title: Michael Palin

text: Palin played various roles in "Monty Python", which ranged from manic enthusiasm (such as the lumberjack of "The Lumberjack Song", or Herbert Anchovy, host of the game show "Blackmail") to unflappable calmness (such as the Dead parrot vendor or Cheese Shop proprietor). As a straight man he was often a foil to the rising ire of characters portrayed by Cleese. He also played timid, socially inept characters such as Arthur Putey, the man who sits quietly as a marriage counsellor (Eric Idle) makes love to his wife (Carol Cleveland), and Mr Anchovy, a chartered accountant who wants to become a lion tamer. He appeared as the "It's" man (a Robinson Crusoe-type castaway with torn clothes and a long, unkempt beard) at the beginning of most episodes. He also frequently played a Gumby, a character Palin said "had these moronic views that were expressed with extraordinary force."


title: Michael Palin

text: Palin frequently co-wrote sketches with Terry Jones, including the "Spanish Inquisition sketch", which featured the catchphrase "Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!". He also composed songs with Jones including "The Lumberjack Song", "Every Sperm Is Sacred" and "Spam". His solo musical compositions included "Decomposing Composers" and "Finland".


title: Michael Palin

text: In 1971, he co-wrote, with Hugh Leonard and Terence Feely, the film "Percy", which depicts a penis transplant.


title: Michael Palin

text: After the "Monty Python" television series ended in 1974, the Palin/Jones team worked on "Ripping Yarns", an intermittent television comedy series broadcast over three years from 1976. They had earlier collaborated on the play "Secrets" from the BBC series "Black and Blue" in 1973. He starred as Dennis the Peasant in Terry Gilliam's 1977 film "Jabberwocky". Palin also appeared in "All You Need Is Cash" (1978) as Eric Manchester (based on Derek Taylor), the press agent for the Rutles. In 1980, Palin co-wrote "Time Bandits" with Terry Gilliam. He also acted in the film.


title: Michael Palin

text: In 1982, Palin wrote and starred in "The Missionary", co-starring Maggie Smith. In it, he plays the Reverend Charles Fortescue, who is recalled from Africa to aid prostitutes. He co-starred with Maggie Smith again in the 1984 comedy film "A Private Function". In 1984, he reunited with Terry Gilliam to appear in "Brazil". He appeared in the comedy film "A Fish Called Wanda", for which he won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. Cleese reunited the main cast almost a decade later to make "Fierce Creatures". After filming for "Fierce Creatures" finished, Palin went on a travel journey for a BBC documentary and, returning a year later, found that the end of "Fierce Creatures" had failed at test screenings and had to be reshot.


title: Michael Palin

text: After "Fierce Creatures" and a small part in "The Wind in the Willows", a film directed by and starring Terry Jones, it was twenty years until Palin's next film role, as Soviet politician Vyacheslav Molotov in the 2017 satirical black comedy "The Death of Stalin". Palin also appeared with John Cleese in his documentary, "The Human Face". Palin was cast in a supporting role in the Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan romantic comedy "You've Got Mail", but his role was eventually cut entirely.


title: Michael Palin

text: Palin has also appeared in serious drama. In 1991 Palin appeared in a film, "American Friends", he wrote based upon a real event in the life of his great-grandfather, a fellow at St John's College, Oxford. In that same year he also played the part of a headmaster in Alan Bleasdale's Channel 4 drama series "GBH". In 1994, Palin narrated the English language audiobook version of "Esio Trot" by children's author Roald Dahl.


title: Michael Palin

text: In 1997, Palin had a small cameo role in Australian soap opera "Home and Away". He played an English surfer with a fear of sharks, who interrupts a conversation between two main characters to ask whether there were any sharks in the sea. This was filmed while he was in Australia for the "Full Circle" series, with a segment about the filming of the role featuring in the series. In November 2005, he appeared in the "John Peel's Record Box" documentary.


title: Michael Palin

text: In 2013, Palin appeared in a First World War drama titled "The Wipers Times" written by Ian Hislop and Nick Newman. At the Cannes Film Festival in 2016, it was announced that Palin was set to star alongside Adam Driver in Terry Gilliam's "The Man Who Killed Don Quixote". Palin, however, dropped out of the film after it ran into a financial problem.


title: Michael Palin

text: While speaking at the Edinburgh International Film Festival, Palin announced that he was presenting the two-part documentary "Michael Palin in North Korea" to be broadcast on the British television network Channel 5. The documentary was broadcast in September 2018, in two one-hour segments on Channel 5 in the UK and in a single two-hour programme on National Geographic in the United States. It was broadcast again by Channel 5, in a single two-hour programme in December 2018.


title: Michael Palin

text: In July 2019, Palin performed a one-man stage show at the Torch Theatre, Milford Haven, Wales, about the loss of HMS "Erebus" during the third Franklin expedition, which is recounted in his book "Erebus: The Story of a Ship".


title: Michael Palin

text: Palin assisted Campaign for Better Transport and others with campaigns on sustainable transport, particularly those relating to urban areas, and has been president of the campaign since 1986.


title: Michael Palin

text: On 2 January 2011, he became the first person to sign the UK-based Campaign for Better Transport's Fair Fares Now campaign. In July 2015, he signed an open letter and gave an interview to support "a strong BBC at the centre of British life" at a time the government was reviewing the corporation's size and activities.


title: Michael Palin

text: In July 2010, Palin sent a message of support for the Dongria Kondh tribe of India, who were resisting mining on their land by the company Vedanta Resources. Palin said, "I've been to the Nyamgiri Hills in Orissa and seen the forces of money and power that Vedanta Resources have arrayed against a people who have occupied their land for thousands of years, who husband the forest sustainably and make no great demands on the state or the government. The tribe I visited simply want to carry on living in the villages that they and their ancestors have always lived in."


title: Michael Palin

text: Palin's first travel documentary was episode 4 of the 1980 BBC Television series "Great Railway Journeys of the World", entitled "Confessions of a Trainspotter". Throughout the hour-long show, Palin humorously reminisces about his childhood hobby of train spotting while he travels throughout the UK by train from London to the Kyle of Lochalsh, via Manchester, York, Newcastle upon Tyne, Edinburgh and Inverness. He rides vintage railway lines and trains including the "Flying Scotsman". At the Kyle of Lochalsh, Palin bought the station's long metal platform sign and is seen lugging it back to London with him.


title: Michael Palin

text: In 1994, Palin travelled through Ireland for the same series, entitled "Derry to Kerry". In a quest for family roots, he attempted to trace his great-grandmother – Brita Gallagher – who set sail from Ireland years ago during the Great Famine (1845–1849), bound for a new life in Burlington, New Jersey. The series is a trip along the Palin family line.


title: Michael Palin

text: Between 1989 and 2012, Palin appeared as presenter in a series of travel programmes made for the BBC. It was after the veteran TV globetrotter Alan Whicker and journalist Miles Kington turned down presenting the first of these, "Around the World in 80 Days with Michael Palin", that gave Palin the opportunity to present his first and subsequent travel shows. In 2018, he was hired by ITN Productions to present travel documentaries commissioned by Channel 5, with journeys to North Korea and Iraq completed by 2022.


title: Michael Palin

text: Following each trip, Palin wrote a book about his travels, providing information and insights not included in the TV programme. Each book is illustrated with photographs by Basil Pao, the stills photographer who was on the team. (Exception: the first book, "Around the World in 80 Days", contains some pictures by Pao but most are by other photographers.)


title: Michael Palin

text: All seven of these books were also made available as audio books, and all of them are read by Palin himself. "Around the World in 80 Days" and "Hemingway Adventure" are unabridged, while the other four books were made in both abridged and unabridged versions.


title: Michael Palin

text: For four of the trips a photography book was made by Pao, each with an introduction written by Palin. These are large coffee-table style books with pictures printed on glossy paper. The majority of the pictures are of various people encountered on the trip, as informal portraits or showing them engaged in some interesting activity. Some of the landscape photos are displayed as two-page spreads.


title: Michael Palin

text: Palin's travel programmes are responsible for a phenomenon termed the "Palin effect": areas of the world that he has visited suddenly become popular tourist attractions – for example, the significant increase in the number of tourists interested in Peru after Palin visited Machu Picchu. In a 2006 survey of "15 of the world's top travel writers" by "The Observer", Palin named Peru's Pongo de Mainique (canyon below the Machu Picchu) his "favourite place in the world".


title: Michael Palin

text: Palin notes in his book of "Around the World in 80 Days" that the final leg of his journey could originally have taken him and his crew on one of the trains involved in the Clapham Junction rail crash, but they arrived ahead of schedule and caught an earlier train.


title: Michael Palin

text: In recent years, Palin has written and presented occasional documentary programmes on artists that interest him. The first, on Scottish painter Anne Redpath, was "Palin on Redpath" in 1997. In "The Bright Side of Life" (2000), Palin continued on a Scottish theme, looking at the work of the Scottish Colourists. Two further programmes followed on European painters; "Michael Palin and the Ladies Who Loved Matisse" (2004) and "Michael Palin and the Mystery of Hammershøi" (2005), about the French artist Henri Matisse and Danish artist Vilhelm Hammershøi respectively. The DVD "Michael Palin on Art" contains all these documentaries except for the Matisse programme.


title: Michael Palin

text: In November 2008, Palin presented a First World War documentary about Armistice Day, 11 November 1918, when thousands of soldiers lost their lives in battle after the war had officially ended. Palin filmed on the battlefields of Northern France and Belgium for the programme, called the "Last Day of World War One", produced for the BBC's "Timewatch" series.


title: Michael Palin

text: Palin was instrumental in setting up the Michael Palin Centre for Stammering Children in 1993. Also in 1993, each member of Monty Python had an asteroid named after them. Palin's is Asteroid 9621 Michaelpalin. In 2003, inside the Globe a commemorative stone was placed – Palin has his own stone, to mark donors to the theatre, but it is misspelled as "Michael Pallin". The story goes that John Cleese paid for the stone, and mischievously insisted on misspelling his name.


title: Michael Palin

text: In honour of his achievements as a traveller, especially rail travel, Palin has two British trains named after him. In 2002, Virgin Trains' new £5 million high speed Super Voyager train number 221130 was named "Michael Palin" it carries his name externally and a plaque is located adjacent to the onboard shop with information on Palin and his many journeys. Also, National Express East Anglia named a British Rail Class 153 (unit number 153335) after him. (He is a model railway enthusiast.)


title: Michael Palin

text: In 2008, he received the James Joyce Award of the Literary and Historical Society in Dublin. In recognition of his services to the promotion of geography, Palin was awarded the Livingstone Medal of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society in March 2009, along with a Fellowship of this Society (FRGS).


title: Michael Palin

text: In June 2013, he was similarly honoured in Canada with a gold medal for achievements in geography by the Royal Canadian Geographical Society. In June 2009, Palin was elected for a three-year term as President of the Royal Geographical Society. Because of his self-described "amenable, conciliatory character" Michael Palin has been referred to as unofficially "Britain's Nicest Man". In a 2018 poll for Yorkshire Day he was named the greatest Yorkshireman ever, ahead of Sean Bean and Patrick Stewart.


title: Michael Palin

text: In September 2013, Moorlands School, Leeds, named one of their school houses "Palin" after him. The University of St Andrews awarded Palin an honorary Doctor of Science degree during their June 2017 graduation ceremonies, with the degree recognising his contribution to the public's understanding of contemporary geography. He joins his fellow Pythons John Cleese and Terry Jones in receiving an honorary degree from the Fife institution. In October 2018, the Royal Canadian Geographical Society awarded Palin the first Louie Kamookak Medal for advances in geography, for his book on the history of the polar exploration vessel HMS "Erebus".


title: Michael Palin

text: He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2000 New Year Honours. Palin was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) in the 2019 New Year Honours for "services to travel, culture and geography". Palin is the only member of the Monty Python team to receive a knighthood. (John Cleese had turned down a CBE in 1996, calling it "too silly", and declined a life peerage in 1999.)


title: Michael Palin

text: In 2017, the British Library acquired Palin's archive consisting of project files relating to his work, notebooks, and his personal diaries. The papers in the archive relate to his work with "Monty Python", his later TV work, and his children's and humorous books.


title: Michael Palin

text: All his travel books can be read with no charge, complete and unabridged, on Palin's Travels website.


title: Rhona Mitra

text: Mitra is known for her roles as Sonja in "" (2009); as Major Rachel Dalton on the second and third seasons of "Strike Back" (2012–2013); as Rachel Scott in the first two seasons of "The Last Ship" (2014–2015); Holly Marie Begins on the sixth season of "Party of Five" (1999–2000); as Kate Hedges in "Ali G Indahouse" (2002); as Tara Wilson on the final season of "The Practice" (2003–2004) and the first and second seasons of "Boston Legal" (2004–2005); as Detective Kit McGraw on the third season of "Nip/Tuck" (2005); in the lead role of the science fiction/action film "Doomsday" as Major Eden Sinclair (2008); as an assassin in the Netflix film "Game Over, Man!" (2018); and as Mercy Graves in the CW series "Supergirl" (2018).


title: Rhona Mitra

text: Rhona Mitra was born in in the Paddington area of London, the daughter of Anthony Mitra, a surgeon, and Nora Downey. Her father is of Bengali Indian descent, while her mother is Irish.


title: Rhona Mitra

text: Mitra appeared as the live-action model for Lara Croft, the lead character in Eidos Interactive's "Tomb Raider" video game series before Angelina Jolie took the role for the two "Tomb Raider" films (2001–2003). Mitra was ranked No. 46 on the "Maxim" Hot 100 Women of 2001. She played the romantic interest of Christopher Lambert in "Beowulf". Her first main role came as Scott Wolf's illicit love interest on "Party of Five". In 2000, Mitra had a small role in the film "Hollow Man" as a neighbour who is raped by Kevin Bacon's character. She had a main role in the medical drama "Gideon's Crossing", as Alejandra "Ollie" Klein. Mitra then had roles in "Ali G Indahouse", "Sweet Home Alabama", "Stuck on You", and leading roles in "Highwaymen" and "Spartacus". Mitra appeared in the final season of "The Practice" as Tara Wilson, and continued that role into its spin-off "Boston Legal", but left not long into the second season. In 2005, Mitra played the role of Kit McGraw during season 3 of "Nip/Tuck". Mitra then went on to appear in "Skinwalkers", "The Number 23" and "Shooter".


title: Rhona Mitra

text: In 2008, Mitra starred in the lead role of the science fiction/action film "Doomsday" as Major Eden Sinclair (sometimes mistakenly named in some databases as being Caryn Peterson), and in 2009 went on to star in "" as Sonja, the daughter of the powerful vampire elder Viktor (played by Bill Nighy). While filming, she grew fond of her vampire fangs, even declining to remove them when they couldn't be seen. "I put those fangs on the first day and I felt they should always have been there; it's strange. So I kept them in through the entire time of shooting, throughout all my dialogue and everything." She also appeared in three episodes of "Stargate Universe".


title: Rhona Mitra

text: She stars in the 2010 Anders Anderson thriller film "Stolen", alongside Josh Lucas, Jon Hamm and James Van Der Beek. She portrayed Claire Radcliff in the 2010 ABC supernatural series "The Gates". She played Major Rachel Dalton on Cinemax's series "Strike Back: Project Vengeance", replacing Amanda Mealing.


title: Rhona Mitra

text: In 2014 and 2015, she played Rachel Scott in the first two seasons of Michael Bay's post-apocalyptic television series, "The Last Ship".


title: Rhona Mitra

text: In 2020, Mitra starred in the science fiction film "Archive" as Simone. She also starred in the science fiction film "Skylines" as Dr Mal.


title: Rhona Mitra

text: In 2022, she joins the movie "Hounds of War", alongside Frank Grillo, and historical film "Prisoners of Paradise".


title: Rhona Mitra

text: She also stars in the lead role in science-fiction movie "The Experiment", alongside Famke Janssen and Stefanie Martini, where she plays Captain Ava Stone.


title: Rhona Mitra

text: Rhona Mitra was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award in 2006 for her performance in "Boston Legal". She was also nominated in 2009 for Scream Awards for Best Actress for "".


title: Shannon Elizabeth

text: Shannon Elizabeth Fadal (born September 7, 1973) is an American actress, conservationist, animal activist, model and poker player. A popular sex symbol and teen idol of the 1990s and 2000s, Elizabeth is best known for her roles in the films "American Pie", "Tomcats", "Scary Movie", and "Love Actually". She also starred in the films "Jay and Silent Bob Strikes Back", "Thirteen Ghosts", "Cursed", and "Night of the Demons", and played a recurring role in the sitcom "That '70s Show" and was a series regular in "Cuts".


title: Shannon Elizabeth

text: Elizabeth splits her time between Cape Town, South Africa, and the USA, and runs her non-profit organization, an animal rescue turned conservation organization she co-created in 2001—previously Animal Avengers. The org is currently working alongside SANParks and Brett Barlow to care for Munu the Rhino and build him a sanctuary and breeding program. The Foundation has also launched One Woman's Legacy, a scholarship program that helps African women break through the glass ceiling in conservation studies. She is a professional poker player, and in 2006 was named "one of the leading celebrity poker players."


title: Shannon Elizabeth

text: Elizabeth was born in Houston, Texas, to a father of Lebanese ancestry, and to a mother of German, English and Irish ancestry. She was raised in Waco, Texas, from 3rd grade through high school; Elizabeth graduated from Waco High School in 1991. In high school, she was a member of the tennis team and at one point considered a professional tennis career. Elizabeth worked as a model for Ford & Elite models before she began a career in film.


title: Shannon Elizabeth

text: Elizabeth appeared in several films and television shows before being cast in 1999's "American Pie" in the role of Nadia. It was a major box office success. Elizabeth subsequently appeared in several Hollywood films, including "Scary Movie", "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back", and "Tomcats". Elizabeth starred in the UPN series "Cuts" until the show was canceled in May 2006. Elizabeth recurred in "That '70s Show" for a number of episodes.


title: Shannon Elizabeth

text: In 2000 and 2003, she was featured in "Maxim". In June 2008 she was "Maxim"'s cover girl. She provided the likeness and voice for Serena St. Germaine in the 2004 video game "". Elizabeth was one of the celebrities on an episode of NBC's "Thank God You're Here" along with Tom Green, Chelsea Handler, and George Takei. Elizabeth was among the cast of the sixth season of "Dancing with the Stars", partnered with Derek Hough. Elizabeth was the seventh star eliminated from the competition.In 2006, Elizabeth described poker as her second career and was called "one of the leading celebrity poker players." At that time, she visited the Las Vegas Valley up to three times each month to participate in poker games with top players. Elizabeth does not appear to have been as active a poker player since scoring 12 tournament cashes from 2006 through 2010 – she has only one tournament cash (in 2013) thereafter.


title: Shannon Elizabeth

text: Elizabeth played in the Main Event of the 2005 World Series of Poker under the guidance of Daniel Negreanu, and won a special tournament celebrating the opening of a new poker room at Caesars Palace hotel in January 2006, beating out 83 celebrities and poker professionals to win $55,000. She also cashed four times in the World Series of Poker in 2006 and 2007, but again busted out of the Main Event early. In 2007, she advanced to the semi-finals of the NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship in a field consisting of the top poker professionals before losing to eventual champion Paul Wasicka.


title: Shannon Elizabeth

text: Elizabeth was the host of the comedy/burlesque series "Live Nude Comedy" in 2009. Elizabeth also featured in Chris Brown's "Next to You" music video as Brown's girlfriend in 2011. In 2019 she reprised her role as Justice in "Jay and Silent Bob Reboot."


title: Shannon Elizabeth

text: Elizabeth was married to actor Joseph D. Reitman from 2002 to 2005. She is an environmentalist and vegan. She is a cousin of New York-based television host and relationship coach Tamsen Fadal. Animal Avengers, a non-profit animal rescue organization founded by Elizabeth and her then-husband Reitman, is dedicated to rescuing and finding a home for homeless pets, reducing pet overpopulation, promoting responsible pet guardianship and preventing animal cruelty.


title: Shannon Elizabeth

text: Among many fundraising events, Team Bodog raised over $50,000 for Animal Avengers in a celebrity poker night on October 8, 2005. The event was hosted by tournament director Matt Savage. In 2016, she began participating in numerous other Bodog-sponsored charity events as well. The organization, based in Brazil, lead 3D printing of prosthetic body parts for animals, including a beak for goose Victoria.


title: Shannon Elizabeth

text: Elizabeth has served as the spokesperson for Farm Sanctuary's Adopt a Turkey program, urging people to adopt a turkey instead of eating one for Thanksgiving. She uses social media, particularly Instagram posts, to raise awareness about rhino poaching at the Poached Rhino fundraiser. She is currently married to Simon Borchert as of 2022.


title: Pleurisy

text: Pleurisy, also known as pleuritis, is inflammation of the membranes that surround the lungs and line the chest cavity (pleurae). This can result in a sharp chest pain while breathing. Occasionally the pain may be a constant dull ache. Other symptoms may include shortness of breath, cough, fever or weight loss, depending on the underlying cause.


title: Pleurisy

text: bacterial infection, pneumonia, pulmonary embolism, autoimmune disorders, lung cancer, following heart surgery, pancreatitis and asbestosis. Occasionally the cause remains unknown. The underlying mechanism involves the rubbing together of the pleurae instead of smooth gliding. Other conditions that can produce similar symptoms include pericarditis, heart attack, cholecystitis, pulmonary embolism, and pneumothorax. Diagnostic testing may include a chest X-ray, electrocardiogram (ECG), and blood tests.


title: Pleurisy

text: Treatment depends on the underlying cause. Paracetamol (acetaminophen) and ibuprofen may be used to decrease pain. Incentive spirometry may be recommended to encourage larger breaths. About one million people are affected in the United States each year. Descriptions of the condition date from at least as early as 400 BC by Hippocrates.


title: Pleurisy

text: The defining symptom of pleurisy is a sudden sharp, stabbing, burning or dull pain in the right or left side of the chest during breathing, especially when one inhales and exhales. It feels worse with deep breathing, coughing, sneezing, or laughing. The pain may stay in one place, or it may spread to the shoulder or back. Sometimes, it becomes a fairly constant dull ache.


title: Pleurisy

text: In some cases of pleurisy, excess fluid builds up in the pleural space. This is called a pleural effusion. The buildup of excess fluid, will more often than not force the two layers of the pleura apart so they don't rub against each other when breathing. This can relieve the pain of pleurisy. A large amount of fluid can result in collapse of the lung. This can make it difficult to breathe.


title: Pleurisy

text: In some cases of pleural effusion, the excess fluid becomes infected and turns into an abscess. This is called an empyema.


title: Pleurisy

text: Pleural effusion involving fibrinous exudates in the fluid may be called fibrinous pleurisy, which sometimes occurs as a later stage of pleurisy.


title: Pleurisy

text: A person can develop a pleural effusion in the absence of pleurisy. For example, pneumonia, heart failure, cancer, or a pulmonary embolism can lead to a pleural effusion.


title: Pleurisy

text: Air or gas also can build up in the pleural space. This is called a pneumothorax. It can result from acute lung injury or a lung disease like emphysema. Lung procedures, like surgery, drainage of fluid with a needle, examination of the lung from the inside with a light and a camera, or mechanical ventilation, also can cause a pneumothorax.


title: Pleurisy

text: The most common symptom is sudden pain in one side of the lung and shortness of breath. A pneumothorax also can put pressure on the lung and cause it to collapse.


title: Pleurisy

text: If the pneumothorax is small, it may go away on its own. If large, a chest tube is placed through the skin and chest wall into the pleural space to remove the air.


title: Pleurisy

text: Blood also can collect in the pleural space. This is called hemothorax. The most common cause is injury to the chest from blunt force or surgery on the heart or chest. Hemothorax also can occur in people with lung or pleural cancer.


title: Pleurisy

text: Hemothorax can put pressure on the lung and force it to collapse. It also can cause shock, a state of hypoperfusion in which an insufficient amount of blood is able to reach the organs.


title: Pleurisy

text: The pleural space can be invaded by fluid, air, and particles from other parts of the body, which fairly complicates diagnosis. Viral infection (coxsackie B virus, HRSV, CMV, adenovirus, EBV, parainfluenza, influenza, COVID-19) is the most common cause of pleurisy. However, many other different conditions can cause pleuritic chest pain:


title: Pleurisy

text: When the space between the pleurae starts to fill with fluid, as in pleural effusion, the chest pain can be eased but a shortness of breath can result, since the lungs need room to expand during breathing. Some cases of pleuritic chest pain are idiopathic, which means that the exact cause cannot be determined.


title: Pleurisy

text: A diagnosis of pleurisy or another pleural condition is based on a medical history, physical examinations, and diagnostic tests. The goals are to rule out other sources of the symptoms and to find the cause of the pleurisy so that the underlying disorder can be treated.


title: Pleurisy

text: A doctor uses a stethoscope to listen to the breathing. This method detects any unusual sounds in the lungs. A person with pleurisy may have inflamed layers of the pleurae that make a rough, scratchy sound as they rub against each other during breathing. This is called pleural friction rub.


title: Pleurisy

text: A chest X-ray takes a picture of the heart and lungs. It may show air or fluid in the pleural space. It also may show the cause (e.g., pneumonia, a fractured rib, or a lung tumor) of the pleurisy.


title: Pleurisy

text: Sometimes an x-ray is taken while lying on the painful side. This may show fluid, as well as changes in fluid position, that did not appear in the vertical x-ray.


title: Pleurisy

text: Blood tests can detect bacterial or viral infections, pneumonia, rheumatic fever, a pulmonary embolism, or lupus.


title: Pleurisy

text: Ultrasonography uses sound waves to create an image. It may show where fluid is located in the chest. It also can show some tumors. Although ultrasound may detect fluid around the lungs, also known as a pleural effusion, sound waves are scattered by air. Therefore, an actual picture of the lungs cannot be obtained with ultrasonography.


title: Pleurisy

text: A CT scan provides a computer-generated picture of the lungs that can show pockets of fluid. It also may show signs of pneumonia, a lung abscess, or a tumor.


title: Pleurisy

text: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), also called nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) scanning, uses powerful magnets to show pleural effusions and tumors.


title: Pleurisy

text: In arterial blood-gas sampling, a small amount of blood is taken from an artery, usually in the wrist. The blood is then checked for oxygen and carbon-dioxide levels. This test shows how well the lungs are taking in oxygen.


title: Pleurisy

text: Once the presence of an excess fluid in the pleural cavity, or pleural effusion, is suspected and location of fluid is confirmed, a sample of fluid can be removed for testing. The procedure to remove fluid in the chest is called a diagnostic thoracentesis. The doctor inserts a small needle or a thin, hollow, plastic tube in the chest wall and withdraws fluid.


title: Pleurisy

text: Thoracentesis can be done in the doctor's office or at the hospital. Ultrasound is used to guide the needle to the fluid that is trapped in small pockets around the lungs.


title: Pleurisy

text: Thoracentesis usually does not cause serious complications. Generally, a chest x-ray is done after the procedure to evaluate the lungs. Possible complications of thoracentesis include the following:


title: Pleurisy

text: The lung fluid is examined under a microscope and is evaluated for the presence of chemicals and for its color and texture. The degree of clarity is an indicator of infection, cancer, or other conditions that may be causing the buildup of fluid or blood in the pleural space.


title: Pleurisy

text: If tuberculosis or cancer is suspected, a small piece of the pleura may be examined under a microscope to make a definitive diagnosis. This is called a biopsy.


title: Pleurisy

text: If large amounts of fluid, air, or blood are not removed from the pleural space, they may cause the lung to collapse.


title: Pleurisy

text: There may be a role for the use of corticosteroids (for tuberculous pleurisy), tacrolimus (Prograf) and methotrexate (Trexall, Rheumatrex) in the treatment of pleurisy. Further studies are needed.


title: Pleurisy

text: The treatment for pleurisy depends on its origin and is prescribed by a physician on a base of an individual assessment. Paracetamol (acetaminophen) and amoxicillin, or other antibiotics in case of bacterial infections, are common remedies dispensed by doctors to relieve the initial symptoms and pain in the chest, while viral infections are self-limited. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), preferably indometacin, are usually employed as pain control agents.


title: Pleurisy

text: A number of alternative or complementary medicines are being investigated for their anti-inflammatory properties, and their use in pleurisy. At this time, clinical trials of these compounds have not been performed.


title: Pleurisy

text: Extracts from the Brazilian folk remedy "Wilbrandia ebracteata" ("Taiuia") have been shown to reduce inflammation in the pleural cavity of mice. The extract is thought to inhibit the same enzyme, cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), as the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.


title: Pleurisy

text: Pleurisy, and other disorders of the pleurae, can be serious, depending on what caused them. Generally, pleurisy treatment has an excellent prognosis, but if left untreated it can cause severe complications. For example, a resulting pulmonary heart disease cor pulmonale, which manifests itself in an inflammation of the arms and legs, can lead to heart failure. If the conditions that caused the pleurisy or other pleural disorders were adequately diagnosed and treated early, one can expect a full recovery. Help of a pulmonologist (respiratory physician in the U.K. and Australia) may be enlisted to deal with the underlying cause, and chart post-illness rehabilitation.


title: Messerschmitt Bf 109

text: The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a German World War II fighter aircraft that was, along with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the backbone of the Luftwaffe's fighter force. The Bf 109 first saw operational service in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War and was still in service at the end of World War II in 1945. It was one of the most advanced fighters when it first appeared, with an all-metal monocoque construction, a closed canopy, and retractable landing gear. It was powered by a liquid-cooled, inverted-V12 aero engine. It was called the Me 109 by Allied aircrew and some German aces, even though this was not the official German designation.


title: Messerschmitt Bf 109

text: It was designed by Willy Messerschmitt and Robert Lusser who worked at Bayerische Flugzeugwerke during the early to mid-1930s. It was conceived as an interceptor, although later models were developed to fulfill multiple tasks, serving as bomber escort, fighter-bomber, day-, night-, all-weather fighter, ground-attack aircraft, and reconnaissance aircraft. It was supplied to several states during World War II and served with several countries for many years after the war. The Bf 109 is the most produced fighter aircraft in history, with a total of 33,984 airframes produced from 1936 to April 1945. Some of the Bf 109 production took place in Nazi concentration camps through slave labor.


title: Messerschmitt Bf 109

text: The Bf 109 was flown by the three top-scoring fighter aces of all time, who claimed 928 victories among them while flying with "Jagdgeschwader" 52, mainly on the Eastern Front. The highest-scoring, Erich Hartmann, was credited with 352 victories. The aircraft was also flown by Hans-Joachim Marseille, the highest-scoring ace in the North African Campaign who shot down 158 enemy aircraft (in about a third of the time). It was also flown by many aces from other countries fighting with Germany, notably the Finn Ilmari Juutilainen, the highest-scoring non-German ace. Pilots from Italy, Romania, Croatia, Bulgaria, and Hungary also flew the Bf 109. Through constant development, the Bf 109 remained competitive with the latest Allied fighter aircraft until the end of the war.


title: Messerschmitt Bf 109

text: During 1933, the "Technisches Amt" (C-Amt), the technical department of the "Reichsluftfahrtministerium" (RLM) ("Reich Aviation Ministry"), concluded a series of research projects into the future of air combat. The result of the studies was four broad outlines for future aircraft:


title: Messerschmitt Bf 109

text: "Rüstungsflugzeug III" was intended to be a short range interceptor, replacing the Arado Ar 64 and Heinkel He 51 biplanes then in service. In late March 1933, the RLM published the tactical requirements for a single-seat fighter in the document L.A. 1432/33.


title: Messerschmitt Bf 109

text: The projected fighter needed to have a top speed of at , to be maintained for 20 minutes, while having a total flight duration of 90 minutes. The critical altitude of 6,000 metres was to be reached in no more than 17 minutes, and the fighter was to have an operational ceiling of . Power was to be provided by the new Junkers Jumo 210 engine of about . It was to be armed with either a single 20 mm MG C/30 engine-mounted cannon firing through the propeller hub as a "Motorkanone", or two synchronized, engine cowl-mounted 7.92 mm (.312 in) MG 17 machine guns, or one lightweight engine-mounted 20 mm MG FF cannon with two 7.92 mm MG 17s. The MG C/30 was an airborne adaption of the 2 cm FlaK 30 anti-aircraft gun, which fired very powerful "Long Solothurn" ammunition, but was very heavy and had a low rate of fire. It was also specified that the wing loading should be kept below 100 kg/m. The performance was to be evaluated based on the fighter's level speed, rate of climb, and maneuverability, in that order.


title: Messerschmitt Bf 109

text: It has been suggested that Bayerische Flugzeugwerke (BFW) was originally not invited to participate in the competition due to personal animosity between Willy Messerschmitt and RLM director Erhard Milch; however, recent research by Willy Radinger and Walter Shick indicates that this may not have been the case, as all three competing companies—Arado, Heinkel and BFW—received the development contract for the L.A. 1432/33 requirements at the same time in February 1934. A fourth company, Focke-Wulf, received a copy of the development contract only in September 1934. The powerplant was to be the new Junkers Jumo 210, but the proviso was made that it would be interchangeable with the more powerful, but less developed Daimler-Benz DB 600 powerplant. Each was asked to deliver three prototypes for head-to-head testing in late 1934.


title: Messerschmitt Bf 109

text: Design work on Messerschmitt Project Number P.1034 began in March 1934, just three weeks after the development contract was awarded. The basic mock-up was completed by May, and a more detailed design mock-up was ready by January 1935. The RLM designated the design as type "Bf 109," the next available from a block of numbers assigned to BFW.


title: Messerschmitt Bf 109

text: The first prototype ("Versuchsflugzeug 1" or V1), with civilian registration D-IABI, was completed by May 1935, but the new German engines were not yet ready. To get the "R III" designs into the air, the RLM acquired four Rolls-Royce Kestrel VI engines by trading Rolls-Royce a Heinkel He 70 "Blitz" for use as an engine test-bed. Messerschmitt received two of these engines and adapted the engine mounts of V1 to take the V-12 engine upright. V1 made its maiden flight at the end of May 1935 at the airfield located in the southernmost Augsburg neighborhood of Haunstetten, piloted by Hans-Dietrich "Bubi" Knoetzsch. After four months of flight testing, the aircraft was delivered in September to the Luftwaffe's central test centre at the "Erprobungsstelle" Rechlin to take part in the design competition.


title: Messerschmitt Bf 109

text: In 1935, the first Jumo engines became available, so V2 was completed in October using the Jumo 210A engine. V3 followed, the first to be mounted with guns, but it did not fly until May 1936 due to a delay in procuring another Jumo 210 engine.


title: Messerschmitt Bf 109

text: After Luftwaffe acceptance trials were completed at their headquarters "Erprobungsstelle" ("E-Stelle") military aviation test and development facility at Rechlin, the prototypes were moved to the subordinate "E-Stelle" Baltic seacoast facility at Travemünde for the head-to-head portion of the competition. The aircraft participating in the trials were the Arado Ar 80 V3, the Focke-Wulf Fw 159 V3, the Heinkel He 112 V4 and the Bf 109 V2. The He 112 arrived first, in early February 1936, followed by the rest of the prototypes by the end of the month.


title: Messerschmitt Bf 109

text: Because most fighter pilots of the Luftwaffe were used to biplanes with open cockpits, low wing loading, light g-forces and easy handling like the Heinkel He 51, they were very critical of the Bf 109 at first. However, it soon became one of the frontrunners in the contest, as the Arado and Focke-Wulf entries, which were intended as "backup" programmes to safeguard against failure of the two favourites, proved to be completely outclassed. The Arado Ar 80, with its gull wing (replaced with a straight, tapered wing on the V3) and fixed, spatted undercarriage was overweight and underpowered, and the design was abandoned after three prototypes had been built. The parasol winged Fw 159, potentially inspired by the same firm's earlier Focke-Wulf Fw 56, was always considered by the "E-Stelle" Travemünde facility's staff to be a compromise between a biplane and an aerodynamically more efficient, low-wing monoplane. Although it had some advanced features, it used a novel, complex retractable main undercarriage which proved to be unreliable.


title: Messerschmitt Bf 109

text: Initially, the Bf 109 was regarded with disfavour by E-Stelle test pilots because of its steep ground angle, which resulted in poor forward visibility when taxiing; the sideways-hinged cockpit canopy, which could not be opened in flight (but could be dropped by the emergency arm). They were also concerned about the high wing loading.


title: Messerschmitt Bf 109

text: The Heinkel He 112, based on a scaled-down "Blitz", was the favourite of the Luftwaffe leaders. Compared with the Bf 109, it was also cheaper. Positive aspects of the He 112 included the wide track and robustness of the undercarriage (this opened outwards from mid wing, as opposed to the 109s which opened from the wing root), considerably better visibility from the cockpit and a lower wing loading that made for easier landings. In addition, the V4 had a single-piece, clear-view, sliding cockpit canopy and a more powerful Jumo 210Da engine with a modified exhaust system. However, the He 112 was also structurally complicated, being 18% heavier than the Bf 109, and it soon became clear that the thick wing, which spanned 12.6 m (41 ft 4 in) with an area of 23.2 m (249.7 ft) on the first prototype (V1), was a disadvantage for a light fighter, decreasing the aircraft's rate of roll and manoeuvrability. As a result, the He 112 V4 which was used for the trials had new wings, spanning 11.5 m (37 ft 8.75 in) with an area of 21.6 m (232.5 ft). However, the improvements had not been fully tested and the He 112 V4 could not be demonstrated in accordance with the rules laid down by the Acceptance Commission, placing it at a distinct disadvantage.


title: Messerschmitt Bf 109

text: Because of its smaller, lighter airframe, the Bf 109 was 30 km/h (20 mph) faster than the He 112 in level flight, and superior in climbing and diving. The Commission ultimately ruled in favour of the Bf 109 because of the Messerschmitt test pilot's demonstration of the 109's capabilities during a series of spins, dives, flick rolls and tight turns, throughout which the pilot was in complete control of the aircraft.


title: Messerschmitt Bf 109

text: In March, the RLM received news that the British Supermarine Spitfire had been ordered into production. It was felt that a quick decision was needed to get the winning design into production as soon as possible, so on 12 March, the RLM announced the results of the competition in a document entitled "Bf 109 Priority Procurement", which ordered the Bf 109 into production. At the same time, Heinkel was instructed to radically redesign the He 112. The Messerschmitt 109 made its public debut during the 1936 Berlin Olympics when the V1 prototype was flown.


title: Messerschmitt Bf 109

text: As with the earlier Bf 108, the new design was based on Messerschmitt's "lightweight construction" principle, which aimed to minimise the number of separate parts in the aircraft. Examples of this could be found in the use of two large, complex brackets which were fitted to the firewall. These brackets incorporated the lower engine mounts and landing gear pivot point into one unit. A large forging attached to the firewall housed the main spar pick-up points and carried most of the wing loads. Contemporary design practice was usually to have these main load-bearing structures mounted on different parts of the airframe, with the loads being distributed through the structure via a series of strong-points. By concentrating the loads in the firewall, the structure of the Bf 109 could be made relatively light and uncomplicated.


title: Messerschmitt Bf 109

text: An advantage of this design was that the main landing gear, which retracted through an 85-degree angle, was attached to the fuselage, making it possible to completely remove the wings for servicing without additional equipment to support the fuselage. It also allowed simplification of the wing structure, since it did not have to bear the loads imposed during takeoff or landing. The one major drawback of this landing gear arrangement was its narrow wheel track, making the aircraft unstable while on the ground. To increase stability, the legs were splayed outward somewhat, creating another problem in that the loads imposed during takeoff and landing were transferred up through the legs at an angle.


title: Messerschmitt Bf 109

text: The small rudder of the Bf 109 was relatively ineffective at controlling the strong swing created by the powerful slipstream of the propeller during the early portion of the takeoff roll, and this sideways drift created disproportionate loads on the wheel opposite to the swing. If the forces imposed were large enough, the pivot point broke and the landing gear leg would collapse outward into its bay. Experienced pilots reported that the swing was easy to control, but some of the less-experienced pilots lost fighters on takeoff.


title: Messerschmitt Bf 109

text: Because of the large ground angle caused by the long legs, forward visibility while on the ground was very poor, a problem exacerbated by the sideways-opening canopy. This meant that pilots had to taxi in a sinuous fashion which also imposed stresses on the splayed undercarriage legs. Ground accidents were a problem with inexperienced pilots, especially during the later stages of the war when pilots received less training before being sent to operational units. At least 10% of all Bf 109s were lost in takeoff and landing accidents, 1,500 of which occurred between 1939 and 1941. The installation of a fixed "tall" tailwheel on some of the late G-10s and −14s and the K-series helped alleviate the problem to a large extent.


title: Messerschmitt Bf 109

text: From the inception of the design, priority was given to easy access to the powerplant, fuselage weapons and other systems while the aircraft was operating from forward airfields. To this end, the entire engine cowling was made up of large, easily removable panels which were secured by large toggle latches. A large panel under the wing centre section could be removed to gain access to the L-shaped main fuel tank, which was sited partly under the cockpit floor and partly behind the rear cockpit bulkhead. Other, smaller panels gave easy access to the cooling system and electrical equipment. The engine was held in two large, forged, "Elektron" magnesium alloy Y-shaped legs, one per side straddling the engine block, which were cantilevered from the firewall. Each of the legs was secured by two quick-release screw fittings on the firewall. All of the main pipe connections were colour-coded and grouped in one place, where possible, and electrical equipment plugged into junction boxes mounted on the firewall. The entire powerplant could be removed or replaced as a unit in a matter of minutes, a potential step to the eventual adoption of the unitized-powerplant "Kraftei" engine mounting concept used by many German combat aircraft designs, later in the war years.


title: Messerschmitt Bf 109

text: Another example of the Bf 109's advanced design was the use of a single, I-beam main spar in the wing, positioned more aft than usual (to give enough room for the retracted wheel), thus forming a stiff D-shaped torsion box. Most aircraft of the era used two spars, near the front and rear edges of the wings, but the D-box was much stiffer torsionally, and eliminated the need for the rear spar. The wing profile was the NACA 2R1 14.2 at the root and NACA 2R1 11.35 at the tip, with a thickness to chord ratio of 14.2% at the root and 11.35% at the tip.


title: Messerschmitt Bf 109

text: Another major difference from competing designs was the higher wing-loading. While the R-IV contract called for a wing-loading of less than 100 kg/m, Messerschmitt felt this was unreasonable. With a low wing-loading and the engines available, a fighter would end up being slower than the bombers it was tasked with catching.


title: Messerschmitt Bf 109

text: A fighter was designed primarily for high-speed flight. A smaller wing area was optimal for achieving high speed, but low-speed flight would suffer, as the smaller wing would require more airflow to generate enough lift to maintain flight. To compensate for this, the Bf 109 included advanced high-lift devices on the wings, including automatically opening leading edge slats, and fairly large camber-changing flaps on the trailing edge. The slats increased the lift of the wing considerably when deployed, greatly improving the horizontal maneuverability of the aircraft, as several Luftwaffe veterans, such as Erwin Leykauf, attest. Messerschmitt also included ailerons that "drooped" when the flaps were lowered (F series and later the lower radiator flap operated as part of the flap system), thereby increasing the effective flap area. When deployed, these devices effectively increased the wings' coefficient of lift.


title: Messerschmitt Bf 109

text: Fighters with liquid-cooled engines were vulnerable to hits in the cooling system. For this reason, on later Bf 109 F, G and K models, the two coolant radiators were equipped with a cut-off system. If one radiator leaked, it was possible to fly on the second or to fly for at least five minutes with both closed. In 1943, Oberfeldwebel Edmund Roßmann got lost and landed behind Soviet lines. He agreed to show the Soviets how to service the plane. Soviet machine gun technician Viktor M. Sinaisky recalled:


title: Messerschmitt Bf 109

text: Reflecting Messerschmitt's belief in low-weight, low-drag, simple monoplanes, the armament was placed in the fuselage. This kept the wings very thin and light. Two synchronized machine guns were mounted in the cowling, firing over the top of the engine and through the propeller arc. An alternative arrangement was also designed, consisting of a single autocannon firing through a blast tube between the cylinder banks of the engine, known as a "Motorkanone" mount in German. This was also the choice of armament layout on some contemporary monoplane fighters, such as the French Dewoitine D.520, or the American Bell P-39 Airacobra, and dated back to World War I's small run of SPAD S.XII "moteur-canon", 37 mm cannon-armed fighters in France.


title: Messerschmitt Bf 109

text: When it was discovered in 1937 that the RAF was planning eight-gun batteries for its new Hawker Hurricane and Supermarine Spitfire fighters, it was decided that the Bf 109 should be more heavily armed. The problem was that the only place available to mount additional guns was in the wings. Only one spot was available in each wing, between the wheel well and slats, with room for only one gun, either a 7.92 mm MG 17 machine gun, or a 20 mm MG FF or MG FF/M cannon.


title: Messerschmitt Bf 109

text: The first version of the Bf 109 to have wing guns was the C-1, which had one MG 17 in each wing. To avoid redesigning the wing to accommodate large ammunition boxes and access hatches, an unusual ammunition feed was devised whereby a continuous belt holding 500 rounds was fed along chutes out to the wing tip, around a roller, and then back along the wing, forward and beneath the gun breech, to the wing root, where it coursed around another roller and back to the weapon.


title: Messerschmitt Bf 109

text: The gun barrel was placed in a long, large-diameter tube located between the spar and the leading edge. The tube channeled cooling air around the barrel and breech, exhausting from a slot at the rear of the wing. The installation was so cramped that parts of the MG 17's breech mechanism extended into an opening created in the flap structure.


title: Messerschmitt Bf 109

text: The much longer and heavier MG FF had to be mounted farther along the wing in an outer bay. A large hole was cut through the spar allowing the cannon to be fitted with the ammunition feed forward of the spar, while the breech block projected rearward through the spar. A 60-round ammunition drum was placed in a space closer to the wing root causing a bulge in the underside. A small hatch was incorporated in the bulge to allow access for changing the drum. The entire weapon could be removed for servicing by removing a leading edge panel.


title: Messerschmitt Bf 109

text: From the 109F-series onwards, guns were no longer carried inside the wings. Instead, the Bf 109F had a 20 mm gun firing through the propeller shaft. The change was disliked by leading fighter pilots such as Adolf Galland and Walter Oesau, but others such as Werner Mölders considered the single nose-mounted gun to compensate well for the loss of the two wing guns. Galland had his Bf 109F-2 field-modified with a 20 mm MG FF/M autocannon, the "/M" suffix indicating the capability of firing thin-walled 20mm mine shells, installed internally in each wing.


title: Messerschmitt Bf 109

text: In place of internal wing armament, additional firepower was provided through a pair of 20 mm MG 151/20 cannons installed in conformal gun pods under the wings. The conformal gun pods, exclusive of ammunition, weighed 135 kg (298 lb); and 135 to 145 rounds were provided per gun. The total weight, including ammunition, was 215 kg. Installation of the under-wing gun pods was a simple task that could be quickly performed by the unit's armourers, and the gun pods imposed a reduction of speed of only . By comparison, the installed weight of a similar armament of two 20 mm MG 151/20 cannon inside the wings of the Fw 190A-4/U8 was 130 kg (287 lb), without ammunition.


title: Messerschmitt Bf 109

text: Although the additional armament increased the fighter's potency as a bomber destroyer, it had an adverse effect on the handling qualities, reducing its performance in fighter-versus-fighter combat and accentuating the tendency of the fighter to swing pendulum-fashion in flight.


title: Messerschmitt Bf 109

text: Some of the projected 109K-series models, such as the K-6, were designed to carry 30 mm (1.18 in) MK 108 cannons in the wings.


title: Messerschmitt Bf 109

text: Originally the aircraft was designated as Bf 109 by the RLM, since the design was submitted by the "Bayerische Flugzeugwerke" (literally "Bavarian Aircraft Works", meaning "Bavarian Aircraft Factory"; sometimes abbreviated B.F.W., akin to BMW) during 1935.


title: Messerschmitt Bf 109

text: The company was renamed Messerschmitt AG after 11 July 1938 when Erhard Milch finally allowed Willy Messerschmitt to acquire the company. All Messerschmitt aircraft that originated after that date, such as the Me 210, were to carry the "Me" designation. Despite regulations by the RLM, wartime documents from Messerschmitt AG, RLM and "Luftwaffe" loss and strength reports continued to use both designations, sometimes even on the same page.


title: Messerschmitt Bf 109

text: All extant airframes bear the official "Bf 109" designation on their identification plates, including the final K-4 models. The aircraft was often referred to by the folk-designation, 'Me 109', particularly by the Allies.


title: Messerschmitt Bf 109

text: The aircraft was often nicknamed "Messer" by its operators and opponents alike; the name was not only an abbreviation of the manufacturer but also the German word for "knife". In Finland, the Bf 109 was known as "Mersu", although this was originally (and still is) the Finnish nickname for Mercedes-Benz cars.


title: Messerschmitt Bf 109

text: Soviet aviators nicknamed the Bf 109 "the skinny one" (худо́й, "khudoy"), for its sleek appearance compared, for example, to the more robust Fw 190.


title: Messerschmitt Bf 109

text: The names "Anton", "Berta", "Caesar", "Dora", "Emil", "Friedrich", "Gustav", and "Kurfürst" were derived from the variant's official letter designation (e.g. Bf 109G – "Gustav"), based on the German spelling alphabet of World War II, a practice that was also used for other German aircraft designs. The G-6 variant was nicknamed by "Luftwaffe" personnel as "Die Beule" ("the bump/bulge") because of the cowling's characteristic, bulging covers for the breeches of the 13 mm (.51 in) MG 131 machine guns, with the separate "Beule" covers eliminated by the time of the G-10 model's introduction of a subtly reshaped upper cowling.


title: Messerschmitt Bf 109

text: In July 1937, not long after the public debut of the new fighter, three Bf 109Bs took part in the Flugmeeting airshow in Zürich under the command of Major Seidemann. They won in several categories: First prize in a speed race over a 202 km course, first prize in the class A category in the international "Alpenrundflug" for military aircraft, and victory in the international "Patrouillenflug" category.


title: Messerschmitt Bf 109

text: On 11 November 1937, the Bf 109 V13, D-IPKY flown by Messerschmitt's chief pilot Dr. Hermann Wurster, powered by a DB 601R racing engine, set a new world air speed record for "landplanes with piston engines" of , winning the title for Germany for the first time. Converted from a Bf 109D, the V13 had been fitted with a special racing DB 601R engine that could deliver for short periods.


title: Messerschmitt Bf 109

text: Heinkel, having had the He 112 rejected in the design competition of 1936, designed and built the He 100. On 6 June 1938, the He 100 V3, flown by Ernst Udet, captured the record with a speed of . On 30 March 1939, test pilot Hans Dieterle surpassed that record, reaching with the He 100 V8. Messerschmitt, however, soon regained the lead when, on 26 April 1939, "Flugkapitän" Fritz Wendel, flying the Me 209 V1, set a new record of . For propaganda purposes, the Me 209 V1 aircraft (possibly from its post-July 1938 first flight date) was given the designation Me 109R, with the later prefix, never used for wartime Bf 109 fighters. The Me 209 V1 was powered by the DB 601ARJ, producing 1,156 kW (1,550 hp), but capable of reaching 1,715 kW (2,300 hp). This world record for a piston-engined aircraft was to stand until 1969, when Darryl Greenamyer's modified Grumman F8F Bearcat, "Conquest I", broke it with a record speed.


title: Messerschmitt Bf 109

text: When the Bf 109 was designed in 1934, by a team led by Willy Messerschmitt and Robert Lusser, its primary role was that of a high-speed, short-range interceptor. It used the most advanced aerodynamics of the time and embodied advanced structural design which was ahead of its contemporaries. In the early years of the war, the Bf 109 was the only single-engined fighter operated by the Luftwaffe, until the appearance of the Fw 190. The Bf 109 remained in production from 1937 through 1945 in many different variants and sub-variants. The primary engines used were the Daimler-Benz DB 601 and DB 605, though the Junkers Jumo 210 powered most of the pre-war variants. The most-produced Bf 109 model was the Bf 109G series (more than a third of all 109s built were the G-6 series, 12,000 units being manufactured from March 1943 until the end of the war). The initial production models of the A, B, C and D series were powered by the relatively low-powered, Junkers Jumo 210 series engines. A few prototypes of these early aircraft were converted to use the more powerful DB 600.


title: Messerschmitt Bf 109

text: The first redesign came with the E series, including the naval variant, the Bf 109T (T standing for "Träger", carrier). The Bf 109E ("Emil") introduced structural changes to accommodate the heavier and more powerful Daimler-Benz DB 601 engine, heavier armament and increased fuel capacity. Partly due to its limited combat radius on internal fuel alone, resulting from its range limit, later variants of the E series had a fuselage ordnance rack for fighter-bomber operations or provision for a long-range, standardized drop-tank and used the DB 601N engine of higher power output. The Bf 109E first saw service with the "Condor Legion" during the last phase of the Spanish Civil War and was the main variant from the beginning of World War II until mid-1941 when the Bf 109F replaced it in the pure fighter role. (Eight Bf 109Es were assembled in Switzerland in 1946 by the Dornier-Werke, using licence-built airframes; a ninth airframe was assembled using spare parts.)


title: Messerschmitt Bf 109

text: The second big redesign during 1939–40 gave birth to the F series. The "Friedrich" had new wings, cooling system and fuselage aerodynamics, with the DB 601N (F-1, F-2) or the DB 601E (F-3, F-4). Considered by many as the high-water mark of Bf 109 development, the F series abandoned the wing cannon and concentrated all armament in the forward fuselage with a pair of synchronized machine guns above and a single 15 or 20 mm "Motorkanone"-mount cannon behind the engine, the latter firing between the cylinder banks and through the propeller hub, itself covered by a more streamlined, half-elliptical shaped spinner that better matched the streamlining of the reshaped cowling, abandoning the smaller, conical spinner of the "Emil" subtype. The F-type also omitted the earlier stabilizer lift strut on either side of the tail. The improved aerodynamics were used by all later variants. Some Bf 109Fs were used late in the Battle of Britain in 1940 but the variant came into common use only in the first half of 1941.


title: Messerschmitt Bf 109

text: The G series, or "Gustav", was introduced in mid-1942. Its initial variants (G-1 through G-4) differed only in minor details from the Bf 109F, most notably in the more powerful DB 605 engine. Odd-numbered variants were built as high-altitude fighters with a pressurized cockpit and GM-1 boost, while even-numbered variants were un-pressurized, air superiority fighters and fighter-bombers. Long-range photo-reconnaissance variants also existed. The later G series (G-5 through G-14) was produced in a multitude of variants, with uprated armament and provision for kits of packaged, generally factory-installed parts known as "Umrüst-Bausätze" (usually contracted to "Umbau") and adding a "/U" suffix to the aircraft designation when installed. Field kits known as "Rüstsätze" were also available for the G-series but those did not change the aircraft title. By early 1944, tactical requirements resulted in the addition of MW-50 water injection boost and high-performance superchargers, boosting engine output to . From early 1944, some G-2s, G-3s, G-4s and G-6s were converted to two-seat trainers, known as G-12s. An instructor's cockpit was added behind the original cockpit and both were covered by an elongated, glazed canopy.


title: Messerschmitt Bf 109

text: The final production version of the Bf 109 was the K series or "Kurfürst", introduced in late 1944, powered by the DB 605D engine with up to . Though externally akin to the late production Bf 109G series, a large number of internal changes and aerodynamic improvements were incorporated that improved its effectiveness and remedied flaws, keeping it competitive with the latest Allied and Soviet fighters. The Bf 109's outstanding rate of climb was superior to many Allied adversaries including the P-51D Mustang, Spitfire Mk. XIV and Hawker Tempest Mk. V.


title: Messerschmitt Bf 109

text: After the war, the 109 was built in Czechoslovakia, as the Avia S-99 and Avia S-199 (with twenty-five S-199s serving with Israel in 1948) and in Spain as the Hispano Aviación Ha 1109 and Ha 1112.


title: Messerschmitt Bf 109

text: Total Bf 109 production was 33,984 units; wartime production (September 1939 to May 1945) was 30,573 units. Fighter production totalled 47% of all German aircraft production, and the Bf 109 accounted for 57% of all German fighter types produced. A total of 2,193 Bf 109 A–E was built prewar, from 1936 to August 1939.


title: Messerschmitt Bf 109

text: In January 1943, as part of an effort to increase fighter production, Messerschmitt licensed an SS-owned company, DEST, to manufacture Bf 109 parts at Flossenbürg concentration camp. Messerschmitt provided skilled technicians, raw materials, and tools and the SS provided prisoners, in a deal that proved highly profitable for both parties. Production at Flossenbürg started in February. The number of prisoners working for Messerschmitt increased greatly after the bombing of Messerschmitt's Regensburg plant on 17 August 1943. Erla, a subcontractor of Messerschmitt, established Flossenbürg subcamps to support its production: a subcamp at Johanngeorgenstadt, established in December 1943, to produce tailplanes for the Bf 109, and another subcamp at Mülsen-St. Micheln which produced Bf 109 wings, in January 1944. The Flossenbürg camp system had become a key supplier of Bf 109 parts by February 1944, when Messerschmitt's Regensburg plant was bombed again during "Big Week". Increased production at Flossenbürg was essential to restoring production in the aftermath of the attacks.


title: Messerschmitt Bf 109

text: The Austrian resistance group, led by Heinrich Maier, very successfully passed on plans and production facilities in the Austrian area for Messerschmitt Bf 109 to the Allies from 1943. With the location of the production sites, the Allied bombers were able to attempt "precise" air strikes.


title: Messerschmitt Bf 109

text: After the August 1943 Regensburg raid, some Bf 109 production was relocated to Gusen concentration camp in Austria, where the average prisoner's life expectancy was six months. In order to make the new production facilities bomb-proof, other prisoners were forced to build tunnels so that production could be relocated underground. Many died while performing this hazardous duty. By mid-1944, more than a third of the production at the Regensburg factory originated in Flossenbürg and Gusen alone; only the final assembly was done in Regensburg. Separately, Erla employed thousands of concentration camp prisoners at Buchenwald on 109 production. Forced labor at Buchenwald produced approximately 300 Bf 109 fuselages, tail sections, and wings before the end of the war.


title: Messerschmitt Bf 109

text: Some 865 Bf 109G derivatives were manufactured postwar under licence as Czechoslovak-built Avia S-99 and S-199s, with the production ending in 1948. Production of the Spanish-built Hispano Aviación HA-1109 and HA-1112 "Buchon"s ended in 1958.


title: Messerschmitt Bf 109

text: The first Bf 109As served in the Spanish Civil War. By September 1939, the Bf 109 had become the main fighter of the Luftwaffe, replacing the biplane fighters, and was instrumental in gaining air superiority for the Wehrmacht during the early stages of the war. During the Battle of Britain, it was pressed into the role of escort fighter, a role for which it was not originally designed, and it was widely employed as a fighter-bomber, as well as a photo-reconnaissance platform. Despite mixed results over Britain, with the introduction of the improved Bf 109F in early 1941, the type again proved to be an effective fighter during the Invasion of Yugoslavia (where it was used by both sides), the Battle of Crete, Operation Barbarossa (the invasion of the USSR) and the Siege of Malta.


title: Messerschmitt Bf 109

text: In 1942, it began to be partially replaced in Western Europe by a new German fighter, the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, but it continued to serve in a multitude of roles on the Eastern Front and in the Defense of the Reich, as well as in the Mediterranean Theatre of Operations and with Erwin Rommel's Afrikakorps. It was also supplied to several of Germany's allies, including Italy, Finland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia and Slovakia.


title: Messerschmitt Bf 109

text: More aerial kills were made with the Bf 109 than any other aircraft of World War II. Many of the aerial victories were accomplished against poorly trained and badly organized Soviet forces in 1941 during Operation Barbarossa. The Soviets lost 21,200 aircraft at this time, about half to combat. If shot down, the Luftwaffe pilots might land or parachute to friendly territory and return to fight again. Later in the war, when Allied victories began to bring the fight closer, and then in German territory, bombing raids supplied plenty of targets for the Luftwaffe. This unique combination of events — until a major change in American fighter tactics occurred very early in 1944, that steadily gave the Allies daylight air supremacy over the Reich — led to the highest-ever individual pilot victory scores. One hundred and five Bf 109 pilots were each credited with the destruction of 100 or more enemy aircraft. Thirteen of these men scored more than 200 kills, while two scored more than 300. Altogether, this group of pilots was credited with a total of nearly 15,000 kills. Though no official "ace" status existed in the Luftwaffe - the term "Experte" (expert) was used for an experienced pilot irrespective of his number of kills - using the Allied definition of pilots who scored five or more kills, more than 2,500 "Luftwaffe" fighter pilots were considered aces in World War II. Against the Soviets, Finnish-flown Bf 109Gs claimed a victory ratio of 25:1.


title: Messerschmitt Bf 109

text: Bf 109s remained in foreign service for many years after World War II. The Swiss used their Bf 109Gs well into the 1950s. The Finnish Air Force did not retire their Bf 109Gs until March 1954. Romania used its Bf 109s until 1955. The Spanish Hispanos flew even longer. Some were still in service in the late 1960s. They appeared in films (notably "Battle of Britain") playing the role of Bf 109Es. Some Hispano airframes were sold to museums, which rebuilt them as Bf 109s.


title: Messerschmitt Bf 109

text: Note, this list includes operators who used Bf 109s for active service or combat. It does not include France, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States, which all operated small numbers of captured aircraft for testing and evaluation ("see: Messerschmitt Bf 109 operational history#Allied Bf 109s").


title: Avant-garde

text: The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or 'vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, , or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society. It is frequently characterized by aesthetic innovation and initial unacceptability.


title: Avant-garde

text: The avant-garde pushes the boundaries of what is accepted as the norm or the "status quo", primarily in the cultural realm. The avant-garde is considered by some to be a hallmark of modernism. Many artists have aligned themselves with the avant-garde movement, and still continue to do so, tracing their history from Dada through the Situationists and to postmodern artists such as the Language poets around 1981.


title: Avant-garde

text: The avant-garde also promotes radical social reforms. This meaning was evoked by the Saint Simonian Olinde Rodrigues in his essay, "L'artiste, le savant et l'industriel" ("The artist, the scientist and the industrialist", 1825). This essay contains the first use of "avant-garde" in its now customary sense; there, Rodrigues called on artists to "serve as [the people's] avant-garde", insisting that "the power of the arts is indeed the most immediate and fastest way" to social, political and economic reform.


title: Avant-garde

text: The term was originally used by the French military to refer to a small reconnaissance group that scouted ahead of the main force. It also became associated with left-wing French radicals in the 19th century who were agitating for political reform. At some point in the middle of that century, the term was linked to art through the idea that art is an instrument for social change. Only toward the end of the century did "l'art d'avant-garde" begin to break away from its identification with left-wing social causes to become more aligned with cultural and artistic issues. This trend toward increased emphasis on aesthetic issues has continued to the present. Avant-garde today generally refers to groups of intellectuals, writers, and artists, including architects, who voice ideas and experiment with artistic approaches that challenge current cultural values. Avant-garde ideas, especially if they embrace social issues, often are gradually assimilated by the societies they confront. The radicals of yesterday become mainstream, creating the environment for a new generation of radicals to emerge. The challenging of social and cultural values was apparent in American culture as it expanded due to the idea of mass culture in the 1960s. The amount of avant-garde art that was developed in the time of this new American culture represented the opposition to the accepted mass culture and mass consumerism.


title: Avant-garde

text: Several writers have attempted to map the parameters of avant-garde activity. Italian essayist Renato Poggioli provides one of the earliest analyses of vanguardism as a cultural phenomenon in his 1962 book, "Teoria dell'arte d'avanguardia" ("The Theory of the Avant-Garde"). Surveying the historical, social, psychological and philosophical aspects of vanguardism, Poggioli reaches beyond individual instances of art, poetry, and music to show that vanguardists may share certain ideals or values, which manifest themselves in the non-conformist lifestyles they adopt. He sees vanguard culture as a variety or subcategory of Bohemianism. Other authors have attempted both to clarify and to extend Poggioli's study. The German literary critic Peter Bürger's "Theory of the Avant-Garde" (1974) looks at the Establishment's embrace of socially critical works of art, and suggests that in complicity with capitalism, "art as an institution neutralizes the political content of the individual work."


title: Avant-garde

text: Raymond Williams devotes two chapters of his book, "The Politics of Modernism"(1989), to a discussion of the politics and language of the avant-garde.


title: Avant-garde

text: Bürger's essay also greatly influenced the work of contemporary American art historians such as the German Benjamin H. D. Buchloh (born 1941). Buchloh, in the collection of essays "Neo-avantgarde and Culture Industry" (2000), critically argues for a dialectical approach to these positions. Subsequent criticism theorized the limitations of these approaches, noting their circumscribed areas of analysis, including Eurocentric, chauvinist, and genre-specific definitions.


title: Avant-garde

text: The concept of avant-garde refers primarily to artists, writers, composers, and thinkers whose work is opposed to mainstream cultural values, and often has a trenchant social or political edge. Many writers, critics, and theorists made assertions about vanguard culture during the formative years of modernism, although the initial definitive statement on the avant-garde was the essay "Avant-Garde and Kitsch", by New York art critic Clement Greenberg. It was published in "Partisan Review" in 1939. Greenberg argued that vanguard culture has historically been opposed to "high" or "mainstream" culture, and that it has also rejected the artificially synthesized mass culture that has been produced by industrialization. Each of these media is a direct product of capitalism—they are all now substantial industries—and as such, they are driven by the same profit-fixated motives of other sectors of manufacturing, not the ideals of true art. For Greenberg, these forms were therefore "kitsch" - phony, faked, or mechanical culture. Such things often pretended to be more than they were by using formal devices stolen from vanguard culture. For instance, during the 1930s, the advertising industry was quick to take visual mannerisms from surrealism, but this does not mean that 1930s advertising photographs are truly surreal.


title: Avant-garde

text: Similar views were argued by members of the Frankfurt School, the originators of Critical Theory, an approach to social philosophy that focuses on reflective assessment and critique of society and culture in order to reveal and challenge power structures. Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer in their essay "The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass-Deception" (1944), and also Walter Benjamin in his highly influential "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction" (1935, rev. 1939) spoke of "mass culture." They indicated that this bogus culture is constantly being manufactured by a newly emerged culture industry (comprising commercial publishing houses, the film industry, the record industry, and the electronic media). They also pointed out that the rise of this industry meant that artistic excellence was displaced by sales figures as a measure of worth: a novel, for example, was judged meritorious solely on whether it became a best-seller; music succumbed to ratings charts, and to the blunt commercial logic of the Gold disc. In this way, the autonomous artistic merit, so dear to the vanguardist, was abandoned and sales increasingly became the measure, and justification, of everything. Consumer culture now ruled.


title: Avant-garde

text: The avant-garde's co-option by the global capitalist market, by neoliberal economies, and by what Guy Debord called "The Society of the Spectacle" (a seminal text for the Situationist movement describing the "autocratic reign of the market economy"), have made contemporary critics speculate on the possibility of a meaningful avant-garde today. Paul Mann's "Theory-Death of the Avant-Garde" demonstrates how completely the avant-garde is embedded within institutional structures today, a thought also pursued by Richard Schechner in his analyses of avant-garde performance.


title: Avant-garde

text: Despite the central arguments of Greenberg, Adorno, and others, various sectors of the mainstream culture industry have co-opted and misapplied the term "avant-garde" since the 1960s, chiefly as a marketing tool to publicise popular music and commercial cinema. It has become common to describe successful rock musicians and celebrated film-makers as "avant-garde", the very word having been stripped of its proper meaning. Noting this important conceptual shift, major contemporary theorists such as Matei Calinescu in "Five Faces of Modernity: Modernism, Avant-garde, Decadence, Kitsch, Postmodernism" (1987), and Hans Bertens in "The Idea of the Postmodern: A History" (1995), have suggested that this is a sign our culture has entered a new post-modern age, when the former modernist ways of thinking and behaving have been rendered redundant.


title: Avant-garde

text: Nevertheless, an incisive critique of vanguardism as against the views of mainstream society was offered by the New York critic Harold Rosenberg in the late 1960s. Trying to strike a balance between the insights of Renato Poggioli and the claims of Clement Greenberg, Rosenberg suggested that, from the mid-1960s onward, progressive culture ceased to fulfill its former adversarial role. Since then it has been flanked by what he called "avant-garde ghosts to the one side, and a changing mass culture on the other", both of which it interacts with to varying degrees. This has seen culture become, in his words, "a profession one of whose aspects is the pretense of overthrowing it."


title: Avant-garde

text: Avant-garde is frequently defined in contrast to "arrière-garde", which in its original military sense refers to a rearguard force that protects the advance-guard. The term was less frequently used than "avant-garde" in 20th-century art criticism. The art historians Natalie Adamson and Toby Norris argue that "arrière-garde" is not reducible to a kitsch style or reactionary orientation, but can instead be used to refer to artists who engage with the legacy of the avant-garde while maintaining an awareness that doing so is in some sense anachronistic. The critic Charles Altieri argues that avant-garde and arrière-garde are interdependent: "where there is an avant-garde, there must be an "arrière-garde"."


title: Avant-garde

text: Avant-garde in music can refer to any form of music working within traditional structures while seeking to breach boundaries in some manner. The term is used loosely to describe the work of any musicians who radically depart from tradition altogether. By this definition, some avant-garde composers of the 20th century include Arnold Schoenberg, Richard Strauss (in his earliest work), Charles Ives, Igor Stravinsky, Anton Webern, Edgard Varèse, Alban Berg, George Antheil (in his earliest works only), Henry Cowell (in his earliest works), Harry Partch, John Cage, Iannis Xenakis, Morton Feldman, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Pauline Oliveros, Philip Glass, Meredith Monk, Laurie Anderson, and Diamanda Galás.


title: Avant-garde

text: There is another definition of "Avant-gardism" that distinguishes it from "modernism": Peter Bürger, for example, says avant-gardism rejects the "institution of art" and challenges social and artistic values, and so necessarily involves political, social, and cultural factors. According to the composer and musicologist Larry Sitsky, modernist composers from the early 20th century who do not qualify as avant-gardists include Arnold Schoenberg, Anton Webern, and Igor Stravinsky; later modernist composers who do not fall into the category of avant-gardists include Elliott Carter, Milton Babbitt, György Ligeti, Witold Lutosławski, and Luciano Berio, since "their modernism was not conceived for the purpose of goading an audience."


title: Avant-garde

text: The 1960s saw a wave of free and avant-garde music in jazz genre, embodied by artists such as Ornette Coleman, Sun Ra, Albert Ayler, Archie Shepp, John Coltrane and Miles Davis. In the rock music of the 1970s, the "art" descriptor was generally understood to mean "aggressively avant-garde" or "pretentiously progressive". Post-punk artists from the late 1970s rejected traditional rock sensibilities in favor of an avant-garde aesthetic.


title: Avant-garde

text: Whereas the avant-garde has a significant history in 20th-century music, it is more pronounced in theatre and performance art, and often in conjunction with music and sound design innovations, as well as developments in visual media design. There are movements in theatre history that are characterized by their contributions to the avant-garde traditions in both the United States and Europe. Among these are Fluxus, Happenings, and Neo-Dada.


title: Brendan Schaub

text: Brendan Peter Schaub (born March 18, 1983) is an American podcast host, former professional mixed martial artist, and stand-up comedian. He is the host of "The Fighter and the Kid" podcast, the "Below the Belt with Brendan Schaub" podcast, and co-host of the "Golden Hour" podcast, along with fellow comedians Chris D'Elia and Erik Griffin. After signing with Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in 2009 to compete on "The Ultimate Fighter", he fought for the company until 2014. He officially retired from mixed martial arts (MMA) in 2015. Since 2015, Schaub has been performing stand-up comedy, initially as a duo act with comedian Bryan Callen, but more recently as a solo comedian. Schaub released his debut comedy special titled "You'd Be Surprised" in 2019 followed by his second special,"The Gringo Papi" in 2022, which are known for being the two worst-rated comedy specials on IMDb


title: Brendan Schaub

text: Schaub was born and raised in Aurora, Colorado, to an English mother Debra and an American father Peter Schaub. He is of German, Italian, and English descent. His father is a second-degree black belt in taekwondo. While at Overland High School, Schaub lettered two years varsity lacrosse and one year varsity American football. He received no college athletic scholarship offers but he tried out for both the football team and lacrosse team at Whittier College and was accepted to both. Prior to his junior year, he transferred to the University of Colorado to play football full-time where he redshirted his first season. Following college, Schaub went undrafted in the 2006 NFL Draft but would be signed with the Arena Football League's Utah Blaze, before being released in November 2006 without making the roster. He was once more signed to the Blaze in February 2007 but waived two days later. Schaub then retired from the sport in 2007.


title: Brendan Schaub

text: After retiring from football, Schaub returned to Colorado where he began training in boxing and Brazilian jiu-jitsu. After only six months of training in boxing, Schaub competed in amateur boxing and won the Colorado novice-division Golden Gloves heavyweight title. Schaub later began training at High Altitude Martial Arts located in Aurora and the Grudge Training Center in Arvada, where he met UFC heavyweight contender Shane Carwin. The two became friends as well as training partners. After this, he began his professional career in mixed martial arts (MMA), mainly competing in Colorado. Schaub started his career with a 4–0 record and won the heavyweight title for the Ring of Fire organization.


title: Brendan Schaub

text: In 2009, Schaub signed with Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) to compete on the tenth season of "The Ultimate Fighter". Schaub was the number two pick for coach Rashad. In his first fight on the show, he faced Demico Rogers, defeating him via first round submission with an anaconda choke to move onto the quarter-finals.


title: Brendan Schaub

text: Schaub made his official UFC debut when he faced Roy Nelson at "". Schaub lost via KO (punch) in the first round.


title: Brendan Schaub

text: Schaub next fought Chris Tuchscherer at UFC 116. Schaub won the bout via TKO (punches) in the first round.


title: Brendan Schaub

text: Schaub would then face Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC 121. Schaub won via unanimous decision (30–27, 30–27, and 30–27).


title: Brendan Schaub

text: Schaub and Frank Mir were tentatively booked for a contest at UFC 128 on March 19, 2011. However, Schaub instead faced Mirko Cro Cop at the event. Schaub won the contest via third-round KO (punch) and was awarded the "Knockout of the Night" bonus.


title: Brendan Schaub

text: On August 27, 2011, at UFC 134, Schaub lost to Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira via KO (punches) in the first round.


title: Brendan Schaub

text: He lost his second straight fight, also via KO (punches) to Ben Rothwell on April 21, 2012, at UFC 145.


title: Brendan Schaub

text: Schaub was expected to face Lavar Johnson on December 8, 2012, at UFC on Fox 5. However, Johnson was forced out of the bout with a groin injury and Schaub was pulled from the card as well. Schaub fought Johnson on February 23, 2013, at UFC 157. Schaub won via unanimous decision (30–27, 30–27, and 30–27). After, it was announced Johnson tested positive for elevated testosterone in a post-fight drug test.


title: Brendan Schaub

text: Schaub was expected to face Matt Mitrione on July 27, 2013, at UFC on Fox 8. However, in mid-July, Mitrione pulled out of the bout citing an injury and Schaub was pulled from the event as well. The bout eventually took place on September 21, 2013, at UFC 165. Schaub defeated Mitrione in the first round via D'Arce choke.


title: Brendan Schaub

text: Schaub fought returning former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski at UFC 174 on June 14, 2014, with Arlovski winning via split decision.


title: Brendan Schaub

text: Days after the fight, Schaub's friend and UFC commentator Joe Rogan had a joint podcast with Schaub and Bryan Callen where Rogan and Callen advised Schaub to retire from MMA and pursue a career in comedy.


title: Brendan Schaub

text: On October 10, 2015, Schaub was a guest on "The Joe Rogan Experience" podcast and announced his retirement from MMA.


title: Brendan Schaub

text: Despite having retired from MMA for quite some time, Schaub continued training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. On May 29, 2021, was promoted to the rank of black belt in the sport.


title: Brendan Schaub

text: In 2013, Schaub and Bryan Callen started their podcast titled The Fighter and the Kid. The shows were produced by FOX network until a contract dispute in 2016. They then left the network and began producing the podcast themselves. Schaub and Callen also began touring to perform shows that were a mix between a live podcast and duo stand-up comedy act.


title: Brendan Schaub

text: In December 2016, Schaub launched a solo podcast, titled "Big Brown Breakdown." The podcast focuses on topics related to combat sports, mainly mixed martial arts.


title: Brendan Schaub

text: On the January 30 episode of Big Brown Breakdown, Schaub generated controversy when he suggested that the UFC On Fox panel of presenters had been selected based on race for the sake of diversity. "Sometimes you look at UFC Tonight and you're like, 'Alright, is that the best panel possible? Or are you just trying to check off the boxes?'" Schaub questioned. "We get it, UFC Tonight FOX, you're not racist. We get it, you have an all-black panel. We get it. Woah, we get it. We get it, man."


title: Brendan Schaub

text: In February 2018, Schaub partnered with Showtime to rebrand his solo podcast to the name "BELOW THE BELT with Brendan Schaub". They also released a web show of the same name where Schaub would serve as the host.


title: Brendan Schaub

text: On December 21, 2018, Schaub and Theo Von announced the creation of a new podcast titled ""King and the Sting"". On January 13, 2022, Schaub and Von added Chris D'Elia to the podcast, renaming it to ""King and the Sting and Wing"".


title: Brendan Schaub

text: On November 4, 2022, ""King and the Sting and Wing"" was officially renamed ""The Golden Hour"", with Erik Griffin Replacing Theo Von.


title: Brendan Schaub

text: After retiring from mixed martial arts in 2014, Schaub began pursuing a stand-up comedy career. At first, he toured and performed with Bryan Callen until August 10, 2016, when he debuted as a solo comedian at The Comedy Store in Los Angeles, California. In January 2019 Brendan Schaub filmed his first ever Showtime comedy special titled, "You'd Be Surprised", which debuted on May 18, 2019. Schaub released his second comedy special available through streaming on YouTube titled "The Gringo Papi" on April 28, 2022. Both specials are notorious for being the two worst-rated comedy specials on IMDb


title: Brendan Schaub

text: In 2016, Schaub and Callen released a sketch comedy series on iTunes titled "The Fighter and the Kid 3D".


title: Brendan Schaub

text: In 2017, Schaub was brought on by Showtime for commentary and analysis surrounding the Mayweather/McGregor boxing match alongside Mauro Ranallo, Paulie Malignaggi, and Brian Custer


title: Brendan Schaub

text: In 2018, Schaub began working for E! Entertainment news co-hosting the after-shows of the Golden Globes, Academy Awards, Emmy Awards, People's Choice Awards, and Grammy Awards. Also in 2018, Schaub began serving as a panelist for the television show "Bravo's Play-By-Play" on Bravo network. Schaub made his second feature film appearance in the 2020 David Ayer movie "The Tax Collector".


title: Brendan Schaub

text: During his fighting career Schaub had sponsors. Notably Big Rentals Construction Company, KeepItPlayful.com, the Reign Training Center, Box N Burn Gym, Soul Electronics, Alchemist Management.


title: Brendan Schaub

text: Schaub is engaged to long-time girlfriend Joanna Zanella and they have two sons, born in 2016 and 2019. He has one brother named Jay. Schaub previously had a brief relationship with Ronda Rousey. He supports sports teams of Denver, Colorado, and Los Angeles, California, as well as the Cleveland Browns. Schaub is an avid fan of fashion and automobiles. According to Schaub, after getting a broken nose in his fight with Mirko Cro Cop, he was prescribed oxycontin for recovery and spent months addicted to them. In May 2021, Schaub was promoted to black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu after 14 years of training.


title: Busy Philipps

text: Elizabeth Jean "Busy" Philipps (born June 25, 1979) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles on the television series "Freaks and Geeks" (1999–2000), "Dawson's Creek" (2001–2003), "Love, Inc." (2005–2006) and "ER" (2006–2007), for her abortion access advocacy, and for her portrayal of Laurie Keller on the ABC series "Cougar Town" (2009–2015), for which she received the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. She has also appeared in supporting roles in numerous films, such as "The Smokers" (2000), "Home Room" (2002), "White Chicks" (2004), "Made of Honor" (2008), "He's Just Not That Into You" (2009), "The Gift" (2015), and "I Feel Pretty" (2018). From 2018 to 2019, Philipps hosted her own television talk show "Busy Tonight", on E!. She currently stars in the Peacock original series "Girls5eva".


title: Busy Philipps

text: Philipps was born in Oak Park, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. She received the nickname "Busy" as a child; sources conflict on whether the nickname came from her parents or a babysitter named Susie. Busy stated on her late-night talk show, "Busy Tonight," that her mother gave her the nickname, but stated during her book tour that her babysitter gave her the nickname. This was clarified on an episode of "Comedy Bang! Bang!" when she confirmed to host Scott Aukerman that it was her babysitter, in his quest to achieve Wikipedia clout.


title: Busy Philipps

text: She attended Loyola Marymount University at the same time as "Freaks and Geeks" costar Linda Cardellini and Colin Hanks; she dated Hanks for several years after they left school.


title: Busy Philipps

text: While still in high school, Philipps worked at toy trade fairs as a real-life Barbie ("Cool Teen Skipper"). Among the people who saw her at a toy convention was actress Sharon Stone, who was impressed with Philipps's performance and told Philipps that she would be a star.


title: Busy Philipps

text: Her first major role was Kim Kelly in the 1999–2000 comedy-drama TV series "Freaks and Geeks"; Philipps appeared in all but one of the show's 18 episodes (the exception being the episode "Chokin' & Tokin'"). She made her film debut in the comedy "The Smokers" in 2000, and had various small appearances on television.


title: Busy Philipps

text: In 2001, Philipps was cast as Audrey Liddell in the teen drama "Dawson's Creek". She was a series regular in seasons 5 and 6, appearing in 46 episodes, before the show finished in 2003. Her portrayal of Audrey earned Philipps a Teen Choice Awards nomination in the category of "TV - Choice Sidekick".


title: Busy Philipps

text: Philipps appeared in several films, including "Home Room" (2002) and "White Chicks" (2004). She was cast in the UPN sitcom "Love, Inc.", in a role originally intended for Shannen Doherty. The show lasted for one season (2005–2006). In 2006, she had a major recurring role as Hope Bobeck on "ER", alongside her "Freaks and Geeks" co-star Linda Cardellini. During her second year on "ER", her character was written out as heading to South America to "fulfill her Christian mission".


title: Busy Philipps

text: Philipps had a co-credit for the storyline of the 2007 comedy film "Blades of Glory". A year later, Philipps appeared in a supporting role in "Made of Honor".


title: Busy Philipps

text: Philipps made appearances in "He's Just Not That Into You" as the character of Kelli Ann and on an episode of "How I Met Your Mother".


title: Busy Philipps

text: From 2009 to 2015, Philipps portrayed Laurie Keller in the television series "Cougar Town". She routinely contributed to the "Thrilling Adventure Hour", a live stage radio show. Her primary recurring character is the Red Plains Rider.


title: Busy Philipps

text: On a 2010 appearance on "Chelsea Lately", Philipps commented that she auditioned for the hit television show "Glee" just one week after giving birth, following a pregnancy during which she gained 80 pounds.


title: Busy Philipps

text: In 2017, Philipps signed on as co-lead opposite Casey Wilson in Tina Fey's comedy pilot, "The Sackett Sisters", for NBC, but the series was not picked up.


title: Busy Philipps

text: In 2018 and 2019, Philipps played the role of Sheba Goodman in season 4 of Netflix’s "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt".


title: Busy Philipps

text: Philipps had a late-night talk show called "Busy Tonight", which aired on E! from October 28, 2018, to May 16, 2019. It was cancelled the same day Philipps was nominated for a 2019 Critics Choice Award. In August 2020 she began hosting a podcast, "Busy Philipps is Doing Her Best", along with former "Busy Tonight" writers Caissie St. Onge and Shantira Jackson.


title: Busy Philipps

text: Philipps's memoir, "This Will Only Hurt a Little", was released October 18, 2018. Her memoir includes a passage in which the actress describes a physical altercation that took place between James Franco and herself while on the set of "Freaks and Geeks". Philips said she was "bummed" by the amount of attention drawn to just this incident in the book, saying the story was not new, and that she meant for it "to illustrate a larger point about the way women are treated in this business and in life."


title: Busy Philipps

text: After the Alabama Legislature's May 14, 2019, passage of House Bill 314 (also known as the "Human Life Protection Act"), Philipps advocated that women speak out if they had abortions. On May 14, she invoked the hashtag, #YouKnowMe (established on February 18) to her 370,000 followers on Twitter, with her call for testimonies:


title: Busy Philipps

text: 1 in 4 women have had an abortion. Many people think they don't know someone who has, but #youknowme. So let's do this: if you are also the 1 in 4, let's share it and start to end the shame. Use #youknowme and share your truth.