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GEOGRAPHY AND LANDFORMS

Hawaii sits over 2,000 miles west of California.

One of world's longest island chains, Hawaii is the only U.S. state completely made up of islands. But only 7 of its 132 islands are inhabited: Hawaii (also known as the Big Island), Maui, Molokai, Lanai, Oahu, Kauai, and Niihau.

The Hawaiian Islands are volcanic islands. They have formed as the Earth 's crust, made up of giant rocky slabs called tectonic plates, moves over a particularly hot spot in the molten layer beneath the crust. The heat melts the rock that makes up the crust, turning it into magma. Then once the magma breaks through to the surface of the Earth's crust it cools and forms new land.

The Earth's crust is always moving just a little bit, but the hot spot that produces magma isn't. So over time as the crust moved, but the hot spot remained-creating a series of volcanic islands. Hawaii's most active volcano is Kilauea, and you can see it at Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island. Kilauea has been erupting for over 30 years, and each year, its lava expands Hawaii by over 40 acres.

Hawaii is known for its beautiful beaches-some of them with unusual colors. Many beaches are filled with white sand, but other Hawaiian shores are covered with green, red, pink, and even black sand.

Whether you like hiking, biking, kayaking, sailing, swimming, or just sitting on the beach, Hawaii is the state for you. Near the water, you can relax as palm trees blow in the island breeze. Travel toward to the center of one of the big islands and you can hike through dense tropical rain forests and experience stunning waterfalls. Don't forget to dive in the waters and snorkel near Hawaii's coral reefs.

On Hawaii you can experience yet another environment: the volcano Mauna Loa's dry lava is so much like parts of the moon's surface that astronauts once walked on it to practice for lunar voyages. Mount Waialeale on Kauai is considered on of the rainiest spots on Earth, getting 384 inches of rain a year on average.

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Get facts and photos about the 50th state.

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Over the past few decades, transportation technology has advanced tenfold, but why aren't airplanes going any faster? Turns out, there's a few very good reasons as to why you don't want your commercial flight to travel at supersonic speeds-turbulence, energy costs, and ticket prices could all be affected by your flight's speed. Let's dive into why your commercial flight keeps a normal pace.

What Is a Commercial Plane?

Commercial airplanes are non-military aircraft suited to carry passengers and/or freight between airports.

What Impacts the Speed of a Plane?

When talking about aerodynamics, there's a plethora of factors that affect an aircraft's speed. In short, here are three important components to airspeed.

Altitude
Air pressure decreases at higher altitudes, allowing aircraft to move at a higher speed.

Wind Direction/Speed
Airplanes can travel faster when flying in the same direction as the wind. Conversely, an airplane will fly slower (and use more fuel) when flying into headwinds.

Total Thrust
Of course, an airplane's overall speed depends on how much thrust is produced by the engines. Not all commercial jets are made equal.

How Do You Measure an Airplane's Speed?

An aircraft's speed, known as airspeed, is typically measured in four different ways. No matter which type you use, all airspeed is represented in knots.

Indicated Airspeed (IAS)
Indicated airspeed is measured using the aircraft's pitot tube and static pressure. This measurement is displayed on the pilot's airspeed indicator, which may be a separate gauge, or as part of a primary flight display or PFD.

True Airspeed (TAS)
True airspeed measures the speed of the aircraft in relation to the surrounding air. As you reach higher altitudes, the IAS will become less accurate, because of lower ambient air pressure.

Groundspeed (GS)
Groundspeed measures the aircraft's speed in relation to a single point on the ground. Technically, GS is true airspeed corrected for wind.

Calibrated Airspeed (CAS)
Calibrated airspeed is calculated using indicated airspeed corrected for any measurement errors. CAS is particularly useful at lower speeds.

Mach
This type of measurement is generally reserved for jets-and aircraft capable of reaching the sound barrier. Mach can be found by dividing the speed of the aircraft by the speed of sound. That being said, the speed of sound varies at different air pressures.

Maximum Speed for Popular Airplanes

Just like cars, airplanes have speed limits in certain areas. While today's commercial airplanes won't take you across the Atlantic Ocean in less than a few hours, most major airliners travel at decent speeds.

Different Speeds of Flying

Just like any other type of vehicle, your speed largely determines what maneuvers you can accomplish. For airplanes, certain speeds are absolutely necessary to carry out a safe transition from ground to air.

At Takeoff

At takeoff, the average speed of a commercial airplane is anywhere between 160 and 180 mph (140 to 156 knots).

Cruising

For most commercial airliners, the airplane's cruising speed ranges between 550 and 600 mph (478 to 521 knots).

Landing

While landing, speed is largely affected by the aircrafts current weight, commercial airplanes typically land between 130 and 160 mph (112 to 156 knots).

Speeds of Different Aircraft Types

Outside of commercial aviation, airplanes come in a great variety of different use types- some much faster than others.

Private Jets

Private jets can fly at speeds anywhere between 400 and 700 mph (348 to 608 knots), similar to commercial airplanes. Given their smaller size, they generally can't fly as far as their larger counterparts because of fuel storage constraints. But a handful of ultralong-range jets can fly more than 8,000 miles or 6,952 nautical miles.

Military Airplanes

Military aviation is just as diverse as the rest of the industry. Military aircraft are designed with specific goals in mind, such as surveillance, assault, or cargo transport. Instead of listing the top speed of every military aircraft, here are a few examples from different categories:

Lockheed Martin C-130J (Cargo): 416 mph

Lockheed Martin F-22 (Fighter): 1,500 mph

Boeing KC-135 (Air Refueler): 580 mph

Northrop Grumman B-2 (Bomber): 628 mph

Northrop Grumman RQ-4 (Surveillance): 391 mph

Single Engine

Single-engine airplanes, such as the Cessna 172, fly considerably slower than commercial airplanes. For the typical single-engine plane, you'll be able to fly around 140 mph (122 knots). However, some of the more advance single-engine airplanes, like the Pilatus PC-12 NGX, have a top speed of 334 mph (290 knots).

Different Speeds, Different Goals

Commercial airplanes, while heavy and large, are capable of reaching high speeds over extended distances. While no two planes are exactly alike, physical limitations keep most airliners in the same playing field.

Outside of commercial aviation, the variety of aircraft fosters a variety of top speeds-ranging from a comparably slow Cessna 172, to a supersonic F-22. Either way you fly, make sure you land with FLYING Magazine.

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How Fast Do Commercial Planes Fly? - FLYING Magazine

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Since the days of the Concorde, commercial flight has kept passengers asking one question: Are we there yet?

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For the 2020 Australian sports drama film, see Go Karts (film).

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College is a time for education, personal growth and discovery. One of the great things about college is that meeting new people and making new friends is part of the experience. Here are some of the types of friends you are likely to meet in college, based on where you'll meet them:

Residence life friends

These are the people you'll meet in your residence halls. These are the friends who'll live across the hallway, downstairs on the second floor, or even in your room. You might meet one of these friends while you're doing laundry and ask if you can borrow a dryer sheet. You'll learn their name and what floor they live on. You'll begin to see them around the building, and you'll exchange awkward "hellos" as you move to the next thing on your schedule. You and other acquaintances will slowly begin to join them in the lounge or game room, and before you know it, there will be a group of you playing games together and laughing until late hours of the night. These are the friends of your first year that will grant you memories you'll hold for a lifetime - or at least until the next semester.

Class friends

These are the people you will meet through your classes or academic department. These are the people you'll sit with, complete group projects with and form late-night study groups with. The more classes you have together, the more comfortable you will likely feel around one another. You'll begin to study together and begin to become friends. If you are in the same major, it's likely you will have multiple classes together. You may not see all of these friends outside of an academic setting, but they are the ones who will understand your major like you will.

Club friends

These are the people you will meet through the clubs or organizations you choose to join on campus. The great thing about these friends is that there can be so many types. You can have friends from video game club, from student senate and from improv. These are friends you'll meet with once a week - or more - to participate in academic, social, cultural, athletic, career-related or spiritual activities and discuss interests you have in common.

Random friends

These are friends you will meet in unexpected places. These are the people you'll randomly choose to sit with at the dining hall, and you'll end up having one of the best conversations of your week with them. You may meet one of these friends at the bookstore, realize you have the same major, and talk about a shared professor. Maybe you will attend a campus-wide social event, and as you wait in line, you'll start talking with the people in front of you. Before you know it, you'll spend the rest of the event hanging out with them. In each of these situations, there is potential to meet someone you enjoy and then share contact information. Before you know it, you'll have a new friend.

A college campus is an optimal place for making new friends. With endless opportunities and seemingly endless people to meet, you will make friends in the most unexpected of places. The number of friend groups you can have is endless. College is a time to learn, but it is also a time to make friends that you'll keep for the rest of your life.

MACY JORDAHL

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College is a time for education, personal growth and discovery. One of the great things about college is that meeting new people and making new friends is part of the experience. Here are some of the types of friends you are likely to meet in college, based on where you'll meet them: These are the people you'll meet in your residence halls.

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Sea Wave

90-Minute Jet Ski Tour

90-Minute Scenic Guided Tour

28 Mile Excursion (Approx.)

Tour Stops Several Times at Varying Locations

Perfect for Both Beginners & Experts

Captain Your Own Jet Ski

Witness Wildlife in Their Natural Environment

What to Bring

Valid Government Issued Photo I.D.'s For All Adults 18 years & older, passengers and drivers. (See Jet Ski Regultations)

One Credit Card per Reservation

Towel

Reef Safe Sunscreen

Bathing Suit

Sun Protective Clothing (ie. Sun Shirt)

Floating Straps for Sunglasses (recommended)

Waterproof Camera

Gratuities Customary

Wetsuit rentals available seasonally with limited sizing (cash or credit)

JET SKI FEATURES

Top-of-the-Line Jet Skis

Accommodates up to 3 people

Provides better handling, a smoother ride and a higher performance than any other Jet Ski available

No other Jet Ski Company in Key West offers the opportunity to experience the island on a top of the line Jet Ski

Jet Ski Regulations

MANDATORY: MUST BRING Credit Card used to purchase with Matching Valid Government Issued Photo ID and present at the time of check in

MANDATORY: All Adults 18+ years MUST BRING Valid Government Issued Photo I.D. that includes date of birth. Guests 16-17 years must MUST BRING Valid Government Issued Photo ID that includes the date of birth to operate their own ski. No photocopies will be accepted.

MANDATORY: MUST complete a Boater Safety Test or present a Florida Boater Safety License, if born in 1988 or after

MANDATORY: Jet Ski Operators must speak sufficient English to understand and relay all verbal instructions and read and understand the labels on the jet ski, without any assistance from an interpreter.

MANDATORY: Guests MUST be at least 18 years old or have a Natural or Adoptive Parent present at check-in to participate

Guests Born in or after 1988 that do not obtain the Fury Boater Safety License in advance MUST check-in 60 minutes before departure time.

Guests Born in or after 1988 may operate the Jet Ski if they have a Photo I.D. and meet ONE of the following criteria:

They have a National Association of State Boating Law Administrators Certification (MUST be labeled NASBLA certified and present at check-in)

They are riding with someone born before 1988

They are riding with someone born in or after 1988 who does have a United States Boater Safety License or National Association of State Boating Law Administrators Certification

There are 2 ways to obtain a Boater Safety License:

A temporary Boater Safety License can be obtained at check-in by taking a 25 multiple choice question test in English. Guests are prohibited from using cell phones, interpreters, instruction booklets or any form of assistance, while taking an in person test. There is a non-refundable fee to take the test (cash or credit card accepted). Guests must check in minimum one hour before departure time to obtain a temporary Boater Safety License in person.

Click Here to review Boater Safety Test Instruction Booklet

Don't want to wait? Obtain your Boater Safety License online by Clicking Here. Licensing fees apply. Proof of Boater Safety License will be required at check-in.

Guests 4-13 years of age cannot drive a jet ski. Can be a passenger if someone 18 or older is on the jet ski with them (This person must present Valid Government Issued Photo ID and either be born before 1988 or complete Boater's Safety Test.) Natural or Adoptive Parent must present Valid Government Issued Photo ID and sign waiver at check-in.

Guests 14-17 years of age can drive or be passenger if someone 18 or older is on the jet ski with them (This person must present Valid Government Issued Photo ID and either be born before 1988 or complete Boater's Safety Test.) Natural or Adoptive Parent must present Valid Government Issued Photo ID and sign waiver at check-in. *Minors 14-17 cannot drive their own ski with a minor passenger ages 4-15 years old. If guests 16-17 years old want to share a jet ski, both must meet driving requirements.

Guests 16-17 years can drive their own jet ski if 1. Valid Government Issued Photo ID is presented, 2. Boater's Safety Test is completed AND 3. Natural or Adoptive Parent must present Valid Government Issued Photo ID and sign waiver at check-in. *If 2 minors (16-17 years old) want to share a jet ski, both must meet requirements.

Guests 18+ can drive jet ski if 1. Valid Government Issued Photo ID is presented AND 2. Born before 1988 or completes a Boater's Safety Test. Can be a passenger on a jet ski if Valid Government Issued Photo ID is presented. *If 2 adults want to share a jet ski, only one must meet requirements (all adult guests must present Valid Government Issued Photo ID)

Please note that a safety lanyard (key) is attached to the Jet Ski driver at all times

Three guests are allowed per Jet Ski and cannot exceed a total combined weight of 460 lbs (225 kg)

GUESTS CANNOT PARTICIPATE IF THEY:

Possess or are under the influence of drugs or alcohol

Are pregnant

Have any existing medical conditions that put them or others at risk

Are 3 years of age and younger

Are over 18 years of age and do not have a Valid Government Issued Photo ID and Credit Card

Are unable to quickly follow any spoken instructions in English

Full Disclaimer

*Discounts are not applicable to 8:30am Jet Ski Tour. Blackout dates & restrictions may apply to all other times.

Be the captain of your own adventure aboard a Fury Jet Ski!

About Our 90-Minute Jet Ski Tour

See our island paradise the way it was meant to be seen...from the water aboard a Fury Jet Ski! Join Fury as we take you on a 28-mile scenic Key West jet ski tour. Follow our expert guides as we travel through the Key West backcountry, remote islands and some of the most stunning natural beauty you'll ever encounter.

Bring along a friend or two or ride solo-Fury's new Jet Skis can accommodate up to three people*. Our Jet Skis are top-of-the-line, providing better handling, a smoother ride and a higher performance than any other jet ski available. No other Jet Ski company in Key West offers the opportunity to experience the island on a top of the line Jet Ski.

One of the most popular parts of the Key West jet ski tour is our stop at the sandbar*. Here, you can hop off your jet ski, take a dip, refresh in the water and take a moment to look around. As we make our way around the island you may even spot a friendly bottlenose dolphin or a resident sea turtle.

During our 90-minute Jet Ski Tour, your Fury guides will help you explore Key West in the most exhilarating sightseeing adventure on the island. Feel free to rev it up and make a splash and enjoy all the magnificent scenery that surrounds you.

*The jet ski tour is subject to change due to marine and weather conditions.
Photos of your experience will be available for sale at the end of your trip.

ARE JET SKI TOURS FUN FOR CHILDREN?

Yes, but we do have some rules. Guests ages 4-13 are not allowed to operate a Jet Ski under any circumstances, but are more than welcome to accompany an adult. Guests 14-15 years of age may operate a Jet Ski with another person on the ski who is at least 18 years of age & meets the required criteria. A natural parent must be present to sign paperwork at check in. After obtaining a Boater Safety License, guests 16-17 years of age may operate a Jet Ski, when a natural parent signs paperwork at check in.

ARE THERE ANY JET SKI COMBO TRIPS WITH OTHER WATERSPORTS?

Yes. Our Ultimate Adventure includes jet skis as well as reef snorkeling, parasailing, banana boat ride and inflatable waterpark. This is our all-inclusive tour that also includes breakfast, lunch, sodas, beer and wine.

WHERE DO THE JET SKI TOURS DEPART FROM?

We have a few different departure Locations for our Jet Ski Tours:

Departure Location #1 241 Front Street - Located just behind Opal Key t on the corner of Front St. and Greene St. in the Opal Key Marina. Check-in booths are located on the pier.

Departure Location #2 0 Duval Street - Located between Ocean Key Resort & Pier House Resort, at the end of Duval Street.

Departure Location #4 617 Front Street - Located on the dock of the Galleon Resort & Marina.

Departure Location #7 601 Front Street - Located at the Hyatt Centric Key West Resort & Spa enter through the Hyatt Hotel parking lot, follow the outdoor path past the pool and towards the oceanfront.

IS FURY OPEN ON HOLIDAYS?

Yes! Fury operates 365 days a year. Be sure to check out our Special Trips & Events page to see if we are running any special Holiday trips.

CAN I BRING MY PET WITH ME?

Fury allows service animals only. A service animal is any dog that has been trained to perform tasks to benefit an individual. The work performed must be directly related to the individuals disability. According the ADA service animals for emotional support, therapy, comfort or companionship are not considered service animals.

The guest requiring the service animal must be in possession of the animal at all times. ​Due to the nature of Fury tours, guest and service animal may be required to remain on the boat for the entirety of the tour. This is to ensure the guest's safety as well as that of the service animal, Key West wildlife, other guests, captain and crew.

Related Trips You May Also Like

Key West Jet Ski Combo Package Package with Reef Snorkel, Parasail or Glass Bottom Boat & Save

TRIP DETAILS BOOK TRIP

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Need some adventure on your vacation? Join a guided Key West Jet Ski Tour and explore secret places you may not find with a regular jet ski rental.

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Recently, one of our staff writers, Nandita Radhakrishnan , wrote an article on journaling. She pointed out that journaling is a way to record feelings and events while also benefiting her mental health and sense of routine. A subset of that practice is the method of bullet journaling.

Bullet journaling is an analog system where you can track your goals, make spreads, write entries and anything else in between that your mind can think of. Instead of an average, lined notebook, bullet journals are dotted pages that give you freedom on how you want to design each individual page. It's a fun way to express your creativity while simultaneously helping yourself be more productive.

Here are some ways you can take advantage of the untethered nature of bullet journaling.
Change up how you regularly journal
While writing in your bullet journal, you can add a creative twist. Design different themed pages, from floral to seasonal, or even play with multiple borders and colors. I like to design each of my journal pages to correlate with the mood that I am feeling that day. For example, on a day I'm feeling gloomy, I might create a page filled with blue tones and rain clouds.
Get personal with daily, weekly and monthly spreads
Instead of buying a traditional planner, which has the same format every single day, you can tailor each page to plan what you need. I have been designing monthly spreads for my bigger events, but breaking down to weekly spreads for my assignments, study times and day-to-day happenings. Using the flexibility of a bullet journal allows you to optimize how you organize your time and things that you need to get done.
Affirmations and manifestations
I have a bunch of important messages, affirmations and manifestations that I keep close to heart. I continue to decorate them throughout my bullet journal so that I can constantly be reminded of good thoughts. Interestingly enough, I often feel more empowered by these words once the pen hits the paper. These are some that I've been writing to myself lately: I am present and worthy. I am enough. I am becoming what I am meant to be.
Mix it all together
In the true freestyle characteristic of bullet journaling, something super fun to do is to overlap different methods. You can create your own masterpiece by adding affirmations to your daily spread. You can use a blank area to incorporate your grocery list or anything you need to remember. The best part is that you have a choice to make it however you want!

So if you're looking to be more organized and productive while letting your creativity fly, check out bullet journaling!

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Bullet journaling for beginners: Boost your productivity, creativity

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If you're looking to be more organized and productive while letting your creativity fly, check out bullet journaling! Here are some ways you can take advantage of the untethered nature of bullet journaling.

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Imagine you walk into your first interview, and at first, the discussion is going smoothly. You get asked your name and where you went to school, but then out of nowhere, you are hit with a difficult question: Tell me about what you did last summer. You think back to how you spent nearly all summer going on vacation with your family, playing video games, and hanging out with friends.

While this might sound like the ideal summer to most kids, these 'all fun and no work' summers can eventually come back to haunt students in a job interview. When most students finish up the school year and are about to head into the summer, the only thing on their minds is either relaxing or having fun.

It never hurts to go on vacation with family or to spend time hanging out with friends on the weekends; in fact, it's fun and worth it, but it is not a great idea to spend your entire summer simply having fun.

I spent my summer after my junior year in high school working at Kroger during the week, occasionally going to Braves games and playing Frisbee on the weekends. I saved money for my future and spent a little bit of my money to watch Freddie Freeman and the Braves at Truist Park.

I was also able to begin building my resume which was helpful once I got to college and started applying for internships and, ultimately, jobs. One of the most important things employers look for on recent high school graduates and college students' resumes is experience. More specifically, they look to see how students spend their free time.

Other exciting ways to help build your resume can include traveling abroad independently. For example, I spent the summer after my sophomore year in college studying abroad in London. While I took two classes in London, I traveled to Spain and Amsterdam, which gave me a more global perspective on the world. This allowed me to find commonalities with my interviewers and share some engaging travel experiences that showed growth and independence.

Another great way to spend one's summer is to develop skills outside of the classroom, such as learning a second language or even developing computer science skills. Whatever the discipline of choice for developing one's professional skill set, I guarantee you that future employers will be impressed with the initiative to take your future into your own hands and develop yourself further.

There are many ways to spend your summer, and while we all want to go to the pool and maybe even the beach over the summer, there is a lot of time available for us to use wisely. I highly recommend getting a job over the summer that teaches invaluable skills such as working with others, dealing with unexpected situations, and even how taxes affect your salary (a lot!).

Whether it be getting a job, traveling abroad, or learning a new life skill such as financial literacy, which you can obtain through taking a Wealthy Habits summer course, these are all great ways to begin building your resume for the future and a guaranteed way to impress future employers.

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The Importance of Spending your Summer Wisely - Wealthy Habits

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The Importance of Spending your Summer Wisely by Merritt Winter | Jul 26, 2021 | Intern Blogs | 0 comments Imagine you walk into your first interview, and at first, the discussion is going smoothly.

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Welcome fall! The autumnal equinox-the September equinox or the fall equinox-arrives on Saturday, September 23. Not only do temperatures drop, but plant life slows down and so do we. Read about the first day of fall, plus some fun facts and folklore.

When Is the First Day of Fall? The Autumnal Equinox?

The fall equinox and the first day of autumn arrives on Saturday, September 23, 2023, at 02:50 A.M. EDT in the Northern Hemisphere. The equinox occurs at the same moment worldwide.
Note: Dates listed above are based on Eastern Time (UTC-5). Due to time zones, the date of the equinox may differ by +/- one calendar day in your location.
What Is the Autumnal Equinox?

The autumnal equinox is an astronomical event that marks the start of autumn (or "fall"). In the Northern Hemisphere, the autumnal equinox occurs in September; in the Southern Hemisphere, it occurs in March.

What Is an Equinox?

During an equinox, the Suncrosses what we call the "celestial equator"-an imaginary extension of Earth's equator line into space. The equinox occurs precisely when the Sun's center passes through this line.

For those in the Northern Hemisphere, when the Sun crosses the equator going from north to south, this marks the autumnal equinox; when it crosses from south to north, this marks the vernal equinox. In the Southern Hemisphere, it's the reverse.

After the autumnal equinox, days become shorter than nights as the Sun continues to rise later and nightfall arrives earlier. This ends with the winter solstice, after which days start to grow longer once again.

The word "equinox" comes from Latin aequus, meaning "equal," and nox, "night." On the equinox, day and night are roughly equal in length. (See more about this below.)

The Harvest Moon & the Fall Equinox

One of our favorite pieces of trivia surrounding the autumnal equinox involves its relationship with the full Moon. Curiously, the full Moon that occurs nearest to the autumnal equinox is always called the "Harvest Moon!" Why is that?

Surprise, surprise: it has to do with farming! Around the fall equinox, the full Moon rises around sunset for several nights in a row, traditionally providing farmers with just enough extra light to finish their harvests before the killing hard frosts of fall set in.

Typically, the Moon rises about an hour later each night, but around the time of the fall equinox, the angle of the Moon's orbit and the tilt of the Earth line up just right and cause the Moon to rise only about 20 to 30 minutes later each night for several nights in a row!

An Astronomical Moon Name

The Harvest Moon is one of only two Moon names that are astronomical terms and aren't tied to one specific month. Because it's always the full Moon nearest to the equinox called the "Harvest Moon," either September or October's full Moon can take on the name. (The other astronomical Moon name is the Hunter's Moon, which is the full Moon that directly follows the Harvest Moon. It can occur in either October or November.)

Fall Weather

It is the summer's great last heat,
It is the fall's first chill: They meet.
-Sarah Morgan Bryan Piatt

Another definition of fall is "nights of below-freezing temperatures combined with days of temperatures below 70 degrees Fahrenheit (21°C)". From here on out, the temperatures begin to drop.

→ Find 12 months of long-range weather predictions in the latest edition of The Old Farmer's Almanac!

Fall Foliage

Note that fall foliage isn't due to current weather conditions. This is a common misconception. Leaves change color because of the amount of daylight and photosynthesis. Learn more about autumn leaves.

Fall Equinox FAQs

Q: Are Day and Night Perfectly Equal on the Equinox?

A: Some say that during an equinox, day and night are equal. Well, not exactly. It depends on where you live.

On the equinox, the center of the Sun is indeed above the horizon for 12 hours. However, "sunrise" is said to begin when the upper edge of the Sun's disk becomes visible above the horizon (which happens a bit before the center rises) and ends when the entire Sun has set. In this case, daylight is still a bit longer than nighttime.

Not only that, but the Sun is actually visible when it is below the horizon, as Earth's atmosphere refracts the Sun's rays and bends them in an arc over the horizon. Yes, you can see the Sun before the edgeactually reaches the horizon! This causes daylight to be longer than 12 hours as well.

However, they are very close to equal (the total lengths may differ by only a few minutes).

Did you know our rise/set tool now provides day length? In Dublin, New Hampshire, USA-home of The Old Farmer's Almanac -our day length on the equinox is 12:08 hours.

See our Sunrise/set calculator for day length in YOUR area.

Q: Is the Autumnal Equinox Really the First Day of Fall?

A: Based on the astronomical definition of seasons, yes, the autumnal equinox does mark the first day of fall. Astronomical seasons are based on the Sun's position in the sky. According to the meteorological definition of seasons, which is based on temperature cycles and the Gregorian calendar, the first day of fall is usually considered to be September 1 in the Northern Hemisphere (March 1 in the Southern Hemisphere).

Q: Can You Balance An Egg On the Equinox?

A: There's an old wives' tale that you can stand an egg on its end of the equinox. Well, yes, it's true (and fun to try). But it's possible not only on the equinox. See more about equinox facts from Almanac astronomer Bob Berman.

Signs of Fall

What are your local signs of fall? In many regions of the Northern Hemisphere, the landscape silently explodes with vibrant colors of red, yellow, and orange. The leaves begin to drop off the trees, providing endless hours of jumping into leaf piles for kids and raking them back up for parents!

Trees snapping and cracking in the autumn indicate dry weather.

Fall also brings some wonderful holidays, including Halloween and Thanksgiving, which carry us through the season until temperatures begin to drop, nights begin to get longer, and all the woodland critters start storing up for the long haul of winter.

And don't forget about the end of Daylight Saving Time, when we "fall" back, setting our clocks back one hour and regaining an hour of precious sleep!

Plants and trees are slowing down as sunlight decreases to get ready for the colder season ahead. In the garden, asters and chrysanthemums bloom beautifully as orange pumpkins and corn mazes abound.

Football season is warming up, and so is sweater weather.

Also, notice the arc of the Sun across the sky each day as it starts shifting south. Birds and butterflies migrate along the path of our Sun!

Of course, you can you can easily notice the later dawns and earlier sunsets. See our sunrise/set tool for your area!

Ancient Autumn Traditions

The fall equinox has been a day of celebration for cultures since ancient days. People tracked the transitions of the Earth's journeys around the Sun.

At Machu Picchu in Peru, an ancient stone monument called Intihuatana-which means "Hitching Post of the Sun"-serves as a solar clock to mark the dates of the equinoxes and solstices.

In Mexico, the Mayans built a giant pyramid called Chichen Itza. On the equinoxes, it looks as if a snake made of light slithers down the pyramid's steps.

In England, Stonehenge was also built with the equinoxes and solstices in mind.

See Five Ancient Sites Aligned With the Equinoxes and Solstices.

Enjoy Autumn!

Wishing a colorful, cool, cozy autumn to all our Almanac readers. Tell us your favorite things about the fall season below!

To learn more about all four seasons and see when they begin, see the First Day of Seasons.

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When is the First Day of Fall? Autumnal Equinox 2023

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In 2023, the autumnal (fall) equinox arrives on Saturday, September 23, marking the official first day of fall. Here's everything you should know about the fall equinox-plus our favorite fall facts, folklore, photos, and more!

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UnboxHow: Connects you with latest technology, DIY and online safety.

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Netflix Profile icons gets a Makeover: Choose the best character from Netflix originals

Netflix is rolling out to get a makeover to its user profile icons. At start of the Netflix user had to share the same account with their family members or friends. That means the watch-list, recommended contents and favorites were all around for everyone using the account.

In 2013, Netflix one of the best online streaming service provider introduced user profile. Netflix New Profile Icons gave a personalized contents to each of its user. So that everyone using the same account within household could have their own user profile. Now they can manage their own watch-list, favorite shows and many more as per their preferences.

User profile getting over 100 new icons

And, now to celebrate its 5 successful years, Netflix is launching over 100 new profile icons. Also the existing user profile icons are getting a makeover with new colors and design.

Netflix New Profile Icons are square-shaped that you can choose among the most iconic characters from the Netflix' originals. As Netflix now has its own web series and original contents loved all over. You can choose the character which best suits you like Luke Cage, Steve Harrington from Stranger Things, or Crazy Eyes from Orange Is the New Black.

The change is expected to be rolling out over the next few weeks, across all Netflix's platforms like mobile apps, TV apps, and on the website.

How To Get Netflix's New Profile Icons
To create a character specific User profile on Netflix:

Open your Netflix account

Click your name on the top right, then click "Your account"

Next, click "Manage profiles"

Add a profile

You can also assign new profile for your kids by choosing from the Netflix's smileys or any Netflix original series character.

This may not be a drastic change in the Netflix but yes a more user interactive and interesting makeover to the existing Netflix user profile. So enjoy within next few weeks, be ready to choose the best character as your profile icon.

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Netflix Adds a Bunch of New Profile Icons

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Netflix Profile icons gets a Makeover: Choose the best character from Netflix originals Netflix is rolling out to get a makeover to its user profile icons. At start of the Netflix user had to share the same account with their family members or friends.

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Gossip Girl is an American teen drama television series based on the novel series of the same name written by Cecily von Ziegesar. The series, developed for television by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, ran on The CW network for six seasons from September 19, 2007, to December 17, 2012.

Narrated by the unknown, omniscient blogger "Gossip Girl" (voiced by Kristen Bell), the series revolves around the lives of privileged upper-class adolescents living in Manhattan's Upper East Side (UES). The series begins with the return of Upper East Side teenage " it girl" Serena van der Woodsen ( Blake Lively) from a mysterious absence. She is reunited with her popular frenemy Blair Waldorf ( Leighton Meester) and her mother Lily ( Kelly Rutherford), and she also meets Dan Humphrey ( Penn Badgley)-an aspiring writer from Brooklyn who is one of Serena's main love interests throughout the show. Other main characters include Nate Archibald ( Chace Crawford), Chuck Bass ( Ed Westwick), Jenny Humphrey ( Taylor Momsen), Vanessa Abrams ( Jessica Szohr), Rufus Humphrey ( Matthew Settle) and Ivy Dickens ( Kaylee DeFer).

The success of Gossip Girl led to many adaptations outside the United States. The show received numerous award nominations and won 18 Teen Choice Awards. The CW officially renewed Gossip Girl for a sixth and final season on May 11, 2012. The final season, consisting of 10 episodes, premiered on October 8, 2012, and ended on December 17, 2012.

A sequel series, also titled Gossip Girl and headed by original executive producers Schwartz, Savage and Safran, premiered on July 8, 2021, on HBO Max. While set in the same continuity and retaining Kristen Bell as narrator, this series focuses on a new cast of characters from a different perspective in the same setting-likened to that of a shared universe.

The series is focused on a group of privileged teenagers who attend a prestigious high school in Upper East Side New York as their lives are constantly watched and sometimes ruined by an infamous and local blogger.

Blake Lively as Serena van der Woodsen, a student at the Constance Billard School for Girls. An who frequently receives media attention.

Leighton Meester as Blair Waldorf, the Queen Bee of Constance Billard. Best friends with Serena and highly focused on status, wealth and academic achievement. Her relationship with Chuck is a key theme throughout all 6 seasons.

Penn Badgley as Dan Humphrey, a student at St. Jude's School for Boys. Dan initially does not fit in with the Upper East Side teenagers as he lives in Brooklyn and is not a legacy student, but rather attends St. Jude's with a partial scholarship. Dan aspires to be a writer.

Chace Crawford as Nate Archibald, a student at St. Jude's. Blair's childhood boyfriend and the UES golden boy.

Taylor Momsen as Jenny Humphrey (seasons 1-4; guest, season 6), a student at Constance Billard's and Dan's younger sister. Jenny dreams of becoming a fashion designer, who begins as one of Blair's minions in order to gain status. She later rejects the Upper East Side life and becomes rivals with Blair and sleeps with Chuck.

Ed Westwick as Chuck Bass, a student at St. Jude's. Son of one of New York's most successful real estate moguls. Decadent and amoral, Chuck is mainly interested in women and alcohol. Once his father dies in the second season, he inherits Bass Industries and becomes a young billionaire. He is romantically involved with Blair throughout the series but they do not start officially dating until the third season. Blair and Chuck's relationship is a key theme throughout all 6 seasons.

Kelly Rutherford as Lily van der Woodsen (née Rhodes), Serena and Eric's mother and a three-time divorcée. A former photographer, Lily has become one of the UES's most influential socialites. She and Serena often have a strained and rocky relationship.

Matthew Settle as Rufus Humphrey, Dan and Jenny's father. Former rockstar as the lead singer for the band Lincoln Hawk, a 90s one-hit wonder, Rufus now owns a gallery in Brooklyn. Rufus shares a romantic history with Lily, whom he marries in season 3 but divorces in season 6. He also shares a son with Lily, of whom he is unaware until the end of the third season.

Jessica Szohr as Vanessa Abrams (seasons 1-4; guest, season 6), Dan's childhood best friend who is home-schooled. Vanessa wants to become a documentary filmmaker. She has romantic interest in Nate, Dan and Chuck.

Kaylee DeFer as Ivy Dickens (seasons 5-6; recurring, season 4), who is introduced to the Van der Woodsens as their cousin Charlie Rhodes.

The series is narrated by Kristen Bell as the voice of "Gossip Girl", an online anonymous figure. Bell appears via voice-over in every episodes but is uncredited. She also appears in person as herself in the series finale.

Connor Paolo as Eric van der Woodsen, Serena's younger brother. Both Serena and Eric are children from Lily's first marriage to William van der Woodsen.

Zuzanna Szadkowski as Dorota Kishlovsky, the Waldorfs's Polish housekeeper and Blair's closest confidante. She is often shown as a mother figure to Blair as Eleanor has often been absent in Blair's life due to work.

Margaret Colin and Wallace Shawn as Eleanor Waldorf and Cyrus Rose, Blair's mother, a successful fashion designer, and stepfather, an entertainment lawyer who regards Blair as his own daughter

Michelle Trachtenberg and Sebastian Stan as Georgina Sparks and Carter Baizen, old and troublesome acquaintances of the UES group

Robert John Burke as Bartholomew Bass, Chuck's father, one of New York's most successful real estate moguls who is married to Lily

Amanda Setton, Nicole Fiscella, Nan Zhang, Dreama Walker, Yin Chang, and Alice Callahan as Penelope Shafai, Isabel Coates, Kati Farkas, Hazel Williams, Nelly Yuki, and Jessica Leitenberg, the clique of mean girl "minions" following Blair

The Gossip Girl book series was originally supposed to be adapted into a film starring Lindsay Lohan with head Gilmore Girls creator Amy Sherman-Palladino. When the film project did not get off the ground, Stephanie Savage and Josh Schwartz took over the project to create a television series. As of October 2006, Schwartz was working on the pilot. He said, "I was very skeptical. I don't want to do . But I thought the books were smart. The characters are worldly in a way that Orange County kids aren't." The characteristics for each character in the pilot were based on the first Gossip Girl book. In January 2007, the show was given the green light by The CW.

The O.C. creator Josh Schwartz and fellow writer Stephanie Savage served as the show's executive producers throughout the series' run, followed by Bob Levy and Leslie Morgenstein of Alloy Entertainment, who were assigned in aiding the adaptation of the novels into the series. Following the success of Gossip Girl, Gilmore Girls co-producer, John Stephens was approached by Schwartz and Savage, having previously worked with him on The O.C., and hired him as an executive producer. Joshua Safran, who started as a writer/consulting producer before becoming co-executive producer, was later added as an executive producer. On April 24, 2012, it was announced that he would leave the show at the end of the fifth season to be the new showrunner of NBC's now-cancelled musical series . To fill in Safran's void, co-executive producer Sara Goodman was promoted to executive producer for the sixth season. Alexandra Patsavas who worked with Schwartz on The O.C. was in charge of the music. Eric Daman was at the head of the costume department; he previously had assisted Patricia Field on Sex and the City.

Featuring nine regular speaking roles, the majority of the ensemble cast was assembled from February to April 2007. Leighton Meester and Blake Lively-who started auditioning in December 2006-were the first two actresses to be chosen in February for the lead roles of Blair Waldorf and Serena van der Woodsen, respectively. Penn Badgley, who had previously worked with Stephanie Savage on The Mountain, Taylor Momsen, Chace Crawford, Kelly Rutherford, and Connor Paolo also auditioned successfully and landed roles in the series in March, as did Florencia Lozano who appeared only in the pilot, and was later replaced by Margaret Colin. Badgley at first turned down the part of Dan, as did Lively-who planned to attend college-for the role of Serena. Actors for the roles of Chuck Bass and Rufus Humphrey were found in April when British actor Ed Westwick, and Matthew Settle were cast. Westwick first read for the role of Nate but was then asked to try Chuck. As rumors swirled about the impending cancellation of Veronica Mars, it was revealed at The CW's 2007 upfronts on May 17, 2007, that Kristen Bell had narrated the pilot, thus making her the title character of another show on the network. Of the casting, Bell said:

I read [the Gossip Girl pilot], and I knew I was sort of old to play any of the kids. I called Dawn Ostroff [...] and said, "Hey, I did so much narration on Veronica Mars, can I narrate this show?" [...] It was so clear to me how sassy and catty she needed to be.

Jessica Szohr was signed on to portray the recurring role of Vanessa Abrams and received regular status during the fourteenth episode of the first season. Kaylee DeFer joined the series in the eighteenth episode of the fourth season and was promoted to series regular for the show's fifth season.

At the conclusion of the fourth season, Momsen, who went on an indefinite hiatus during the season while retaining regular billing, and Jessica Szohr both left the show. Throughout the series' run, Connor Paolo consistently declined to elevate his recurring role of Eric van der Woodsen to regular status, citing personal reasons for his decision. After becoming a regular on the ABC series , Paolo confirmed his departure from Gossip Girl in August 2011.

As the show progressed, numerous recurring guest stars appeared in the show. Michelle Trachtenberg signed on to portray Georgina Sparks. The role had previously been offered to Mischa Barton who declined the role. Francie Swift and Sam Robards took the parental roles of Anne and Howard Archibald, respectively. Caroline Lagerfelt portrayed Celia "CeCe" Rhodes, Serena and Eric's grandmother and Lily's mother. Sebastian Stan made several appearances as Carter Baizen throughout the show's first three seasons.

Gossip Girl filming in Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Paris, France

Primarily filming in New York, Gossip Girl has been declared by New York Magazine as the "Most Restauranty Show Since Sex and the City", citing the pilot episode filming locales such as the Japanese restaurant Geisha, the Campbell Apartment where Nate and Serena were filmed having sex, and the New York Palace Hotel bar Gilt. Other New York City landmarks and well-known establishments were filmed throughout the first season. Victor/Victrola filmed the fictional infamous Chuck Bass burlesque club, Victrola, at The Box Manhattan, a sister club to The Box Soho in London. The fictional Constance Billard-St.Judes School, based on novel writer Cecily Von Ziegesar's alma mater, Nightingale-Bamford used external shots of the Museum of the City of New York.

The second season premiered at the Hamptons and began filming in mid-June. The season premiere opening montage showed a scene at Cooper's Beach that was instead filmed in Rockaway Beach followed by an elaborate white party. For the sixth episode of the season, Columbia University was used to film the Yale campus, an episode that followed disappointment from Yale fans due to its erroneous portrayal of the admissions process and reliance on Ivy League university stereotypes. During the season's seventh episode, the Brooklyn Inn was integrated into the show. Remaining true to its New York locations, the show filmed at the Russian Tea Room.

The fourth season premiered on September 13, 2010, with the first two episodes filmed in Paris. New York Magazine revealed several locations shot at the French University, La Sorbonne in the Latin District (or Quartier Latin) of Paris on July 5. Other locations include the Musée d'Orsay, the Eiffel Tower, the Gare du Nord, Avenue Montaigne. and Saint-Germain-des-Prés. Columbia University became the primary filming location for the first few episodes of the season following the Paris story arc.

The fifth season premiered on September 26, 2011, with the first two episodes filmed in Los Angeles, California.

Because of its location in New York, executive producer Stephanie Savage said, "We were quickly told it would be too expensive, too complicated" at the beginning of the series. She said that it had been proposed to shoot in a Los Angeles studio that would recreate Central Park, but they eventually filmed the series in New York. Savage explained their choice to film there, "There's no New York City on TV, or there wasn't when we started making the pilot, except what you could see in the background behind the dead bodies on cop shows. We've never seen the city from the point of view of teenagers. It felt like a world with high stakes for young people." Schwartz added, "What's funny about these teenagers is they grew up watching Sex and the City, even though it wasn't about them. And I think they've probably incorporated that into how they mythologize New York. I fought really hard to shoot the show in New York because we want New York to be a character in the show." Many scenes were filmed in the Empire Hotel on the Upper West Side.

Each episode begins with the home page of the Gossip Girl website and Serena's picture from the pilot episode. Afterward, a recap of events relevant to the upcoming narrative is shown, which ends again with the home page of the website, only this time with a picture from other character(s) with a text about a recent event connected with the picture.

The narrator is Gossip Girl, voiced by actress Kristen Bell. She begins the recap with the sentence, "Gossip Girl here, your one and only source into the scandalous lives of Manhattan's elite," and ends the recap with whispered voices saying "Where has she been?" and "Serena." Then, the voice of Gossip Girl says, "And who am I? That's one secret I'll never tell! You know you love me... XOXO, Gossip Girl."

During each episode, there is always a social event taking place, whether small or large. Joshua Safran explained, "We structure it [the show] so that every week, the episode leads to an event. I feel like it is much like a procedural."

All of the episodes' titles are based on the name of a film or a novel. For example, episode "The Wild Brunch" evokes western film The Wild Bunch and "Seventeen Candles" Sixteen Candles. Episode "All About My Brother" refers to Pedro Almodóvar's All About My Mother while "Pret-a-Poor-J" came from Prêt-à-Porter. "There Might Be Blood" took its title from 2007 film There Will Be Blood. "The Serena Also Rises" was titled after novel The Sun Also Rises. The fifth-season episode "The Big Sleep No More" was named for the film The Big Sleep and the New York-based production Sleep No More. Episode "Easy J" was titled after Emma Stone's hit movie . Episode "The Age of Dissonance", which was titled after Edith Wharton's novel The Age of Innocence, saw a high school production of the novel taking place, and "The Blair Bitch Project" was named after The Blair Witch Project. "Victor, Victrola" is named after the British-American musical comedy Victor/Victoria. "Bad News Blair" was named after the 1976 movie The Bad News Bears.

Joshua Safran said, "we draw from classic works like Les Liaisons Dangereuses and The Great Gatsby as much as we do from pop culture."

Gossip Girl is known for its product placement. The show had a contract with Verizon Wireless for its first five seasons; all the characters were seen with phones chosen by the brand until the deal ended by the sixth season. During their contract, Verizon Wireless offered exclusive Gossip Girl content and created a website where ringtones of the songs featured on the show could be downloaded. Barbra Robin, The CW's senior vice president of Integrated Marketing, stated: "It was really about showing features on a device. [...] Initially, it was just a wireless phone, but eventually that became a smartphone, a tablet, all these other types of technology that took them through their day and showed how they used it to get from one place to the next."

In mid-2008, executives of VitaminWater approached The CW for a placement deal. During the second season, the drinks were mentioned several times in dialogues. The partnership helped pay the costs of shooting on location in the Hamptons. An HP TouchPad was prominently displayed in an episode of the sixth season. According to OneNewsNow.com, other sponsors have included Procter & Gamble, L'Oreal, Target and Johnson & Johnson, which allowed the series to earn $28.2million in advertising revenue in 2007.

Gossip Girl aired on The CW on Mondays. In addition to the television broadcast of the show, episodes of Gossip Girl have also been released on the Internet. In October 2011, The CW signed a deal allowing all Gossip Girl episodes to be streamed on Netflix. The same month, the network signed a deal with Hulu. Both CWTV.com and Hulu streamed episodes for free, but only the five most recent installments were available for viewing. All seasons of Gossip Girl are also available through the iTunes Store and Amazon Video where each episode can be purchased separately or in complete season sets.

As of 2012, the series was broadcast in 197 countries.

On January 1, 2021, Gossip Girl moved from Netflix to WarnerMedia's streaming service HBO Max. WarnerMedia is the parent company of the series' production company, Warner Bros. Television.

On July 25, 2012, Style Network announced that it had acquired the off-network rights to Gossip Girl and started airing repeats of the show on August 15, 2012.

The DVD sets of each season were released in various regions after their television broadcast.

Notes:

In Australia there is alternative cover art for the first season. There are also three different versions of the second season (the standard edition, a special 8-disc edition, and an alternative cover art-which is the same cover art used for part two of the second season in the UK).

The second season was first released in two parts in Region 2. Part one was released on April 13, 2009, and part two was released on August 10, 2009, while the complete season was released later, on September 28, 2009.

Gossip Girl poster featuring a negative review

Gossip Girl initially received positive reviews. Due to the show's pedigree as an adaptation of The New York Times best-selling novel series, the show was considered to be one of the more anticipated new shows of the 2007-2008 television season. An August 2007 survey by OTX, a global media research and consulting firm, placed the show on the list of top ten new shows that viewers were aware of. Though the pilot was the recipient of many positive reviews from publications such as , The Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle and the Boston Globe, other reviewers described it as a guilty pleasure rather than an hour's worth of must-watch television. Metacritic gave it a score of 59, based on the reviews of 40 different publications.

Toward the conclusion of the first season, Janet Malcolm of The New Yorker criticized the show for its deviations from the novels. She has stated that the series was "related to the original only in the names and outlines of the characters". She further asserted that, "Without von Ziegesar's fast, mocking commentary to propel them, the TV episodes are sluggish and crass-a move from Barneys to Kmart." However, author Cecily von Ziegesar has expressed support for the show, noting that all of her major plot points were present in the pilot.

As the show continued its first season, the response became considerably more positive, and by the second season critical response was favorable. Metacritic gave the new season an improved score of 71. "Summer's been good to this girl," claimed Entertainment Weekly, who awarded the series its highest grade of "A". The New York Daily News claimed the show had found its footing by stating "It knows exactly what it wants and needs its new hybrid product to be. The hockey fights video of teen romance drama." Gossip Girl was designated the "Greatest Teen Drama of All Time" by magazine. The magazine wrote, "the show has resurrected the potential for scripted dramas to be effective social satire-to present a world more accurately than a 'reality' program can. Gossip Girl presents a wealth-eye view of the city, but because it is a cartoon we can laugh along with the conspicuousness of the consumption."

The Christian Parents Television Council has shown particular criticism of the series, especially with its " OMFG" ad campaign from April 2008. It also named the episode "Victor/Victrola" the worst television program of the week in which the episode originally was broadcast. Quotes from the Parents Television Council review, as well as negative quotes from the San Diego Union-Tribune, New York Post and the Boston Herald, were used on various advertisements for the second season. The Hartford Courant chronicled a variety of negative responses to the ads. The ads included quotes like "Every Parent's Nightmare", "Mind-Blowingly Inappropriate" and "A Nasty Piece of Work" in what appears to be an effort to continue the "rebellious teen" style of the show.

With the approach of the fifth season, New York magazine reviewed the life expectancy of the show, noting its waning cultural relevancy despite the growing prominence of its actors, and the loss of its status as The CW's number-one show, having been beaten out in terms of ratings by other shows of the network like Supernatural and . "The series itself hasn't quite kept up, even if its plotting is as juicy and lunatic as ever." and that "The cast would all rather be making movies, while the showrunners are focusing on launching new projects via their nascent Fake Empire production company (including CW newcomer Hart of Dixie). Barring an unexpected brand reboot or another stab at a spinoff, we're afraid the end is near. XOXO." AOL TV ranked Gossip Girl the 20th Best School Show of All Time and the 4th TV's Biggest Guilty Pleasure. The show was declared the tenth highest-rated show for the first ten years of IMDb.com Pro (2002-2012).

There was much controversy around Dan being revealed as Gossip Girl in the season finale. Dan had always struggled to be an insider among the Upper East Side and had supposedly created Gossip Girl to gain more power and had been the one "pulling the strings the whole time," as mentioned by Serena in the finale. However, there was much speculation and controversy regarding this decision. Penn Badgley, who played Dan, stated in an interview that he himself found it funny that the writers had decided to make him be Gossip Girl and that he did not know about the reveal before shooting the series finale. Badgley cited the numerous instances of Dan appearing to be shocked by a Gossip Girl blast while alone, which would not make sense if Dan had been the one posting on Gossip Girl.

CW executive Dawn Ostroff later compared Gossip Girl's role as the show that defined its network to House of Cards for Netflix. Its television audience was never very large, but the show was influential on culture; Savage recalled that the crew likened working on it to working for a lifestyle magazine. Bell stated, "[Schwartz and Savage] were spearheading: 'What if the Internet is just a place to judge people? What if that's what it turns into?' And they turned out to be Nostradamus."

A hairstylist for the show compared media interest in Lively's hair to that for Jennifer Aniston's " The Rachel". In 2008, The New York Times reported the show has had a profound impact on retail, saying Gossip Girl is probably "the first [show] to have been conceived, in part, as a fashion marketing vehicle". While it has had middling success in terms of ratings, it "may well be the biggest influence in the youth culture market", said a trendspotter. However, for Maheen Humayun of The Tempest, the show emphasized toxic cultural traits, like rape culture, that "messed up a whole generation." According to Zoe Fox of Mashable, the show popularized social media networks and mobile communication, becoming "a pioneer in its use of mobile". In 2008, New York Magazine named the series as "Best Show Ever". In 2009, Rolling Stone named the series as "TV's Hottest Show".

On January 26, 2012, in honor of the series' 100th episode, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg visited the set and proclaimed the date Gossip Girl Day, citing the show's cultural influence and impact on the economy of the city. " Gossip Girl has made New York a central character. While Gossip Girl is drawing fans in with its plot twists, the show also attracts many of them to visit New York, contributing to our incredible 50.5million visitors last year. In fact, the economic impact of Gossip Girl and other television shows and films that are made in New York really can be felt directly in all five boroughs. The 100th episode of Gossip Girl is a real landmark, and I want to congratulate the show's cast and crew," he stated.

The series premiere was watched by 3.50 million viewers and achieved a 1.6 Adults 18-49, coming in last place in its 9:00 pm timeslot on Wednesday nights. However, the show was noted to have held the best audience retention of America's Next Top Model. Benefiting from the network rerunning the show during the 2008 WGA strike, the season ended with 3.00 million viewers. The second season premiered with 3.43 million viewers. The second season ended with 2.23 million viewers. The third season premiered with 2.55 million viewers. The third season ended with 1.96 million viewers. The fourth season premiered to 1.83 million viewers and a 1.0 for adults 18-49. Episode 4.04 hit season highs in all categories with a 2.8 rating in The CW's target of Women 18-34, a 1.7 in Adults 18-34 and 1.1 in Adults 18-49. The fourth season ended with 1.36 million viewers. The fifth season premiered with 1.37 million viewers. The fifth season ended with 1.44 million viewers.

Despite this, throughout the fifth season, Gossip Girl continued to see a decrease in viewers. The sixth season premiered to 0.78million viewers, making it not only the least viewed season premiere for the series, but also the least viewed episode in show's six-year run. The following episode saw a decrease to 0.76million viewers, which once again marked a new series low in terms of viewers. The series finale was watched by 1.55million viewers, the highest viewed episode since season four.

The series was the 5th most-binged TV series on Subscription Video-on-Demand (SVOD) Services; derived from NPD's VideoWatch Digital, consumer tracker based on data from 313,866 SVOD TV transactions across 26,176 SVOD subscribers that were completed between January 2012 and January 2013.

The first soundtrack of the TV series, OMFGG - Original Music Featured On Gossip Girl, No. 1 was released digitally on September 2, 2008, and in stores on October 28, 2008.

Merchants, designers and trend consultants say that Gossip Girl ... is one of the biggest influences on how young women spend. Fans stride into boutiques bearing magazine tear sheets that feature members of the cast and ask for their exact outfits. Or they order scoop-neck tops and hobo bags by following e-commerce links from the show's Web site.

Gossip Girl was very influential on fashion for teenage and young adult women. The show was intended in part as a way for fashion companies to market their products. Some brands paid a fee, and the show's Web site provided referral links so viewers could purchase items they saw on television. In 2009, Anna Sui created a line inspired by Gossip Girl. Daman, who based his costumes on what Manhattan private-school students wore,, said that by the sixth season the show was "getting one-of-a-kind couture from Paris", because "they wanted their wares on Blake Lively".

On September 16, 2011, it was announced that Warner Bros. and label Romeo & Juliet Couture had partnered to create Gossip Girl's official clothing line inspired by lead characters Serena van der Woodsen and Blair Waldorf. The launch of the fashion line took place on September 26, 2011, the same day as the premiere of the fifth season.[citation needed ]

Cosmetics online retailer Birchbox and Gossip Girl have teamed up to create a special Birchbox edition filled with beauty products inspired by the show. The products were chosen by Gossip Girl's makeup department head, Amy Tagliamonti, and hair department head, Jennifer Johnson.

Gossip Girl spawned several adaptations in other countries. The Turkish adaptation is known as Little Secrets ( Küçük Sırlar). Little Secrets contains numerous differences from the original TV series. "Gossip Girl" role is main role "Ayşegül" and her identity isn't secret. Chuck has been rewritten, with Serena and later Ayşegül, being love interests. Blair has been rewritten, Serena's loser friend and obsessed lover to Nate.

On March 5, 2012, it was reported that Warner Bros. International Television and Metan Development Group would produce a Chinese teen drama series called China Girl inspired by Gossip Girl. Production was set to start in June 2012 with the show airing in November. The show was to follow the lives of students at a university instead of a high school. No news of the actual broadcast followed.

A Mexican version of the series was produced by Mexican producer Pedro Torres as Gossip Girl: Acapulco. The show stars Sofía Sisniega, Oka Giner, Jon Ecker, Vadhir Derbez, Diego Amozurrutia, and Macarena Achaga. Filming of the Mexican adaptation began in January 2013 and the series aired on July 5, 2013, on Televisa. The show also aired in the United States on Univision in 2014. It was not renewed for a second season.

Another version of Gossip Girl aired in Thailand on Channel 3 beginning July 16, 2015, dubbed as Gossip Girl: Thailand.

A Chinese version of Gossip Girl aired on October 27, 2017, titled The Gossip Girl.

An Indonesian adaptation of the show known as Gossip Girl Indonesia, has been announced during the launch of GoPlay, a video-on-demand service by the country's popular ridesharing app, Gojek, with Nia Dinata as its showrunner, premiered on the platform on February 14, 2020.

A sequel to the series was released on WarnerMedia's streaming service HBO Max. The new series received an initial 10-episode order and picks up nine years after the original Gossip Girl site went dark, as a new generation of private school teens are introduced to the watchful eye of Gossip Girl. These new characters also attend the Upper East Side prep school Constance Billard, as did the characters of the original series. Josh Schwartz confirmed the new series would be a continuation rather than a reboot. Leighton Meester, the actress who played Blair Waldorf, confirmed on Good Morning America that she would not be a part of the sequel. When asked, Meester answered, "I was not asked to be on it, so no." Chace Crawford also confirmed that he had not been asked to be a part of the sequel; however, he noted he would be open to making an appearance. In November 2019, it was announced Kristen Bell would be returning as the voice of Gossip Girl in the new series.

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Gossip Girl is an American teen drama television series based on the novel series of the same name written by Cecily von Ziegesar. The series, developed for television by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, ran on The CW network for six seasons from September 19, 2007, to December 17, 2012.

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Gilmore Girls (styled onscreen as Gilmore girls) is an American comedy-drama television series created by Amy Sherman-Palladino and starring Lauren Graham (Lorelai Gilmore) and Alexis Bledel (Rory Gilmore). The show debuted on October 5, 2000, on The WB and became a flagship series for the network. Gilmore Girls ran for seven seasons, the final season moving to The CW and ending its run on May 15, 2007.

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Why you should get into PC gaming — and where to start | CNN Underscored

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Ready to get into the world of PC gaming? Here’s everything you need to know, from component breakdowns to our recommendations for good starter systems.

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Title III-Allocation for Music Producers Act

Producers' Royalties

Title III allows music producers, mixers, and sound engineers to receive royalties collected for uses of sound recordings by codifying a process for the designated collective (Sound Exchange) to distribute those royalties under a "letter of direction."

Read more about Title III

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Orrin G. Hatch-Bob Goodlatte Music Modernization Act

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A beach is a narrow, gently sloping strip of land that lies along the edge of an ocean or a lake.

Subjects

Biology, Ecology, Earth Science, Geology, Oceanography, Geography, Physical Geography

A beach is a narrow, gently sloping strip of land that lies along the edge of an ocean, lake, or river. Materials such as sand, pebbles, rocks, and seashell fragments cover beaches.

Most beach materials are the products of weathering and erosion. Over many years, water and wind wear away at the land. The continual action of waves beating against a rocky cliff, for example, may cause some rocks to come loose. Huge boulders can be worn town to tiny grains of sand.

Beach materials may travel long distances, carried by wind and waves. As the tide comes in, for example, it deposits ocean sediment. This sediment may contain sand, shells, seaweed, even marine organisms like crabs or sea anemones. When the tide goes out, it takes some sediment with it.

Tides and ocean currents can carry sediment a few meters or hundreds of kilometers away. Tides and currents are the main way beaches are created, changed, and even destroyed, as the currents move sediment and debris from one place to another.

Beaches are constantly changing. Tides and weather can alter beaches every day, bringing new materials and taking away others.

Beaches also change seasonally. During the winter, storm winds toss sand into the air. This can sometimes erode beaches and create sandbars. Sandbars are narrow, exposed areas of sand and sediment just off the beach. During the summer, waves retrieve sand from sandbars and build the beach back up again. These seasonal changes cause beaches to be wider and have a gentle slope in the summer, and be narrower and steeper in the winter.

Every beach has a beach profile. A beach profile describes the landscape of the beach, both above the water and below it. Beaches can be warm, and rich in vegetation such as palm or mangrove trees. Beaches can also be barren desert coastlines. Other beaches are cold and rocky, while beaches in the Arctic and Antarctic are frozen almost all year.

The area above the water, including the intertidal zone, is known as the beach berm. Beach berm can include vegetation, such as trees, shrubs, or grasses. The most familiar characteristic of a beach berm is its type of sand or rock.

Sandy Beach Berms
Most beach sand comes from several different sources. Some sand may be eroded bits of a rocky reef just offshore. Others may be eroded rock from nearby cliffs. Pensacola Beach, in the U.S. state of Florida, for instance, has white, sandy beaches. Some sand is eroded from rocks and minerals in the Gulf of Mexico. Most sand, however, is made of tiny particles of weathered quartz from the Appalachian Mountains, hundreds of kilometers away.

The sandy beaches surrounding Chameis Bay, Namibia, are also full of quartz and seashells. However, the beaches of Chameis Bay contain another type of rock-diamonds. Mining companies have dug mines both on the beach and offshore to excavate these precious stones. Other gems, such as sapphires, emeralds, and garnets, are present on many beaches throughout the world, as tiny grains of sand.

Rocky
Some beach berms are not sandy at all. They are covered with flat pebbles called shingles or rounded rocks known as cobbles. Such beaches are common along the coasts of the British Isles. Hastings Beach, a shingle beach on the southern coast of England, has been a dock for fishing boats for more than a thousand years.

A storm beach is a type of shingle beach that is often hit by heavy storms. Strong waves and winds batter storm beaches into narrow, steep landforms. The shingles on storm beaches are usually small near the water and large at the highest elevation.

Other types of beaches
Some beaches, called barrier beaches, protect the mainland from the battering of ocean waves. These beaches may lie at the heads of islands called barrier islands. Many barrier beaches and barrier islands stretch along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States. These narrow beaches form barriers between the open ocean and protected harbors, lagoons, and sounds.

Beaches near rivers are often muddy or soft. Soil and sediment from the river is carried to the river's mouth, sometimes creating a fertile beach. Hoi An, Vietnam, is an ancient town that sits on the estuary of the Thu Bon River and the South China Sea. Hoi An's soft beaches serve as resort and tourist centers.

Beach berms can be many different colors. Coral beaches, common on islands in the Caribbean Sea, are white and powdery. They are made from the eroded exoskeletons of tiny animals called corals. Some coral beaches, such as Harbour Island, Bahamas, actually have pink sand. The coral that created these beaches were pink or red.

On some volcanic islands, beaches are jet-black. The sand on Punaluu Beach, Hawaii, is made of basalt, or lava that flowed into the ocean and instantly cooled. As it cooled, the basalt exploded into thousands of tiny fragments. Some volcanic beaches, such as those on the South Pacific island of Guam, are green. The basalt in these beaches contained a large amount of the mineral olivine.

Threats to Beaches

Coastal Erosion
The most significant threat to beaches is natural coastal erosion. Coastal erosion is the natural process of the beach moving due to waves, storms, and wind. Beaches that experience consistent coastal erosion are said to be in retreat.

Coastal erosion can be influenced by weather systems. Beaches on the island nation of Tuvalu, in the South Pacific, were retreating very quickly in the 1990s. Meteorologists linked this to the weather system known as the El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). As ENSO events slowed, Tuvalu's beaches began to recover.

People respond to coastal erosion in different ways. For years, coastal erosion threatened the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, on Hatteras Island in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse is the tallest lighthouse in the United States. For more than 100 years, it has warned ships of the low-lying sandbars and islands known as the Outer Banks. Coastal erosion made the beach beneath the lighthouse unstable. In 2000, the entire lighthouse was moved 870 meters (2,870 feet) inland.

People also combat coastal erosion with seawalls. These large structures, built of rock, plastic, or concrete, are constructed to prevent sand and other beach material from drifting away. Residents of Sea Gate, a community in Coney Island, New York, for instance, invested in a series of seawalls to protect their homes from powerful storms and waves from the Atlantic Ocean.

However, shifting sand is a natural part of the beach ecosystem. Seawalls may protect one section of beach while leaving another with little sand. Seawalls can also increase the speed at which beaches retreat. When tides and waves hit massive seawalls instead of beaches, they bounce back to the ocean with more energy. This tidal energy causes the sand in front of a seawall to erode much more quickly than it would without the seawall.

Hurricane Sandy was a deadly storm that struck the East Coast of the United States in October 2012. Many of the seawalls of Sea Gate crumbled, and more than 25 homes were lost.

Beaches are also threatened by sea level rise. Sea levels have been gradually rising for many years, drowning some beaches completely.

New Moore Island, for example, was a small, uninhabited island in the Bay of Bengal. Both India and Bangladesh claimed the island, which was little more than a strip of sandy beach. In March 2010, rising sea levels drowned the island completely. New Moore Island is now a sandbar. Sea Level Rise

Although the natural forces of wind and water can dramatically change beaches over many years, human activity can speed up the process. Dams, which block river sediment from reaching beaches, can cause beaches to retreat. In some places, large quantities of sand have been removed from beaches for use in making concrete.
Development
Development threatens the natural landscape of beaches. People develop homes and businesses near beaches for many reasons. Beaches are traditional tourist destinations. Places like the U.S. state of Hawaii, the island nation of Tahiti, and the islands of Greece are all economically dependent on tourism. Businesses, such as charter boat facilities, restaurants, and hotels, are built on the beach.

People also enjoy living near beaches. Beachfront property is often very highly valued. "The Hamptons" are exclusive beach communities on the eastern end of Long Island, New York. Homes in the Hamptons are some of the most expensive in the United States.

Development can crowd beaches. As more buildings and other facilities are built, beaches become narrower and narrower. The natural, seasonal movement of beach sediment is disrupted. Communities spend millions of dollars digging, or dredging, sand from one place to another in order to keep the beach the same all year.

Disappearing beaches are bad for coastal facilities. Natural beaches reduce the power of waves, wind, and storm surges. Without these barrier beaches, waves and storm surges crash directly into buildings. In 1992, a storm swept away more than 200 homes in the Hamptons. It cost the government more than $80 million to replace the barrier beach.

On Kauai, one of the islands in Hawaii, more than 70 percent of the beach is eroding, partly because of construction of seawalls and jetties, and from clearing out stream mouths. Geologists say Oahu, another Hawaiian island, has lost 25 percent of its shoreline. Tourism is the state's main industry, so disappearing beaches are a major concern. The destruction of Hawaii's beaches could also mean a loss of habitat for many plants and animals, some of which are already endangered.

Beach Pollution

Many beaches, especially in urban areas, are extremely polluted. Waves wash up debris from the ocean, while drainage pipes or rivers deposit waste from inland areas. Some of this waste includes sewage and other toxic chemicals. After strong storms, some beaches are closed. The amount of bacteria, raw sewage, and other toxic chemicals is hazardous to human health. Sometimes, it takes days or even weeks for the toxic waters to wash out to sea.

Beach pollution also includes garbage, such as plastic bags, cans, and other containers from picnics. Medical waste, such as needles and surgical instruments, has even washed up on beaches.

All beach pollution is harmful to wildlife. Birds may choke on small bits of plastic. Marine mammals such as sea lions may become tangled in ropes, twine, or other material. Floating plastic may prevent algae or sea plants from developing. This prevents animals that live in tide pools, such as sea anemones or sea stars, from finding nutrients.

Protecting Beaches

Reducing pollution is an important way to protect beaches. Visitors should never leave trash on the beach or throw it in the ocean.

Beachgoers should also leave wildlife alone-including birds, plants, and seaweed. Taking shells or live animals from the beach destroys the habitat.

People can also protect beaches from excess erosion. Limiting beachfront development can be an important step in protecting the natural landscape of beaches. Along some beaches, areas of vegetation known as "living shorelines" protect the beach ecosystem from erosion and protect the inland area from floods and storm surges.

In some places, machinery is used to dredge sand from the seabed just offshore and return it to the beach. Miami Beach, in the U.S. state of Florida, was restored by this method.

Fast Fact

Beach Art: Sand Castles And Sculptures
Have you ever visited a beach during a sand-sculpture contest? Sand artists can carve sculptures more than a meter (3 feet) high. Sand art is for much more than castles. In 2008, sculptors in Dorset, England, built the world's only sand hotel. This structure was complete with two beds, a couch, night stands, and a grand entrance, all made of sand. The hotel lasted until the next rainstorm.

Fast Fact

Best Beaches
Environmental scientist Dr. Stephen P. Leatherman is known as Dr. Beach. Every year, Dr. Beach makes a list of the top 10 beaches in the United States. Dr. Beach judges beaches based on 50 criteria, including sand softness, wind speed, water temperature, presence of runoff, public safety, rip currents, and pollution. Read about Dr. Beach and the science of beaches here.

Dr. Beachs Top 10 for 2012:
1. Coronado Beach, California
2. Kahanamoku Beach,Hawaii
3. East Hampton, New York
4. St. George Island State Park, Florida
5. Hamoa Beach, Hawaii
6. Coast Guard Beach, Massachusetts
7. Waimanalo Bay Beach Park, Hawaii
8. Cape Florida State Park, Florida
9. Beachwalker Park, South Carolina
10. Cape Hatteras, North Carolina

Fast Fact

Fossil Beach
A fossil beach may not be a beach at all. Fossil beaches are ancient coastlines, millions of years old, that have been preserved because of a change in sea level. Fossils of ancient animals, plants, and algae may be excavated dozens or even hundreds of kilometers inland, on the shore of an ancient sea that has since dried up.

One of the most famous fossil beaches, however, is still a beach. The so-called Jurassic Coast, in southwestern Great Britain, has thousands of fossils of ancient plants, fish, insects, and reptiles.

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A sleeping cat. Much like humans, cats experience complex dreams while sleeping, involving long sequences of events that can be retained and recalled.[1][2]

Cat intelligence is the capacity of the domesticated cat to solve problems and adapt to its environment. Research has shown that feline intelligence includes the ability to acquire new behavior that applies knowledge to new situations, communicating needs and desires within a social group and responding to training cues.

The brain of the domesticated cat is about five centimetres (2.0 in) long and weighs 25-30 g (0.88-1.06 oz).[3][4] If a typical cat is taken to be 60 cm (24 in) long with a weight of 3.3 kg (7.3 lb), then the brain would be at 0.91%[5] of its total body mass, compared to 2.33%[5] of total body mass in the average human. Within the encephalization quotient proposed by Jerison in 1973,[5] values above one are classified big-brained, while values lower than one are small-brained.[6] The domestic cat is attributed a value of between 1-1.71; relative to human value, that is 7.44-7.8.[3][5]

The largest brains in the family Felidae are those of the tigers in Java and Bali.[7] It is debated whether there exists a causal relationship between brain size and intelligence in vertebrates. Correlations have been shown between these factors in a number of experiments; however, correlation does not imply causation. Most experiments involving the relevance of brain size to intelligence hinge on the assumption that complex behavior requires a complex (and therefore intelligent) brain; however, this connection has not been consistently demonstrated.[8][9][10][11][12]

The surface area of a cat's cerebral cortex is approximately 83 cm ² (13 in ²); furthermore, a theoretical cat weighing 2.5 kg (5.5 lb) has a cerebellum weighing 5.3 g (0.19 oz), 0.17% of the total weight.[13]

According to researchers at Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine, the physical structure of the brains of humans and cats is very similar.[14] The human brain and the cat brain both have cerebral cortices[15] with similar lobes.[16]

The number of cortical neurons contained in the brain of the cat is reported to be 203 million.[17] Area 17[18] of the visual cortex was found to contain about 51,400 neurons per mm ³.[19][20] Area 17 is the primary visual cortex.[21]

Analyses of cat brains have shown they are divided into many areas with specialized tasks that are vastly interconnected and share sensory information in a kind of hub-and-spoke network, with a large number of specialized hubs and many alternative paths between them. This exchange of sensory information allows the brain to construct a complex perception of the real world and to react to and manipulate its environment.[24]

The thalamus of the cat[25][26] includes a hypothalamus,[27] an epithalamus, a lateral geniculate nucleus,[28] and additional secondary nuclear structures.

The domestic cat brain also contains the hippocampus,[29] amygdala,[30] frontal lobes (which comprise 3 to 3.5% of the total brain in cats, compared to about 25% in humans),[31][32] corpus callosum,[33][34] anterior commissure,[35] pineal gland,[36] caudate nucleus, septal nuclei and midbrain.[37]

Grouse et al. (1979) ascertained the neuroplasticity of kittens' brains, with respect to control of visual stimulus correlated with changes in RNA structures.[38] In a later study, it was found that cats possess visual-recognition memory,[39][40] and have flexibility of cerebral encoding from visual information.[41]

A cognitive support diet for felines is a food that is formulated with the aim of improving mental processes like attention, short and long-term memory, learning, and problem solving. There is currently no strong evidence that such diets are effective in improving cognitive function. Claims for cognitive support appear on a number of kitten formulations to help with brain development, as well as diets aimed at seniors to help prevent cognitive disorders. These diets typically focus on supplying Omega-3 fatty acids, omega-6 fatty acids, taurine, vitamins, and other supporting supplements that are considered to have positive effects on cognition.

The omega-3 fatty acids are a key nutrient in cognition for felines. They are essential for felines as they cannot be synthesized naturally and must be obtained from the diet.[42] Omega-3 fatty acids that support brain development and function are alpha-linolenic acid, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA).[42] Fish oils, fish and other marine sources provide a very rich source of DHA and EPA.[42] Alpha-linolenic acid can be acquired from oils and seeds.[42]

Omega-6 fatty acids are also often included in feline cognition diets. The important omega-6 fatty acid that plays a role in brain support and cognition is arachidonic acid.[43] Arachidonic acid, or AA, is found in animal sources such as meat and eggs.[43] AA is required in cat diets, as felines convert insignificant amounts of it from linoleic acid due to the limited enzyme delta-6 desaturase.[44] Like DHA, arachidonic acid is often found in the brain tissues of cats and seems to have a supporting role in brain function.[43] In a 2000 study completed by Contreras et al., it was found that DHA and AA made up 20% of the fatty acids in the mammalian brain.[45] Arachidonic acid makes up high amounts in the membrane of most cells and has many pro-inflammatory actions.[44]

Taurine is an amino acid, which is essential in cat diets due to their low capacity to synthesize it. Taurine has the ability to cross the blood-brain barrier in the brain, it plays a role in many neurological functions, especially in the visual development.[46] Without taurine, felines can have an abnormal morphology in the cerebellum and visual cortex.[46] When cats were fed a diet deficient in taurine, this led to a decrease in the concentration of taurine in the retina of the eye. This resulted in deterioration of the photoreceptors, followed by complete blindness.[47]

Choline is a water-soluble nutrient that prevents and improves epilepsy and cognitive disorders.[48] Supplementation is part of therapy for cats with seizures and feline cognitive dysfunction, despite this treatment being mostly based on anecdotal evidence and research done on dogs.[49] It is the precursor to nerve chemicals like dopamine and acetylcholine, making it important for proper functioning of the nervous system.[48]

Intelligence through behavioural observation is defined as a composite of skills and abilities. The WAIS test is a measure of intelligence in adult Homo sapiens. The test scores on four criteria: verbal comprehension, perceptual organization, working memory and processing speed.[50][51]

Cats have complex dreams while sleeping, retaining and recalling long sequences of events while they are asleep, as many other animals do.[1][2] A dreaming cat will sometimes have rapid, uncontrolled facial, whisker, paw, and abdominal movements.

Based on several studies, behaviorists believe an adult cat's intelligence is comparable to that of a 2-year-old human toddler.[56]

Taken as a whole, cats have excellent memories.[57] In experimental conditions, the memory of a cat was demonstrated as having an information-retention or recall of a duration totaling as much as 10 years. In wild cats, such as lions, selective pressures have demonstrated that these animals exhibit extensive long-term memory in relation to problem-solving for at least seven months after solution.[58] However, relationships with humans, individual differences in intelligence, and age may all affect memory. Cats easily adapt to their current environment because they can adapt their memories of past environments throughout their life.[59][60]

The period during which the cat is a kitten is the time when the cat learns and memorizes survival skills, which are acquired through observation of their mothers and playing with other cats. Playing, in fact, constitutes more than fun for a kitten, for it is essential for ranking social order, building hunting skills, and for generally exercising for the adult roles.[61]

The first two to seven weeks are a particularly critical time for kittens, for it is during this period that they bond with other cats. It has been suspected that without any human contact during this time, the cat would forever mistrust humans, or would at least take many times longer than with such early exposure before the mistrust might begin to erode. They also may not extend trust developed with a select group of familiar nonthreatening humans as readily to strangers. Many cats with exposure during this period as kittens still do not automatically trust strangers.[59]

Just as in humans, advancing age may affect memory in cats. Some cats may experience a weakening of both learning ability and memory that affects them adversely in ways similar to those occurring in poorly aging humans. A slowing of function is normal, and this includes memory. Aging may affect memory by changing the way their brain stores information and by making it harder to recall stored information. Cats lose brain cells as they age, just as humans do.[62]

The older the cat, the more these changes can affect its memory. There have been no studies done on the memories of aging cats, but there is some speculation that, just like people, short-term memory is more affected by aging.[63] In one test of where to find food, cats' short-term memory lasted about 16 hours.

Diseases, such as feline cognitive dysfunction (FCD) - a condition similar to Alzheimer's disease in humans - could also affect cat memory. Symptoms of FCD include disorientation, reduced social interaction, sleep disturbances, and loss of house training. FCD causes degenerative changes in the brain that are the source of the functional impairment.[62]

Edward Thorndike conducted some key experiments on cats' learning capacity. In one of Thorndike's experiments, cats were placed in various boxes approximately 20 in × 15 in × 12 in (51 cm × 38 cm × 30 cm) with a door opened by pulling a weight attached to it. The cats were observed to free themselves from the boxes by " trial and error with accidental success."[64][65] Though cats did perform worse on occasion, Thorndike generally found that as cats continued the trials, the time taken to escape the boxes decreased in most cases.[66]

Thorndike considered the cat to follow the law of effect, which states that responses followed by satisfaction (i.e. a reward) become more likely responses to the same stimulus in the future.[65][64] Thorndike was generally skeptical of the presence of intelligence in cats, criticising sources of the contemporary writing of the sentience of animals as "partiality in deductions from facts and more especially in the choice of facts for investigation."[67]

An experiment was done to identify possible observational learning in kittens. Kittens that were able to observe their mothers performing an experimentally organised act were able to perform the same act sooner than kittens that had observed a non-related adult cat, and sooner than the ones who, being placed in trial and error conditions, observed no other cat performing the act.[68][69][70]

An experiment was done to study detour problem solving skills in companion cats and dogs using a transparent fence. Cats show no effect of trial-and-error learning compared to dogs. If cats recognize both sides of the obstacle represent as an equally solvable task, they freely change their spatial approach to solve the task.[71]

Changes in the genetic structure of a number of cats have been identified.[74][75] This is as a consequence of both domestication practises and the activity of breeding, so that the species has undergone genetic evolutionary change due to human selection.[74][75] This human selection has been coupled with an initial, naturally occurring selective set of cats, possessing characteristics desirable for the sharing of human habitation and living in Neolithic urban environments.[76]

Cats' intelligence may have increased during their semi-domestication: urban living may have provided an enriched and stimulating environment requiring novel adaptive behaviours.[77] This scavenging behaviour[78] would only have produced slow changes in evolutionary terms, but such changes would have been comparable to the changes to the brain[79] of early primitive hominids who co-existed with primitive cats (like, for example, Machairodontinae, Megantereon and Homotherium) and adapted to savannah conditions.[80][81][82][83]

However, urban living is unlikely to improve the animal's intelligence indefinitely. The cat, both feral and domesticated, is likely to be maintained in an evolutionary stasis by its niche position in the food web.[84]

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D.M.Fankhauser biology.clc.uc.edu Removal and study of the cat brain and Cranial nerves of the cat biology.clc.uc.edu [Retrieved 2011-12-22] (images and instruction) for an anatomy and physiology class for the dissecting of the brain of a cat

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Toggle the table of contents From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Cat intelligence is the capacity of the domesticated cat to solve problems and adapt to its environment. Research has shown that feline intelligence includes the ability to acquire new behavior that applies knowledge to new situations, communicating needs and desires within a social group and responding to training cues.

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The national flag of Brazil ( Portuguese: bandeira do Brasil), is a blue disc depicting a starry sky (which includes the Southern Cross) spanned by a curved band inscribed with the national motto " Ordem e Progresso" ("Order and Progress"), within a yellow rhombus, on a green field. It was officially adopted on 19 November 1889 - four days after the Proclamation of the Republic, to replace the flag of the Empire of Brazil. The concept was the work of Raimundo Teixeira Mendes, with the collaboration of Miguel Lemos, Manuel Pereira Reis and Décio Villares.

The green field and yellow rhombus from the previous imperial flag were preserved (though slightly modified in hue and shape). In the imperial flag, the green represented the House of Braganza of Pedro I, the first Emperor of Brazil, while the yellow represented the House of Habsburg of his wife, Empress Maria Leopoldina. A blue circle with white five-pointed stars replaced the arms of the Empire of Brazil - its position in the flag reflects the sky over the city of Rio de Janeiro on 15 November 1889. The motto Ordem e Progresso is derived from Auguste Comte's motto of positivism: "L'amour pour principe et l'ordre pour base; le progrès pour but" ("Love as a principle and order as the basis; progress as the goal").

Each star, corresponding to a Brazilian Federal Unit, is sized in proportion relative to its geographic size, and, according to Brazilian Law, the flag must be updated in case of the creation or extinction of a state. At the time the flag was first adopted in 1889, it had 21 stars. It then received one more star in 1960 (representing the state of Guanabara), then another in 1968 (representing Acre), and finally four more stars in 1992 (representing Amapá, Roraima, Rondônia and Tocantins), totaling 27 stars in its current version.

The flag of the Princes of Brazil was a standard for the Portuguese heir, though often used in Brazil due to the namesake of the princes

The Portuguese territories in the Americas, corresponding roughly to what is now Brazil, never had their own official flag, since Portuguese tradition encouraged hoisting the flag of the Kingdom of Portugal in all territories of the Portuguese Crown.

The first Brazilian vexillological symbols were private maritime flags used by Portuguese merchant ships that sailed to Brazil. A flag with green and white stripes was used until 1692. The green and white colors represented the House of Braganza and the national colours of Portugal. In 1692, that flag was no longer used by ships that sailed to Brazil and became the flag of the merchant vessels in coastal Portugal. In 1692, a new flag was introduced for merchant vessels sailing to Brazil. The new flag had a white field with a golden armillary sphere. The armillary sphere had served as the personal emblem of King Manuel I of Portugal (reigned 1494-1521). During his reign Portuguese ships used it widely, and eventually it became a national emblem of Portugal and, more specifically, of the Portuguese empire. A similar flag was introduced[by whom? ] for the Portuguese ships that sailed to India, but with a red armillary sphere. Despite representing the entire Portuguese empire, the armillary sphere began to be used more extensively in Brazil - the largest and most developed colony at the time - not only in maritime flags, but also on coins and other media. It eventually became the unofficial ensign of Brazil.

In 1815, Brazil was elevated to the rank of kingdom, and the kingdoms of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves were united as a single state - the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves. The Charter Act of 1816 established the insignia of the new kingdom. It specified that the arms of the Kingdom of Brazil was to be composed of a gold armillary sphere on a blue field. During this time, the flag of Brazil was the flag of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil, and the Algarves.

The Founding of the Brazilian Fatherland, a 1899 allegorical painting depicting José Bonifácio de Andrada e Silva, one of the founding fathers of the country, with the imperial flag and Brazil's three major ethnic groups

The flag of Brazil was designed by Jean-Baptiste Debret as the Royal Standard of the Prince Royal of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves, Pedro I.

After the Brazilian Declaration of Independence, and with the coronation of Pedro I as Emperor of Brazil, the Royal Standard was modified to become the flag of the Empire of Brazil. The new flag featured the imperial coat of arms within a yellow rhombus, on a green field. The green and yellow colors represented the dynastic houses of Pedro I and his consort Maria Leopoldina of Austria.

The imperial flag was slightly modified during the reign of Pedro II, when an extra star was added to the imperial arms to conform to the new territorial organization of the country.

Upon the proclamation of the Republic, one of the civilian leaders of the movement, the jurist Ruy Barbosa, proposed a design for the nation's new flag strongly inspired by the flag of the United States. It was flown from 15 to 19 November 1889, when marshal Deodoro da Fonseca (acting as provisional president of Brazil) vetoed the design, citing concerns that it looked too similar to the flag of another country.

A Pátria (The Fatherland) by Pedro Paulo Bruno, a 1919 painting depicting the Brazilian flag being embroidered by a family.

Fonseca suggested that the flag of the new republic should resemble the old imperial flag. This was intended to underscore continuity of national unity during the transition from a constitutional monarchy to a republic. Raimundo Teixeira Mendes presented a project in which the imperial coat of arms was replaced by a blue celestial globe and the positivist motto. It was presented to Fonseca, who promptly accepted. The flag was designed by a group formed by Raimundo Teixeira Mendes, Miguel Lemos, Manuel Pereira Reis and Décio Villares. It was officially adopted on 19 November 1889.

The flag has been modified on three occasions to add additional stars intended to reflect newly created states: 1960 (22 stars), 1968 (23 stars) and 1992 (27 stars). In contrast to many other national flags with elements representing political subdivisions, modifications to the flag of Brazil were not always made promptly upon political reorganisation, resulting in multi-year periods of history where there was a mismatch between the number of stars and the number of states and federal districts. The most recent modification was made on 11 May 1992, with the addition of four stars to the celestial globe (representing states created between 1982 and 1991), and a slight change in the stars' positions was made to match the astronomical coordinates correctly.

Decree No. 4, issued on 19 November 1889, legally replaced the flag used under the constitutional monarchy with the new national flag. On 11 May 1992, Law No. 8.421, altered the celestial globe with the addition of six stars.

Construction sheet with the official dimensions of the flag.

The precise positions of the 27 stars on the globe make the Brazilian flag one of the most complicated national flags to construct. The official design is defined by Law No. 5,700, issued on 1 September 1971. The flag's length is twenty modules and the width, fourteen, translating into an aspect ratio of 10:7. The distance of the vertices of the yellow rhombus to the outer frame is a module and seven-tenths (1.7 m). The blue circle in the middle of the yellow rhombus has a radius of three and a half modules (3.5 m). The center of the arcs of the white band is two modules (2 m) to the left of the meeting point of the extended vertical diameter of the circle with the base of the outer frame. The radius of the lower arc of the white band is eight modules (8m) and the radius of the upper arc of the white band is eight and a half modules (8.5 m). The width of the white band is a half of a module (0.5 m).

The caption "Ordem e Progresso" is written in green letters. The letter P lies on the vertical diameter of the circle. The letters of the word "Ordem" and the word "Progresso" are a third of a module (0.33 m) tall. The width of these letters is three-tenths of a module (0.30 m). The conjunction E has a height of three-tenths of a module (0.30 m) and a width of a quarter of a module (0.25 m).

The stars are of five different sizes: first, second, third, fourth and fifth magnitudes. They are drawn within circles whose diameters are: three-tenths of a module (0.30 m) for the first magnitude, a quarter of a module (0.25 m) for the second magnitude; a fifth of a module (0.20 m) for the third magnitude, a seventh of a module (0.14 m) for the fourth magnitude, and a tenth of a module (0.10 m) for the fifth magnitude.

A list of constellations and stars on the map:

Paulo Araújo Duarte of the Federal University of Santa Catarina claims that "the creators of our republican flag intended to represent the stars in the sky at Rio de Janeiro at 8:30 in the morning on 15 November 1889, the moment at which the constellation of the Southern Cross was on the meridian of Rio de Janeiro and the longer arm [of the cross] was vertical". Another article, citing "O Céu da Bandeira (The Sky of the Flag)", by J. R. V. Costa, says the exact time was actually 08:37.[citation needed ] This last article includes the flag's designer's explanation of his intentions regarding the stars.[citation needed ] According to Brazil's national act number 5,700 of 1 September 1971, the flag portrays the stars as they would be seen by an imaginary observer an infinite distance above Rio de Janeiro standing outside the firmament in which the stars are meant to be placed (i.e. as found on a celestial globe). Thus Beta Crucis appears to the right of the constellation and Delta Crucis to the left, in mirror image of the way they actually appear in the sky (and, coincidentally, the way they appear on the Brazilian coat of arms).

The star Spica is the only one above the white band; it symbolises part of Brazilian territory in the northern hemisphere (and the State of Pará).

The Sigma Octantis (south pole star) is small, but all the other stars turn around it. Its unique position in the sky of the southern hemisphere represents the stability of the Federal District in the Brazilian union.

The shining star in constellation represent the size of territory of the state in the Brazilian region (constellation).

The flag of Brazil contains 27 stars, representing the Brazilian states and the Federal District. The constellation of the Southern Cross is on the meridian (indicated by the number 6 in the diagram). To the south of it is Polaris Australis ( Sigma Octantis, numbered 7), representing the Federal District. A single star lies above the band, representing the large northern state of Pará, which straddles the equator.

The band with its motto appears roughly coincident with the ecliptic, as in the armillary symbol of Manuel I of Portugal and colonial Brazil, or otherwise the celestial equator, while none of the stars symbolized lie north of these lines. Some interpretations of the band also identify it with the Amazon river.

The stars depicted on the flag and the states they represent are:

^ Brazil's original Federal District was created in 1889 from the former Neutral Municipality covering the then-capital city of Rio de Janeiro, and represented on the flag by the star Sigma Octantis (Polaris Australis). In 1960, to correspond with the creation of the new capital, Brasília, the Federal District was reconstituted on new territory carved out of the state of Goiás, bordering the Minas Gerais state; it continued to be represented on the flag by Sigma Octantis. The former Federal District became the new state of Guanabara and a new star, Alphard, was added to the flag to represent it. Guanabara was eliminated as a separate state in 1975; however, Alphard was not removed from the flag and from 1975 to 1979 it represented no state. When the new state of Mato Grosso do Sul was created in 1979, it was assigned Alphard.

The flag's colours are not accurately specified in any legal document. The CMYK and Pantone values, as found in the files available for download from the Brazilian Government website, are listed below:

Proposed design alteration for the flag, with the added word "Amor"

In 2021, the movement "Amor na Bandeira" (in English, Love in the Flag) proposed to update the flag's motto from "Ordem and Progresso" to "Amor, Ordem e Progresso" ( Love, Order and Progress), in allusion to the motto of positivism "L'amour pour principe et l'ordre pour base; le progrès pour but" ( Love as a principle and order as the basis; progress as the goal), formulated by the French philosopher Augusto Comte, which inspired the original motto in the flag. One of the main collaborators of the movement was the politician Eduardo Suplicy, who had already supported the bill project PL 2179/2003 with the same goal, by Deputy Chico Alencar: replace the expression on the Brazilian flag to Love, Order and Progress.

The flag being replaced in a monthly ceremony held at the Praça dos Três Poderes (Three Powers Plaza) in Brasília

Federal Law No. 5,700, issued on 1 September 1971, defines the flag protocol in Brazil. The flag must be permanently hoisted at the Praça dos Três Poderes in Brasília. The flag must be raised and lowered daily at the presidential palaces ( Palácio do Planalto and Palácio da Alvorada); ministries; National Congress; Supreme Federal Tribunal; Supreme Court of Justice; seats of the Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches; diplomatic missions; Federal, state and local institutions; and merchant navy units. When a flag is no longer fit to use, it must be delivered to a military facility to be burned during a special ceremony on 19 November ("Flag Day").

The flag must be flown at half-staff when the President decrees official mourning. In addition, state and local governments may decree official mourning with the death of a mayor or governor. When the flag is displayed at half-staff, prior to raising or lowering it, the flag must be raised to the top of the flagpole and then lowered to the halfway mark. When the flag is being carried in procession, a black crape ribbon must be tied to the top of the mast.

A foreign flag may only be flown with a Brazilian Flag along its right side. The only exceptions are when the foreign flag is displayed in an embassy or consulate and in prize-giving ceremonies of sport competitions won by foreign athletes. When multiple flags are raised or lowered simultaneously, the Brazilian Flag must be the first to reach the top of the flagpole and the last to reach the bottom.

Stage

Description

Example

First

The upper half of the flag's height is folded into the reverse side.

Second

The folding proceeds by folding the flag's lower half into the reverse side until most of the blue disc and the motto face up.

Third

The flag is then folded into three parts along the width axis, with the fly and hoist folded into the reverse side, leaving the blue disc and motto facing up.

The Brazilian Flag Anthem ( Hino à Bandeira Nacional) is a song dedicated to the country's flag. It is performed on 19 November (Flag Day). The Portuguese lyrics were written by poet Olavo Bilac, and the music composed by Francisco Braga.

Salve, lindo pendão da esperança!
Salve, símbolo augusto da paz!
Tua nobre presença à lembrança
A grandeza da Pátria nos traz.

Chorus
Recebe o afeto que se encerra
Em nosso peito juvenil,
Querido símbolo da terra,
Da amada terra do Brasil!

Hail, precious banner of hope!
Hail, August symbol of peace!
Thy noble presence to our minds
The greatness of our motherland does bring.

Chorus
Take the affection enclosed
In our youthful chest,
Dear symbol of the land,
Of the beloved land of Brazil!

Historical flags (1500-present-day).

The president and vice president are also represented by their own flag. The President Standard is a dark green rectangle (ratio 2:3) holding the national coat of arms on its center. It is usually hoisted at the President's official residence, the Palácio da Alvorada, and at the President's workplace, the Palácio do Planalto. It is also displayed on the presidential car, as small-sized flags. The Vice Presidential Standard is a yellow rectangle (ratio 2:3) with twenty-three blue stars disposed in a cross dividing the flag into four equal quadrants, with the coat of arms in the middle of the upper left quadrant.

Vice Presidential Standard

Flag of the Minister of Defence

Some of the branches of the Brazilian military also have their own flags.

The Brazilian naval jack ( jaque) is a rectangular flag (ratio 3:4) bearing 21 white stars on a dark blue field - a horizontal row of 13 and a vertical column of 9, orthogonally displayed.

The list below identifies previous flags used in Brazil.

The best-known rejected flags are listed below. Several projects were heavily inspired by the green-yellow Imperial Flag, while a black-white-red pattern was also proposed. Those colours would represent the major groups of Brazilian population, red being the natives, white the European settlers and immigrants and black the Africans.

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The national flag of Brazil ( Portuguese: bandeira do Brasil), is a blue disc depicting a starry sky (which includes the Southern Cross) spanned by a curved band inscribed with the national motto " Ordem e Progresso" ("Order and Progress"), within a yellow rhombus, on a green field.