title: Chocolate

text: In the 2000s, some chocolate producers began to engage in fair trade initiatives, to address concerns about the marginalization of cocoa laborers in developing countries. Traditionally, Africa and other developing countries received low prices for their exported commodities such as cocoa, which caused poverty to abound. Fairtrade seeks to establish a system of direct trade from developing countries to counteract this unfair system. One solution for fair labor practices is for farmers to become part of an Agricultural cooperative. Cooperatives pay farmers a fair price for their cocoa so farmers have enough money for food, clothes, and school fees. One of the main tenets of fair trade is that farmers receive a fair price, but this does not mean that the larger amount of money paid for fair trade cocoa goes directly to the farmers. The effectiveness of fair trade has been questioned. In a 2014 article, "The Economist" stated that workers on fair trade farms have a lower standard of living than on similar farms outside the fair trade system.


title: Chocolate

text: Chocolate is sold in chocolate bars, which come in dark chocolate, milk chocolate and white chocolate varieties. Some bars that are mostly chocolate have other ingredients blended into the chocolate, such as nuts, raisins, or crisped rice. Chocolate is used as an ingredient in a huge variety of bars, which typically contain various confectionary ingredients (e.g., nougat, wafers, caramel, nuts, etc.) which are coated in chocolate.


title: Chocolate

text: Chocolate is used as a flavouring product in many desserts, such as chocolate cakes, chocolate brownies, chocolate mousse and chocolate chip cookies. Numerous types of candy and snacks contain chocolate, either as a filling (e.g., M&M's) or as a coating (e.g., chocolate-coated raisins or chocolate-coated peanuts).


title: Chocolate

text: Some non-alcoholic beverages contain chocolate, such as chocolate milk, hot chocolate, chocolate milkshakes and tejate. Some alcoholic liqueurs are flavoured with chocolate, such as chocolate liqueur and creme de cacao. Chocolate is a popular flavour of ice cream and pudding, and chocolate sauce is a commonly added as a topping on ice cream sundaes. The caffè mocha is an espresso beverage containing chocolate.


title: Chocolate

text: Chocolate is associated with festivals such as Easter, when moulded chocolate rabbits and eggs are traditionally given in Christian communities, and Hanukkah, when chocolate coins are given in Jewish communities. Chocolate hearts and chocolate in heart-shaped boxes are popular on Valentine's Day and are often presented along with flowers and a greeting card. In 1868, Cadbury created a decorated box of chocolates in the shape of a heart for Valentine's Day. Boxes of filled chocolates quickly became associated with the holiday. Chocolate is an acceptable gift on other holidays and on occasions such as birthdays.


title: Chocolate

text: Many confectioners make holiday-specific chocolate candies. Chocolate Easter eggs or rabbits and Santa Claus figures are two examples. Such confections can be solid, hollow, or filled with sweets or fondant.


title: Chocolate

text: In 1964, Roald Dahl published a children's novel titled "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory". The novel centers on a poor boy named Charlie Bucket who takes a tour through the greatest chocolate factory in the world, owned by the eccentric Willy Wonka. Two film adaptations of the novel were produced: "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory" (1971) and "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" (2005). A third adaptation, an origin prequel film titled "Wonka", is scheduled for release in 2023.


title: Chocolate

text: "Like Water for Chocolate" a 1989 love story by novelist Laura Esquivel, was adapted to film in 1992. "Chocolat", a 1999 novel by Joanne Harris, was adapted for film in "Chocolat" which was released a year later.


title: Tehran

text: Tehran (; ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most populous city in Iran and Western Asia, and has the second-largest metropolitan area in the Middle East, after Cairo. It is ranked 24th in the world by metropolitan area population.


title: Tehran

text: In the Classical era, part of the territory of present-day Tehran was occupied by Rhages, a prominent Median city destroyed in the medieval Arab, Turkic, and Mongol invasions. Modern Ray is an urban area absorbed into the metropolitan area of Greater Tehran.


title: Tehran

text: Tehran was first chosen as the capital of Iran by Agha Mohammad Khan of the Qajar dynasty in 1786, because of its proximity to Iran's territories in the Caucasus, then separated from Iran in the Russo-Iranian Wars, to avoid the vying factions of the previously ruling Iranian dynasties. The capital has been moved several times throughout history, and Tehran is the 32nd national capital of Persia. Large-scale demolition and rebuilding began in the 1920s, and Tehran has been a destination for mass migrations from all over Iran since the 20th century.


title: Tehran

text: Tehran is home to many historical locations, including the royal complexes of Golestan, Sa'dabad, and Niavaran, where the two last dynasties of the former Imperial State of Iran were seated. Tehran's most famous landmarks include the Azadi Tower, a memorial built under the reign of Mohammad Reza Shah of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1971 to mark the 2,500th anniversary of the founding of the Imperial State of Iran, and the Milad Tower, the world's sixth-tallest self-supporting tower, completed in 2007, and the Tabiat Bridge, completed in 2014.


title: Tehran

text: Most of the population are Persian, and roughly 99% of them understand and speak the Persian language, but large populations of other ethnolinguistic groups live in Tehran and speak Persian, as majority of the minorities are Persianized and assimilated.


title: Tehran

text: Tehran has an international airport (Imam Khomeini Airport), a domestic airport (Mehrabad Airport), a central railway station, a rapid transit system, Tehran Metro, a bus rapid transit system, trolleybuses, and a large network of highways.


title: Tehran

text: Plans to relocate Iran's capital from Tehran to another area, due to air pollution and earthquakes, have so far not yet received approval. A 2016 survey of 230 cities across the globe by consultant Mercer ranked Tehran 203rd for quality of life. According to the Global Destinations Cities Index in 2016, Tehran is among the top ten fastest growing destinations.


title: Tehran

text: The City Council declared October 6 Tehran Day in 2016, celebrating the day in 1907 when the city officially became the capital of Iran.


title: Tehran

text: Iranian linguist Ahmad Kasravi, in an article "Shemiran-Tehran", suggested that Tehran and Kehran mean "the warm place", and "Shemiran" means "the cool place". He listed cities with the same base and suffix and studied the components of the word in ancient Iranian languages, and came to the conclusion that Tehran and Kehran meant the same thing in different Iranian language families, as the constant "t" and "k" are close to each other in such languages. He also provided evidence that cities named "Shemiran" were colder than those named "Tehran" or "Kehran". He considered other theories not considering the ancient history of Iranian languages such as "Tirgan" theory and "Tahran" theory folk etymology.


title: Tehran

text: Another theory is that "Tehran" derives from Tiran/Tirgan, "the abode of Tir", the Zoroastrian equivalent of Hermes). The ancient Parthian town of Tiran had a neighbour, Mehran ("abode of Mehr/Mithra", the Zoroastrian sun/justice angel). Both of these were mere villages in the suburbs of the great city of Ray/Rhages. Mehran still exists as a residential district in Greater Tehran, as well as Ray, which forms the southern suburbs of Tehran.


title: Tehran

text: The official City of Tehran website says that "Tehran" comes from the Persian words "Tah" meaning "end", or "bottom", and "Ran" meaning "[mountain] slope"—literally, the bottom of the mountain (ته کوه). Given Tehran's position at the foot of the Alborz mountains, this seems plausible.


title: Tehran

text: Archaeological remains from the ancient city of Ray suggest that settlement in Tehran dates back over 8,000 years.


title: Tehran

text: Tehran is in the historical Media region of ( ) in northwestern Iran. By the time of the Median Empire, part of present-day Tehran was a suburb of the prominent Median city of Rhages ( ). In the Avesta's "Videvdat" (i, 15), Rhages is mentioned as the 12th sacred place created by Ohrmazd. In Old Persian inscriptions, Rhages appears as a province (Bistun 2, 10–18). From Rhages, Darius I sent reinforcements to his father Hystaspes, who was putting down a rebellion in Parthia (Bistun 3, 1–10). Some Middle Persian texts give Rhages as the birthplace of Zoroaster, although modern historians generally place the birth of Zoroaster in Khorasan Province.


title: Tehran

text: Mount Damavand, the highest peak of Iran, which is located near Tehran, is an important location in Ferdowsi's "Šāhnāme", an Iranian epic poem based on the ancient legends of Iran. It appears in the epics as the homeland of the protoplast Keyumars, the birthplace of King Manuchehr, the place where King Fereydun bound the dragon fiend Aždahāk (Bivarasp), and the place where Arash shot his arrow.


title: Tehran

text: In 641, during the reign of the Sasanian Empire, Yazdgerd III issued his last appeal to the nation from Rhages, before fleeing to Khorasan. Rhages was dominated by the Parthian House of Mihran, and Siyavakhsh—the son of Mehran, the son of Bahram Chobin—who resisted the seventh-century Muslim invasion of Iran. Because of this resistance, when the Arabs captured Rhages, they ordered the town destroyed and rebuilt anew by traitor aristocrat Farrukhzad.


title: Tehran

text: In the ninth century, Tehran was a well-known village, but less so than the city of Rhages, flourishing nearby. Rhages was described in detail by tenth-century Muslim geographers. Despite the interest that Arabian Baghdad displayed in Rhages, the number of Arabs in the city remained insignificant and the population mainly consisted of Iranians of all classes.


title: Tehran

text: The Oghuz Turks invaded Rhages in 1035 and again in 1042, but the city was recovered under the Seljuks and the Khwarezmians. Medieval writer Najm od Din Razi declared the population of Rhages about 500,000 before the Mongol invasion. In the 13th century, the Mongols invaded Rhages, laid the city to ruins, and massacred many of its inhabitants. Others escaped to Tehran.


title: Tehran

text: In July 1404, Castilian ambassador Ruy González de Clavijo visited Tehran on a journey to Samarkand, the capital of Turco-Mongol conqueror Timur, the ruler of Iran at the time. He described it in his diary as an unwalled region.


title: Tehran

text: Italian traveler Pietro della Valle passed through Tehran overnight in 1618, and in his memoirs called the city "Taheran". English traveler Thomas Herbert entered Tehran in 1627, and mentioned it as "Tyroan". Herbert stated that the city had about 3,000 houses.


title: Tehran

text: In the early 18th century, Karim Khan of the Zand dynasty ordered a palace and a government office built in Tehran, possibly to declare the city his capital; but he later moved his government to Shiraz. Eventually, Qajar king Agha Mohammad Khan chose Tehran as the capital of Iran in 1786.


title: Tehran

text: Agha Mohammad Khan's choice of his capital was based on a similar concern for the control of both northern and southern Iran. He was aware of the loyalties of the inhabitants of former capitals Isfahan and Shiraz to the Safavid and Zand dynasties respectively, and was wary of the power of the local notables in these cities. Thus, he probably viewed Tehran's lack of a substantial urban structure as a blessing, because it minimized the chances of resistance to his rule by the notables and by the general public. Moreover, he had to remain within close reach of Azerbaijan and Iran's integral northern and southern Caucasian territories—at that time not yet irrevocably lost per the treaties of Golestan and Turkmenchay to the neighboring Russian Empire—which would follow in the course of the 19th century.


title: Tehran

text: After 50 years of Qajar rule, the city still barely had more than 80,000 inhabitants. Up until the 1870s, Tehran consisted of a walled citadel, a roofed bazaar, and the three main neighborhoods of Udlajan, Chale-Meydan, and Sangelaj, where the majority resided.


title: Tehran

text: The first development plan of Tehran in 1855 emphasized traditional spatial structure. The second, under the supervision of Dar ol Fonun in 1878, included new city walls, in the form of a perfect octagon with an area of 19 square kilometers, mimicking the Renaissance cities of Europe. Tehran was 19.79 square kilometers, and had expanded more than fourfold.


title: Tehran

text: Growing awareness of civil rights resulted in the Constitutional Revolution and the first constitution of Iran in 1906. On June 2, 1907, the parliament passed a law on local governance known as the "Baladie" (municipal law), providing a detailed outline of issues such as the role of councils within the city, the members' qualifications, the election process, and the requirements to be entitled to vote. The then-Qajar monarch Mohammad Ali Shah abolished the constitution and bombarded the parliament with the help of the Russian-controlled Cossack Brigade on June 23, 1908. That was followed by the capture of the city by the revolutionary forces of Ali-Qoli Khan (Sardar Asad II) and Mohammad Vali Khan (Sepahsalar e Tonekaboni) on July 13, 1909. As a result, the monarch was exiled and replaced with his son Ahmad, and the parliament was re-established.


title: Tehran

text: After World War I, the constituent assembly elected Reza Shah of the Pahlavi dynasty as the new monarch, who immediately suspended the Baladie law of 1907, replacing the decentralized and autonomous city councils with centralist approaches to governance and planning.


title: Tehran

text: From the 1920s to the 1930s, under the rule of Reza Shah, the city was essentially rebuilt from scratch. Several old buildings, including parts of the Golestan Palace, Tekye Dowlat, and Tupkhane Square, were replaced with modern buildings influenced by classical Iranian architecture, particularly the buildings of the National Bank, the police headquarters, the telegraph office, and the military academy.


title: Tehran

text: Changes to the urban fabric began with the street-widening act of 1933, which served as a framework for changes in all other cities. The Grand Bazaar was divided in half and many historic buildings were demolished and replaced by wide straight avenues, and the traditional texture of the city was replaced with intersecting cruciform streets that created large roundabouts in major public spaces such as the bazaar.


title: Tehran

text: As an attempt to create a network for easy transportation within the city, the old citadel and city walls were demolished in 1937, replaced by wide streets cutting through the urban fabric. The new city map of Tehran in 1937 was heavily influenced by modernist planning patterns of zoning and gridiron networks.


title: Tehran

text: During World War II, Soviet and British troops entered the city. In 1943, Tehran was the site of the Tehran Conference, attended by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin, and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.


title: Tehran

text: The establishment of the planning organization of Iran in 1948 resulted in the first socioeconomic development plan to cover from 1949 to 1955. These plans not only failed to slow the unbalanced growth of Tehran but with the 1962 land reforms that Reza Shah's son and successor Mohammad Reza Shah named the "White Revolution", Tehran's chaotic growth was further accentuated.


title: Tehran

text: Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Tehran developed rapidly under Mohammad Reza Shah. Modern buildings altered the face of Tehran and ambitious projects were planned for the following decades. To resolve the problem of social exclusion, the first comprehensive plan was approved in 1968. The consortium of Iranian architect Abd-ol-Aziz Farmanfarmaian and the American firm of Victor Gruen Associates identified the main problems blighting the city as high-density suburbs, air and water pollution, inefficient infrastructure, unemployment, and rural-urban migration. Eventually, the whole plan was marginalized by the 1979 Revolution and the subsequent Iran–Iraq War.


title: Tehran

text: Tehran's most famous landmark, the Azadi Tower, was built by the order of the Shah in 1971. It was designed by Hossein Amanat, an architect whose design won a competition, combining elements of classical Sassanian architecture with post-classical Iranian architecture. Formerly known as the "Shahyad Tower", it was built to commemorate the 2,500th anniversary of the Imperial State of Iran.


title: Tehran

text: During the Iran–Iraq War in 1980 to 1988, Tehran was repeatedly targeted by airstrikes and Scud missile attacks.


title: Tehran

text: The 435-meter-high Milad Tower, one of the proposed development projects of pre-revolutionary Iran, was completed in 2007, and has become a famous landmark of Tehran. Tabiat Bridge a 270-meter pedestrian overpass, designed by award-winning architect Leila Araghian, was completed in 2014.


title: Tehran

text: The metropolis of Tehran is divided into 22 municipal districts, each with its own administrative center. Of the 22 municipal districts, 20 are located in Tehran County's Central District, while districts 1 and 20 are respectively located in the counties of Shemiranat and Ray. Although administratively separate, the cities of Ray and Shemiran are often considered part of Greater Tehran.


title: Tehran

text: Northern Tehran is the wealthiest part of the city, consisting of various districts such as Zafaraniyeh, Jordan, Elahiyeh, Pasdaran, Kamranieh, Ajodanieh, Farmanieh, Darrous, Niavaran, Jamaran, Aghdasieh, Mahmoodieh, Velenjak, Qeytarieh, Ozgol and Ekhtiarieh. While the center of the city houses government ministries and headquarters, commercial centers are located further north.


title: Tehran

text: The northern area of Tehran has a Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification: "Csa"), with a cold semi-arid climate ("BSk") elsewhere, with hot dry summers and cool rainy winters. Tehran's climate is largely defined by its geographic location, with the towering Alborz mountains to its north and the country's central desert to the south. It can be generally described as mild in spring and autumn, hot and dry in summer, and cold and wet in winter.


title: Tehran

text: As the city has a large area, with significant differences in elevation among various districts, the weather is often cooler in the hilly north than in the flat southern part of Tehran. For instance, the Valiasr Street runs from Tehran's railway station at elevation above sea level in the south of the city to Tajrish Square at 1712.6 m (5612.3 ft) elevation above sea level in the north. However, the elevation can even rise up to at the end of Velenjak in northern Tehran. The sparse texture, the existence of old gardens, orchards, green spaces along the highways and the lack of industrial activities in the north of the city have helped the air in the northern areas to be 2 to 3 degrees Celsius cooler than the southern areas of the city.


title: Tehran

text: The main direction of the prevailing wind in Tehran is northwest to southeast. Other air currents that blow in the area of Tehran are:


title: Tehran

text: Air currents have a great effect on Tehran's weather. The prevailing wind blowing from the west causes the west of the city to always be exposed to fresh air; Although this wind brings smoke and pollution from the western industrial areas, its strong wind can take the polluted air out of the city of Tehran.


title: Tehran

text: In most years, winter provides half of Tehran's total annual rainfall. March is the rainiest month of the year and about one-fifth of the annual rainfall occurs in it. Summer is also the least rainy season and September is the driest month of the year in Tehran. The average annual rainfall of the city is sometimes very different in the north and south regions. There are between 205 and 213 days of clear to partly cloudy weather in Tehran.


title: Tehran

text: One of the most intense rains in Tehran happened on April 21, 1962 and this rain lasted for 10 hours. Meteorology also announced that the amount of rainfall on that one day in Tehran was equivalent to six years.


title: Tehran

text: Summer is hot and dry with little rain, but relative humidity is generally low, making the heat tolerable. Average high temperatures are between and during summer months, and it can sometimes rise up to during heat waves. Average low temperatures in summer are between and , and it can occasionally drop to below   in the mountainous north of the city at night.


title: Tehran

text: Winter is cold and occasionally snowy, with an average of 12.3 snow days annually in central Tehran and more than 23.7 snow days annually in northern Tehran. During the winter months, average high temperatures are between and and average low temperatures are between and , and it can occasionally drop to below   during cold waves.


title: Tehran

text: Most of the annual precipitation occurs from late autumn to mid-spring. March is the wettest month with an average precipitation of . The hottest month is July, with a mean minimum temperature of and a mean maximum temperature of , and the coldest is January, with a mean minimum temperature of and a mean maximum temperature of .


title: Tehran

text: The highest recorded temperature was on 3 July 1958 and the lowest recorded temperature was on 8 January 1969.


title: Tehran

text: In February 2005, heavy snow covered all parts of the city. Snow depth was recorded as in the southern part of the city and in the northern part of city. One newspaper reported that it had been the worst weather in 34 years. Ten thousand bulldozers and 13,000 municipal workers were deployed to keep the main roads open.


title: Tehran

text: On January 5 and 6, 2008, a wave of heavy snow and low temperatures covered the city in a thick layer of snow and ice, forcing the Council of Ministers to officially declare a state of emergency and close down the capital from January 6 through January 7.


title: Tehran

text: On February 3, 2014, Tehran received heavy snowfall, specifically in the northern parts of the city, with a depth of . In one week of successive snowfalls, roads were made impassable in some areas, with the temperature ranging from   to  .


title: Tehran

text: On June 3, 2014, a severe thunderstorm with powerful microbursts created a haboob, engulfing the city in sand and dust and causing five deaths, with more than 57 injured. This event also knocked down numerous trees and power lines. It struck between 5:00 and 6:00 p.m., dropping temperatures from   to   within an hour. The dramatic temperature drop was accompanied by wind gusts reaching nearly  .


title: Tehran

text: A plan to move the capital has been discussed many times in prior years, due mainly to the environmental issues of the region. Tehran is one of the world's most polluted cities and is also located near two major fault lines.


title: Tehran

text: The city suffers from severe air pollution, 80% of it due to cars. The remaining 20% is due to industrial pollution. Other estimates suggest that motorcycles alone account for 30% of air and 50% of noise pollution in Tehran. Tehran is also considered one of the strongest sources of greenhouse gas emissions in the Middle East. Enhanced concentration of carbon dioxide over the city (that are likely originated from the anthropogenic urban sources in the city) is easily detectable from satellite observations throughout the year.


title: Tehran

text: In 2010, the government announced that "for security and administrative reasons, the plan to move the capital from Tehran has been finalized." There are plans to relocate 163 state firms and several universities from Tehran to avoid damages from a potential earthquake.


title: Tehran

text: The officials are engaged in a battle to reduce air pollution. It has, for instance, encouraged taxis and buses to convert from petrol engines to engines that run on compressed natural gas. Furthermore, the government has set up a "Traffic Zone" covering the city centre during peak traffic hours. Entering and driving inside this zone is only allowed with a special permit.


title: Tehran

text: There have also been plans to raise people's awareness of the hazards of pollution. One method that is being employed is the installation of Pollution Indicator Boards all around the city to monitor the level of particulate matter (PM10), nitrogen dioxide (NO), ozone (O), sulfur dioxide (SO), and carbon monoxide (CO).


title: Tehran

text: The city of Tehran has a population of approximately 10 million in 2016. With its cosmopolitan atmosphere, Tehran is home to diverse ethnic and linguistic groups from all over the country. The present-day dominant language of Tehran is the Tehrani variety of the Persian language, and the majority of people in Tehran identify themselves as Persians. However, before, the native language of the Tehran–Ray region was not Persian, which is linguistically Southwest Iranian and originates in Fars, but a now extinct Northwestern Iranian language.


title: Tehran

text: Iranian Azeris form the second-largest ethnic group of the city, comprising about 10-15% of the total population, while ethnic Mazanderanis are the third-largest, comprising about 5% of the total population. Tehran's other ethnic communities include Kurds, Armenians, Georgians, Bakhtyaris, Talysh, Baloch, Assyrians, Arabs, Jews, and Circassians.


title: Tehran

text: According to a 2010 census conducted by the Sociology Department of the University of Tehran, in many districts of Tehran across various socio-economic classes in proportion to population sizes of each district and socio-economic class, 63% of the people were born in Tehran, 98% knew Persian, 75% identified themselves as ethnic Persian, and 13% had some degree of proficiency in a European language.


title: Tehran

text: Tehran saw a drastic change in its ethnic-social composition in the early 1980s. After the political, social, and economic consequences of the 1979 Revolution and the years that followed, a number of Iranian citizens, mostly Tehranis, left Iran. The majority of Iranian emigrations have left for the United States, Germany, Sweden, and Canada.


title: Tehran

text: With the start of the Iran–Iraq War (1980–1988), the second wave of inhabitants fled the city, especially during the Iraqi air offensives on the capital. With most major powers backing Iraq at the time, economic isolation gave yet more reason for many inhabitants to leave the city (and the country). Having left all they had and have struggled to adapt to a new country and build a life, most of them never came back when the war was over. During the war, Tehran also received a great number of migrants from the west and the southwest of the country bordering Iraq.


title: Tehran

text: The unstable situation and the war in neighbouring Afghanistan and Iraq prompted a rush of refugees into the country who arrived in their millions, with Tehran being a magnet for much seeking work, who subsequently helped the city to recover from war wounds, working for far less pay than local construction workers. Many of these refugees are being repatriated with the assistance of the UNHCR, but there are still sizable groups of Afghan and Iraqi refugees in Tehran who are reluctant to leave, being pessimistic about the situation in their own countries. Afghan refugees are mostly Dari-speaking Tajik and Hazara, speaking a variety of Persian, and Iraqi refugees are mainly Mesopotamian Arabic-speakers who are often of Iranian and Persian ethnic heritage.


title: Tehran

text: The majority of Tehranis are officially Twelver Shia Muslims, which has also been the state religion since the 16th-century Safavid conversion. Other religious communities in the city include followers of the Sunni and Mystic branches of Islam, various Christian denominations, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, and the Baháʼí Faith.


title: Tehran

text: There are many religious centres scattered around the city, from old to newly built centres, including mosques, churches, synagogues, and Zoroastrian fire temples. The city also has a very small third-generation Indian Sikh community with a local gurdwara that was visited by the Indian Prime Minister in 2012.


title: Tehran

text: Tehran is the economic centre of Iran. About 30% of Iran's public-sector workforce and 45% of its large industrial firms are located in the city, and almost half of these workers are employed by the government. Most of the remainder of workers are factory workers, shopkeepers, laborers, and transport workers.


title: Tehran

text: Few foreign companies operate in Tehran, due to the government's complex international relations. But prior to the 1979 Revolution, many foreign companies were active in Iran. Tehran's present-day modern industries include the manufacturing of automobiles, electronics and electrical equipment, weaponry, textiles, sugar, cement, and chemical products. It is also a leading centre for the sale of carpets and furniture. The oil refining companies of Pars Oil, Speedy, and Behran are based in Tehran.


title: Tehran

text: Tehran relies heavily on private cars, buses, motorcycles, and taxis, and is one of the most car-dependent cities in the world. The Tehran Stock Exchange, which is a full member of the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) and a founding member of the Federation of Euro-Asian Stock Exchanges, has been one of the world's best-performing stock exchanges in recent years.


title: Tehran

text: Tehran has a wide range of shopping centers, and is home to over 60 modern shopping malls. The city has a number of commercial districts, including those located at Valiasr, Davudie, and Zaferanie. The largest old bazaars of Tehran are the Grand Bazaar and the Bazaar of Tajrish. Iran Mall is the largest mall in the world in area.


title: Tehran

text: Most of the international branded stores and upper-class shops are in the northern and western parts of the city. Tehran's retail business is growing with several newly built malls and shopping centres.


title: Tehran

text: Tehran, as one of the main tourist destinations in Iran, has a wealth of cultural attractions. It is home to royal complexes of Golestan, Saadabad and Niavaran, which were built under the reign of the country's last two monarchies.


title: Tehran

text: Also the Museum of Contemporary Art, which hosts works of famous artists such as Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, and Andy Warhol. The Iranian Imperial Crown Jewels, one of the largest jewel collections in the world, are also on display at Tehran's National Jewelry Museum.


title: Tehran

text: A number of cultural and trade exhibitions take place in Tehran, which are mainly operated by the country's International Exhibitions Company. Tehran's annual International Book Fair is known to the international publishing world as one of the most important publishing events in Asia.


title: Tehran

text: Following the Islamic Revolution in 1979, the political system changed from constitutional monarchy to Islamic republic. Then the construction of political power in the country needed to change so that new spectrums of political power decision-making centers emerged in Iran. Motives, desires and actions of these new political power decision-making centers in Iran, made them rename streets and public places throughout the country, especially Tehran. For example Shahyad square changed to Azadi square and Pahlavi street changed to Valiasr street.


title: Tehran

text: According to the head of Tehran Municipality's Environment and Sustainable Development Office, Tehran was designed to have a capacity of about 300,000 cars, but more than five million cars are on the roads. The automotive industry has recently developed, but international sanctions influence the production processes periodically.


title: Tehran

text: According to local media, Tehran has more than 200,000 taxis plying the roads daily, with several types of taxi available in the city. Airport taxis have a higher cost per kilometer as opposed to regular green and yellow taxis in the city.


title: Tehran

text: Buses have served the city since the 1920s. Tehran's transport system includes conventional buses, trolleybuses, and bus rapid transit (BRT). The city's four major bus stations include the South Terminal, the East Terminal, the West Terminal, and the northcentral Beyhaghi Terminal.


title: Tehran

text: The trolleybus system was opened in 1992, using a fleet of 65 articulated trolleybuses built by Czech Republic's Škoda. This was the first trolleybus system in Iran. In 2005, trolleybuses were operating on five routes, all starting at Imam Hossein Square. Two routes running northeastwards operate almost entirely in a segregated busway located in the middle of the wide carriageway along Damavand Street, stopping only at purpose-built stops located about every 500 metres along the routes, effectively making these routes trolleybus-BRT (but they are not called such). The other three trolley bus routes run south and operate in mixed traffic. Both route sections are served by limited-stop services and local (making all stops) services. A 3.2-kilometer extension from Shoosh Square to Rah Ahan Square was opened in March 2010.


title: Tehran

text: Tehran's bus rapid transit (BRT) was officially inaugurated in 2008. It has 10 lines with some 215 stations in different areas of the city. , the BRT system had a network of , transporting 1.8 million passengers on a daily basis.


title: Tehran

text: Bdood is a dockless bike-sharing company in Iran. Founded in 2017, it is available in the central and northwest regions of the capital city of Tehran. The company has plans to expand across the city in the future.


title: Tehran

text: In the first phase, the application covers the flat areas of Tehran and they would be out of use in poor weather conditions.


title: Tehran

text: Riders can use 29 parking lots for the bikes across Enqelab Avenue, Keshavarz Boulevard, Beheshti Street and Motahhari Avenue in which the bikes are available 24/7 for riders.


title: Tehran

text: Tehran has a central railway station that connects services round the clock to various cities in the country, along with a Tehran–Europe train line also running.


title: Tehran

text: The feasibility study and conceptual planning of the construction of Tehran's subway system were started in the 1970s. The first two of the eight projected metro lines were opened in 2001.


title: Tehran

text: Tehran is served by the international airports of Mehrabad and Imam Khomeini. Mehrabad Airport, an old airport in western Tehran that doubles as a military base, is mainly used for domestic and charter flights. Imam Khomeini Airport, located south of the city, handles the main international flights.


title: Tehran

text: There are over 2,100 parks within the metropolis of Tehran, with one of the oldest being Jamshidie Park, which was first established as a private garden for Qajar prince Jamshid Davallu, and was then dedicated to the last empress of Iran, Farah Pahlavi. The total green space within Tehran stretches over 12,600 hectares, covering over 20 percent of the city's area. The Parks and Green Spaces Organization of Tehran was established in 1960, and is responsible for the protection of the urban nature present in the city.


title: Tehran

text: Tehran's Birds Garden is the largest bird park in Iran. There is also a zoo located on the Tehran–Karaj Expressway, housing over 290 species within an area of about five hectares.


title: Tehran

text: In 2009, the Ab-o-Atash Park ("Water and Fire park") was founded. Its main features are an open water fountain area for cooling in the hot climate, fire towers, and an amphitheatre.


title: Tehran

text: Greater Tehran with its population of more than 13 million is supplied by surface water from the Lar dam on the Lar River in the Northeast of the city, the Latyan dam on the Jajrood River in the North, the Karaj River in the Northwest, as well as by groundwater in the vicinity of the city.


title: Tehran

text: Solar panels have been installed in Tehran's Pardisan Park for green electricity production, said Masoumeh Ebtekar, head of the Department of Environment.


title: Tehran

text: According to the national energy roadmap, the government plans to promote green technology to increase the nominal capacity of power plants from 74 gigawatts to over 120 gigawatts by the end of 2025.


title: Tehran

text: Tehran is the largest and most important educational center in Iran. There are a total of nearly 50 major colleges and universities in Greater Tehran.


title: Tehran

text: Since the establishment of Dar ol Fonun by the order of Amir Kabir in the mid-19th century, Tehran has amassed a large number of institutions of higher education. Some of these institutions have played crucial roles in the unfolding of Iranian political events. Samuel M. Jordan, whom Jordan Avenue in Tehran was named after, was one of the founding pioneers of the American College of Tehran, which was one of the first modern high schools in the Middle East.


title: Tehran

text: Among major educational institutions located in Tehran, Amirkabir University of Technology (Tehran Polytechnic), University of Tehran, Sharif University of Technology, and Tehran University of Medical Sciences are the most prestigious. Other major universities located in Tehran include Tehran University of Art, Allameh Tabatabaei University, K. N. Toosi University of Technology, Shahid Beheshti University (Melli University), Kharazmi University, Iran University of Science and Technology, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Islamic Azad University, International Institute of Earthquake Engineering and Seismology, Iran's Polymer and Petrochemical Institute, Shahed University, and Tarbiat Modarres University. Sharif University of Technology, Amirkabir University of Technology, and Iran University of Science and Technology also located in Tehran are nationally well known for taking in the top undergraduate Engineering and Science students; and internationally recognized for training competent under graduate students. It has probably the highest percentage of graduates who seek higher education abroad.


title: Tehran

text: Tehran is also home to Iran's largest military academy, and several religious schools and seminaries.


title: Tehran

text: The oldest surviving architectural monuments of Tehran are from the Qajar and Pahlavi eras. In Greater Tehran, monuments dating back to the Seljuk era remain as well; notably the Toqrol Tower in Ray. Rashkan Castle, dating back to the ancient Parthian Empire, of which some artifacts are housed at the National Museum; and the Bahram fire temple, which remains since the Sassanian Empire.


title: Tehran

text: Tehran only had a small population until the late 18th century but began to take a more considerable role in Iranian society after it was chosen as the capital city. Despite the regular occurrence of earthquakes during the Qajar period and after, some historic buildings remain from that era.


title: Tehran

text: Tehran is Iran's primate city, and is considered to have the most modernized infrastructure in the country. However, the gentrification of old neighbourhoods and the demolition of buildings of cultural significance have caused concerns.


title: Tehran

text: Previously a low-rise city due to seismic activity in the region, modern high-rise developments in Tehran have been built in recent decades in order to service its growing population. There have been no major quakes in Tehran since 1830.


title: Tehran

text: Tehran International Tower is the tallest skyscraper in Iran. It is 54-stories tall and located in the northern district of Yusef Abad.


title: Tehran

text: The Azadi Tower, a memorial built under the reign of the Pahlavi dynasty, has long been the most famous symbol of Tehran. Originally constructed in commemoration of the 2,500th year of the foundation of the Imperial State of Iran, it combines elements of the architecture of the Achaemenid and Sassanid eras with post-classical Iranian architecture. The Milad Tower, which is the sixth tallest tower and the 24th-tallest freestanding structure in the world, is the city's other famous landmark tower. Leila Araghian's Tabiat Bridge, the largest pedestrian overpass in Tehran, was completed in 2014 and is also considered a landmark.


title: Tehran

text: Under the reign of the Qajars, Tehran was home to the royal theatre of Tekye Dowlat, located to the southeast of the Golestan Palace, in which traditional and religious performances were observed. It was eventually demolished and replaced with a bank building in 1947, following the reforms during the reign of Reza Shah.


title: Tehran

text: Before the 1979 Revolution, the Iranian national stage had become the most famous performing scene for known international artists and troupes in the Middle East, with the Roudaki Hall of Tehran constructed to function as the national stage for opera and ballet. The hall was inaugurated in October 1967 and named after prominent Persian poet Rudaki. It is home to the Tehran Symphony Orchestra, the Tehran Opera Orchestra, and the Iranian National Ballet Company.


title: Tehran

text: The City Theater of Tehran, one of Iran's biggest theatre complexes, which contains several performance halls, was opened in 1972. It was built at the initiative and presidency of empress Farah Pahlavi, and was designed by architect Ali Sardar Afkhami, constructed within five years.


title: Tehran

text: The first movie theater in Tehran was established by Mirza Ebrahim Khan in 1904. Until the early 1930s, there were 15 theaters in Tehran Province and 11 in other provinces.


title: Tehran

text: In present-day Tehran, most of the movie theatres are located downtown. The complexes of Kourosh Cinema, Mellat Gallery and Cineplex, Azadi Cinema, and Cinema Farhang are among the most popular cinema complexes in Tehran.


title: Tehran

text: Several film festivals are held in Tehran, including Fajr Film Festival, Children and Youth Film Festival, House of Cinema Festival, Mobile Film and Photo Festival, Nahal Festival, Roshd Film Festival, Tehran Animation Festival, Tehran Short Film Festival, and Urban Film Festival.


title: Tehran

text: There are a variety of concert halls in Tehran. An organization like the Roudaki Culture and Art Foundation has five different venues where more than 500 concerts take place this year. Vahdat Hall, Roudaki Hall, Ferdowsi Hall, Hafez Hall and Azadi Theater are the top five venues in Tehran, where classical, pop, traditional, rock or solo concerts take place.


title: Tehran

text: Football and volleyball are the city's most popular sports, while wrestling, basketball, and futsal are also major parts of the city's sporting culture.


title: Tehran

text: 12 ski resorts operate in Iran, the most famous being Tochal, Dizin, and Shemshak, all within one to three hours from the city of Tehran.


title: Tehran

text: Tochal's resort is the world's fifth-highest ski resort at over above sea level at its highest point. It is also the world's nearest ski resort to a capital city. The resort was opened in 1976, shortly before the 1979 Revolution. It is equipped with an gondola lift that covers a huge vertical distance. There are two parallel chair ski lifts in Tochal that reach high near Tochal's peak (at ), rising higher than the gondola's seventh station, which is higher than any of the European ski resorts. From the Tochal peak, there are views of the Alborz range, including the Mount Damavand, a dormant volcano.


title: Tehran

text: Tehran is the site of the national stadium of Azadi, the biggest stadium by capacity in West Asia, where many of the top matches of Iran's Premier League are held. The stadium is a part of the Azadi Sport Complex, which was originally built to host the 7th Asian Games in September 1974. This was the first time the Asian Games were hosted in West Asia. Tehran played host to 3,010 athletes from 25 countries/NOCs, which was at the time the highest number of participants since the inception of the Games. That followed hosting the 6th AFC Asian Cup in June 1976, and then the first West Asian Games in November 1997. The success of the games led to the creation of the West Asian Games Federation (WAGF), and the intention of hosting the games every two years. The city had also hosted the final of the 1968 AFC Asian Cup. Several FIVB Volleyball World League courses have also been hosted in Tehran.


title: Tehran

text: The first football club of Tehran, "Iran Club", was founded in 1920 and dissolved within two years in 1923. Today, Tehran's oldest existing football club is Rah Ahan, which was founded in 1937. Persepolis and Esteghlal, which are the city's biggest clubs and two of the biggest clubs in Asia, compete in the Tehran derby. Tehran is also home to the F.C. Ararat Tehran, a popular Armenian football team based at the Ararat Stadium.


title: Tehran

text: There are many restaurants and cafes in Tehran, both modern and classic, serving both Iranian and cosmopolitan cuisine. Pizzerias, sandwich bars, and kebab shops make up the majority of food shops in Tehran.


title: Tehran

text: Many styles of graffiti are seen in Tehran. Some are political and revolutionary slogans painted by governmental organizations, and some are works of art by ordinary citizens, representing their views on both social and political issues. However, unsanctioned street art is forbidden in Iran, and such works are usually short-lived.


title: Tehran

text: During the 2009 Iranian presidential election protests, many graffiti works were created by people supporting the Green Movement. They were removed from the walls by the paramilitary Basij forces.


title: Tehran

text: In recent years, Tehran Municipality has been using graffiti in order to beautify the city. Several graffiti festivals have also taken place in Tehran, including the one organized by the Tehran University of Art in October 2014.


title: Data science

text: Data science is an interdisciplinary field that uses scientific methods, processes, algorithms and systems to extract or extrapolate knowledge and insights from noisy, structured and unstructured data, and apply knowledge from data across a broad range of application domains. Data science is related to data mining, machine learning, big data, computational statistics and analytics.


title: Data science

text: Data science is a "concept to unify statistics, data analysis, informatics, and their related methods" in order to "understand and analyse actual phenomena" with data. It uses techniques and theories drawn from many fields within the context of mathematics, statistics, computer science, information science, and domain knowledge. However, data science is different from computer science and information science. Turing Award winner Jim Gray imagined data science as a "fourth paradigm" of science (empirical, theoretical, computational, and now data-driven) and asserted that "everything about science is changing because of the impact of information technology" and the data deluge.


title: Data science

text: A data scientist is someone who creates programming code and combines it with statistical knowledge to create insights from data.


title: Data science

text: Data science is an interdisciplinary field focused on extracting knowledge from typically large data sets and applying the knowledge and insights from that data to solve problems in a wide range of application domains. The field encompasses preparing data for analysis, formulating data science problems, analyzing data, developing data-driven solutions, and presenting findings to inform high-level decisions in a broad range of application domains. As such, it incorporates skills from computer science, statistics, information science, mathematics, data visualization, information visualization, data sonification, data integration, graphic design, complex systems, communication and business. Statistician Nathan Yau, drawing on Ben Fry, also links data science to human–computer interaction: users should be able to intuitively control and explore data. In 2015, the American Statistical Association identified database management, statistics and machine learning, and distributed and parallel systems as the three emerging foundational professional communities.


title: Data science

text: Many statisticians, including Nate Silver, have argued that data science is not a new field, but rather another name for statistics. Others argue that data science is distinct from statistics because it focuses on problems and techniques unique to digital data. Vasant Dhar writes that statistics emphasizes quantitative data and description. In contrast, data science deals with quantitative and qualitative data (e.g. from images, text, sensors, transactions or customer information, etc) and emphasizes prediction and action. Andrew Gelman of Columbia University has described statistics as a nonessential part of data science.


title: Data science

text: Stanford professor David Donoho writes that data science is not distinguished from statistics by the size of datasets or use of computing and that many graduate programs misleadingly advertise their analytics and statistics training as the essence of a data-science program. He describes data science as an applied field growing out of traditional statistics.


title: Data science

text: In 1962, John Tukey described a field he called "data analysis", which resembles modern data science. In 1985, in a lecture given to the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, C. F. Jeff Wu used the term "data science" for the first time as an alternative name for statistics. Later, attendees at a 1992 statistics symposium at the University of Montpellier II acknowledged the emergence of a new discipline focused on data of various origins and forms, combining established concepts and principles of statistics and data analysis with computing.


title: Data science

text: The term "data science" has been traced back to 1974, when Peter Naur proposed it as an alternative name for computer science. In 1996, the International Federation of Classification Societies became the first conference to specifically feature data science as a topic. However, the definition was still in flux. After the 1985 lecture at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, in 1997 C. F. Jeff Wu again suggested that statistics should be renamed data science. He reasoned that a new name would help statistics shed inaccurate stereotypes, such as being synonymous with accounting or limited to describing data. In 1998, Hayashi Chikio argued for data science as a new, interdisciplinary concept, with three aspects: data design, collection, and analysis.


title: Data science

text: During the 1990s, popular terms for the process of finding patterns in datasets (which were increasingly large) included "knowledge discovery" and "data mining".


title: Data science

text: In 2012, technologists Thomas H. Davenport and DJ Patil declared "Data Scientist: The Sexiest Job of the 21st Century", a catch-phrase that was picked up even by major-city newspapers like the New York Times and the Boston Globe. A decade later, they reaffirmed it, stating "the job is more in demand than ever with employers".


title: Data science

text: The modern conception of data science as an independent discipline is sometimes attributed to William S. Cleveland. In a 2001 paper, he advocated an expansion of statistics beyond theory into technical areas; because this would significantly change the field, it warranted a new name. "Data science" became more widely used in the next few years: in 2002, the Committee on Data for Science and Technology launched "Data Science Journal". In 2003, Columbia University launched "The Journal of Data Science". In 2014, the American Statistical Association's Section on Statistical Learning and Data Mining changed its name to the Section on Statistical Learning and Data Science, reflecting the ascendant popularity of data science.


title: Data science

text: The professional title of "data scientist" has been attributed to DJ Patil and Jeff Hammerbacher in 2008. Though it was used by the National Science Board in their 2005 report "Long-Lived Digital Data Collections: Enabling Research and Education in the 21st Century", it referred broadly to any key role in managing a digital data collection.


title: Data science

text: There is still no consensus on the definition of data science, and it is considered by some to be a buzzword. Big data is a related marketing term. Data scientists are responsible for breaking down big data into usable information and creating software and algorithms that help companies and organizations determine optimal operations.


title: FN SCAR

text: The FN SCAR (Special Operations Forces Combat Assault Rifle) is a family of gas-operated short-stroke gas piston automatic rifles developed by Belgian manufacturer FN Herstal (FN) in 2004. It is constructed with modularity for the United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM) to satisfy the requirements of the SCAR competition. This family of rifles consist of two main types. The SCAR-L, for "light", is chambered in 5.56×45mm NATO and the SCAR-H, for "heavy", is chambered in 7.62×51mm NATO. Both are available in "Close Quarters Combat" ("CQC"), "Standard" ("STD"), and "Long Barrel" ("LB") variants.


title: FN SCAR

text: In early 2004, United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) issued a solicitation for a family of Special Operations Forces Combat Assault Rifles, the so-called SCAR, designed around two different calibers but featuring high commonality of parts and identical ergonomics. The SCAR system completed low rate initial production testing in June 2007. After some delays, the first rifles began to be issued to operational units in April 2009, and a battalion of the U.S. 75th Ranger Regiment was the first large unit deployed into combat with 600 of the rifles in 2009. The U.S. Special Operations Command later cancelled their purchase of the SCAR-L and planned to remove the rifle from their inventory by 2013. However, they will continue to purchase the SCAR-H version, and also plan to purchase 5.56 mm conversion kits for the SCAR-H, allowing it to substitute for the SCAR-L.


title: FN SCAR

text: The SCAR is manufactured in two main versions; the SCAR-L ("Light") and SCAR-H ("Heavy"). The SCAR-L fires 5.56×45mm NATO rounds from STANAG (M16) magazines. The SCAR-H fires the more powerful 7.62×51mm NATO cartridge from proprietary 20-round magazines. Varied barrel lengths are also available for different purposes, such as close quarters battle or long-range engagements. The initial solicitation indicated that the SCAR-H would also be capable of being chambered in the 7.62×39mm M43 Kalashnikov cartridge, as well as the 6.8×43mm Remington SPC cartridge, however, FN is not currently offering this configuration, and the models have likely been cancelled.


title: FN SCAR

text: The SCAR-L, designated Mk 16 by USSOCOM, was intended to replace the M4A1, the Mk 18 CQBR and the Mk 12 SPR that had been in service (before SOCOM decided to cancel the order for the Mk 16 Mod 0, see below), whereas the Mk 17 (SCAR-H) had been intended to replace the M14 and Mk 11 sniper rifles in use. However, the weapon will only supplement other weapons, while issuance remains of the operator's discretion.


title: FN SCAR

text: The semi-automatic only Mk 20 Mod 0 Sniper Support Rifle (SSR) is based on the SCAR-H. It includes a longer receiver, a beefed-up barrel extension and barrel profile to reduce whip and improve accuracy, and an enhanced modular trigger that can be configured for single-stage or two-stage operation together with either a folding or a non-folding precision stock.


title: FN SCAR

text: The SCAR has two receivers: The lower is constructed of polymer, and the upper receiver is one piece and constructed of aluminum. The SCAR features an integral, uninterrupted Picatinny rail on the top of the aluminium receiver, two removable side rails and a bottom one that can mount any MIL-STD-1913 compliant accessories. The lower receiver is designed with an M16 compatible pistol grip, flared magazine well, and raised area around the magazine and bolt release buttons. The front sight flips down for unobstructed use of optics and accessories. The rifle uses a "tappet" type of closed gas system much like the M1 Carbine while the bolt carrier otherwise resembles the Stoner 63 or Heckler & Koch G36.


title: FN SCAR

text: The SCAR is built at the FN Manufacturing, LLC plant in Columbia, South Carolina, in the United States. Since 2008, FN Herstal has been offering semi-automatic versions of the SCAR rifles for commercial and law enforcement use. These are dubbed the 16S (Light) and 17S (Heavy), and are manufactured in Herstal, Belgium and imported by FN Herstal's U.S. subsidiary FN America of Fredericksburg, Virginia. FN America slightly modifies the rifles (supplying a U.S. made magazine and machining a pin in the magazine well) to be in compliance with U.S. Code before selling them.


title: FN SCAR

text: The FN SCAR 20S Precision Rifle chambered in 7.62×51mm NATO was introduced in 2019. It is a semi-automatic only civilian version of the FN Mk 20 SSR. In 2020 the FN SCAR 20S 6.5CM variant was announced chambered in 6.5mm Creedmoor. This chambering has been selected by USSOCOM for long-range use.


title: FN SCAR

text: Introduced in 2004 as an addition, the Enhanced Grenade Launching Module (EGLM), officially referred to as the FN40GL, or Mk 13 Mod 0, is a 40 mm grenade launcher based on the 'GL1' designed for the F2000. The FN40GL is marketed in both an L (Light) and H (Heavy) model, for fitting the appropriate SCAR variant. The EGLM system features a double-action trigger and a swing-out chamber. These offer two advantages over the M203 system, the first being that the launcher does not need to be re-cocked if the grenade does not fire, and the latter being that longer grenades can be used. Like the M203, the FN40GL uses the same High-Low Propulsion System.


title: FN SCAR

text: The FN40GL is deemed a third-generation grenade launcher, meaning it is multifunctional: it can be used mounted to the rifle or as a standalone system; it is manufactured using a number of materials like aluminum, composites, and polymers; the breech opens to the side for use of longer 40 mm rounds including less-than-lethal; and it is mounted on the bottom accessory rail instead of requiring specialized mounting hardware. The FN40GL is attached to SCAR rifles on the bottom rail with a trigger adapter and dual locking clamp levers on the launcher, limiting the ability to integrate with other rifles. Barrel length is , and is unique in that it is the only system where the barrel can swivel to the left or right for loading, while other breech-loading launchers pivot specifically to one side. This enhances its ambidexterity, making it easy for a left-handed operator to load under fire. The standalone stock assembly has the FN40GL mounted to the bottom rail as with the rifle, but still has 3 o'clock, 6 o'clock, and 9 o'clock rail positions for other accessories. This is mainly during non-lethal uses for other mounted additions like LED lights and laser dazzlers. The trigger is placed lower than normal for operation with the user's middle finger while keeping their trigger finger free to use the rifle. The double-action trigger is long and heavy to prevent easily and unintentionally firing a round under stress. It can fire the Pike 40 mm guided munition.


title: FN SCAR

text: In July 2007, the United States Army announced a limited competition between the M4 carbine, FN SCAR, HK416, and the previously shelved HK XM8. Ten examples of each of the four competitors were involved. During the testing, 6,000 rounds apiece were fired from each of the carbines in an "extreme dust environment". The purpose of the shoot-off was to assess future needs, not to select a replacement for the M4.


title: FN SCAR

text: During the test, the SCAR suffered 226 stoppages. Since a percentage of each weapons' stoppages were caused by magazine failures, the FN SCAR, XM8 and HK416 performed statistically similarly. The FN SCAR ranked second to the XM8 with 127 stoppages, but with fewer stoppages compared to the M4 with 882 stoppages and the HK416 with 233. This test was based on two previous systems assessments that were conducted using the M4 carbine and M16 rifle at Aberdeen Proving Ground in 2006 and the summer of 2007 before the third limited competition in the fall of 2007. The 2006 test focused only on the M4 and M16. The Summer 2007 test had only the M4 but increased lubrication. Results from the second test resulted in a total of 307 stoppages for the M4 after lubrication was increased, but did not explain why the M4 suffered 882 stoppages with that same level of lubrication in the third test.


title: FN SCAR

text: The SCAR was one of the weapons displayed to U.S. Army officials during an invitation-only Industry Day on 13 November 2008. The goal of the Industry Day was to review current carbine technology for any situation prior to writing formal requirements for a future replacement for the M4 carbine.


title: FN SCAR

text: The SCAR was one of the competing weapons in the Individual Carbine competition which aimed to find a replacement for the M4 carbine. A variant of the SCAR was entered into the competition, known as the FNAC (FN Advanced Carbine). The weapon is similar to the SCAR Mk 16 Mod 0 but with modifications including a weight reduction resulting in a loaded weight of , a bayonet lug for an M9 bayonet (which the Mk 16 does not have), a rail mounted folding front iron sight instead of the gas block mounted sight, and a non-reciprocating charging handle. The competition was cancelled before a winner was chosen.


title: FN SCAR

text: In 2008, a variant of the FN SCAR—the Heat Adaptive Modular Rifle (HAMR)—was one of four finalist rifles for the Infantry Automatic Rifle (IAR) competition. The IAR was a United States Marine Corps requirement for a lightweight automatic rifle for squad automatic rifle use. The FN entry was different from existing SCAR versions in that it combined closed bolt operation (fires from bolt forward/chambered cartridge) with open bolt operation (fires from bolt to the rear, no chambered cartridge), switching automatically from closed to open bolt as the weapon's barrel heats up during firing. There have been previous firearms with mixed open/closed bolt operation, but the automatic temperature-based operating mode switch is an innovation. The IAR competition was expected to result in Marine Corps procurement of up to 6,500 automatic rifles over five years, but eventually the SCAR variant was passed over in favor of the Heckler and Koch HK416 rifle, later designated as the M27.


title: FN SCAR

text: On 4 May 2010, a press release on FN America's official website announced the SCAR Acquisition Decision Memorandum was finalized on 14 April 2010, moving the SCAR program to the Milestone C phase. This was an approval for the entire weapons family of the SCAR-L, SCAR-H, and the Enhanced Grenade Launcher Module.


title: FN SCAR

text: The Mk 16 has a rate of fire of 625 rounds per minute while the Mk 17 has a rate of fire of 600 rounds per minute. This was done to improve control during fully automatic fire.


title: FN SCAR

text: In late October 2010 SOCOM approved full-rate production of the Mk 20 sniper variant of the SCAR, with fielding beginning in mid-May 2011.


title: FN SCAR

text: On 25 June 2010 SOCOM announced that it was cancelling the acquisition of the Mk 16, citing limited funds and a lack of enough of a performance difference in comparison to other 5.56mm rifles to justify the purchase. Remaining funds would be expended for the SCAR-H and the Mk 20 sniper variant. At the time, SOCOM had bought 850 Mk 16s and 750 Mk 17s. SOCOM had operators turn in their Mk 16s and is not keeping them in the inventory, but started developing a conversion kit for the Mk 17 to make it capable of firing 5.56mm rounds.


title: FN SCAR

text: "FN America believes the issue is not whether the SCAR, and specifically the [originally contracted] Mk 16 variant, is the superior weapon system available today...it has already been proven to be just that...recently passing Milestone C and determined to be operationally effective / operationally suitable (OE/OS) for fielding. The issue is whether or not the requirement for a 5.56mm replacement outweighs the numerous other requirements competing for the customers' limited budget. That is a question that will only be determined by the customer". FN Herstal though had refuted that the Mk 16 was being dropped from the inventory and stated that the 5.56mm variant will be retained by SOCOM, and that "The choice between the 5.56 mm and the 7.62mm caliber will be left to the discretion of each constitutive component of USSOCOM's Joint Command (e.g. SEALs, Rangers, Army Special Forces, MARSOC, AFSOC) depending on their specific missions on today's battlefield".


title: FN SCAR

text: FN America's claim contradicted the official announcement from SOCOM and they did not reverse their decision. SOCOM decided to procure the 7.62mm Mk 17 rifle, the 40mm Mk 13 grenade launcher, and the 7.62mm Mk 20 Sniper Support Rifle variants of the Special Operations Forces Combat Assault Rifle (SCAR) manufactured by FN. SOCOM would not purchase the 5.56mm Mk 16. At that point the individual service component commands within SOCOM (Army Special Operations Command, Naval Special Warfare Command, Air Force Special Operations Command, and Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command) would or would not still buy the 5.56mm Mk 16 SCAR for some or all of their respective subordinate units even with overall US Special Operations Command opting not to.


title: FN SCAR

text: SOCOM began removing the Mk 16 from its inventory at the end of 2011, and most units have had the rifle removed from service post-2013. To maintain the SCAR as a small-caliber weapon, they are procuring conversion kits for the Mk 17 battle rifle to make it fire 5.56×45mm rounds. The presolicitation for the SCAR program originally called for one rifle that could be adapted to fire multiple calibers including 5.56mm, 7.62×51mm, and 7.62×39mm. When requirements were finalized, the decision was made to separate the 5.56×45mm and 7.62×51mm weapons because converting the medium caliber rifle to fire small caliber bullets created an assault rifle heavier than the M4 carbine. After fielding, operators reversed the previous decision and called for a SCAR that could change calibers. The Mk 17 was chosen to be scaled down because it had a larger receiver for the 7.62×51mm round, and so the 5.56mm Mk 16 could not be scaled up to chamber the larger round. The 5.56mm conversion kit was finalized in late 2010 and orders began in mid-2011.


title: FN SCAR

text: On 9 December 2011, the Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division released a sole source 5 year indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity procurement notice for the Mk 16 Mod 0 (SCAR-L), Mk 17 Mod 0 (SCAR-H), Mk 20 Mod 0 (SSR), and Mk 13 Mod 0 (40mm EGLM) from FN to sustain inventory levels. Navy special operations forces procures their firearms through SOCOM and fielded the MK 16 more than any other unit.


title: FN SCAR

text: The Mk 17 was in widespread use by United States SOF forces in Afghanistan, where its relative light weight, accuracy and stopping power has proved of worth on the battlefield.


title: Fiona Apple

text: Fiona Apple McAfee-Maggart (born September 13, 1977) is an American singer-songwriter. She has released five albums from 1996 to 2020, which have all reached the top 20 on the U.S. "Billboard" 200 chart. Apple has received numerous awards and nominations, including three Grammy Awards, two MTV Video Music Awards, and a Billboard Music Award.


title: Fiona Apple

text: The youngest daughter of the actor Brandon Maggart, Apple was born in New York City and was raised alternating between her mother's home in New York and her father's in Los Angeles. Classically trained on piano as a child, she began composing her own songs when she was eight years old. Her debut album, "Tidal", containing songs written when she was in her teens, was released in 1996 and received a Grammy Award for Best Female Vocal Rock Performance for the single "Criminal". She followed with "When the Pawn..." (1999), produced by Jon Brion, which was also critically and commercially successful and was certified Platinum.


title: Fiona Apple

text: For her third album, "Extraordinary Machine" (2005), Apple again collaborated with Brion and began recording the album in 2002. However, Apple was reportedly unhappy with the production and opted not to release the record, leading fans to protest Epic Records, erroneously believing that the label was withholding its release. The album was eventually re-produced without Brion and released in October 2005. The album was certified Gold, and nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album. In 2012, she released her fourth studio album, "The Idler Wheel...", which received critical praise and was followed by a tour of the United States and was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album in 2013. Apple's fifth studio album, "Fetch the Bolt Cutters", was released in 2020 to universal acclaim, earning two Grammy Awards: Best Alternative Music Album and Best Rock Performance for the lead single "Shameika".


title: Fiona Apple

text: Fiona Apple was born Fiona Apple McAfee-Maggart on September 13, 1977, in New York City to singer Diane McAfee and actor Brandon Maggart, who met when both were cast in the Broadway musical "Applause". Her father is from Tennessee, and through him, Apple has Melungeon ancestry. Her maternal grandparents were dancer Millicent Green and big band vocalist Johnny McAfee. Her sister Amber sings cabaret under the stage name Maude Maggart, and actor Garett Maggart is her half brother. Apple grew up in Morningside Gardens in Harlem with her mother and sister, but spent summers with her father in Los Angeles, California. She attended St. Hilda's & St. Hugh's School.


title: Fiona Apple

text: Apple was classically trained on piano as a child, and began composing her own pieces by the age of eight. When learning to play piano, she would often take sheet music and translate guitar tablature into the corresponding notes. Apple later began to play along with jazz standard compositions after becoming proficient, through which she discovered Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald, who became major influences on her.


title: Fiona Apple

text: Since childhood, Apple has struggled with obsessive-compulsive disorder, depression, and anxiety, and has also been diagnosed with complex post-traumatic stress disorder. At age 12, she was raped outside the apartment she shared with her mother, step-father, and sister in Harlem. She subsequently developed an eating disorder, purposely slimming her developing body, which she saw as "bait" for potential predators. "I definitely did have an eating disorder," she recalled. "What was really frustrating for me was that everyone thought I was anorexic, and I wasn't. I was just really depressed and self-loathing." She also described how her OCD developed into avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder, requiring food to be a certain color or shape.


title: Fiona Apple

text: After the rape, Apple began attending Model Mugging classes, practicing self-defense, but continued to suffer panic attacks while walking home from school, which led to her relocating to Los Angeles to live with her father for one year. In Los Angeles, Apple attended Alexander Hamilton High School for her second year.


title: Fiona Apple

text: In a 2000 interview, Apple stated that, despite speculation from journalists, she did not write songs about the trauma surrounding her rape: "It doesn't get into the writing. It's a boring pain. It's such a fuckin' old pain that, you know, there's nothing "poetic" about it."


title: Fiona Apple

text: Apple was introduced to the music industry in 1994, when she gave a demo tape containing the songs "Never Is a Promise", "Not One of Those Times", and "He Takes a Taxi" to her friend who was the babysitter for music publicist Kathryn Schenker. Schenker then passed the tape along to Sony Music executive Andy Slater. Apple's abilities captured his attention, and Slater signed her to a record deal.


title: Fiona Apple

text: In 1996, Apple's debut album, "Tidal", was released by Work Records and Columbia Records. The record was largely inspired by Apple's recent breakup with her first boyfriend. The album sold 2.7 million copies and was certified three times Platinum in the U.S. "Criminal", the third single, became a hit and the song reached the Top 40 on the U.S. "Billboard" Hot 100. The song's controversial Mark Romanek-directed music video played on MTV. Other singles from "Tidal" included "Shadowboxer", "Sleep to Dream", and "Never Is a Promise". Apple accepted the MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist at the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards for her song "Sleep to Dream", during her acceptance speech she said:


title: Fiona Apple

text: Apple responded to criticisms of her acceptance speech in "Rolling Stone" in January 1998, stating, "When I have something to say, I'll say it." During this period, Apple also covered the Beatles' "Across the Universe" and Percy Mayfield's "Please Send Me Someone to Love" for the soundtrack of the film "Pleasantville". She later canceled the last 21 dates on a tour in support of her album due to "personal family problems". In 1997, Apple met director Paul Thomas Anderson during a photoshoot, and the two began a relationship that lasted several years.


title: Fiona Apple

text: Apple's second album, "When the Pawn...", was released in 1999. Its full title is a poem Apple wrote after reading letters that appeared in "Spin" regarding an article that had cast her in a negative light in an earlier issue. The title's length earned it a spot in the "Guinness Book of Records" for 2001. However, as of October 2007, it no longer has the longest album title, as Soulwax released "Most of the Remixes", a remix album whose title surpasses "When the Pawn"'s length by 100 characters. "When the Pawn" was cultivated during Apple's relationship with film director Paul Thomas Anderson. "When the Pawn," which was produced by Jon Brion, used more expressive lyrics, experimented more with drum loops, and incorporated both the Chamberlin and drummer Matt Chamberlain. The album received a positive reception from publications such as "Rolling Stone". It did not fare as well commercially as her debut, though it was an RIAA-certified Platinum album and sold one million copies in the U.S. The album's lead single, "Fast as You Can", reached the top twenty on "Billboard"s Modern Rock Tracks chart and became Apple's first Top 40 hit in the UK. The videos for two follow-up singles, "Paper Bag" and "Limp" (directed by then-boyfriend Anderson), received very little play.


title: Fiona Apple

text: In a February 2000 set hampered by equipment issues to 3,000 audience members at the New York City Roseland Ballroom, a frustrated Apple left the stage without returning. Her performance saw Apple appearing distraught at the sound quality, apologizing numerous times for the sound and crying. After completing a concert tour in support of her second album in 2000, Apple relocated to Los Angeles, where she still resides as of 2020.


title: Fiona Apple

text: During her hiatus, Apple contemplated retiring from her recording career. Apple sang with Johnny Cash on a cover of Simon & Garfunkel's "Bridge over Troubled Water" that ended up on his album "" and was nominated for a Grammy Award for "Best Country Collaboration with Vocals". She also collaborated with Cash on Cat Stevens's "Father and Son", which was included in his 2003 collection "Unearthed".


title: Fiona Apple

text: Apple's third album, "Extraordinary Machine", was originally produced by Jon Brion. In spring 2002, Apple and Brion, her longtime friend and producer on "When the Pawn," met for their weekly lunch meeting. Brion reportedly "begged" Apple to make another album. Apple agreed, and Brion went to Apple's label, Epic Records, with strict stipulations (including no deadline), which the label eventually agreed to. Recording sessions began in 2002, at Ocean Way Studios in Nashville, Tennessee, but later moved to the Paramour Mansion in Los Angeles. Work on the album continued until 2003, and in May of that year it was submitted to Sony executives. In 2004 and 2005, tracks were leaked on the Internet in MP3 format and played on U.S. and international radio. Subsequently, MP3s of the entire album went online. Although a website distributing the album was quickly shut down, it soon reached P2P networks and was downloaded by fans. A fan-led campaign supported the album's official release.


title: Fiona Apple

text: Mike Elizondo, who had previously played bass on "Pawn", was brought back as co-producer to complete the tracks he had begun with Brion and Apple. "Spin" later reported the following: "Fans erroneously thought that Apple's record label, Epic, had rejected the first version of "Extraordinary Machine"... in reality, according to Elizondo, Apple was unhappy with the results, and it was her decision to redo the record, not her label's." In August 2005, the album was given an October release date. Production had been largely redone "from scratch" by Elizondo and was co-produced by Brian Kehew. Two of the 11 previous leaked tracks were relatively unchanged, and one new song was also included. Despite suggestions that the album had caused a rift between Brion and Apple, they regularly perform together at Largo, a club in Los Angeles, including a joint appearance with Elizondo on bass just before the news broke of an official release. "Extraordinary Machine" debuted at number seven and was nominated for a Grammy Award for "Best Pop Vocal Album". It was eventually certified Gold, though its singles ("Parting Gift", "O' Sailor", "Not About Love", and "Get Him Back") failed to enter any "Billboard" charts. Apple went on a live tour to promote the album in late 2005.


title: Fiona Apple

text: In June 2006, Apple appeared on the joke track "Come Over and Get It (Up in 'Dem Guts)" by comedian Zach Galifianakis. Galifianakis previously appeared in the music video for Apple's "Not About Love". Apple recorded a cover of "Sally's Song" for the 2006 special edition release of the soundtrack for the Tim Burton film "The Nightmare Before Christmas". In May 2006, Apple paid tribute to Elvis Costello on VH1's concert series "Decades Rock Live," by performing Costello's hit "I Want You". Her version was subsequently released as a digital single. Apple toured the East Coast during August 2007, with Nickel Creek. In 2008, Apple recorded a duet titled "Still I" with Christophe Deluy. In 2009, Apple covered "Why Try to Change Me Now" and "I Walk A Little Faster" for "The Best Is Yet to Come – The Songs of Cy Coleman".


title: Fiona Apple

text: In January 2010, Fiona Apple and Jon Brion performed together at "Love and Haiti, Too: A Music Benefit", a charity concert for the people hurt by the Haiti earthquake. Fiona sang a cover of "(S)he's Funny That Way", composed by Neil Moret, lyrics by Richard Whiting, which is often associated with the singer Billie Holiday. In June 2010, Fiona released a song titled "So Sleepy", produced by Jon Brion and written by children involved with the non-profit organization 826LA. The song was included on a compilation album released by the organization titled "Chickens in Love". Apple collaborated with Margaret Cho on her album "Cho Dependent", which was released on August 24, 2010.


title: Fiona Apple

text: In late 2010, "Billboard" published an article stating that Apple was planning on releasing a new album in spring 2011, with musician Michelle Branch claiming to have heard some of the new tracks. Drummer Charley Drayton also told "Modern Drummer" magazine that he was co-producing the record. However, the album was not released in the spring and "Billboard" reported later that Epic was not aware of a record. Apple delayed the album's release until 2012, explaining that she was waiting "until her label found a new president and that she didn't want her work to be mishandled amid corporate disarray." In January 2012, after its new record label head, LA Reid hinted at new music from Apple, Epic Records announced that the album would be released later in the year. Apple announced performances at the South by Southwest Festival and a spring 2012 tour soon after.


title: Fiona Apple

text: "The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do", Apple's fourth studio album, was released on June 19, 2012, in the United States. It became Apple's most successful album on the "Billboard" 200, where it peaked at number three, and received critical acclaim. According to an article in "American Songwriter", ""The Idler Wheel" isn't always pretty, but it pulses with life, brutal and true."


title: Fiona Apple

text: While promoting "The Idler Wheel", Apple revealed in a June 2012 interview that she had briefly married an unnamed French photographer, later revealed to be Lionel Deluy, "for complicated reasons" and had a passing liaison with a younger woman. She subsequently gave an in-depth interview on Marc Maron's "WTF" podcast in July, in which she described her experience with obsessive–compulsive disorder throughout her adult life. She also divulged that she had recently decided to quit drinking. On September 19, 2012, Apple was arrested at an internal U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint in Sierra Blanca, Texas, and charged with possession of hashish, detaining her en route to a concert in Austin, Texas, at the Hudspeth County Jail.


title: Fiona Apple

text: Apple contributed a previously unreleased song entitled "Dull Tool" to the soundtrack of the 2012 Judd Apatow film "This Is 40". Another song was recorded for the film but was not used, ending up as the track "Cosmonauts" on her 2020 album "Fetch the Bolt Cutters". In November 2012, Apple wrote a letter to her fans – a scan of which was posted to her website and her Facebook page – postponing the South American leg of her tour due to the health of her dog, Janet. According to the letter, the dog has Addison's disease and has had a tumor "idling in her chest" for two years.


title: Fiona Apple

text: In September 2013, a Chipotle ad appeared online with a soundtrack of Apple covering "Pure Imagination" from the 1971 film "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory". The video, which follows a scarecrow as he discovers the truth about factory farming and processed food, was described as "haunted," "dystopian," "bizarre," and "beautiful."


title: Fiona Apple

text: In 2014, Apple wrote the opening theme, "Container", for the Showtime drama series "The Affair". During 2014, Apple also appeared at a number of performances by Blake Mills, including in New York City and Cambridge, Massachusetts, during his tour in support of his second full-length album, "Heigh Ho". The pair first publicly collaborated on an acoustic version of Apple's song "I Know" in 2013. Fiona Apple has collaborated with Andrew Bird, and in 2016, she was featured in the song "Left Handed Kisses" from the album "Are You Serious".


title: Fiona Apple

text: In 2017, she released "Tiny Hands" for the Women's March on Washington. In 2018, she joined Shirley Manson at the female-driven Girl School Festival in Los Angeles for a cover of "You Don't Own Me" by Lesley Gore, wearing a white T-shirt with "KNEEL, PORTNOW" written across it in ink. This was considered in response to Grammy head Neil Portnow's heavily criticized comments that women need to "step up" to earn more Grammy nods.


title: Fiona Apple

text: In January 2019, Apple collaborated with King Princess on a version of her 1999 song "I Know". The song was released for Spotify's RISE program on January 25. Apple was featured in the documentary and soundtrack for Echo in the Canyon with Jakob Dylan covering songs by artists such as the Beach Boys and the Byrds. In November, she covered "Whole of the Moon," a Waterboys song, for the series finale of Showtime's "The Affair".


title: Fiona Apple

text: In two Instagram posts in March 2019, Apple hinted at the recording of a fifth album. In a September 2019 interview with "Vulture", she confirmed that the album was in its final stages, recorded with a band and planned for an early 2020 release. In a follow-up interview with "Vulture" in January 2020, she said her new album would likely be out "in a few months." On March 8, 2020, Apple posted a video showcasing her saying "M-Y-R-E-C-O-R-D-I-S-D-O-N-E" in fingerspelling. In an interview with "The New Yorker", it was announced that Apple's fifth studio album was to be titled "Fetch the Bolt Cutters". The album, which consists of 13 self-produced tracks, was released digitally on April 17, 2020. The album was met with widespread acclaim by music critics. At the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards, the album won Best Alternative Music Album and the lead single "Shameika" won Best Rock Performance.


title: Fiona Apple

text: On June 17, 2020, Apple was confirmed as an additional musician featuring on Bob Dylan's 39th album "Rough and Rowdy Ways", playing piano on the track "Murder Most Foul". On April 15, 2021, Apple covered Sharon Van Etten's "Love More", from the 10th anniversary of Van Etten's second album, "Epic".


title: Fiona Apple

text: In December, Apple was featured on a cover of the Christmas classic "Silent Night" released by Phoebe Bridgers alongside her Christmas EP "If We Make It Through December".


title: Fiona Apple

text: Apple joined with Bear McCreary to perform his composition "Where the Shadows Lie", the end credits theme for "", the final episode of the first season of "". The song features Apple singing the Ring Verse, part of which is inscribed upon the One Ring in Black Speech.


title: Fiona Apple

text: On June 30, 2019, Apple pledged to donate two years' worth of earnings from TV and movie placements of her song "Criminal" to the While They Wait fund, which assists refugees with basic necessities, immigration fees and legal services. In 2020, While They Wait's Scott Hechinger revealed to "Vulture" that Apple had donated $90,000, which would help 15 families. Since 2021, Apple has been a volunteer court watcher for Courtwatch PG.


title: Fiona Apple

text: Apple's debut album earned her a Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance for "Criminal" and the MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist in a Video for "Sleep to Dream". For "When the Pawn...", Apple won the California Music Award for Outstanding Female Vocalist. For "Extraordinary Machine", she won an Esky Music Award for Best Songbird. "Fetch the Bolt Cutters" won a Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album and the song "Shameika" won a Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance.


title: Sesame Street

text: Sesame Street is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000) and was created by Joan Ganz Cooney and Lloyd Morrisett. It is known for its images communicated through the use of Jim Henson's Muppets, and includes short films, with humor and cultural references. It premiered on November 10, 1969, to positive reviews, some controversy, and high viewership. It has aired on the United States national public television provider PBS since its debut, with its first run moving to premium channel HBO on January 16, 2016, then its sister streaming service HBO Max in 2020. "Sesame Street" is one of the longest-running shows in the world.


title: Sesame Street

text: The show's format consists of a combination of commercial television production elements and techniques which have evolved to reflect changes in American culture and audiences' viewing habits. It was the first children's TV show to use educational goals and a curriculum to shape its content, and the first show whose educational effects were formally studied. Its format and content have undergone significant changes to reflect changes to its curriculum.


title: Sesame Street

text: Shortly after its creation, its producers developed what came to be called the CTW Model (after the production company's previous name), a system of planning, production and evaluation based on collaboration between producers, writers, educators and researchers. The show was initially funded by government and private foundations, but has become somewhat self-supporting due to revenues from licensing arrangements, international sales and other media. By 2006, independently produced versions ("co-productions") of "Sesame Street" were broadcast in 20 countries. In 2001, there were over 120 million viewers of various international versions of "Sesame Street"; and by its 40th anniversary in 2009, it was broadcast in more than 140 countries.


title: Sesame Street

text: "Sesame Street" was by then the 15th-highest-rated children's television show in the United States. A 1996 survey found that 95% of all American preschoolers had watched it by the time they were three. In 2018, it was estimated that 86 million Americans had watched it as children. As of 2021, it has won 205 Emmy Awards and 11 Grammy Awards, more than any other children's show.


title: Sesame Street

text: "Sesame Street" was conceived in 1966 during discussions between television producer Joan Ganz Cooney and Carnegie Foundation vice president Lloyd Morrisett. Their goal was to create a children's television show that would "master the addictive qualities of television and do something good with them," such as helping young children prepare for school. After two years of research, the newly formed Children's Television Workshop (CTW) received a combined grant of US$8 million ($ million in dollars) from the Carnegie Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the U.S. federal government to create and produce a new children's television show. The program premiered on public television stations on November 10, 1969. It was the first preschool educational television program to base its contents and production values on laboratory and formative research. Initial responses to the show included adulatory reviews, some controversy, and high ratings.


title: Sesame Street

text: According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution." The cast and crew expanded during this time, with emphasis on the hiring of women crew members and the addition of minorities to the cast. The show's success continued into the 1980s. In 1981, when the federal government withdrew its funding, CTW turned to and expanded other revenue sources, including its magazine division, book royalties, product licensing, and foreign broadcast income. Its curriculum has expanded to include more affective topics such as relationships, ethics and emotions. Many of its storylines have been inspired by the experiences of its writing staff, cast and crew—most notably, the 1982 death of Will Lee, who played Mr. Hooper; and the marriage of Luis and Maria in 1988.


title: Sesame Street

text: By the end of the 1990s, the show faced societal and economic challenges, including changes in young children's viewing habits, competition from other shows, the development of cable television, and a drop in ratings. As the 21st century began, the show made major changes. Starting in 2002, its format became more narrative-focused and included ongoing storylines. After its 30th anniversary in 1999, due to the popularity of the Muppet Elmo, the show also incorporated a popular segment known as "Elmo's World". In 2009, the show won the Outstanding Achievement Emmy for its 40 years on the air.


title: Sesame Street

text: In late 2015, in response to "sweeping changes in the media business" and as part of a five-year programming and development deal, premium television service HBO began airing first-run episodes of "Sesame Street". The episodes became available on PBS stations and websites nine months after they aired on HBO. The deal allowed Sesame Workshop to produce more episodes—increasing from 18 to 35 per season—and to create a spinoff series with the "Sesame Street" Muppets, and a new educational series.


title: Sesame Street

text: At its 50th anniversary in 2019, "Sesame Street" had produced over 4,500 episodes, two feature-length movies ("" in 1985 and "The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland" in 1999), 35 TV specials, 200 home videos, and 180 albums. Its YouTube channel has almost five million subscribers. It was announced in October 2019 that first-run episodes will move to HBO Max beginning with the show's 51st season in 2020.


title: Sesame Street

text: From its first episode, "Sesame Street's" format has utilized "a strong visual style, fast-moving action, humor, and music," as well as animation and live-action short films. When it premiered, most researchers believed that young children did not have long attention spans, and the new show's producers were concerned that an hour-long show wouldn't hold their attention. At first, its "street scenes"—the action recorded on its set—consisted of character-driven interactions. Rather than ongoing stories, they were written as individual, curriculum-based segments interrupted by "inserts" of puppet sketches, short films and animations. This structure allowed producers to use a mixture of styles and characters, and to vary its pace, presumably keeping it interesting to young viewers. However, by season 20, research showed that children were able to follow a story—and the street scenes, while still interspersed with other segments, became evolving storylines.


title: Sesame Street

text: On recommendations by child psychologists, the producers initially decided that the show's human actors and Muppets would not interact because they were concerned it would confuse young children. When CTW tested the new show, they found that children paid attention during the Muppet segments, and that their interest was lost during the "Street" segments. They requested that Henson and his team create Muppets such as Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch to interact with the human actors, and the Street segments were re-shot.


title: Sesame Street

text: "Sesame Street"s format remained intact until the 2000s, when the changing audience required that producers move to a more narrative format. In 1998, the popular "Elmo's World," a 15-minute-long segment hosted by the Muppet Elmo, was created. Starting in 2014, during the show's 45th season, the producers introduced a half-hour version of the program. The new version, which originally complemented the full-hour series, was broadcast weekday afternoons and streamed on the Internet. In 2017, in response to the changing viewing habits of toddlers, the show's producers decreased the show's length from one hour to 30 minutes across all its broadcast platforms. The new version focused on fewer characters, reduced pop culture references "once included as winks for their parents", and focused "on a single backbone topic."


title: Sesame Street

text: Author Malcolm Gladwell said that ""Sesame Street" was built around a single, breakthrough insight: that if you can hold the attention of children, you can educate them." Gerald S. Lesser, the CTW's first advisory board chair, went even further, saying that the effective use of television as an educational tool needed to capture, focus, and sustain children's attention. "Sesame Street" was the first children's show to structure each episode, and the segments within them, to capture children's attention, and to make, as Gladwell put it, "small but critical adjustments" to keep it. According to CTW researchers Rosemarie Truglio and Shalom Fisch, it was one of the few children's shows to utilize a detailed and comprehensive educational curriculum, garnered from formative and summative research.


title: Sesame Street

text: "Sesame Street"'s creators and researchers formulated both cognitive and affective goals for the show. They initially focused on cognitive goals, while addressing affective goals indirectly, believing it would increase children's self-esteem and feelings of competency. One of their primary goals was preparing young children for school, especially children from low-income families, using modeling, repetition, and humor. They adjusted its content to increase viewers' attention and the show's appeal, and encouraged older children and parents to "co-view" it by including more sophisticated humor, cultural references, and celebrity guests; by 2019, 80% of parents watched "Sesame Street" with their children, and 650 celebrities had appeared on the show.


title: Sesame Street

text: During "Sesame Street"s first season, some critics felt that it should address more overtly such affective goals as social competence, tolerance of diversity, and nonaggressive ways of resolving conflict. The show's creators and producers responded by featuring these themes in interpersonal disputes between its Street characters. During the 1980s, the show incorporated real-life experiences of its cast and crew, including the death of Will Lee (Mr. Hooper) and the pregnancy of Sonia Manzano (Maria). In later seasons, it addressed real-life disasters such as the September 11 terrorist attacks and Hurricane Katrina.


title: Sesame Street

text: In its first season, the show addressed its outreach goals by focusing on the promotion of educational materials used in preschool settings; and in subsequent seasons, by focusing on their development. Innovative programs were developed because their target audience, children and their families in low-income, inner-city homes, did not traditionally watch educational programs on television and because traditional methods of promotion and advertising were not effective with these groups.