got the chance. In August 1945, after Hiroshima and Nagasaki had both been bombed, the Soviet Army had invaded Manchuria and utterly annihilated the Japanese Army, and the emperor read his infamous surrender declaration over the radio, Unit 731 was officially disbanded.

Its records were mostly burned, destroying any useful information the team had managed to generate in 13 years of research. Researchers mostly slipped back into civilian life in occupied Japan as if nothing had ever happened, many of them becoming prominent members of university faculty.

To this day, Japan has not apologized for, and China has not forgiven, the countless atrocities Japanese forces visited upon China between 1931 and 1945. As the last witnesses to this history grow old and die, it's possible that the matter will never be addressed again.
After this look at Unit 731, read up on some more of the worst war crimes ever committed as well as other Japanese war crimes from the World War II era. Then, have a look at four of the most evil science experiments ever performed and find out whether or not any of the highly disturbing Nazi research actually contributed anything to medical science.

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6 Horrifying Human "Experiments" That WWII Japan Got Away With

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World War II devastated the lives of more than 100 million people around the world. And out of all the areas in which World War II was fought, none were active as long as what would come to be known as the Pacific Theater.

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https://flurrysports.org/a-collection-of-mind-blowing-stats-in-sports-history/#:~:text=Mind%2DBlowing%20Stats%20%E2%80%93%20Hockey&text=If%20Wayne%20Gretzky%20never%20scored,leading%20scorer%20in%20NHL%20history.&text=Bill%20Mosienko%20scored%20three%20goals%20in%2021%20seconds.&text=Darryl%20Sittler%20scored%2010%20points%20in%20one%20game.&text=Tiger%20Williams%20accumulated%20300%2B%20penalty%20minutes%20six%20times%20in%20his%20career.

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(CNN) - Wordle-bragging, arguably one of the newest forms of humble-bragging, has taken over social media. Solving the five-letter daily puzzle, and doing it in only three, two or even your first attempt (!) is a badge of pride for many.

But does being good at Wordle mean you're smarter than the average person, or even a fellow puzzler?

"No," said memory and learning researcher Aaron Seitz, a professor of psychology at the University of California, Riverside, who founded the university's Brain Game Center. "You're just a person who does well at Wordle versusanother person who doesn't do as well on Wordle."

It's much like people who are really good at Scrabble, so good that they compete in international tournaments, said Penny Pexman, a professor of psychology at the University of Calgary, who has studied the brains of Scrabble players.

"Scrabble players recognize words faster, especially in vertical orientation, but we didn't find that those advantages transferred to non-Scrabble-related tasks," Pexman said. "As soon as you show them some other kind of visual pattern or symbol that's not a letter, they look just like non-experts."

The same applies to chess, she said. If chess pieces are not in their legal positions or if other information is presented on a chessboard, the player's ability to visually scan and understand the board is no better than average.

"With brain training, the benefits are mostly quite specific," Pexman said.

That's why it's unlikely that "getting very, very good at Wordle" would make your brain "very good at anything else," said cognitive psychologist Jonathan King, senior scientific advisor to the director of the Division of Behavioral and Social Research at the National Institute on Aging, which funds brain-training research.

And if you're playing Wordle in the hopes it might keep your brain from aging, research so far isn't showing any significant widespread protection from vmost brain-training games, King added.

"That's a problem that we have with cognitive training in general," King said. "It's hard to find training that translates to a long-term change in the brain that will hopefully protect you from cognitive impairment or decline or dementia."

Maximizing Wordle's benefits

Many people who enjoy doing Wordle, Scrabble, crossword or other types of puzzles are often high in what psychologists call a "need for cognition," Pexman said.

"Some people just enjoy puzzles," she said. "And we know that a need for cognition is different than intelligence. So it's not necessarily something you do because you're smart, it's something you do because that's what you enjoy."

Playing Wordle is unlike playing crossword puzzles, King said, because you don't need to know the meanings of words or even have a large vocabulary.

"It's all five-letter words. But that said, you do need to be able to do a lot with those five-letter words," King said. "We usually think of something like this is a deductive-reasoning task, which would probably be associated with activity in the frontal and prefrontal lobes of the brain."

The visual working memory area of the brain, which is lodged in the prefrontal cortex region above the forehead, is definitely involved, Pexman said.

"It's like a mental sketch pad where you hold the visual information in mind and you manipulate it, which is a particular skill some people have a lot of capacity for and other people less so," Pexman said.

In addition to manipulating information in memory over a short period of time, "your ability to have attentional focus is also very much involved," Seitz said.

While Wordle may be exercising the specific brain "muscles" of visual memory and attention, applying strategies such as (SPOILER ALERT) the use of words with lots of vowels or a database of five-letter words may soon let that muscle atrophy, he said.

"As soon as you begin using strategies to solve the puzzle, you've taken the load off of your attention and memory processes which may lessen Wordle's potential benefits," Seitz said.

"My general advice is to pick a brain activity that provides a challenge," he added. "Then when you start feeling like you're really good at it, pick another activity that gives you a new challenge. And so by kind of rotating across these different types of challenges, you get the variety that's going to exercise your brain in different ways."

Not a Wordle fan?

Not into word or puzzle games? That's OK, psychologists say. Research has identified many other activities that can provide just as much of a boost to the brain.

"If I was going to recommend one thing to people to ensure healthy brain aging, I would say exercise," Pexman said. "All of the positive effects of healthy blood flow on cognition are very well established."

Dancing is an excellent choice, she added, because it not only engages cognitive spatial skills, but also adds social interaction, which research has also shown to be key to staying cognitively alert.

Research is beginning to show other activities work as well, Seitz added, such as learning to play a musical instrument, learning a second language or how to paint, cook and do photography.

"When people ask my advice about a strategy for a healthier brain I tell them that given what we know right now, learn a new thing every day," Seitz said.

"I always say that if you take one finger and lift weights with it every single day, you'll have a really strong finger. That applies to the brain as well, so challenge your brain in different ways."
(Copyright (c) 2022 CNN. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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Wordle and your brain: Does playing make you smarter?

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(CNN) - Wordle-bragging, arguably one of the newest forms of humble-bragging, has taken over social media. Solving the five-letter daily puzzle, and doing it in only three, two or even your first attempt (!) is a badge of pride for many. But does being good at Wordle mean you're smarter than the average person, or even a fellow puzzler?

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FROM: [AUTOMATED MESSAGE]

Welcome to the SCP Foundation, researcher.

It has likely been a difficult journey to find yourself where you are today, having to be scouted out by people you've never met before and invited to exams and interviews for a position you were never fully told of. We can imagine you already have a few questions, whether it be where you are, who is here with you, or why you were chosen to be here. Many of these questions we will not be able to answer. Some of those, we will.

In the interest of not making new personnel go through their first several weeks guessing what each task force, site, and acronym actually stands for, we have compiled all the information you'd reasonably need (and can be given) into a single automated message, sent to every new recruit's personal inbox. We recommend going over these at your earliest convenience.

Object Classes, a rundown of the standard anomaly classification system and what each designation says about its respective item. Required reading for new researchers. Information regarding esoteric object classes may also be read.

Mobile Task Forces, our highly specialized containment teams. Depending on the anomaly, you may require a different kind of expertise than what you personally know, so a cursory knowledge of this list may help during times of crisis. A more complete list of Task Forces can be viewed, if you possess the appropriate clearance levels.

The Personnel Dossier, a list of your superiors, fellow workmates, and individuals of particular interest. This list is mostly redacted to personnel of lower security clearances, so do not be alarmed if you cannot see any names.

Additionally, as you're presently listed as a Junior Researcher, here's a few resources you may use in order to get a better understanding of the anomalous and its limits (or lack thereof).

If you have any more questions, ask your assigned senior researcher. Remember that there's a considerable likelihood that your question will have a classified answer, and that you may receive a response.

Welcome again, recruit, and good luck.
This message was sent via an automated system; Do not respond.

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FROM: [AUTOMATED MESSAGE] Welcome to the SCP Foundation, researcher. It has likely been a difficult journey to find yourself where you are today, having to be scouted out by people you've never met before and invited to exams and interviews for a position you were never fully told of.

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Women's Health Food and Nutrition Nutrition and Fitness Diagnosis and Screening for Gynecologic Conditions

Ah, coffee. Whether you're cradling a travel mug on your way to work or dashing out after spin class to refuel with a skinny latte, it's hard to imagine a day without it. The caffeine perks you up, and there's something incredibly soothing about sipping a steaming cup of joe. But is drinking coffee good for you?

Good news: The case for coffee is stronger than ever. Study after study indicates you could be getting more from your favorite morning beverage than you thought: Coffee is chock full of substances that may help guard against conditions more common in women, including Alzheimer's disease and heart disease.

Caffeine is the first thing that comes to mind when you think about coffee. But coffee also contains antioxidants and other active substances that may reduce internal inflammation and protect against disease, say nutrition experts from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

What are the top health benefits of drinking coffee?

Your brew gives you benefits beyond an energy boost. Here are the top ways coffee can positively impact your health:

1. You could live longer.

Recent studies found that coffee drinkers are less likely to die from some of the leading causes of death in women: coronary heart disease, stroke, diabetes and kidney disease.

2. Your body may process glucose (or sugar) better.

That's the theory behind studies that found that people who drink more coffee are less likely to get type 2 diabetes.

3. You're less likely to develop heart failure.

Drinking one to two cups of coffee a day may help ward off heart failure, when a weakened heart has difficulty pumping enough blood to the body.

4. You are less likely to develop Parkinson's disease.

Caffeine is not only linked to a lower chance of developing Parkinson's disease, but it may also help those with the condition better control their movements.

5. Your liver will thank you.

Both regular and decaf coffee seem to have a protective effect on your liver. Research shows that coffee drinkers are more likely to have liver enzyme levels within a healthy range than people who don't drink coffee.

6. Your DNA will be stronger.

Dark roast coffee decreases breakage in DNA strands, which occur naturally but can lead to cancer or tumors if not repaired by your cells.

7. Your odds of getting colon cancer will go way down.

One in 23 women develop colon cancer. But researchers found that coffee drinkers - decaf or regular - were 26 percent less likely to develop colorectal cancer.

8. You may decrease your risk of getting Alzheimer's disease.

Almost two-thirds of Americans living with Alzheimer's disease are women. But the caffeine in two cups of coffee may provide significant protection against developing the condition. In fact, researchers found that women age 65 and older who drank two to three cups of coffee a day were less likely to develop dementia in general.

9. You're not as likely to suffer a stroke.

For women, drinking at least one cup of coffee a day is associated with lowered stroke risk, which is the fourth leading cause of death in women.

5 Heart-Healthy Food Swaps

How much coffee is safe for women to drink each day?

It's true, you can have too much of a good thing. Excessive intake of caffeinated coffee can make you jittery and cause:

Increased heart rate

Raised blood pressure

Anxiety

Trouble falling asleep

So how much coffee is the optimal amount to drink to get all the benefits, but avoid the negative side effects?

According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, it's safe for most women to drink three to five cups of coffee a day with a maximum intake of 400 milligrams of caffeine. (Caffeine content can vary depending on the type of coffee, but an average 8-ounce cup has 95 milligrams.)

But if you're pregnant or breastfeeding, the rules are different. Check with your obstetrician before adding caffeine into your diet. If coffee gives you the jitters, take care not to overdo it: Caffeine tolerance is different for everyone. You can still get some of the potential health benefits by drinking one cup of coffee a day, or even decaf.

Also, remember that what you add to your coffee can make a difference in how healthy the beverage really is. Instead of loading up on cream and sugar, try adding up to two tablespoons of milk, milk substitute or half-and-half, and using naturally sweet spices and flavorings. Try stirring in a ¼ teaspoon of the following for extra flavor:

While coffee is a pleasurable part of your lifestyle, there are other factors that make a bigger impact on your health such as eating a balanced diet, exercising and maintaining a healthy weight. But drinking coffee is a delightful addition to those key health factors.

Johns Hopkins nutritionists share a recipe for a healthy iced pumpkin spice "latte" smoothie.

Quick & Healthy Coffee Recipe

Iced Pumpkin Spice "Latte" Smoothie

Blend all ingredients to create a seasonally-inspired drink. Using real pumpkin adds beneficial fiber.

1 cup coffee

½ cup milk of your choice (such as unsweetened vanilla flavored almond milk, skim or 1% milk)

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (or ½ teaspoon each ground cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and allspice)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ cup canned plain pumpkin

4 ice cubes

Try to limit added sugar as much as you can! If you MUST add sweetener, try pure maple syrup in a small quantity- start with 1 teaspoon.

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9 Reasons Why (the Right Amount of) Coffee Is Good for You

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A Johns Hopkins research nutritionist shares the benefits of coffee and a recipe for a healthy pumpkin spice latte smoothie.

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https://spaceandbeyondbox.com/unusual-space-facts/

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20 unusual space facts - Astronomy’s Space & Beyond Box

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Outer space is an unusual place. Check out our list of 20 unusual space facts about the solar system, galaxies, and more. These facts are mind blowing!

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This piece gets written every year. (I wrote it for the Guardian two years ago.) But since the case for getting rid of the long summer vacation in American schools is pretty solid, and since the vast majority of American students still have a summer vacation, and since I can take pleasure in being a callous childhood joykill, it's probably worth writing again and again and again. So, from this morning's Washington Post:

Both President Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan have called the traditional school day and school year outdated and inadequate for the demands of 21st-century life. Students in countries that routinely outscore the United States on international tests go to school for as many as 230 days each year, 50 more than kids typically attend here. "Go ahead and boo me," Duncan said in April to Denver students. "I think schools should be open six, seven days a week, eleven, twelve months a year."

That's exactly right. Part of the reasoning here, as Duncan suggests, is the need to compete internationally. Most other industrialized nations have longer school years than we do (see the chart to the right), and there is fairly strong evidence that more time in school means higher standardized test scores. The long summer break, moreover, doesn't even pretend to have a rational basis in educational policy. It's a response to (1) inadequate farming schedules; (2) the mid-20th century's lack of air conditioning; (3) the mid-20th century's fear of summertime disease transmission; and (4) the no-doubt timeless desire to mimic the summertime vacation habits of the rich.

That last point is worth lingering over. One issue that doesn't come up enough in discussions of extending the school year is that doing so is also, fundamentally, an issue of economic fairness. If you believe in equality of opportunity, then one of the most important things the state can do is provide some baseline level of education that seeks to alleviate vast differences of class. But, small though it may seem, one of the most profound ways in which class differences express themselves is over the summer vacation.

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Why We Should Get Rid Of Summer Vacation

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This piece gets written every year. (I wrote it for the Guardian two years ago.) But since the case for getting rid of the long summer vacation in American schools is pretty solid, and since the vast majority of American students still have a summer vacation, and since I can take pleasure in being a callous childhood joykill, it's probably worth writing again and again and again.

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ESPN's NBA BPI Playoff Odds estimate the likelihood for each team to make the playoffs and win the NBA title.

The BPI Playoff Odds are based on ESPN's NBA Basketball Power Index (BPI), a measure of team strength developed by the ESPN Analytics team.

Each day, the season is simulated 10,000 times, according to BPI and the remaining schedule for each team.

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ESPN's NBA BPI Playoff Odds estimate the likelihood for each team to make the playoffs and win the NBA title.  The BPI Playoff Odds are based on ESPN's NBA Basketball Power Index (BPI), a measure of team strength developed by the ESPN Analytics team.

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Deandre Ayton was here, but now he's gone. Phoenix Suns communications director Cole Mickelson just wrangled Ayton away from the court. But in the time it takes to dial a phone, the springy defensive anchor hops from the sideline back to the court.

Now he's shooting 3-pointers at the top of the key while assistant coach Mark Bryant rebounds. Bryant, a former NBA journeyman turned big-man whisperer, was hired in 2019 to guide the supremely talented center. "The man knows me," Ayton says. "He knows my game. He knows what I like. I'm not a normal big. I'm a freestyle big, and he lets me rock out."

Ayton has been working on his jumper since he was a 14-year-old on the California prep circuit, rising up for fadeaways on offense and blocks on defense, inspiring comparisons to Kevin Garnett. In college at Arizona, Ayton averaged one 3-point attempt per game. The night before we talk, Ayton hit a triple against the Pacers from the same spot on the court he's shooting from now. But it's only his second 3 of his fourth NBA season.

The former no. 1 pick has gone from Swiss Army knife to battering ram under the tutelage of Suns coach Monty Williams and pick-and-roll maestro Chris Paul. After Paul arrived last season, Ayton screened more, crashed the paint harder, and rose for more lobs. Now, he mostly saves his outside shot for the confines of a practice court in Detroit.

Five minutes later, Ayton is ready to chat. At one point, he reflects on his evolution as a leader, recalling a passage that former Suns assistant Riccardo Fois read to him from Endurance by Alfred Lansing.

"The guy on the boat was lost with his crew at sea," Ayton says, "and he emphasized the leadership on how much shit he had to take." The unflappable resolve of Ernest Shackleton, expedition leader for the ship Endurance, reminded Fois of Ayton. The Suns big man defines his version of leadership as "stepping up to the plate, taking the bullshit, turning the negativity into a positive."

His attitude has come in handy this season. Even though Ayton anchored the Suns defense en route to last year's NBA Finals, contract negotiations between Ayton's camp and Phoenix stalled last summer, making him a restricted free agent this summer. Then came the injuries: Minutes into a mid-January game against the Pistons, Ayton sprained his ankle; he would sit out the next seven games. Ahead of the February trade deadline, his name was floated in a potential swap with the Pacers for Domantas Sabonis. While his teammates and coaching staff went to the All-Star Game, Ayton watched from home.

Instead of rebelling, Ayton developed within the role the Suns needed him to play by expanding his range, post-up repertoire, and playmaking skills. Those incremental improvements helped the Suns win a franchise-record 64 games and nab the NBA's best record this season. They entered the playoffs as the no. 1 overall seed, an upgraded version of the team that lost in last season's Finals.

But in Game 2 of the Suns' first-round series against New Orleans, Devin Booker strained his hamstring. Booker may miss or at least be limited for the rest of the series, which Phoenix leads 3-2 heading into Thursday's Game 6-and maybe longer. The scope of Ayton's responsibilities has now expanded, giving him a chance to prove he's worth the maximum deal the Suns never put on the table last year. It's an opportunity he's been working toward for a long time.

The kid never stopped moving. Growing up in Nassau, Bahamas, Ayton hopped from soccer to tuba, and even burst a few snare drums in between. But nothing stuck. "All of those things," Ayton says now, "were boring."

He wanted to play basketball, but his parents worried that he'd find trouble at the playground. Ayton and his father built a hoop and installed it in the sandy driveway outside their two-bedroom home.

When Ayton was 12, his mom told him about the Jeff Rodgers Basketball Camp, the premier youth camp on the island. But if he wanted to go, he would have to earn the registration money himself. "We didn't have much," Ayton says. "My mom had to sit us down and teach us the position we're in. We had to be satisfied and learn from it, and suck it up."

His father, Alvin, a plumber, agreed to give Ayton $20 a day to work with him. But after five days of getting into the nuts and bolts, registration money in hand, Ayton quit, escaping the boredom of the tool belt for the court's freedom of movement.

At camp, Ayton air-balled his first free throw, but he was energetic, athletic, and big. "It was new," he says. "I never had that many people giving me attention or praising me ... for no reason."

But at the time, he "felt like the cool kid, the popular dude." Word of the raw Bahamian spread to Southern California basketball coach Shaun "Ice" Manning, who helped pluck the big kid out of his small world.

When he was 14, Ballislife.com posted a video of him dribbling behind his back in transition with the grace of a guard and dunking with the power of a freight train. The title: "6'10 Deandre Ayton Is The #1 8th Grader In The Nation!"

The praise gave him something to believe in. Then critics gave him something to prove.

He became obsessed with showing opposing guards that he could do anything they could do, hunting switches onto them and testing his lateral quickness against their drives. In time, he learned the guards' tricks of deception and took advantage of them, shooting his long arms out to fool ball handers into thinking they'd successfully pump-faked him.

"I'm not a normal big. I'm a freestyle big." -Deandre Ayton

Ayton was, in his own words, "stubborn" about maintaining his versatility, "telling every coach I had, 'Yo, I'm not a regular big. Don't treat me like a regular big, because I'll show you with my actions. I'll do what's best for the team, but when it comes to me working on myself, I don't work on the things you see in the game. I work on everything else I need to work on and add to my game.'"

At Arizona, Ayton ventured farther out on the perimeter, playing the 4 full time. His struggles at blitzing and recovering on shooters were exposed when Buffalo, a 13-seed, upset Ayton's Wildcats, a 4-seed, in the first round of the NCAA tournament in 2018. By the time he entered the NBA, Ayton was so focused on being versatile that he was getting away from the advantages his height gave him.

But the Suns were impressed with his quick processing ability and reflexes, and his willingness to improve. "He talked about wanting to learn," recalls Ryan McDonough, Phoenix's GM at the time.

In fact, he talked and talked and talked. He was goofy in predraft conversations, bursting with energy. The Suns thought his personality would bode well for a modern defensive anchor, in charge of calling out an opponent's rapid movements.

McDonough, a former Celtics assistant GM, saw flashes of Garnett. "What we talked about in the Celtics and Suns front office is you want your defensive players, especially your defensive big men, to be early, loud, continuous," he says.

Ayton fulfilled the promise last postseason. He switched onto Terance Mann and Paul George and boxed out Ivica Zubac against the Clippers. Against the Nuggets, he held league MVP Nikola Jokic to 42 percent shooting; after Denver's second-round series loss, Jokic credited Ayton's defense and signed a jersey for him.

But when he first got to the NBA, Ayton had none of the malevolent intensity that Garnett channeled into his terrifying, prideful defense. In the second game of Ayton's career, Jokic hung a line of 35 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists, with zero turnovers and zero missed shots on Ayton, who played 22 minutes interrupted by constant foul trouble.

Privately, Ayton said he'd never had his ass kicked like that before. He vowed not to let it happen again. But you couldn't see any defeat on his face. One former staffer recalls a wide-eyed Ayton checking out of the game and exclaiming to the bench, with no hint of anger or frustration, "Damn, that dude is strong!"

Seasoned bigs like Joel Embiid and Steven Adams delivered similar blows, cruel tutorials that enamored the young rookie. "The eyes would get big and shift from side to side," remembers another former staffer. "He'd have this smile. He'd look around and do a side glance, like: Is anyone else seeing this?"

Ayton explains it this way: "Personally, when I lose, it's never an L. I always learn from my lessons that people call L's, and I always get better. That's what makes me smile. I failed, but it still gives me a chance to hold that L and say, 'Yo, I can learn.'"

But not everyone saw it his way. "He's loud," says the first former staffer. "That's good and bad." McDonough was fired suddenly in the preseason of Ayton's first season, in 2018-19, putting a new coaching staff, headed by Igor Kokoskov, on edge when the Suns got off to a 1-7 start. "I remember several times we landed, it's early in the morning and we just took a hard loss, and he's acting like a kid at a candy store," the former staffer says.

Ayton bristled when his mistakes were called out in film sessions or when he felt uncomfortable learning a new move. "You've got to surrender," the staffer says. "Players will definitely try to resist. That's pretty natural. They have to surrender to the system, to the coach, because if you never do, you're just in a constant struggle."

As losses piled up, tension heightened and accountability withered. Veterans got lax about the Suns' strict routine. Ayton followed suit. He skipped the boring work of pregame medical check-ins and ended lifting sessions early to hit the court. Ayton recalls he "just felt lost. We were losing dudes, coming in with bad habits. Everyone's moping. Dudes wanna leave. I'm hearing all types of shit. I didn't know what the hell was right and what the hell was wrong."

The job instability put the staff in survival mode, too worried about their own situation to step back and take a long-term approach to help the 20-year-old. "It's top-down," the first staffer said. "You need to be preaching patience." The coaching staff was fired at the end of the season. "Right now," the staffer says, "I think they have a really nice situation with [James Jones] and Monty [Williams]."

When Williams was fired by the New Orleans Pelicans in 2015, he surveyed former players, who told him they felt like they couldn't make mistakes in front of him. He vowed that if he got another chance to coach in the NBA, he would listen to his players more. "That made me feel like an idiot," he said. "To have any one of our players not feeling like they can be themselves. It was something I hope I've learned from."

He eventually worked in San Antonio's front office. There, he internalized a Gregg Popovich mantra about flexibility: "If the rules stifle talent, change the rule."

Before San Antonio, Williams spent a season in Oklahoma City, where he met 6-foot-9 Mark Bryant, a former NBA big man turned assistant. Bryant plotted the long-term strategy that slowly morphed Adams into one of the NBA's most intimidating strongmen. When Williams took over as head coach in Phoenix in 2019, he tapped Bryant to impart the dark arts of the big man trade to Ayton.

Before devising a plan for Ayton, the new Suns staff wanted to understand his history and unearthed a trajectory full of stops and starts. The first school Ayton went to in San Diego didn't initially have a basketball team. He transferred twice, settling in Phoenix for his senior year when his mom moved to the States. He spent one year of college at Arizona before being drafted no. 1. Ayton still oozed potential, but he never had the blueprint to achieve it.

"He wasn't exposed to what winning at a high level really looked like," says Fois, who spent two years on Williams's staff. "That was the main challenge for him.

"These young players, you are kind of looked at as a piece of meat by everyone. You're like the trendy thing of the moment. And then if you don't make it, everybody leaves you. If you make it, everybody wants a piece of you."

Before they got to work, Bryant and Ayton had several conversations about his game.

"There's always gonna be this talk of, 'He's so big, he should be this, he should be that,'" Bryant says. "He's extremely athletic, guards 1 through 5, shoots 15 to 17 feet well. He's talented. I don't think anybody can really say, 'He should be this, he should be that.' Deandre's gonna dictate what he's gonna be."

"I call [Monty Williams] a man of wisdom, because he always gives you some advice that will let you lock in and carry for longevity. That's rare to have a relationship with a coach who really, really, really cares." -Ayton

Ayton maintained aspirations of being an all-around player. So on the practice court, the two worked on everything. "Fadeaways, jabs, dribbling, passing, shooting, rebounding, defense, 1-through-5 defense," Ayton says. In games, though, the Suns wanted Ayton to pare down his perimeter attempts and set screens and roll hard. The goal was to establish dominance, create easy baskets, and suck up gravity down low in a manner only a nimble, explosive 6-foot-11 center could.

Bryant also convinced Ayton to work on his floater to counter defenders who stop his rolls to the rim before he can punish them from point-blank range. At first, Ayton was reluctant, uncomfortable. "But I just tried to explain to him, 'Hey, this is the reason why you do the floater,'" Bryant says. "Because now teams are in the drop. If you work on this touch shot around the basket, it's going to help you out tremendously."

In a hotel room in Denver before the second game of the 2019-20 season, Ayton got a call from the league office. "Bada boom bada bing," he recounts. "'At this time, we're letting the world know you are done.'" Ayton tested positive for a diuretic, a banned substance used to mask PEDs. He was suspended for 25 games.

The first thing Ayton did was walk to Williams's hotel room. "I just knew I had to be honest and make sure I tell my front office and coach what was up before it got to the media, just to show my respect," Ayton says.

Williams sat Ayton down next to him, hugged him, and told him, "D.A., you did what you did. These are the consequences. Now, it's just time for the right next step," Ayton recalls.

Ayton planned to appeal the suspension, but the team convinced him not to. "It's one of the things you have no control over, and we really don't know everything," Fois says. "And we really didn't want to know everything." They wanted to move on. So they devised a plan that allowed Ayton to work as closely with the team as possible without violating the terms of his suspension.

Outside the team, Ayton felt the world turning against him. Even some Suns fans said that Aron Baynes, the brawny backup who kept up with opposing centers during Ayton's suspension, was a better fit.

"You see how the world really is when they see people like me fall. It ain't ... a good look," he says. "But it's how you bounce back from all that negativity and change that vision of yourself. Because you can't blame them. You're the one to blame."

Ayton bought a new phone and saved contacts only for his family, his team, and his group chats. "That was the only people I was seeing and talking to. Everybody else, I was so scared there would be somebody throwing the 25-game suspension in my face or just asking me some dumb shit. I just blocked myself away from the world, put my head down, and kept working," he says.

Every once in a while, his new phone buzzed with a text from Williams to check in on him.

"He's more than just a coach," Ayton says. "He can be a friend, a father figure, everything. I call him a man of wisdom, because he always gives you some advice that will let you lock in and carry for longevity. That's rare to have a relationship with a coach who really, really, really cares."

Fois, who comes from Sardinia, an Italian island, noticed that the more Ayton trusted the staff the more he was willing to listen. "I think islanders are big family people," he says. "I know everybody is big family people, but if you really look at the societies, there is a history of islanders, maybe because they were so isolated in the past, that you come to rely so much on the people around you."

Later that season, inside the NBA bubble at Disney World, the Suns surprised Ayton on his birthday at a seafood restaurant. Fois remembers the look in Ayton's eyes when the cake came out, and the team started singing. "It was a moment where he was like, 'Man, you guys really care about me,'" Fois says.

During the games, he embraced his role as a defensive linchpin and interior sledgehammer. The result, an 8-0 record, gave him proof of how much value he could provide if he was consistent. "The bubble gave me a chance to really redeem myself," he says.

When Ayton found out that Paul was being traded to the Suns in the fall of 2020, he wanted to "do a backflip." He'd seen the easy buckets and paydays that Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan earned after the Point God arrived in Los Angeles. Paul's constant stream of directives also wore out past teammates, but Ayton welcomed the secrets of screen angles and roll timing. "I want to know where he wants me," Ayton said heading into training camp. "He's our leader, he's our vet. Wherever he wants me I'm locked in. If he says jump, you bet."

There wasn't much freestyling with Paul directing the offense, but Ayton thrived in a more traditional role, finishing fourth in the league in field goal percentage and third in screen assists while anchoring a top-10 defense.

"There was a lot of things that was expected from him to be where we wanted to be, and he was OK with it," Fois says. "He was listening to Chris and [Booker] and the coaches. A lot of people could have struggled with it, could have quit, but he responded every time and he stood up to the challenge."

Ayton made 75 percent of his shots in the restricted area last season, none more important than the alley-oop hammer he threw down to win Game 2 of the Western Conference finals against the Clippers.

After the game, he opened the biggest press conference of his career by calling the dunk "Jae's game-winner," crediting Jae Crowder for throwing a perfect pass, his coach for drawing up a perfect play, and Booker for setting a perfect screen to open him up.

Ayton loves the interconnected nature of basketball. He doesn't always get credit for the invisible but seismic ripples his movement creates, but he believes in the team-first vision the coaching staff has sold him.

"The message was always to him," a former staffer says, "if you perfect these things, you'll make 100 million dollars, you'll make 200 million dollars, you'll make 600 million dollars."

But Ayton wasn't rewarded for his effor​​ts last offseason. He watched Luka Doncic, Trae Young, Michael Porter Jr., and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ink max deals well before the October deadline to extend 2018 draftees. Memphis big man Jaren Jackson Jr. also signed a four-year, $105 million agreement coming off an injury. According to ESPN, Ayton had "no intention" of signing for less than the max, while Suns owner Robert Sarver, historically reluctant to pay the luxury tax, believed he didn't deserve the full five-year, $173 million deal.

"We were two wins from a championship and I just really want to be respected, to be honest," Ayton said in October. "Be respected like my peers are being respected by their teams."

"When I lose, it's never an L. I always learn from my lessons that people call L's, and I always get better. That's what makes me smile." -Ayton

Bam Adebayo had signed a max in 2020 after anchoring the Heat's defense on their Finals run. The difference, some concluded, was the Suns' unwillingness to pay. One executive told HoopsHype that Sarver was "cheap, and he'll get killed for it again."

But Phoenix's 18-6 record without Ayton this regular season created rumblings that the front office may have a point. Perhaps cheaper, league-average replacements like JaVale McGee (signed in the offseason) and Bismack Biyombo (signed midseason) could replace Ayton's production as long as Paul and Booker were setting them up.Ayton had pared down his game to give the Suns what they needed. In doing so, he risked being seen as one-dimensional.

"I feel like that's true more with backup bigs," said one front office executive. "There's a high replacement level for that tier. But I think there is a group of high-quality bigs that aren't easily replaceable. So I'm not sure I totally agree with that general stereotype."

With teams prioritizing shooting in the pace-and-space era, athletic bigs come by the dozen. And even some of the best can be game-planned out of a playoff series. Before meeting the Suns in the West finals, the Clippers spaced the floor against the Jazz to punish center Rudy Gobert, the three-time Defensive Player of Year who months earlier had agreed to a five-year, $205 million extension. But Ayton's floater game and his ability to switch onto speedy guards like Mann neutralized the Clippers in ways the Jazz couldn't.

The Suns can tell Ayton, a restricted free agent, to get the best deal he can in a relatively dry market this summer. But Ayton's youth, the exec points out, should open him up to more suitors. "Rebuilding teams aren't interested in signing a 29-year-old to a big max contract," the exec says. "But someone like Ayton, who's very young, any team would be interested." The Pistons reportedly have interest. The Hornets, in need of a defensive anchor, have cap space. Phoenix could match any offer. The downside to that approach for the Suns, says the exec, is that Ayton could agree to a player option in his fourth year, which would allow him to opt out at 26, right when he'd be entering his prime.

For now, Ayton has what he needs. While some may view Biyombo and McGee as competition, he sees two big men who could have helped him navigate the physicality of Giannis Antetokounmpo last year. In the Finals, the Suns outscored the Bucks by two points per 100 possessions when Ayton was on the floor. But Phoenix lacked interior depth behind him after Dario Saric tore his ACL, getting outscored by 16.5 points per 100 possessions when Ayton sat.

Hours after the trade deadline, the Suns won their first rematch against the Bucks. Biyombo and Ayton even shared the floor for a stretch. "Man, I wish this was last season," Ayton said afterward. "We needed it. I'm glad we got it now. Me being the only big last year, and now I got pieces where if I get in foul trouble early or if I'm just not having that game, I've got dudes that can back me up."

Near the end of a March matchup with the Timberwolves, Ayton slips a screen, digs his heels to the ground, and posts up. Paul is on the bench, nursing a right thumb fracture. So instead of kicking the ball back out, Ayton nails a baseline fadeaway through contact over Wolves big Karl-Anthony Towns. But then he slaps his arms against his thighs emphatically, glaring at the ref and earning a technical foul.

Negatives used to come "in threes" for Ayton, according to a former staffer: frustration over missed calls, which boil into blown transition layups, which lead to lackluster rolls off soft screens. But here, Crowder runs across half court to bear-hug Ayton and direct him away from the ref.

"They know how to talk with me and say, 'D.A.! You know we got this, man,' and just making me not do the dumbest thing when I'm mad, you know what I'm saying? 'We know you're angry but we can channel it respectfully,'" Ayton told me in January.

Ayton stays the course, notching a career-high 35 points, ending with a 3-pointer-the rare exclamation point in a steady night of hard screens, closeouts, boxouts, and floaters.

Before Ayton leaves the court, Williams stops Ayton and asks, with a serious face, "What did you just do?" Ayton explained after the game that Williams was referencing "the things he's been asking me to do. Not just score the ball, but the way I handle myself-the technical foul, playing through all that nonsense."

The game was physical, the emotions heightened and the whistles few and far between. Patrick Beverley and Towns were showboating. But Ayton didn't get derailed. He accepted the tight whistle, stopped complaining, and kept playing hard.

Ayton has endured his fair share of nonsense over his four-year career-coaching changes, the PED suspension, trade rumors, contract drama. About a month after extension negotiations fell apart, ESPN published an investigation into the Suns organization that revealed a toxic work environment and racist and sexist behavior by Sarver. Ayton has chosen to block it all out, focusing on what he can control.

When asked about the Sarver investigation in November, Ayton said he'd follow the leads of Paul and Booker. "They're two of the most famous athletes in the NBA," he said. "If they can block it out, I can block it out too. At the end of the day, you can pick and choose what you look at."

Following that path led Ayton to perhaps his best season yet: He set a new career high in field goal percentage with an offensive repertoire that deftly blended the physicality that his coaches have instilled in him with his natural touch and athleticism. His shot attempts rose only slightly, but he made the most of his opportunities.

He likely would have kept picking his spots in the playoffs-until Booker went down in last week's Game 2. The hamstring injury put the NBA's best regular-season team in a precarious position: tied 1-1 in the series against a scrappy Pelicans team. After the Game 2 loss, Williams kicked himself for not getting Ayton involved more. Screening and rolling would no longer suffice.

In the first half of Game 3, Ayton flashed his offensive repertoire. He put up 21 points, nailing multiple variations of the floater he has now mastered: a pump fake and driving runner over big man Jonas Valanciunas, a catch-and-shoot off the short roll. He also hit one of only four triples Phoenix had in the game.

At halftime, Booker demanded more. "Book was just telling me, 'Don't get tired of shooting the ball. Change your mindset. Don't think you need to move it. We need you to score,'" Ayton said afterward.

But Ayton saw that the Suns needed something different from him. Valanciunas's contests were no match for Ayton's touch, so the Pelicans took out the center and went small. Ayton switched onto the Pelicans' perimeter guards and hopped back to the paint to gobble up boards, helping to hold New Orleans to just one second-half offensive rebound. Eavesdropping on the Pelicans' defensive communication, Ayton heard their terminology shift and alerted the Point God. "I'm telling C, 'They're back to normal coverage, I'ma need you to shoot the ball. I'ma give a clean hit,'" Ayton said.

"He told me to stop passing and to shoot the ball," Paul said.

Ayton shelved his offense on his own accord. He scored just seven points in the second half, but the attention he drew rolling on those clean hits helped Paul ice the game with a steady barrage of midrange jumpers. Ayton finished the Suns victory with a playoff career-high 28 points and 17 rebounds, moving fast enough to do a little bit of everything.

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Will Deandre Ayton Get His Moment in the Sun?

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The self-proclaimed "freestyle big" has pared down his game to give Phoenix what it needs in the paint, even after the sacrifice wasn't rewarded with a max extension last fall. Now, with Devin Booker on the mend and the top-seeded Suns fighting to stave off the scrappy Pelicans, the former no.

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The Water Shaft Theory

The Water Shaft Theory (WST) differs from the Ramp Theory at most points, starting with how the stones were transported. While the RT discusses dragging stones across the desert, the WST outlines that special canals were constructed all the way to the build sites, allowing the stones to float all the way there.

Floats were supposedly made of cedar wood or inflated animal skins wrapped in papyrus, and when attached to the stones would allow them to be pulled from the shore. The canals lead to a moat that went all the way around the build site perimeter, allowing blocks to be floated to the side where they were needed.

Four water pipelines were then supposedly used to float the blocks uphill and were extended as the pyramid grew. A series of gates controlled how the blocks moved upward from the moat to the top, and a pool of water on the top of the build site allowed for further floating and positioning without any dragging or real heavy lifting.

In this theory, these canals and water elevators allowed the stones to be moved pretty easily. Although there is no concrete documented evidence of this theory, traces of water throughout the structure and imperfections along the middle of all four sides have been identified to support the WST.

Here's an in-depth video on the WST and how it supposedly worked.

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Just how the hell were the Egyptian Pyramids actually built? | six-two by Contiki

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The Water Shaft Theory (WST) differs from the Ramp Theory at most points, starting with how the stones were transported. While the RT discusses dragging stones across the desert, the WST outlines that special canals were constructed all the way to the build sites, allowing the stones to float all the way there.

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The best Wordle starting word has been discovered by none other than the New York Times Wordle-Bot.
Credit: Erik Kain

Readers of mine may already know my feelings about the best starting Wordle word. I'm of the opinion that you should change it up all the time to keep things interesting, but still go for words that have a lot of common letters or vowels.

This is why, in the image above, I guessed pique despite it not being a great word. It did rule out two vowels and got the 'E.'

I've used words like adieu to get as many vowels as possible or, for today's word, bears.

These are clearly not the best starting words, but they do include lots of common letters, vowels, and so forth. And I don't get bored using the same word all the time.

Still, there is a 'best' word out there, and one that many players have been using for a long time. The very best opening guess, according to The New York Times Wordle Bot, is 'crane.' I like it because it rhymes with Kain. It's the word my colleague Paul Tassi uses and it has served him well.

The Wordle-Bot is a fun, if mildly hostile and intimidating, little fella who you can use to analyze your guesses and tell you where you could have done better.

Note: I sometimes play in 'hard mode' which requires you to always use the letters you've guessed successfully. That's the case here and the Wordle Bot analyzes guesses differently for regular and hard mode.

This is because Wordle Bot uses different starting words for each mode. In hard mode, the best starting word is dealt rather than crane.

So, for yesterday's word which was-SPOILER!- mince, I can see just how I compared to the average New York Times guesser. The Wordle Bot said my first guess was a 'solid choice.'

"On average," the bot tells me, "someone who guesses FRIED will cut the 2,309 possible solutions to just 155."

My next guess was met with a bit of finger-wagging, however. "Your guess cut the number of remaining solutions to 18. This is pretty good, but guessing SINGE here eliminates more solutions than BOWIE 79 percent of the time."

Thank you, Wordle Bot. That is actually pretty useful information!

My next guess "cut the remaining number of solutions to one" according to Wordle Bot, which in my book is pretty damn good. It means I'm going to get the next guess right (which I did). But does this appease Wordle Bot?

Nope. Once again it tells me that I should have used singe because it eliminates "more solutions than IMAGE 67 percent of the time. But you've narrowed it down to one possible solution. You should solve the puzzle on your next turn."

Yeah, no kidding!

The World Bot then shows me its guesses: Dealt, Since, Mince.

Yeah lucky guess #2 buddy. LUCKY.

If I'd played in normal mode the Wordle Bot would have been a bit harsher on my third guess, shale. Guessing lymph would have eliminated more letters from the possible solution list.

For Wordle #294, I did much better, well above the average guesser since I got it in just two (!!) guesses. My first guess, spare, was another 'solid choice' and the Wordle Bot couldn't talk any crap after that since I guessed stair next and got the win. Take that Wordle Bot! In your face! Your adorable, robot face.

In any case, if you're looking for that perfect Wordle starting word now you know it. Or you can read my alternative suggestions.

You can test out your own guesses with the Wordle Bot right here.

You can follow me on Twitter and Facebook and support my work on Patreon. If you want, you can also sign up for my diabolical newsletter on Substack and subscribe to my YouTube channel.

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The Wordle Bot Has Confirmed The Best Wordle Starting Word

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Readers of mine may already know my feelings about the best starting Wordle word. I'm of the opinion that you should change it up all the time to keep things interesting, but still go for words that have a lot of common letters or vowels.

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First opened in 1970 and shut down in 2011, the Élan School was the "last resort" for parents of teens with behavioral problems - and allegedly a site of systemic abuse.

For some, the idyllic woods of Poland, Maine led to hell. There, the infamous Élan School promised to rehabilitate troubled teens. But many of its alumni claim that the school's methods amounted to abuse.

Remembering the school as a "hellhole," they say that school administrators humiliated, restrained, and isolated students. Teenagers couldn't talk too loudly, smile at the wrong time, or even "think" about running away.

While some former students maintain that the school's harsh tactics saved their lives, others contend that the Élan School left them with deep trauma that remains to this day - years after the school closed down.

Inside The Origins Of The Élan School

Before focusing on troubled teens, the Élan School sought to save drug addicts. Founded in 1970 by Dr. Gerald Davidson, a psychiatrist, and Joe Ricci, a former heroin addict who had experience working in drug treatment facilities, the Élan School eventually zeroed in on adolescents.

Ricci envisioned the school as a last resort for parents whose children struggled with behavioral and psychological problems.

"These are not your typical public school kids," Ricci explained. "Their parents bring them here to succeed when everything else has failed."

Ricci employed harsh methods to reform the students under his care. Using what he'd learned at other facilities, Ricci forced teenagers to scream at each other, wear humiliating signs, and even physically fight.

He said it was in the name of rehabilitation, but many alumni disagree.

The Testimonies Of Former Students

For decades, students in grades eight through twelve passed through the Élan School. They generally fall into two camps: those who saw their education as abuse and those who saw it as a necessary reform.

"There are people who will swear on a stack of Bibles that [Joe Ricci] saved their lives," said Ed Staffin, who graduated from Élan in 1978. "There are others who will swear that Joe Ricci was the devil."

Matt Hoffman, who attended the school from 1974 to 1976, called it a "sadistic, brutal, violent, soul-eating hellhole." He and others recall tactics that included restraints, humiliation, and corporal punishment.

Students were reportedly forbidden from taking a shower longer than three minutes, being in the bathroom for too long, writing without permission, looking out the window, or simply rubbing staff members the wrong way.

If students broke any of these rules, they were often screamed at by their classmates for about an hour in a punishment called a "General Meeting," forced to wear humiliating signs or costumes, or even coerced into fighting other students in "The Ring" - a makeshift circle of their peers.

According to some accounts, these forced boxing matches resulted in at least one student's death. When 15-year-old Phil Williams Jr. died at the school in 1982, his family was told that the cause was a brain aneurysm. But over 30 years later, allegations surfaced that he'd actually been beaten to death in The Ring after he had complained of a headache.

But school administrators long dismissed accusations from students. Responding to reports of trauma at Élan, a school lawyer said: "People who fought in wars have nightmares, too. Some wars are worth fighting."

Despite the allegations, parents continued to pay upwards of $50,000 to send their children to the Élan School for years. It took a murder trial and an online campaign to finally close the school's doors for good.

How The Élan School Closed Down

Though Élan's harsh tactics were not a secret, the school got an unwanted boost of publicity when one of its former students was put on trial for murder in 2002. Michael C. Skakel, a Kennedy relative, was suspected of killing his neighbor Martha Moxley in 1975 when they were both 15 - just a couple of years before Skakel was sent to the Élan School.

While at the school, Skakel allegedly confessed to murdering Moxley. One former schoolmate even testified in a pre-trial hearing that Skakel told him, "I am going to get away with murder, I am a Kennedy."

But as Skakel tells it, the other students and faculty had tortured him to get him to confess. When those students testified during his trial, they broadcasted what they had suffered at Élan to a wide audience. As for Joe Ricci, he said that Skakel had never confessed to the murder. But Ricci never testified - because he died of lung cancer before he was able to.

Skakel was initially found guilty of the murder in 2002 and sentenced to 20 years to life for the crime, though he'd later be released in 2013 when a judge ruled that his lawyer had not given him effective representation. Since then, the conviction has been reinstated, vacated, and reviewed multiple times. In 2020, Skakel ultimately walked free after prosecutors said they didn't have enough evidence to retry him. The decision remains controversial.

Yet it took an anonymous internet user - and not a Kennedy scandal - to bring Élan down. According to Ricci's widow, Sharon Terry, who took over the school after his death, bad press online led to low enrollment.

Terry pointed specifically to a Reddit user named Gzasmyhero, who led an online campaign against Élan. The user claimed to have attended the school in 1998 and alleged that the school's punishments were overly severe for most of its students, who'd committed only minor infractions.

"I believe that the internet is our #1 tool for exposing these horrid blind spots (at the school) for what they are," Gzasmyhero wrote.

After closing in 2011, the Élan School left behind a murky, mixed legacy. "Élan saved my life," said Sarah Levesque, who attended the school in the 1990s. "But I feel haunted by it."
After reading about the Élan School, learn about the horrors of Canadian Indigenous boarding schools. Or, discover the history of school integration.

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The Controversial Story Of The Élan School, The 'Last Stop' For Troubled Teens In Maine

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For some, the idyllic woods of Poland, Maine led to hell. There, the infamous Élan School promised to rehabilitate troubled teens. But many of its alumni claim that the school's methods amounted to abuse. Remembering the school as a "hellhole," they say that school administrators humiliated, restrained, and isolated students.

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Arizona Cardinals

The Cardinals' first pick came on day two, in the form of Colorado State tight end Trey McBride, who should complement Zach Ertz well early in his career while bringing potential to develop into a big-impact, high-volume pass-catcher down the line. San Diego State defensive end Cameron Thomas is a tough and versatile lineman who should factor into the team's pass-rush group from day one, and Cincinnati edge rusher Myjai Sanders is an undersized but explosive developmental player with quick-twitch athleticism. If we include the Cardinals' Thursday night trade for Ravens' receiver Marquise Brown in their haul (Arizona gave up no. 23 overall in exchange for Brown and the no. 100 pick), it's clear that Arizona got better on offense going into 2022. But the blockbuster trade for Brown feels like a short-sighted attempt to add speed to the offense and to, I don't know, placate Kyler Murray? For a team with plenty of roster holes, I didn't love that value for the Cardinals, who will need to shell out a big-money extension to Brown shortly down the road.

Grade: B-

Atlanta Falcons

The Falcons made one of the most intriguing picks of the draft in USC wide receiver Drake London, who combines size with catch-point prowess and run-after-the-catch ability. Together with Kyle Pitts, London could become part of one of the more fearsome pass-catching duos in the league. I loved Atlanta's second-round pick of Penn State edge rusher Arnold Ebeketie, who I viewed as a first-round talent. Montana State linebacker Troy Andersen and Western Kentucky pass rusher DeAngelo Malone both may need some time to develop in the NFL, but that duo provides a boost to the Falcons' overall team speed on defense. The real wildcard in Atlanta's draft is Cincinnati quarterback Desmond Ridder, who fell further than most analysts had predicted. That's potentially massive value for the Falcons, who won't be forced to rush Ridder into action right away and can develop him behind Marcus Mariota. If Ridder emerges as a starter for this team, we'll look back on this class as a franchise-changing group.

Grade: A

Baltimore Ravens

The Ravens are the living embodiment of the "He can't keep getting away with it!" meme. Baltimore put on a clinic for shrewd drafting over the weekend, exercising patience as good players repeatedly fell directly into their laps. The team started the weekend off with a pair of day-one picks after trading receiver Marquise Brown to the Cardinals for no. 23 overall, using those selections to address two of the team's biggest needs by taking my top-ranked safety in Notre Dame's Kyle Hamilton and my top-ranked center in Iowa's Tyler Linderbaum. The Ravens took a top-15 talent in Michigan pass rusher David Ojabo with their first pick on day two, smartly rolling the dice that the former Wolverine will regain his prior form after suffering an Achilles tear at his pro day. Then they added an arbitrage version of Jordan Davis by taking UConn's Travis Jones in the early third round. Jones is a massive run-plugging nose tackle with elite athleticism and should contribute from day one. I liked a handful of their day-three picks, too: Minnesota offensive tackle Daniel Faalele is a massive road-grader with surprisingly nimble feet, while tight ends Charlie Kolar and Isaiah Likely are both versatile pass-catching weapons for Lamar Jackson.

Grade: A+

Buffalo Bills

The Bills quietly put together a solid, no-frills draft. They addressed a critical need in the first round by grabbing Florida cornerback Kaiir Elam, who brings good size, elite speed, and ball-hawking talent to Buffalo. He should be a plug-and-play starter. I like the fit of Georgia running back James Cook, who will play a hybrid role for the Bills as an explosive runner and versatile receiver (basically he'll be a more dynamic version of what I assume they were trying to sign J.D. McKissic to do). Boise State receiver Khalil Shakir is a great value and one of my favorite day-three sleepers, giving new offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey a dynamic run-after-the-catch playmaker who can line up all across the formation. Add in the Punt God Matt Araiza in the sixth round and Buffalo comes out of this draft with a handful of early contributors.

Grade: B+

Carolina Panthers

Round 1, Pick 6: Ickey Ekwonu, OT, NC State
Round 3, Pick 94: Matt Corral, QB, Mississippi
Round 4, Pick 108: Brandon Smith, LB, Penn State
Round 6, Pick 189: Amaré Barno, DE, Virginia Tech
Round 6, Pick 199: Cade Mays, OT, Tennessee
Round 7, Pick 242: Kalon Barnes, CB, Baylor

The Panthers made a great pick at no. 6 overall, grabbing NC State offensive lineman Ickey Ekwonu, a mauler on the blindside who moves people in the run game and plays with light feet in pass protection. But overall, Carolina's draft was underwhelming, mostly due to the team's lack of draft capital. General manager Scott Fitterer didn't have second- or third-round picks after using those assets in trades for Sam Darnold and CJ Henderson last year, but he was able to grab a few boom-or-bust players on days two and three that could bring tons of upside down the road. The Panthers traded up into the third to take an inexpensive roll of the dice on Ole Miss quarterback Matt Corral, an undersized but dynamic passer who can compete with Sam Darnold early on. Penn State linebacker Brandon Smith, Virginia Tech pass rusher Amare Barno, and Baylor corner Kalon Barnes are all high-end athletes with moldable traits.

Grade: C

Chicago Bears

The Bears grabbed a pair of good defensive players in the second round in Washington cornerback Kyler Gordon and Penn State safety Jaquan Brisker, but the complete and total lack of urgency this team has shown in surrounding second-year quarterback Justin Fields with more talent is bewildering. While teams like the Jets, Giants, and Dolphins have been aggressive this offseason to add playmakers for their respective young quarterbacks in Zach Wilson, Daniel Jones, and Tua Tagovailoa, the Bears seem almost indifferent to getting Fields more help. New GM Ryan Poles signed a handful of scrap-heap receivers in free agency and then waited until the third round to draft a 25-year old prospect in Velus Jones, a speedster who never produced big numbers in college. The team added a few intriguing later-round developmental types after trading back repeatedly on day three, but I just can't get on board with the Bears' process in this draft.

Grade: C-

Cincinnati Bengals

Round 1, Pick 31: Daxton Hill, S, Michigan
Round 2, Pick 60: Cam Taylor-Britt, CB, Nebraska
Round 3, Pick 95: Zach Carter, DL, Florida
Round 4, Pick 136: Cordell Volson, OL, North Dakota State
Round 5, Pick 166: Tycen Anderson, S, Toledo
Round 7, Pick 252: Jeffrey Gunter, LB, Coastal Carolina

Versatility was the motif for the Bengals' draft, with the team using its top two picks on line-them-up-anywhere defensive backs in Michigan's Daxton Hill and Nebraska's Cam Taylor-Britt. They weren't done there, though: Third-round Florida defensive lineman Zach Carter is also capable of lining up all across the line, and fifth-round safety Tycen Anderson out of Toledo brings experience at both safety and nickel cornerback. Cincy's weekend as a whole wasn't super flashy, but the players they added give defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo a boost in schematic flexibility in 2022 and beyond.

Grade: B

Cleveland Browns

The Browns didn't have a first-round pick after sending that to Houston in the Deshaun Watson trade, but they made do with the remaining picks they had by adding some talent to a few key position groups. Mississippi State cornerback Martin Emerson is a long, silky smooth playmaker in the secondary. UAB edge rusher Alex Wright is a big, long-levered defensive lineman with intriguing athletic traits. Purdue receiver David Bell is a reliable possession receiver who lacks speed but makes up for it with savvy route-running skills. And Oklahoma defensive tackle Perrion Winfrey is a tall, powerful lineman who could work his way into the rotation on the interior. All in all, Cleveland's haul lacked a marquee pick, but there's plenty of potential across the board.

Grade: C+

Dallas Cowboys

The Cowboys addressed a major need by taking Tulsa offensive lineman Tyler Smith in the first round, solidifying the left guard spot in the short term while giving the team a potential successor to Tyron Smith. Their day-two haul has some promise, too: Mississippi edge rusher Sam Williams has an explosive first step and the tools to develop into a productive rotational pass rusher, while South Alabama receiver Jalen Tolbert gives Dak Prescott another big, playmaking downfield threat. Dallas got great value on day three when they grabbed LSU linebacker Damone Clark, and Arkansas defensive tackle John Ridgeway is a big, hulking mountain of a man who should be able to earn snaps as a rotational lineman. Smith might be the only instant-impact starter in this group, but overall I like the talent Dallas added.

Grade: B-

Denver Broncos

The Broncos were one of the eight teams that came into the draft without a first-round pick (hello, Russell Wilson), so they didn't have a ton of ammunition to work with. Still, they added a few intriguing day-two prospects that could end up carrying this class. I'm a fan of Oklahoma pass rusher Nik Bonitto, a twitched up but undersized defender who plays with a quick first step and plenty of bend. And UCLA tight end Greg Dulcich is an exciting big-play threat down the seam. And while I'm a little confused about how the team plans to split reps between Dulcich and Albert Okwuegbunam (and whether that pick was a bit redundant), the bottom line is that the team got Wilson another dynamic run-after-the-catch target to throw to. On day three, the selection of Iowa State defensive lineman Eyioma Uwazurike stood out. At 6-foot-6, 316 pounds, he's a massive human being who can line up at multiple spots on Denver's front.

Grade: B-

Detroit Lions

The Lions added the football equivalent of two venti-double-shot iced coffees worth of talent in Round 1, grabbing my top-ranked player overall in Michigan pass rusher Aidan Hutchinson before aggressively trading up to the 12th spot to nab Alabama receiver Jameson Williams. I wasn't in love with the process behind moving that far up for a non-quarterback, but it's hard to deny that Williams brings legit game-breaking potential as a lid-lifting touchdown scorer. On day two, the Lions grabbed Kentucky edge defender Josh Paschal, who is the type of big, physical dominator that Campbell surely loves. Watch out for tight end James Mitchell too once he gets back onto the field (he's still rehabbing from a torn ACL). Mitchell is a versatile move H-back who can line up all over the formation and create mismatches up the seam.

Grade: A

Green Bay Packers

The Packers' commitment to the "Antagonize Our MVP Quarterback At Any Cost" bit reached its apex in Round 1 when the team took back-to-back defenders (linebacker Quay Walker and defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt), and while it was an extremely funny turn of events, both Walker and Wyatt should be impact players for the Green Bay defense. Besides, the Packers finally did the right thing on day two and traded up for North Dakota State pass-catcher Christian Watson, securing Aaron Rodgers a new hyper-athletic playmaker to throw to. Watson is raw and has to clean up some drops, but he's got a rare combination of size, speed, and movement skills. I liked the team's third-round selection of offensive lineman Sean Rhyan, a burly, wide-bodied blocker who can line up at guard or right tackle. And on day three, Green Bay grabbed the duo of Wake Forest offensive lineman Zach Tom and Penn State offensive tackle Rasheed Walker, giving the team more excellent depth on the line.

Grade: B+

Houston Texans

It's hard to pick holes in the Texans' draft. LSU cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. is one of my favorite players in this class, a souped-up playmaker who the Texans can build their secondary around long term. I thought that taking Texas A&M guard Kenyon Green at 15 was a slight reach, but he should bring a nice boost to the team's offensive line and can play at multiple spots in a pinch. Baylor defensive back Jalen Pitre is a highly versatile joker piece defender who can line up just about everywhere on the field. And I'm a huge fan of Alabama receiver John Metchie III, who does just about everything well and should make an impact early in his career. The Texans even grabbed one of my favorite running backs in this class on day three, swooping in to take Florida's Dameon Pierce with the 107th pick. I won't be surprised if he emerges as the team's starter in year one.

Grade: A

Indianapolis Colts

The Colts were hamstrung by the fact they didn't have a first-round pick (it was traded to the Eagles in the abysmal Carson Wentz deal), but GM Chris Ballard managed to add some talent on days two and three nonetheless. Cincinnati receiver Alec Pierce is a big, vertical pass-catcher who should complement Michael Pittman well and give new quarterback Matt Ryan another much-needed playmaker on the outside. Virginia tight end Jelani Woods is somehow the only human on the planet that is as big as Mo Alie-Cox. Central Michigan left tackle Bernhard Raimann was a nice value in the third round, and Maryland safety Nick Cross is a super athletic thumper in the secondary. I'm not sure Indy will get any superstars out of this draft, but the team improved its depth at a few positions.

Grade: C+

Jacksonville Jaguars

Jacksonville took a home-run swing in selecting Georgia defensive end Travon Walker, who brings high-end athletic traits and a prototypical frame but never produced much in college. That decision carries plenty of risk. Then, despite desperately needing to surround quarterback Trevor Lawrence with more talent, GM Trent Baakle decided to trade back up into the first round to take an off-ball linebacker in Utah's Devin Lloyd. Their first pick on the offensive side didn't come until the third round, in the form of Kentucky center Luke Fortner, which I saw as a bit of a reach. And instead of adding one of the many talented receivers in this year's class, Jacksonville took another linebacker (Wyoming's Chad Muma) in the third round before trading up in the fifth to take a backup running back in Ole Miss's Snoop Conner. Walker and Lloyd bring upside, but I can't help but be underwhelmed by the Jaguars haul―and I'm worried about the lack of help around Lawrence.

Grade: C+

Kansas City Chiefs

Round 1, Pick 21: Trent McDuffie, CB, Washington
Round 1, Pick 30: George Karlaftis, DE, Purdue
Round 2, Pick 54: Skyy Moore, WR, Western Michigan
Round 2, Pick 62: Bryan Cook, S, Cincinnati
Round 3, Pick 104: Leo Chanel, LB, Wisconsin
Round 4, Pick 135: Joshua Williams, DB, Fayetteville State
Round 5, Pick 145: Darian Kinnard, OT, Kentucky
Round 7, Pick 243: Jaylen Watson, CB, Washington State
Round 7, Pick 251: Isiah Pacheco, RB, Rutgers
Round 7, Pick 259: Nazeeh Johnson, S, Marshall

The Chiefs knocked it out of the park over the weekend, seemingly finding value with every pick they made. Kansas City general manager Brett Veach gave his defense a much-needed infusion of talent in Round 1, moving up a few spots to take a versatile cornerback in Washington's Trent McDuffie before staying at no. 30 to take Purdue edge rusher George Karlaftis. I loved that Kansas City came out of the second round with Western Michigan receiver Skyy Moore, who should soak up targets in the short and intermediate passing game and make life easier for Patrick Mahomes. Cincinnati safety Bryan Cook is a hard-hitting defender with excellent tackling chops and plenty of range. And Wisconsin linebacker Leo Chanel might end up being an absolute steal: He's big, physical, extremely athletic and brings a fiery demeanor to the field. Keep an eye on Fayetteville State corner Joshua Williams, too: He's long, quick-footed, and fluid in coverage.

Grade: A+

Las Vegas Raiders

Round 3, Pick 90: Dylan Parham, OL, Memphis
Round 4, Pick 122: Zamir White, RB, Georgia
Round 4, Pick 126: Neil Farrell Jr, DT, LSU
Round 5, Pick 175: Matthew Butler, DT, Tennessee
Round 7, Pick 238: Thayer Munford, OL, Ohio State
Round 7, Pick 250: Brittain Brown, RB, UCLA

After trading first- and second-round picks to the Packers to acquire receiver Davante Adams, the Raiders' first pick didn't come until midway through the third round. Las Vegas grabbed a burly interior offensive lineman in Memphis's Dylan Parham with the 90th pick, adding some much-needed depth at the guard spot. I'm a fan of Georgia running back Zamir White, who looks like the heir apparent to Josh Jacobs (whose fifth-year option was declined this week). The Raiders grabbed a pair of defensive tackles in LSU's Neil Farrell Jr. and Tennessee's Matthew Butler, sticking with the trenches early in the seventh round to take Ohio State's Thayer Munford. Overall it was a meat-and-potatoes draft for Vegas, but one that's tough to get too excited about. Raiders fans can console themselves by watching old Derek Carr to Davante Adams highlights from Fresno State (I'm only including draft-day trades in these grades).

Grade: C-

Los Angeles Chargers

Chargers GM Tom Telesco continued to prove he's one of the most savvy drafters in the league this weekend, landing a day-one starter in the first round in Boston College's Zion Johnson. Johnson is a big, athletic blocker who can line up at multiple spots on the line, providing a pass-protecting boon to Justin Herbert. Texas A&M running back Isaiah Spiller should provide a nice boost to Austin Ekeler too by taking some of the load off the superstar back's shoulders. Spiller is a shifty early-down back who can be a factor in the passing game when given opportunities. Georgia offensive lineman Jamaree Salyer was a great value pick in the sixth round, giving the team more depth at a crucial position.

Grade: B

Los Angeles Rams

The Rams have made it a lifestyle to only pick in the mid- and later-rounds of the draft, and the team's first pick didn't come until late in the third. Wisconsin offensive lineman Logan Bruss should compete for the starting right guard spot from day one, and he represents excellent value at that spot. Notre Dame running back Kyren Williams is an excellent pass blocker and skilled receiver who could spell starter Cam Akers on clear passing downs. And along with a mid-draft trade for cornerback Troy Hill (L.A. gave up a 2023 fifth-round pick), the Rams got deeper in the secondary by taking South Carolina State nickel Decobie Durant, UCLA safety Quentin Lake, Georgia cornerback Derion Kendrick, and Kansas State safety Russ Yeast. All in all, not terrible for the small amount of draft capital on hand.

Grade: C

Miami Dolphins

Round 3, Pick 102: Channing Tindal, LB, Georgia
Round 4, Pick 125: Erik Ezukanma, WR, Texas Tech
Round 7, Pick 224: Cameron Goode, OLB, California
Round 7, Pick 247: Skylar Thompson, QB, Kansas State

After trading multiple picks for Tyreek Hill, the Dolphins' first pick didn't come until late in the third round. The team grabbed a rotational Georgia linebacker in Channing Tindall, who's raw but hyper athletic and explosive when flying downhill. Texas Tech receiver Erik Ezukanma is an intriguing mid-round pickup because of his run-after-the-catch talent, and Kansas State quarterback Skylar Thompson is a fine seventh round flier. Miami didn't have much to work with and consequently didn't come away with a whole lot in this draft. Dolphins fans can take solace in the idea that Tyreek Hill is a de facto member of this group (but I'm only including draft-day trades in this exercise).

Grade: D

Minnesota Vikings

Round 1, Pick 32: Lewis Cine, S, Georgia
Round 2, Pick 42: Andrew Booth, CB, Clemson
Round 2, Pick 59: Ed Ingram, G, LSU
Round 3, Pick 66: Brian Asamoah, LB, Oklahoma
Round 5, Pick 118: Akayleb Evans, CB, Missouri
Round 5, Pick 165: Esezi Otomewo, DL, Minnesota
Round 5, Pick 169: Ty Chandler, RB, North Carolina
Round 6, Pick 184: Vederian Lowe, OT, Illinois
Round 6, Pick 191: Jalen Nailor, WR, Michigan State
Round 7, Pick 227: Nick Muse, TE, South Carolina

New general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah put together an interesting first draft with the team, curiously trading multiple times with division rivals en route to amassing a total of 10 picks. The Vikings did work on their back seven in this draft: I liked the selection of Georgia safety Lewis Cince, who plays with a physical and fiery downhill style; Clemson cornerback Andrew Booth Jr. is a nice value for Minnesota in the second round, and should challenge to start right away; Oklahoma linebacker Brian Asamoah is an athletic and rangy middle-of-the-field defender; and Missouri corner Akayleb Evans provides depth in the secondary. On offense, it will be interesting to see if the team looks to involve North Carolina running back Ty Chandler in the passing game. He's an explosive dual-threat back with top-end speed.

Grade: B-

New England Patriots

Round 1, Pick 29: Cole Strange, G, Chattanooga
Round 2, Pick 50: Tyquan Thornton, WR, Baylor
Round 3, Pick 85: Marcus Jones, CB, Houston
Round 4, Pick 121: Jack Jones, CB, Arizona State
Round 4, Pick 127: Pierre Strong Jr, RB, South Dakota State
Round 4, Pick 137: Bailey Zappe, QB, Western Kentucky
Round 5, Pick 183: Kevin Harris, RB, South Carolina
Round 6, Pick 200: Sam Roberts, DL, Northwest Missouri State
Round 6, Pick 210: Chasen Hines, G, LSU
Round 7, Pick 245: Andrew Stueber, OT, Michigan

The Patriots put together one of the more confusing drafts I can remember. Chattanooga guard Cole Strange was the surprise pick of the first round, and while I do think he can develop into a starter, he was a massive reach. Baylor receiver Tyquan Thornton is a blazing deep threat, but again, 50th overall felt a bit rich (okay, a lot rich). I liked the team's selections of Houston corner Marcus Jones and Arizona State corner Jack Jones, but following that up by taking a pair of running backs (South Dakota State's Pierre Strong and South Carolina's Kevin Harris) just made me throw up my hands. Rolling with Western Kentucky quarterback Bailey Zappe over North Carolina's Sam Howell was a head-scratching decision too. Overall, an all-time classic Bill Belichick draft.

Grade: C-

New Orleans Saints

Round 1, Pick 11 from Commanders: Chris Olave, WR, Ohio State
Round 1, Pick 19 from Eagles: Trevor Penning, OT, Northern Iowa
Round 2, Pick 49: Alontae Taylor, CB, Tennessee
Round 5, Pick 161: D'Marco Jackson, LB, Appalachian State
Round 6, Pick 194: Jordan Jackson, DT, Air Force

The Saints consistently march to the beat of their own drum when it comes to the draft, but I find it hard to talk myself into their strategy this year in particular. For starters, I wasn't a big fan of their decision to trade multiple 2022 picks, a 2023 first-round pick, and a 2024 second-round pick to add an extra first-round pick in this draft (they originally ended up with no. 16 and no. 19). I didn't love that they then traded third- and fourth-round picks to move up from no. 16 to no. 11 and take Ohio State receiver Chris Olave, particularly with so many other talented receivers still on the board. I thought both the Trevor Penning and Alontae Taylor selections were reaches. I generally don't think it's good process to draft just five players in any given year.

Now, it's certainly possible Olave will turn into a star and that Penning will develop into a solid starter. But the Saints are putting an awful lot of draft capital eggs into that particular basket. And if neither of those things happen, it could set them back dramatically.

Grade: C-

New York Giants

I loved the Giants' first-round haul. New GM Joe Schoen hit an absolute home run in grabbing Oregon pass rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux (my no. 2 overall player) and Alabama offensive tackle Evan Neal (my no. 4 overall player) with the fifth and seventh picks, respectively. That duo should serve as foundation-builders for what Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll are trying to build in New York. But I have some questions about the decision to take Kentucky receiver Wan'Dale Robinson at no. 43 overall, especially when guys like John Metchie, George Pickens, Skyy Moore, Alec Pierce, Jalen Tolbert, and a handful of other receivers were still on the board. I'm hoping and assuming that Daboll has a specific plan that gets Robinson heavily involved in the offense, but the former Wildcats playmaker is undersized and relatively limited as a downfield playmaker.

Anyway, other than that small quibble, I liked the Giants' draft a lot―and I love that they ended up drafting 11 players. A few highlights: North Carolina guard Joshua Ezeudu is an athletic blocker who adds depth to the offensive line; San Diego State tight end Daniel Bellinger is a smooth-moving Y tight end who could develop into Daboll's new version of Dawson Knox; and Cincinnati linebacker Darrian Beavers is an old-school thumper who brings an intimidating presence to the middle of the field.

Grade: A-

New York Jets

Round 1, Pick 4: Ahmad "Sauce" Gardner, CB, Cincinnati
Round 1, Pick 10: Garrett Wilson, WR, Ohio State
Round 2, Pick 26: Jermaine Johnson II, DE, Florida State
Round 2, Pick 36: Breece Hall, RB, Iowa State
Round 3, Pick 101: Jeremy Ruckert, TE, Ohio State
Round 4, Pick 111: Max Mitchell, OT, Louisiana
Round 4, Pick 117: Micheal Clemons, DE, Texas A&M

I liked every one of the players the Jets took this weekend. Cincinnati's Sauce Gardner was my top-ranked corner and brings shutdown talent to the outside for New York. Ohio State's Garrett Wilson was my top-ranked receiver and should be a dynamic three-level threat for Zach Wilson. Florida State's Jermaine Johnson was my fourth-ranked edge rusher and should be a day-one impact starter. Iowa State running back Breece Hall was my top-ranked running back and should be a heavy volume difference maker on the ground. Add in another quality future starter in Ohio State tight end Jeremy Ruckert and Jets GM Joe Douglas has an absolute stew going.

Grade: A+

Philadelphia Eagles

Round 1, Pick 13: Jordan Davis, DT, Georgia
Round 2, Pick 51: Cam Jurgens, C, Nebraska
Round 3, Pick 83: Nakobe Dean, LB, Georgia
Round 6, Pick 181: Kyron Johnson, LB, Kansas
Round 6, Pick 198: Grant Calcaterra, TE, SMU

Eagles GM Howie Roseman wheeled and dealed his way to a wild weekend haul. He moved up to get in front of the Ravens in the first round to select Georgia defensive tackle Jordan Davis, a mammoth of a man who brings extraordinary speed and quickness for a 341-pound frame. He then turned his second of two first-round picks into superstar Titans receiver A.J. Brown, securing a big, YAC-creating pass-catcher to pair with Devonta Smith. He grabbed a hyper-athletic center prospect and potential future Jason Kelce successor in Nebraska's Cam Jurgens in the second round, then stopped Alabama linebacker Nakobe Dean's shocking fall later in the round. It didn't matter what they did on day three because that series of events secures Philly an A+ draft.

Grade: A+

Pittsburgh Steelers

Round 1, Pick 20: Kenny Pickett, QB, Pittsburgh
Round 2, Pick 52: George Pickens, WR, Georgia
Round 3, Pick 84: DeMarvin Leal, DE, Texas A&M
Round 4, Pick 138: Calvin Austin III, WR, Memphis
Round 6, Pick 208: Connor Heyward, TE, Michigan State
Round 7, Pick 225: Mark Robinson, LB, Mississippi
Round 7, Pick 241: Chris Oladokun, QB, South Dakota State

My first reaction to Pittsburgh's draft is to look at where all the other quarterbacks went in this draft and wonder whether the Steelers overpaid by a round or two when they took Pitt quarterback Kenny Pickett at no. 20 overall. I do like what the team did later in the draft to surround their new signal-caller with playmaking talent: Pittsburgh grabbed Georgia receiver George Pickens in the second round, giving the team another effective deep threat and big-bodied red-zone target. They then added Memphis's Calvin Austin in the fourth round, providing the team another boost of pure, turbo-charged speed. Adding that duo to a skill group that already includes running back Najee Harris and receivers Diontae Johnson and Chase Claypool should help Pickett hit the ground running, whenever he does find the field.

Grade: C+

San Francisco 49ers

The 49ers put together my All-Intriguing Class of this draft. Missing a first-rounder thanks to the trade-up for Trey Lance in 2020, San Francisco's first pick was no. 61, which they used to select USC pass rusher Drake Jackson. Jackson's a high-upside pass-rusher with excellent movement skills and athletic traits―but he still needs to develop a better repertoire of moves and figure out what weight he wants to play at. I loved the Niners' selection of LSU running back Ty Davis-Price, who could serve as an excellent complement to Elijah Mitchell and help Kyle Shanahan convince Deebo Samuel he won't be a running back anymore. I'm looking forward to watching SMU receiver Danny Gray in action too. Gray fits this offense like a glove, boasting excellent run-after-the-catch speed and elusiveness in the open field.

Grade: B-

Seattle Seahawks

The Seahawks were both very off-brand and very on-brand in this draft. They got things started with an uncharacteristically analytically sound first-round choice in Mississippi left tackle Charles Cross, who was not only universally considered a first-round pick (which is VERY weird for Seattle), but projects as an immediate starter at one of the most important positions on the field. Pete Carroll and John Schneider got back to their typical Seahawky ways on day two, taking a running back in Michigan State's Kenneth Walker III with the 41st pick. But adding in what I'd consider smart and down-the-fairway picks in Minnesota defensive end Boye Mafe, Washington State tackle Abraham Lucas, and Cincinnati cornerback Coby Bryant, I'd say the Seahawks had a pretty decent draft.

Grade: B+

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Buccaneers just keep drafting good players. After trading out of the first round, Tampa Bay landed Houston defensive lineman Logan Hall in the second round, a versatile and long pass-rusher who can play all across the line. They grabbed Central Michigan guard Luke Goedeke later in the round, shoring up their offensive line. Then they added Arizona State running back Rachaad White in the third before grabbing Washington tight end Cade Otten in the fourth. All four of those picks should contribute meaningful snaps in 2022.

Grade: B+

Tennessee Titans

I'll start off by saying I thought the Titans did a great job at picking good players in this draft. I love Arkansas receiver Treylon Burks and he should be an immediate starter and impact player for Ryan Tannehill and the Tennessee offense. Auburn cornerback Roger McCreary is a sticky cover man with versatility to line up both outside or inside. Ohio State tackle Nicolas Petit-Frere helps add depth to the team's line. And Liberty quarterback Malik Willis is the ultimate lottery ticket. Willis may never end up paying off, but he landed in a pretty good situation after falling two rounds further than most people expected. Willis can sit and learn behind Tannehill in the short term, and once he's ready to start he should find a well-suited system for his skill set in Tennessee.

I also liked the Titans' selections of Michigan running back Hassan Haskins and UCLA receiver Kyle Phillips, who should both contribute as role players early on. The only reason Tennessee isn't getting a higher grade here is that they traded away superstar receiver A.J. Brown rather than paying him what he wanted.

Grade: B+

Washington Commanders

The Commanders put together a perfectly average, aggressively fine draft; they got several reliable, good players who will probably be productive but may never be stars. It was... an acceptable result.

After trading out of the no. 11 spot so the Saints could take Chris Olave, Washington took a less exciting and less dynamic version of Olave in Jahan Dotson. They came back in the second round and took a very solid if unspectacular interior defender in Alabama's Phidarian Mathis. Washington grabbed an exceedingly sturdy but limited running back in Alabama's Brian Robinson in the third. They took a flier on North Carolina quarterback Sam Howell, who shockingly fell to the fifth round. And then they grabbed an intriguing jump-ball winning tight end in Cole Turner later in the round. All of those players may end up contributing to this team.

Grade: C

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Grading Every Team's Performance in the 2022 NFL Draft

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Arizona Cardinals The Cardinals' first pick came on day two, in the form of Colorado State tight end Trey McBride, who should complement Zach Ertz well early in his career while bringing potential to develop into a big-impact, high-volume pass-catcher down the line.