title: Micronesia

text: By the time Western contact occurred, although Palau did not have dogs, they did have fowls and possibly pigs. Pigs are not native to Micronesia. Fruit bats are native to Palau, but other mammals are rare. Reptiles are numerous and both mollusks and fish are an important food source. The people of Palau, the Marianas and Yap often chew betel nuts seasoned with lime and pepper leaf. Western Micronesia was unaware of the ceremonial drink, which was called "saka" on Kosrae and "sakau" on Pohnpei.


title: Micronesia

text: The book "Prehistoric Architecture in Micronesia" argues that the most prolific pre-colonial Micronesian architecture is: "Palau's monumental sculpted hills, megalithic stone carvings and elaborately decorated structure of wood placed on piers above elevated stone platforms". The archeological traditions of the Yapese people remained relatively unchanged even after the first European contact with the region during Magellan's 1520s circumnavigation of the globe.


title: Micronesia

text: Micronesia's artistic tradition has developed from the Lapita culture. Among the most prominent works of the region is the megalithic floating city of Nan Madol. The city began in 1200 CE and was still being built when European explorers begin to arrive around 1600. The city, however, had declined by around 1800 along with the Saudeleur dynasty and was completely abandoned by the 1820s. During the 19th century, the region was divided between the colonial powers, but art continued to thrive. Wood-carving, particularly by men, flourished in the region, resulted in richly decorated ceremonial houses in Belau, stylized bowls, canoe ornaments, ceremonial vessels and sometimes sculptured figures. Women created textiles and ornaments such as bracelets and headbands. Stylistically, traditional Micronesian art is streamlined and of a practical simplicity to its function, but is typically finished to a high standard of quality.


title: Micronesia

text: The first half of the 20th century saw a downturn in Micronesia's cultural integrity and a strong foreign influence from both western and Japanese Imperialist powers. A number of historical artistic traditions, especially sculpture, ceased to be practiced, although other art forms continued, including traditional architecture and weaving. Independence from colonial powers in the second half of the century resulted in a renewed interest in, and respect for, traditional arts. A notable movement of contemporary art also appeared in Micronesia towards the end of the 20th century.


title: Micronesia

text: The cuisine of the Mariana Islands is tropical in nature, including such dishes as Kelaguen as well as many others.


title: Micronesia

text: Marshallese cuisine comprises the fare and foodways of the Marshall Islands, and includes local foods such as breadfruit, taro root, pandanus and seafood, among others.


title: Micronesia

text: Palauan cuisine includes local foods such as cassava, taro, yam, potato, fish and pork. Western cuisine is favored among young Palauans.


title: Micronesia

text: The educational systems in the nations of Micronesia vary depending on the country and there are several higher-level educational institutions.


title: Micronesia

text: The CariPac consists of institutions of higher education in Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands and Palau. The Agricultural Development in the American Pacific is a partnership of the University of Hawaii, American Samoa Community College, College of Micronesia, Northern Marianas College and the University of Guam.


title: Micronesia

text: In the Federated States of Micronesia, education is required for citizens aged 6 to 13, and is important to their economy. The literacy rate for citizens aged 15 to 24 is 98.8%. The College of Micronesia-FSM has a campus in each of the four states with its national campus in the capital city of Palikir, Pohnpei. The COM-FSM system also includes the Fisheries and Maritime Institute (FMI) on the Yap islands.


title: Micronesia

text: The public education in Guam is organized by the Guam Department of Education. Guam also has several educational institutions, such as University of Guam, Pacific Islands University and Guam Community College, There is also the Guam Public Library System and the Umatac Outdoor Library.


title: Micronesia

text: Weriyeng is one of the last two schools of traditional navigation found in the central Caroline Islands in Micronesia, the other being Fanur.


title: Micronesia

text: The Northern Marianas College is a two-year community college located in the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI).


title: Micronesia

text: "Understanding Law in Micronesia" notes that The Federated States of Micronesia's laws and legal institutions are "uninterestingly similar to [those of Western countries]". However, it explains that "law in Micronesia is an extraordinary flux and flow of contrasting thought and meaning, inside and outside the legal system". It says that a knee-jerk reaction would be that law is disarrayed in the region and that improvement is required, but argues that the failure is "one endemic to the nature of law or to the ideological views we hold about law".


title: Micronesia

text: The Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, a United Nations Trusteeship administered by the United States, borrowed heavily from United States law in establishing the Trust Territory Code during the Law and Development movement of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Many of those provisions were adopted by the new Congress of the Federated States of Micronesia when the Federated States of Micronesia became self-governing in 1979.


title: Micronesia

text: Micronesian music is influential to those living in the Micronesian islands. Some of the music is based around mythology and ancient Micronesian rituals. It covers a range of styles from traditional songs, handed down through generations, to contemporary music.


title: Micronesia

text: Traditional beliefs suggest that the music can be presented to people in dreams and trances, rather than being written by composers themselves. Micronesian folk music is, like Polynesian music, primarily vocal-based.


title: Micronesia

text: In the Marshall Islands, the "roro" is a kind of traditional chant, usually about ancient legends and performed to give guidance during navigation and strength for mothers in labour. Modern bands have blended the unique songs of each island in the country with modern music. Though drums are not generally common in Micronesian music, one-sided hourglass-shaped drums are a major part of Marshallese music. There is a traditional Marshallese dance called beet, which is influenced by Spanish folk dances; in it, men and women side-step in parallel lines. There is a kind of stick dance performed by the Jobwa, nowadays only for very special occasions.


title: Micronesia

text: Popular music, both from Micronesia and from other areas of the world, is played on radio stations in Micronesia.


title: Micronesia

text: The region is home to the Micronesian Games. This quadrennial international multi-sport event involves all of Micronesia's countries and territories except Wake Island.


title: Micronesia

text: Nauru has two national sports, weightlifting and Australian rules football. According to 2007 Australian Football League International Census figures, there are around 180 players in the Nauru senior competition and 500 players in the junior competition, representing an participation rate of over 30% overall for the country.


title: Micronesia

text: The predominant religion in Micronesia is Christianity (93%). Micronesian mythology comprises the traditional belief systems of the people of Micronesia. There is no single belief system in the islands of Micronesia, as each island region has its own mythological beings.


title: Micronesia

text: There are several significant figures and myths in the Federated States of Micronesia, Nauruan and Kiribati traditions.


title: Jeffrey Donovan

text: Jeffrey Donovan (born May 11, 1968) is an American actor. He played Michael Westen in the television series "Burn Notice", and appeared in films such as "Hitch", "Believe in Me", "Changeling", and "Come Early Morning". He played Robert F. Kennedy in Clint Eastwood's "J. Edgar" (2011) and his brother John F. Kennedy in Rob Reiner's "LBJ" (2016). He had a recurring role in the second season of the TV series "Fargo" (2015). In 2022, he starred as NYPD Detective Frank Cosgrove on the NBC crime drama "Law & Order".


title: Jeffrey Donovan

text: Donovan was born the middle of three boys to Nancy Matthews (1946–2010); his older brother was Michael Donovan ( 1965 – 2010) and his younger brother is Sean (born 1970). Donovan’s mother raised her sons alone on welfare after their father abandoned the family. They moved several times before settling in Amesbury, Massachusetts.


title: Jeffrey Donovan

text: At Amesbury High School, Donovan was mentored by a teacher who helped him start a drama club and find a private scholarship, enabling him to participate in a summer program that helped him start his acting career. He attended Bridgewater State College before transferring to the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in drama.


title: Jeffrey Donovan

text: While attending college, Donovan was a commercial bus driver at UMass Transit Service, where he operated passenger buses as part of the PVTA. He went on to earn his Master of Fine Arts from New York University's Graduate Acting Program at the Tisch School of the Arts.


title: Jeffrey Donovan

text: Donovan has guest-starred in several television shows, including "", "Spin City", "Monk", "Millennium", "Witchblade", "The Pretender", "" and "Law & Order". In the short-lived TV series "Threshold", Donovan played the antihero Dr. Sloan. Donovan also played the recurring role of William Ivers in "Crossing Jordan". In 2004, he had his first leading role in the American remake of the British television series "Touching Evil" with Vera Farmiga on the USA Network.


title: Jeffrey Donovan

text: From 2007 to 2013, Donovan starred in "Burn Notice", as Michael Westen, a spy who was burned, seemingly by the CIA or Homeland Security, for reasons unknown to him, and marooned in Miami, Florida. The show follows Westen as he attempts to find out why he was burned and regain his job as a covert intelligence agent, in addition to bringing justice to the people of Miami. Donovan made his directorial debut with the series' episode, "Made Man" which first aired on June 17, 2010. Donovan also directed a prequel film starring co-star Bruce Campbell, titled "", which first aired on USA Network on April 17, 2011. The series lasted for seven seasons, received positive reviews from both fans and critics, and was nominated for four Primetime Emmy Awards.


title: Jeffrey Donovan

text: In 2015, Donovan had a recurring role on "Fargo" as North Dakota mobster Dodd Gerhardt. In 2016, he began starring as Tarot-reading con artist Charlie Haverford in "Shut Eye" on Hulu. On January 30, 2018, "Shut Eye" was canceled after two seasons.


title: Jeffrey Donovan

text: Donovan has also performed on stage in various productions, including "Hamlet" as the title character, "A View from the Bridge" as Marco, "An Inspector Calls," and Off-Broadway in "Things You Shouldn't Say Past Midnight" as Gene, "The Glory of Living" as Clint, regionally in "Toys in the Attic" as Julian Berniers, "On the Waterfront" as Terry Malloy, "Oedipus" as Teiresias and "Freedomland (play)" as Seth. From October 2008 until spring 2009, he starred in the farce "Don't Dress for Dinner" in Chicago. Donovan has also performed in the radio dramas "On the Waterfront" (once again as Terry Malloy), "Frozen", and "Grapes of Wrath".


title: Jeffrey Donovan

text: Donovan has over 20 years of martial arts experience. In college, he earned his black belt in Shotokan karate and competed throughout the state. Later, he studied aikido for over six years and Brazilian jiu-jitsu.


title: Jeffrey Donovan

text: On July 3, 2009, Donovan, a Boston Red Sox baseball fan since childhood, threw the ceremonial first pitch at the game between the Red Sox and the Seattle Mariners at Fenway Park. On July 3, 2010, he once again threw the ceremonial first pitch at Fenway Park, this time at a game between the Red Sox and the Baltimore Orioles.


title: Jeffrey Donovan

text: Donovan married model and actress Michelle Woods in 2012. Their daughter, Claire, was born that same year. Son Lucas was born in 2014 and they had a third child in 2017.


title: Jeffrey Donovan

text: In 2009, Donovan returned to Amesbury High School where he took part in a career day mentorship program with other successful professionals and presented the school with a $100,000 arts scholarship program. The first $10,000 award was given out to a senior that June.


title: Jeffrey Donovan

text: For many years, Donovan has actively supported Life Rolls On (LRO), a foundation empowering people with spinal cord injuries. On October 4, 2009 he served as one of the chairmen for the 6th Annual LRO annual fundraiser called Night by the Ocean at the Kodak Theatre. Donovan was named Grand Marshal of the 22nd annual AIDS Walk Miami held on April 17, 2010.


title: Jeffrey Donovan

text: Donovan also supports his friends' charity events. In September 2009, while helping Michael Bolton at the 17th Annual Benefit Concert for Women and Children at Risk in Stamford, Connecticut, Donovan auctioned off a ""Burn Notice" walk-on-part" plus a kiss. Walk on parts usually raise $2,000–$5,000. With the added kiss, he raised $36,000.


title: Nicotine

text: Nicotine is a naturally produced alkaloid in the nightshade family of plants (most predominantly in tobacco and "Duboisia hopwoodii") and is widely used recreationally as a stimulant and anxiolytic. As a pharmaceutical drug, it is used for smoking cessation to relieve withdrawal symptoms. Nicotine acts as a receptor agonist at most nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs), except at two nicotinic receptor subunits (nAChRα9 and nAChRα10) where it acts as a receptor antagonist.


title: Nicotine

text: Nicotine constitutes approximately 0.6–3.0% of the dry weight of tobacco. Nicotine is also present at ppb-concentrations in edible plants in the family Solanaceae, including potatoes, tomatoes, and eggplants, though sources disagree on whether this has any biological significance to human consumers. It functions as an antiherbivore toxin; consequently, nicotine was widely used as an insecticide in the past, and neonicotinoids (structurally similar to nicotine), such as imidacloprid, are some of the most effective and widely used insecticides.


title: Nicotine

text: Nicotine is highly addictive. Slow-release forms (gums and patches, when used correctly) are less addictive and aid in quitting. Animal research suggests that monoamine oxidase inhibitors present in tobacco smoke may enhance nicotine's addictive properties. An average cigarette yields about 2 mg of absorbed nicotine.


title: Nicotine

text: The estimated lower dose limit for fatal outcomes is 500–1,000 mg of ingested nicotine for an adult (6.5–13 mg/kg). Nicotine addiction involves drug-reinforced behavior, compulsive use, and relapse following abstinence. Nicotine dependence involves tolerance, sensitization, physical dependence, psychological dependence, and can cause distress. Nicotine withdrawal symptoms include depressed mood, stress, anxiety, irritability, difficulty concentrating, and sleep disturbances. Mild nicotine withdrawal symptoms are measurable in unrestricted smokers, who experience normal moods only as their blood nicotine levels peak, with each cigarette. On quitting, withdrawal symptoms worsen sharply, then gradually improve to a normal state.


title: Nicotine

text: Nicotine use as a tool for quitting smoking has a good safety history. Animal studies suggest that nicotine may adversely affect cognitive development in adolescence, but the relevance of these findings to human brain development is disputed. At low amounts, it has a mild analgesic effect. According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer, "nicotine is not generally considered to be a carcinogen."


title: Nicotine

text: The Surgeon General of the United States indicates that evidence is inadequate to infer the presence or absence of a causal relationship between exposure to nicotine and risk for cancer. Nicotine has been shown to produce birth defects in humans and is considered a teratogen. The median lethal dose of nicotine in humans is unknown. High doses are known to cause nicotine poisoning, organ failure, and death through paralysis of respiratory muscles, though serious or fatal overdoses are rare.


title: Nicotine

text: The primary therapeutic use of nicotine is treating nicotine dependence to eliminate smoking and the damage it does to health. Controlled levels of nicotine are given to patients through gums, dermal patches, lozenges, inhalers, or nasal sprays to wean them off their dependence. A 2018 Cochrane Collaboration review found high-quality evidence that all current forms of nicotine replacement therapy (gum, patch, lozenges, inhaler, and nasal spray) therapies increase the chances of successfully quitting smoking by , regardless of setting.


title: Nicotine

text: Combining nicotine patch use with a faster acting nicotine replacement, like gum or spray, improves the odds of treatment success. 4 mg versus 2 mg nicotine gum also increase the chances of success.


title: Nicotine

text: Nicotine is being researched in clinical trials for possible benefit in treating Parkinson's disease, dementia, ADHD, depression and sarcoma.


title: Nicotine

text: In contrast to recreational nicotine products, which have been designed to maximize the likelihood of addiction, nicotine replacement products (NRTs) are designed to minimize addictiveness. The more quickly a dose of nicotine is delivered and absorbed, the higher the addiction risk.


title: Nicotine

text: Nicotine has been used as an insecticide since at least the 1690s, in the form of tobacco extracts (although other components of tobacco also seem to have pesticide effects). Nicotine pesticides have not been commercially available in the US since 2014, and homemade pesticides are banned on organic crops and not recommended for small gardeners. Nicotine pesticides have been banned in the EU since 2009. Foods are imported from countries in which nicotine pesticides are allowed, such as China, but foods may not exceed maximum nicotine levels. Neonicotinoids, which are derived from and structurally similar to nicotine, are widely used as agricultural and veterinary pesticides as of 2016.


title: Nicotine

text: In nicotine-producing plants, nicotine functions as an antiherbivory chemical; consequently, nicotine has been widely used as an insecticide, and neonicotinoids, such as imidacloprid, are widely used.


title: Nicotine

text: Nicotine-containing products are sometimes used for the performance-enhancing effects of nicotine on cognition. A 2010 meta-analysis of 41 double-blind, placebo-controlled studies concluded that nicotine or smoking had significant positive effects on aspects of fine motor abilities, alerting and orienting attention, and episodic and working memory. A 2015 review noted that stimulation of the α4β2 nicotinic receptor is responsible for certain improvements in attentional performance; among the nicotinic receptor subtypes, nicotine has the highest binding affinity at the α4β2 receptor (k=1 ), which is also the biological target that mediates nicotine's addictive properties. Nicotine has potential beneficial effects, but it also has paradoxical effects, which may be due to the inverted U-shape of the dose-response curve or pharmacokinetic features.


title: Nicotine

text: Nicotine is used as a recreational drug. It is widely used, highly addictive and hard to discontinue. Nicotine is often used compulsively, and dependence can develop within days. Recreational drug users commonly use nicotine for its mood-altering effects. Recreational nicotine products include chewing tobacco, cigars, cigarettes, e-cigarettes, snuff, pipe tobacco, and snus.


title: Nicotine

text: It is not known whether nicotine replacement therapy is effective for smoking cessation in adolescents, as of 2014. It is therefore not recommended to adolescents. It is not safe to use nicotine during pregnancy or breastfeeding, although it is safer than smoking; the desirability of NRT use in pregnancy is therefore debated.


title: Nicotine

text: Randomized trials and observational studies of nicotine replacement therapy in cardiovascular patients show no increase in adverse cardiovascular events compared to those treated with placebo. Using nicotine products during cancer treatment is counterrecommended, as nicotine promotes tumour growth, but temporary use of NRTs to quit smoking may be advised for harm reduction.


title: Nicotine

text: Nicotine gum is contraindicated in individuals with temporomandibular joint disease. People with chronic nasal disorders and severe reactive airway disease require additional precautions when using nicotine nasal sprays. Nicotine in any form is contraindicated in individuals with a known hypersensitivity to nicotine.


title: Nicotine

text: Nicotine is classified as a poison. However, at doses used by consumers, it presents little if any hazard to the user. A 2018 Cochrane Collaboration review lists nine main adverse events related to nicotine replacement therapy: headache, dizziness/light-headedness, nausea/vomiting, gastro-intestinal symptoms, sleep/dream problems, non-ischemic palpitations and chest pain, skin reactions, oral/nasal reactions and hiccups. Many of these were also common in the placebo group without nicotine. Palpitations and chest pain were deemed "rare" and there was no evidence of an increased number of serious cardiac problems compared to the placebo group, even in people with established cardiac disease. The common side effects from nicotine exposure are listed in the table below. Serious adverse events due to the use of nicotine replacement therapy are extremely rare. At low amounts, it has a mild analgesic effect. At sufficiently high doses, nicotine may result in nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, salivation, bradyarrhythmia, and possibly seizures, hypoventilation, and death.


title: Nicotine

text: Nicotine reduces the amount of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, slow-wave sleep (SWS), and total sleep time in healthy nonsmokers given nicotine via a transdermal patch, and the reduction is dose-dependent. Acute nicotine intoxication has been found to significantly reduce total sleep time and increase REM latency, sleep onset latency, and non-rapid eye movement (NREM) stage 2 sleep time. Depressive non-smokers experience mood and sleep improvements under nicotine administration; however, subsequent nicotine withdrawal has a negative effect on both mood and sleep.


title: Nicotine

text: A 2018 Cochrane review found that, in rare cases, nicotine replacement therapy can cause non-ischemic chest pain (i.e., chest pain that is unrelated to a heart attack) and heart palpitations, but does not increase the incidence of serious cardiac adverse events (i.e., myocardial infarction, stroke, and cardiac death) relative to controls.


title: Nicotine

text: A 2016 review of the cardiovascular toxicity of nicotine concluded, "Based on current knowledge, we believe that the cardiovascular risks of nicotine from e-cigarette use in people without cardiovascular disease are quite low. We have concerns that nicotine from e-cigarettes could pose some risk for users with cardiovascular disease."


title: Nicotine

text: In the short term, nicotine causes a transient increase in blood pressure, but in the long term, epidemiological studies generally do not show increased blood pressure or hypertension among nicotine users.


title: Nicotine

text: Nicotine is highly addictive. Its addictiveness depends on how it is administered. Animal research suggests that monoamine oxidase inhibitors in tobacco smoke may enhance its addictiveness. Nicotine dependence involves aspects of both psychological dependence and physical dependence, since discontinuation of extended use has been shown to produce both affective (e.g., anxiety, irritability, craving, anhedonia) and somatic (mild motor dysfunctions such as tremor) withdrawal symptoms. Withdrawal symptoms peak in one to three days and can persist for several weeks. Some people experience symptoms for 6 months or longer.


title: Nicotine

text: Normal between-cigarettes discontinuation, in unrestricted smokers, causes mild but measurable nicotine withdrawal symptoms. These include mildly worse mood, stress, anxiety, cognition, and sleep, all of which briefly return to normal with the next cigarette. Smokers have worse mood than they would have if they were not nicotine-dependent; they experience normal moods only immediately after smoking. Nicotine dependence is associated with poor sleep quality and shorter sleep duration among smokers.


title: Nicotine

text: In dependent smokers, withdrawal causes impairments in memory and attention, and smoking during withdrawal returns these cognitive abilities to pre-withdrawal levels. The temporarily increased cognitive levels of smokers after inhaling smoke are offset by periods of cognitive decline during nicotine withdrawal. Therefore, the overall daily cognitive levels of smokers and non-smokers are roughly similar.


title: Nicotine

text: Nicotine activates the mesolimbic pathway and induces long-term ΔFosB expression (i.e., produces phosphorylated ΔFosB isoforms) in the nucleus accumbens when inhaled or injected frequently or at high doses, but not necessarily when ingested. Consequently, high daily exposure (possibly excluding oral route) to nicotine can cause ΔFosB overexpression in the nucleus accumbens, resulting in nicotine addiction.


title: Nicotine

text: Although nicotine itself does not cause cancer in humans, it is unclear whether it functions as a tumor promoter . A 2018 report by the US National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine concludes, "[w]hile it is biologically plausible that nicotine can act as a tumor promoter, the existing body of evidence indicates this is unlikely to translate into increased risk of human cancer."


title: Nicotine

text: Low levels of nicotine stimulate cell proliferation, while high levels are cytotoxic. Nicotine increases cholinergic signaling and adrenergic signaling in colon cancer cells, thereby impeding apoptosis (programmed cell death), promoting tumor growth, and activating growth factors and cellular mitogenic factors such as 5-lipoxygenase (5-LOX), and epidermal growth factor (EGF). Nicotine also promotes cancer growth by stimulating angiogenesis and neovascularization. Nicotine promotes lung cancer development and accelerates its proliferation, angiogenesis, migration, invasion and epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT), via its influence on nAChRs receptors, whose presence has been confirmed in lung cancer cells. In cancer cells, nicotine promotes the epithelial–mesenchymal transition which makes the cancer cells more resistant to drugs that treat cancer.


title: Nicotine

text: Nicotine in tobacco can form carcinogenic tobacco-specific nitrosamines through a nitrosation reaction. This occurs mostly in the curing and processing of tobacco. However, nicotine in the mouth and stomach can react to form N-Nitrosonornicotine, a known type 1 carcinogen, suggesting that consumption of non-tobacco forms of nicotine may still play a role in carcinogenesis.


title: Nicotine

text: Nicotine causes DNA damage in several types of human cells as judged by assays for genotoxicity such as the comet assay, cytokinesis-block micronucleus test and chromosome aberrations test. In humans, this damage can happen in primary parotid gland cells, lymphocytes, respiratory tract cells.


title: Nicotine

text: Nicotine has been shown to produce birth defects in some animal species, but not others; consequently, it is considered to be a possible teratogen in humans. In animal studies that resulted in birth defects, researchers found that nicotine negatively affects fetal brain development and pregnancy outcomes; the negative effects on early brain development are associated with abnormalities in brain metabolism and neurotransmitter system function. Nicotine crosses the placenta and is found in the breast milk of mothers who smoke as well as mothers who inhale passive smoke.


title: Nicotine

text: Nicotine exposure "in utero" is responsible for several complications of pregnancy and birth: pregnant women who smoke are at greater risk for both miscarriage and stillbirth and infants exposed to nicotine "in utero" tend to have lower birth weights. A McMaster University research group observed in 2010 that rats exposed to nicotine in the womb (via parenteral infusion) later in life had conditions including type 2 diabetes, obesity, hypertension, neurobehavioral defects, respiratory dysfunction, and infertility.


title: Nicotine

text: It is unlikely that a person would overdose on nicotine through smoking alone. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) stated in 2013 that there are no significant safety concerns associated with the use of more than one form of over-the-counter (OTC) nicotine replacement therapy at the same time, or using OTC NRT at the same time as another nicotine-containing product, like cigarettes. The median lethal dose of nicotine in humans is unknown. Nevertheless, nicotine has a relatively high toxicity in comparison to many other alkaloids such as caffeine, which has an LD of 127 mg/kg when administered to mice. At sufficiently high doses, it is associated with nicotine poisoning, which, while common in children (in whom poisonous and lethal levels occur at lower doses per kilogram of body weight) rarely results in significant morbidity or death. The estimated lower dose limit for fatal outcomes is 500–1,000 mg of ingested nicotine for an adult (6.5–13 mg/kg).


title: Nicotine

text: The initial symptoms of a nicotine overdose typically include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, hypersalivation, abdominal pain, tachycardia (rapid heart rate), hypertension (high blood pressure), tachypnea (rapid breathing), headache, dizziness, pallor (pale skin), auditory or visual disturbances, and perspiration, followed shortly after by marked bradycardia (slow heart rate), bradypnea (slow breathing), and hypotension (low blood pressure). Respiratory stimulation (i.e., tachypnea) is one of the primary signs of nicotine poisoning. At sufficiently high doses, somnolence (sleepiness or drowsiness), confusion, syncope (loss of consciousness from fainting), shortness of breath, marked weakness, seizures, and coma may occur. Lethal nicotine poisoning rapidly produces seizures, and death – which may occur within minutes – is believed to be due to respiratory paralysis.


title: Nicotine

text: Today nicotine is less commonly used in agricultural insecticides, which was a main source of poisoning. More recent cases of poisoning typically appear to be in the form of Green Tobacco Sickness, accidental ingestion of tobacco or tobacco products, or ingestion of nicotine-containing plants. People who harvest or cultivate tobacco may experience Green Tobacco Sickness (GTS), a type of nicotine poisoning caused by dermal exposure to wet tobacco leaves. This occurs most commonly in young, inexperienced tobacco harvesters who do not consume tobacco. People can be exposed to nicotine in the workplace by breathing it in, skin absorption, swallowing it, or eye contact. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has set the legal limit (permissible exposure limit) for nicotine exposure in the workplace as 0.5 mg/m skin exposure over an 8-hour workday. The US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has set a recommended exposure limit (REL) of 0.5 mg/m skin exposure over an 8-hour workday. At environmental levels of 5 mg/m, nicotine is immediately dangerous to life and health.


title: Nicotine

text: Nicotine and cigarette smoke both induce the expression of liver enzymes (e.g., certain cytochrome P450 proteins) which metabolize drugs, leading to the potential for alterations in drug metabolism.


title: Nicotine

text: Nicotine acts as a receptor agonist at most nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs), except at two nicotinic receptor subunits (nAChRα9 and nAChRα10) where it acts as a receptor antagonist. Such antagonism results in mild analgesia.


title: Nicotine

text: By binding to nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in the brain, nicotine elicits its psychoactive effects and increases the levels of several neurotransmitters in various brain structures – acting as a sort of "volume control". Nicotine has a higher affinity for nicotinic receptors in the brain than those in skeletal muscle, though at toxic doses it can induce contractions and respiratory paralysis. Nicotine's selectivity is thought to be due to a particular amino acid difference on these receptor subtypes. Nicotine is unusual in comparison to most drugs, as its profile changes from stimulant to sedative with increasing dosages, a phenomenon known as "Nesbitt's paradox" after the doctor who first described it in 1969. At very high doses it dampens neuronal activity. Nicotine induces both behavioral stimulation and anxiety in animals. Research into nicotine's most predominant metabolite, cotinine, suggests that some of nicotine's psychoactive effects are mediated by cotinine.


title: Nicotine

text: Nicotine activates nicotinic receptors (particularly α4β2 nicotinic receptors, but also α5 nAChRs) on neurons that innervate the ventral tegmental area and within the mesolimbic pathway where it appears to cause the release of dopamine. This nicotine-induced dopamine release occurs at least partially through activation of the cholinergic–dopaminergic reward link in the ventral tegmental area. Nicotine can modulate the firing rate of the ventral tegmental area neurons. Nicotine also appears to induce the release of endogenous opioids that activate opioid pathways in the reward system, since naltrexone – an opioid receptor antagonist – blocks nicotine self-administration. These actions are largely responsible for the strongly reinforcing effects of nicotine, which often occur in the absence of euphoria; however, mild euphoria from nicotine use can occur in some individuals. Chronic nicotine use inhibits class I and II histone deacetylases in the striatum, where this effect plays a role in nicotine addiction.


title: Nicotine

text: Nicotine also activates the sympathetic nervous system, acting via splanchnic nerves to the adrenal medulla, stimulating the release of epinephrine. Acetylcholine released by preganglionic sympathetic fibers of these nerves acts on nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, causing the release of epinephrine (and norepinephrine) into the bloodstream.


title: Nicotine

text: By binding to ganglion type nicotinic receptors in the adrenal medulla, nicotine increases flow of adrenaline (epinephrine), a stimulating hormone and neurotransmitter. By binding to the receptors, it causes cell depolarization and an influx of calcium through voltage-gated calcium channels. Calcium triggers the exocytosis of chromaffin granules and thus the release of epinephrine (and norepinephrine) into the bloodstream. The release of epinephrine (adrenaline) causes an increase in heart rate, blood pressure and respiration, as well as higher blood glucose levels.


title: Nicotine

text: As nicotine enters the body, it is distributed quickly through the bloodstream and crosses the blood–brain barrier reaching the brain within 10–20 seconds after inhalation. The elimination half-life of nicotine in the body is around two hours. Nicotine is primarily excreted in urine and urinary concentrations vary depending upon urine flow rate and urine pH.


title: Nicotine

text: The amount of nicotine absorbed by the body from smoking can depend on many factors, including the types of tobacco, whether the smoke is inhaled, and whether a filter is used. However, it has been found that the nicotine yield of individual products has only a small effect (4.4%) on the blood concentration of nicotine, suggesting "the assumed health advantage of switching to lower-tar and lower-nicotine cigarettes may be largely offset by the tendency of smokers to compensate by increasing inhalation".


title: Nicotine

text: Nicotine has a half-life of 1–2 hours. Cotinine is an active metabolite of nicotine that remains in the blood with a half-life of 18–20 hours, making it easier to analyze.


title: Nicotine

text: Nicotine is metabolized in the liver by cytochrome P450 enzymes (mostly CYP2A6, and also by CYP2B6) and FMO3, which selectively metabolizes ("S")-nicotine. A major metabolite is cotinine. Other primary metabolites include nicotine "N"'-oxide, nornicotine, nicotine isomethonium ion, 2-hydroxynicotine and nicotine glucuronide. Under some conditions, other substances may be formed such as myosmine.


title: Nicotine

text: Glucuronidation and oxidative metabolism of nicotine to cotinine are both inhibited by menthol, an additive to mentholated cigarettes, thus increasing the half-life of nicotine "in vivo".


title: Nicotine

text: Nicotine decreases hunger and food consumption. The majority of research shows that nicotine reduces body weight, but some researchers have found that nicotine may result in weight gain under specific types of eating habits in animal models. Nicotine effect on weight appears to result from nicotine's stimulation of α3β4 nAChR receptors located in the POMC neurons in the arcuate nucleus and subsequently the melanocortin system, especially the melanocortin-4 receptors on second-order neurons in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus, thus modulating feeding inhibition. POMC neurons are a precursor of the melanocortin system, a critical regulator of body weight and peripheral tissue such as skin and hair.


title: Nicotine

text: Nicotine is a hygroscopic, colorless to yellow-brown, oily liquid, that is readily soluble in alcohol, ether or light petroleum. It is miscible with water in its neutral amine base form between 60 °C and 210 °C. It is a dibasic nitrogenous base, having K=1×10, K=1×10. It readily forms ammonium salts with acids that are usually solid and water-soluble. Its flash point is 95 °C and its auto-ignition temperature is 244 °C. Nicotine is readily volatile (vapor pressure 5.5 Pa at 25 °C) On exposure to ultraviolet light or various oxidizing agents, nicotine is converted to nicotine oxide, nicotinic acid (niacin, vitamin B3), and methylamine.


title: Nicotine

text: Nicotine is chiral and hence optically active, having two enantiomeric forms. The naturally occurring form of nicotine is levorotatory with a specific rotation of [α]=–166.4° ((−)-nicotine). The dextrorotatory form, (+)-nicotine is physiologically less active than (−)-nicotine. (−)-nicotine is more toxic than (+)-nicotine. The salts of (−)-nicotine are usually dextrorotatory; this conversion between levorotatory and dextrorotatory upon protonation is common among alkaloids. The hydrochloride and sulfate salts become optically inactive if heated in a closed vessel above 180 °C. Anabasine is a structural isomer of nicotine, as both compounds have the molecular formula .


title: Nicotine

text: Nicotine that is found in natural tobacco is primarily (99%) the S-enantiomer.  Conversely, the most common chemistry synthetic methods for generating nicotine yields a product that is approximately equal proportions of the S- and R-enantiomers. This suggests that tobacco-derived and synthetic nicotine can be determined by measuring the ratio of the two different enantiomers, although means exist for adjusting the relative levels of the enantiomers or performing a synthesis that only leads to the S-enantiomer. There is limited data on the relative physiological effects of these two enantiomers, especially in people. However, the studies to date indicate that (S)-nicotine is more potent than (R)-nicotine and (S)-nicotine causes stronger sensations or irritation than (R)-nicotine. To date, studies are not adequate to determine the relative addictiveness of the two enantiomers in people.


title: Nicotine

text: Pod mod electronic cigarettes use nicotine in the form of a protonated nicotine, rather than free-base nicotine found in earlier generations.


title: Nicotine

text: The starting material was an N-substituted pyrrole derivative, which was heated to convert it by a [1,5] sigmatropic shift to the isomer with a carbon bond between the pyrrole and pyridine rings, followed by methylation and selective reduction of the pyrrole ring using tin and hydrochloric acid. Many other syntheses of nicotine, in both racemic and chiral forms have since been published.


title: Nicotine

text: The biosynthetic pathway of nicotine involves a coupling reaction between the two cyclic structures that comprise nicotine. Metabolic studies show that the pyridine ring of nicotine is derived from niacin (nicotinic acid) while the pyrrolidine is derived from "N"-methyl-Δ-pyrrollidium cation. Biosynthesis of the two component structures proceeds via two independent syntheses, the NAD pathway for niacin and the tropane pathway for "N"-methyl-Δ-pyrrollidium cation.


title: Nicotine

text: The NAD pathway in the genus "Nicotiana" begins with the oxidation of aspartic acid into α-imino succinate by aspartate oxidase (AO). This is followed by a condensation with glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate and a cyclization catalyzed by quinolinate synthase (QS) to give quinolinic acid. Quinolinic acid then reacts with phosphoriboxyl pyrophosphate catalyzed by quinolinic acid phosphoribosyl transferase (QPT) to form niacin mononucleotide (NaMN). The reaction now proceeds via the NAD salvage cycle to produce niacin via the conversion of nicotinamide by the enzyme nicotinamidase.


title: Nicotine

text: The "N"-methyl-Δ-pyrrollidium cation used in the synthesis of nicotine is an intermediate in the synthesis of tropane-derived alkaloids. Biosynthesis begins with decarboxylation of ornithine by ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) to produce putrescine. Putrescine is then converted into "N"-methyl putrescine via methylation by SAM catalyzed by putrescine "N"-methyltransferase (PMT). "N"-methylputrescine then undergoes deamination into 4-methylaminobutanal by the "N"-methylputrescine oxidase (MPO) enzyme, 4-methylaminobutanal then spontaneously cyclize into "N"-methyl-Δ-pyrrollidium cation.


title: Nicotine

text: The final step in the synthesis of nicotine is the coupling between "N"-methyl-Δ-pyrrollidium cation and niacin. Although studies conclude some form of coupling between the two component structures, the definite process and mechanism remains undetermined. The current agreed theory involves the conversion of niacin into 2,5-dihydropyridine through 3,6-dihydronicotinic acid. The 2,5-dihydropyridine intermediate would then react with "N"-methyl-Δ-pyrrollidium cation to form enantiomerically pure (−)-nicotine.


title: Nicotine

text: Nicotine can be quantified in blood, plasma, or urine to confirm a diagnosis of poisoning or to facilitate a medicolegal death investigation. Urinary or salivary cotinine concentrations are frequently measured for the purposes of pre-employment and health insurance medical screening programs. Careful interpretation of results is important, since passive exposure to cigarette smoke can result in significant accumulation of nicotine, followed by the appearance of its metabolites in various body fluids. Nicotine use is not regulated in competitive sports programs.


title: Nicotine

text: Methods for measuring the two enantiomers are straightforward and include normal-phase liquid chromatography, liquid chromatography with a chiral column. However, since methods can be used to alter the two enantiomers, it may not be possible to distinguish tobacco-derived from synthetic nicotine simply by measuring the levels of the two enantiomers. A new approach uses hydrogen and deuterium nuclear magnetic resonance to distinguish tobacco-derived and synthetic nicotine based on differences the substrates used in the natural synthetic pathway performed in the tobacco plant and the substrates most used in synthesis. Another approach measures the carbon-14 content which also differs between natural and laboratory-based tobacco. These methods remain to be fully evaluated and validated using a wide range of samples.


title: Nicotine

text: Nicotine is a secondary metabolite produced in a variety of plants in the family Solanaceae, most notably in tobacco "Nicotiana tabacum", where it can be found at high concentrations of 0.5 to 7.5%. Nicotine is also found in the leaves of other tobacco species, such as "Nicotiana rustica" (in amounts of 2–14%). Nicotine production is strongly induced in response to wounding as part of a jasmonate-dependent reaction. Specialist insects on tobacco, such as the tobacco hornworm ("Manduca sexta"), have a number of adaptations to the detoxification and even adaptive re-purposing of nicotine. Nicotine is also found at low concentrations in the nectar of tobacco plants, where it may promote outcrossing by affecting the behavior of hummingbird pollinators.


title: Nicotine

text: Nicotine occurs in smaller amounts (varying from 2–7 μg/kg, or 20–70 millionths of a percent wet weight) in other Solanaceaeous plants, including some crop species such as potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, and peppers, as well as non-crop species such as "Duboisia hopwoodii". The amounts of nicotine in tomatoes lowers substantially as the fruit ripens. A 1999 report found "In some papers it is suggested that the contribution of dietary nicotine intake is significant when compared with exposure to ETS [environmental tobacco smoke] or by active smoking of small numbers of cigarettes. Others consider the dietary intake to be negligible unless inordinately large amounts of specific vegetables are consumed." The amount of nicotine eaten per day is roughly around 1.4 and 2.25 μg/day at the 95th percentile. These numbers may be low due to insufficient food intake data. The concentrations of nicotine in vegetables are difficult to measure accurately, since they are very low (parts per billion range).


title: Nicotine

text: Nicotine was originally isolated from the tobacco plant in 1828 by chemists Wilhelm Heinrich Posselt and Karl Ludwig Reimann from Germany, who believed it was a poison. Its chemical empirical formula was described by Melsens in 1843, its structure was discovered by Adolf Pinner and Richard Wolffenstein in 1893, and it was first synthesized by Amé Pictet and A. Rotschy in 1904.


title: Nicotine

text: Nicotine is named after the tobacco plant "Nicotiana tabacum," which in turn is named after the French ambassador in Portugal, Jean Nicot de Villemain, who sent tobacco and seeds to Paris in 1560, presented to the French King, and who promoted their medicinal use. Smoking was believed to protect against illness, particularly the plague.


title: Nicotine

text: Tobacco was introduced to Europe in 1559, and by the late 17th century, it was used not only for smoking but also as an insecticide. After World War II, over 2,500 tons of nicotine insecticide were used worldwide, but by the 1980s the use of nicotine insecticide had declined below 200 tons. This was due to the availability of other insecticides that are cheaper and less harmful to mammals.


title: Nicotine

text: The nicotine content of popular American-brand cigarettes has increased over time, and one study found that there was an average increase of 1.78% per year between the years of 1998 and 2005.


title: Nicotine

text: Although methods of production of synthetic nicotine have existed for decades, it was believed that the cost of making nicotine by laboratory synthesis was cost prohibitive compared to extracting nicotine from tobacco. However, recently synthetic nicotine started to be found in different brands of e-cigarettes and oral pouches and marketed as “tobacco-free.”


title: Nicotine

text: The US FDA is tasked with reviewing tobacco products such as e-cigarettes and determining which can be authorized for sale.  In response to the likelihood that FDA would not authorize many e-cigarettes to be marketed, e-cigarette companies began marketing products that they claimed to contain nicotine that were not made or derived from tobacco, but contained synthetic nicotine instead, and thus, would be outside FDA’s tobacco regulatory authority. Similarly, nicotine pouches that claimed to contain non-tobacco (synthetic) nicotine were also introduced. The cost of synthetic nicotine has decreased as the market for the product increased. In March 2022, the U.S. Congress passed a law (the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022) that expanded FDA’s tobacco regulatory authority to include tobacco products containing nicotine from any source, thereby including products made with synthetic nicotine.


title: Nicotine

text: In the United States, nicotine products and Nicotine Replacement Therapy products like Nicotrol are only available to persons 21 and above; proof of age is required; not for sale in vending machine or from any source where proof of age cannot be verified. As of 2019, the minimum age to use tobacco in the US is 21 at the federal level.


title: Nicotine

text: In the European Union, the minimum age to purchase nicotine products is 18. However, there is no minimum age requirement to use tobacco or nicotine products.


title: Nicotine

text: In some anti-smoking literature, the harm that tobacco smoking and nicotine addiction does is personified as Nick O'Teen, represented as a humanoid with some aspect of a cigarette or cigarette butt about him or his clothes and hat. Nick O'Teen was a villain that was created for the Health Education Council.


title: Nicotine

text: Nicotine was often compared to caffeine in advertisements in the 1980s by the tobacco industry, and later in the 2010s by the electronic cigarettes industry, in an effort to reduce the stigmatization and the public perception of the risks associated with nicotine use.


title: Nicotine

text: While acute/initial nicotine intake causes activation of neuronal nicotine receptors, chronic low doses of nicotine use leads to desensitization of those receptors (due to the development of tolerance) and results in an antidepressant effect, with early research showing low dose nicotine patches could be an effective treatment of major depressive disorder in non-smokers.


title: Nicotine

text: Though tobacco smoking is associated with an increased risk of Alzheimer's disease, there is evidence that nicotine itself has the potential to prevent and treat Alzheimer's disease.


title: Nicotine

text: Smoking is associated with a decreased risk of Parkinson's Disease; however, it is unknown whether this is due to people with healthier brain dopaminergic reward centers (the area of the brain affected by Parkinson's) being more likely to enjoy smoking and thus pick up the habit, nicotine directly acting as a neuroprotective agent, or other compounds in cigarette smoke acting as neuroprotective agents.


title: Nicotine

text: Immune cells of both the Innate immune system and adaptive immune systems frequently express the α2, α5, α6, α7, α9, and α10 subunits of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. Evidence suggests that nicotinic receptors which contain these subunits are involved in the regulation of immune function.


title: Nicotine

text: A photoactivatable form of nicotine, which releases nicotine when exposed to ultraviolet light with certain conditions, has been developed for studying nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in brain tissue.


title: Nicotine

text: Several "in vitro" studies have investigated the potential effects of nicotine on a range of oral cells. A recent systematic review concluded that nicotine was unlikely to be cytotoxic to oral cells "in vitro" in most physiological conditions but further research is needed. Understanding the potential role of nicotine in oral health has become increasingly important given the recent introduction of novel nicotine products and their potential role in helping smokers quit.


title: Tom Green

text: Michael Thomas Green (born July 30, 1971) is a Canadian-American comedian, show host, actor, filmmaker, podcaster, and rapper. After pursuing stand-up comedy and music as a young adult, Green created and hosted "The Tom Green Show", which aired on Canadian television and later on MTV between 1994 and 2000. The show became popular for its shock comedy, absurdist pranks and Green's manic persona, and influenced later series such as "Jackass" and "The Eric Andre Show". Green has also appeared in the Hollywood films "Road Trip" (2000), "Charlie's Angels" (2000), "Stealing Harvard" (2002), and "Shred" (2008). Green additionally directed, co-wrote and starred in the cult film "Freddy Got Fingered" (2001). He was briefly married to actress Drew Barrymore (2001–2002), who co-starred with him in "Charlie's Angels" and "Freddy Got Fingered".


title: Tom Green

text: In 2003, Green hosted the short-lived MTV late-night talk show titled "The New Tom Green Show". From 2006 until 2011, he hosted an internet talk show, "Tom Green's House Tonight", from his home, and returned to performing stand-up comedy in 2010. From October 2013 to November 2014, Green hosted the weekly talk show "Tom Green Live" on American cable network AXS TV.


title: Tom Green

text: Green was born in Pembroke, Ontario, Canada, the older of two sons born to Mary Jane, a communications consultant, and Richard Green, a computer systems analyst and retired army captain. He grew up on a Canadian Army base near Pembroke, CFB Petawawa, and in Gloucester, Ontario, (now a part of Ottawa), where he attended Henry Munro Middle School, Colonel By Secondary School and Cairine Wilson Secondary School. Green studied television broadcasting at Algonquin College and graduated in 1994.


title: Tom Green

text: While attending Algonquin College as a member of the Sigma Pi Fraternity, Green hosted an overnight call-in show on the University of Ottawa's campus radio station, CHUO. The 1990 show, originally a rap music show entitled "The Rap Show", was followed by an electronic music show hosted by Glenn Humplik. Tom and Glenn became friends and joined forces to host "The Midnight Caller Show", which lasted from 1993 to 1996. The basic format of The Midnight Caller was to have listeners call-in with Tom and Glenn making fun of them (or "razzing" them) and soon after hanging-up on them. In the early 1990s, Green had a short-lived career as a rapper in a group called Organized Rhyme under the alias "MC Bones". His fellow MCs included "Pin the Chameleon". The single "Check The O.R." was nominated for a Juno Award in 1993 for Best Rap Recording and won the MuchVibe Best Rap Video award in 1992. In 1998, he released "Not The Green Tom Show" as MC Face.


title: Tom Green

text: Green soon had his own non-paid television show on public-access television on cable TV. The first incarnation of "The Tom Green Show" aired from September 1994 until 1996 as a one-hour no commercial public cable access program on Rogers Television 22 in the Ottawa region. It had 50 episodes in two seasons. "The Tom Green Show" was a variety show format, where he would have guests visit the studio and bands play before a live audience.


title: Tom Green

text: In 1996 he was hired by the CBC to do reports from the Atlanta Summer Olympic games... including during the road trip in his sweltering un-airconditioned Chrysler K car. Tom Green ingeniously solved the air conditioning problem having the roof of the car sawed off -- turning it into a permanent “convertible.”


title: Tom Green

text: These CBC feature reports gave him national exposure (in both Canada and the US) with his Jackass type pranks, antics and humor.


title: Tom Green

text: In October 1996, "The Tom Green Show" aired one time as a pilot on CBC. The show was later picked up in Canada by The Comedy Network in 1997 and aired 26 episodes over the course of two seasons.


title: Tom Green

text: "The Tom Green Show" was then picked up by MTV in January 1999, where he gained popularity in the United States and worldwide. The format of the MTV version of the show was similar to his original show; it was hosted by Green and co-hosted by two of his long-time friends, Glenn Humplik, who occupied the couch, and Phil Giroux, who sat behind a window at the back of the set and became known as "the guy in the window" usually drinking cups of coffee. Derek Harvie, who co-wrote the show with Green, occasionally appeared in the segments. Many of the sketches were targeted at his parents, both of whom appear to be unimpressed and embarrassed by their son's antics.


title: Tom Green

text: "The Tom Green Show" frequently employed shock humor. Some of Green's most notable skits include pretending to "hump" a dead moose (which was referenced by rapper Eminem in "The Real Slim Shady"), having an X-rated lesbian scene painted on his father's car (labeled the "Slut Mobile"), drinking milk by sucking on a cow's teat, and putting a cow head in his parents' bed while they slept because his father was a fan of "The Godfather" films. Green also hung his own unauthorized piece of art in the National Gallery of Canada (which remained untouched for days) with the added twist of later coming back and vandalizing it to the horror of onlooking patrons.


title: Tom Green

text: In a segment, Green went to the press conference of "Grey Owl" where he serenaded and kissed Pierce Brosnan. Brosnan, thinking Green was a journalist, advised him not to give up his day job. Green also did many segments humiliating his co-host and longtime friend Glenn Humplik; even after the pair had become well-known, Humplik continued working at his phone company job, fearing that his entertainment career might not last. Green teased him about this often and once gave out Humplik's office phone number on the air.


title: Tom Green

text: Green eventually wrote a song called "Lonely Swedish (The Bum Bum Song)", which he composed during MTV's Spring Break while doing a show on a cruise ship. After airing the music video on his show and appealing to his audience to request it, the song became an instant number one hit on "Total Request Live" and was also referred to in Eminem's song "The Real Slim Shady". He quickly called for the video to be retired because "it's not fair to 98 Degrees." Later, in his autobiography, he revealed that MTV had pressured him to do so in order to maintain the image that "Total Request Live" was, in fact, a live request show (the next week's episodes had been pre-taped on location, and the producers of the show were completely unaware of "The Bum Bum Song" at the time).


title: Tom Green

text: Green's increasing fame made it harder for him to ambush people during man-on-the-street segments, leading him to target mostly senior citizens and non-English speakers. After he was diagnosed with testicular cancer in March 2000, he stopped production of new episodes of his TV show but continued to appear on the channel via reruns and other promotional materials. Green's popularity during this time led to him gracing the cover of the June 8, 2000, issue of "Rolling Stone" magazine.


title: Tom Green

text: The MTV show "Jackass" debuted six months after "The Tom Green Show" went on hiatus. Many of the segments on the show had close similarities to the segments from Green's show: Bam Margera rudely awakening his parents, the cast of "Jackass" falling down while on crutches, swimming with sharks, etc.


title: Tom Green

text: In early 2000, Tom Green was diagnosed with, and successfully treated for testicular cancer. Green wrote, directed and starred in a one-hour MTV television special titled "The Tom Green Cancer Special" (aired on May 23, 2000), which documented the time leading up to his surgery and included graphic footage of his own surgery. The episode received wide critical acclaim for revealing a vulnerable, human side of an otherwise juvenile television personality. During this time, he started the "Tom Green's Nuts Cancer Fund" to raise money for cancer research. In mid-2000, Green also spoke in front of thousands of students in the University of Florida and sang a song titled "Feel Your Balls" to help educate others about testicular cancer.


title: Tom Green

text: Although it was Green's cancer that caused "The Tom Green Show" to cease production, a frequent rumor relates that the show was cancelled because of an alleged segment where Green shows up at a bar mitzvah, or another Jewish event, dressed as Adolf Hitler. Green, however, has repeatedly denied that such a segment exists, and there is no evidence to suggest that such an event occurred. He mentions the rumor in his 2004 autobiography, "Hollywood Causes Cancer", stating that it apparently started when some Boston teenagers were caught videotaping themselves performing a similar stunt and when asked by security, they used the name "Tom Green." Green says, "I would never do a mean-spirited, anti-Semitic joke like that – it's both abhorrent and not funny. To this day I still get asked about it, and it's annoying. So again, for the record, it didn't happen. There is nobody on this planet that has ever seen this bit on tape because it does not exist. If it did exist, it would have certainly reared its ugly, hateful head on the Internet by now. But it won't, because it doesn't exist. I've never put on a Hitler costume. In fact, I've never even been to a Bar Mitzvah."


title: Tom Green

text: Green's fame soon netted him roles in several Hollywood movies, including "Road Trip", "Charlie's Angels", "Freddy Got Fingered" (which he also wrote and directed), and "Stealing Harvard." Green continued the trend of his brand of comedy in "Road Trip" in a notable scene where he put a mouse in his mouth.


title: Tom Green

text: "Freddy Got Fingered" won in five categories at the 2001 Golden Raspberry Awards, given to the worst movies of the year. Green appeared at the ceremony to accept his awards, making him the first performer to do so in the award's twenty-year history, and the second recipient to do so following director Paul Verhoeven for "Showgirls" in 1995. Green arrived at the awards ceremony in a white Cadillac, wearing a tuxedo and rolled out his own red carpet. After accepting the awards, Green stated "When we set out to make this film we wanted to win a Razzie, so this is a dream come true for me". While onstage, he began to play the harmonica and did not stop until he was dragged off.


title: Tom Green

text: In July 2000, Tom Green became engaged to actress Drew Barrymore. Green and Barrymore met after Barrymore, who was a fan of Green's show, asked Green to appear in "Charlie's Angels", which Barrymore starred in and produced. Green and Barrymore married on July 7, 2001. In Green's book "Hollywood Causes Cancer", he writes "We lived together for a year before we were engaged, and we were engaged for a year before we got married". Barrymore also appeared in her then-fiancé's infamous 2001 film "Freddy Got Fingered".


title: Tom Green

text: During the buildup to their wedding Green and Barrymore frequently joked with the media about when and where they were going to wed. The most notable incident came on November 18, 2000, when Green hosted the American television show "Saturday Night Live". During the monologue, Green brought Barrymore on stage and teased the audience about the couple marrying at the end of the episode. Ultimately, the stage was set for a wedding before Barrymore, in the end, got "cold feet" and left Green alone to end the show. The SNL incident initially left viewers and the media confused about whether the couple had actually planned to marry on live TV, or were simply staging a publicity stunt. Eventually, Green also went on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" to toy with the public once again, this time claiming that his bride might be pregnant.


title: Tom Green

text: Barrymore and Green filed for divorce on December 17, 2001, citing irreconcilable differences. Their divorce became official on October 15, 2002.


title: Tom Green

text: In 2002, Green starred in and directed a one-hour MTV special called "The Tom Green Subway Monkey Hour", where he tormented strangers in Japan. During 2002, Green also started his own production company called "Bob Green Films"; he starred in and was executive producer for a half-hour special entitled "The Skateboard Show" on The WB.


title: Tom Green

text: In mid-2003, after Green guest-hosted "The Late Show with David Letterman", MTV gave him his own late-night talk show called "The New Tom Green Show". The critically acclaimed show lasted less than three months and the show consisted of a traditional monologue, segments, followed by interviews with guests. Green in numerous interviews has stated that David Letterman was one of his early influences.


title: Tom Green

text: In September 2003, the show was cancelled by MTV eleven weeks after its premiere due to low ratings. Reports indicate that ratings and viewers for the show averaged 889,000 viewers in the first week and then averaged 255,000 viewers in the last week for the reruns. In Green's book "Hollywood Causes Cancer", he stated that the show "was very expensive to produce and not really the type of show that MTV has been traditionally known for."


title: Tom Green

text: On October 12, 2004, Green released his autobiography "Hollywood Causes Cancer: The Tom Green Story", which discussed in detail his Hollywood career, short-lived marriage to Drew Barrymore, and his experience dealing with testicular cancer.


title: Tom Green

text: A notable incident discussed in the book involved Green on character-based talk show "Primetime Glick" with Jiminy Glick (played by Martin Short). Green wrote that this un-aired interview was the first time he walked off any show, and this was due in part to Short being "mean" and making fun of his testicle. When Short brought up the incident in a 2005 interview, Green defended his stance on his online blog.


title: Tom Green

text: In 2005, Green returned to rap and started the group, "The Keepin' it Real Crew", featuring DJ EZ Mike of the Dust Brothers, where they did two Canadian live tours (June 2005 and January 2006). On December 6, 2005, Green released his second solo album in Canada entitled "Prepare For Impact", which included a bonus DVD featuring footage from his live tour. The album was also co-produced by Mike Simpson of the Dust Brothers. The album included comedic tracks (such as "My Bum Is On Ya Lips" and "I'm an Idiot") as well as serious tracks where he rapped about his Hollywood career.


title: Tom Green

text: He has performed with Too Short, Flavor Flav, Grand Buffet, Mickey Avalon, People Under The Stairs, Xzibit, and other popular rap artists on his "Tom Green Live" show. In January 2008, a second solo rap album titled "Basement Jams" was released in download-only format on his website.


title: Tom Green

text: In March 2009, on "Last Call with Carson Daly", Tom played a sample of his new song "It's Been A Long Time Coming." On his website, Green has stated intentions of releasing a new rap album in 2010 and talks about working with music producer Detail. In a February 2010 interview, Green mentioned an upcoming song entitled "Other Side Of The World" and stated that he was developing a television show following the progress of his first major American rap album. On a November 2010 answer to a fan question in the Forum section of tomgreen.com, Green said, "Expect some singles in the future. The album is dead, sadly."


title: Tom Green

text: In July 2011, Green recorded and posted a 2011 remix of "Check The O.R." and re-united Organized Rhyme at the Just For Laughs festival in Montreal. In October 2011, The Comedy Network's website posted the group's new music video: "Check The O.R. Redux".


title: Tom Green

text: On May 17, 2019, Green released his new album entitled "The Tom Green Show LP", which featured his new song "I Wanna Be Friends With Drake".


title: Tom Green

text: In the 2000s, Green has tried to put some of his more controversial material behind him and become a more mainstream entertainer. Green was a recurring contributor to "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno"; doing many segments where he travels across America looking for "interesting people", typically bringing the most colourful person with him back to the studio. In these segments, the focus is more on the odd behavior of the interviewees, with Green generally playing the straight man.


title: Tom Green

text: In 2003, Green visited troops in Kosovo on a USO tour. He visited troops in the Persian Gulf on a 2004 tour. In early 2006, Green appeared in several commercials for the Canadian Cable Public Affairs Channel promoting both "The Channel" and encouraging voters to participate in the forthcoming federal elections, which took place on January 23, 2006.


title: Tom Green

text: During the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Torino, Green was a comedy correspondent for "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" where he would scavenge the Olympic village alongside specific Olympic athletes for "free stuff", calling themselves the "Swag Pack".


title: Tom Green

text: On August 3, 2006, Green appeared on "America's Got Talent". He rode a skateboard through a flaming hoop, appeared to be on fire for a few seconds, and was put out with extinguishers. It was confirmed on the August 3 episode of "Tom Green Live" that it was a stunt man, not Green, that did the actual stunt.


title: Tom Green

text: Green has hosted a variety of special events, including the 2005 Canada's Walk of Fame induction ceremony, the Canadian Live 8 concert, and the 2005 CASBY Awards. In November 2008, Green hosted an environmental game show on the Discovery Planet Green television network titled "Go For The Green!"


title: Tom Green

text: Green has made several appearances as a celebrity contestant on the ABC reality game show "Wanna Bet?", including the show's premiere episode in July 2008. He was also a contestant on the 2009 season of "The Celebrity Apprentice". Throughout the season, each celebrity raised money for a charity of their choice; Green selected the "Butch Walts and Donald Skinner Urologic Cancer Research Foundation." He was fired by Donald Trump on the third episode, while acting as project manager, primarily due to waking up late on the day of the task – he had been out drinking with Dennis Rodman the night before. On August 4, 2009, Green made an appearance on the American version of "Hell's Kitchen" as a celebrity guest diner. In late 2009 and early 2010, he appeared on the first two seasons of "For the Love of Ray J" to judge the contestants on the show. On that show, Green has been credited for coining the popular catchphrase, "She smashed the homie."


title: Tom Green

text: In July 2011, Green received mainstream attention from CNN and various sources for his claims that he invented planking in 1994. Green also writes columns for "The Huffington Post".


title: Tom Green

text: In 2013, Green released a milk stout beer by Beau's All Natural Brewing Company called The Tom Green Beer.


title: Tom Green

text: In 2005, he starred in a children's TV movie, "Bob the Butler", and made guest appearances on various kid's shows. Since then, Green has been starring in low-profile independent films such as the 2008 movies "Shred" and "Freezer Burn: The Invasion of Laxdale", and the 2009 movie "Revenge of the Boarding School Dropouts".


title: Tom Green

text: In February 2010, Green announced that he had finished editing an independent film titled "Prankstar", which he also starred in, wrote and directed. Green was on the March 21, 2013, episode of "Workaholics" and the March 25, 2013, episode of Canadian television series "Seed". He was also in the 2014 "" movie. Green has also made many appearances on the Canadian revival of the game show "Match Game".


title: Tom Green

text: On January 13, 2019, it was announced Tom would be a houseguest in the second American season of the reality show competition "Celebrity Big Brother". He was evicted by a 3–0 vote on February 8, 2019. He was voted as America's Favorite Houseguest and won $25,000.


title: Tom Green

text: Since launching his web show in 2006, Green has conducted long-format interviews with hundreds of guests; and has since then, taken various podcasting projects and re-launched his live show on television in 2013 using the same interview format. In an October 2013 interview, Green stated that he preferred "great interviewers who know when to sit back and listen" rather than being an interviewer that "wanted to be as funny as the guest and...get into a sort of competitive relationship with them".


title: Tom Green

text: On June 5, 2006, ManiaTV.com announced they had formed a partnership with Green to host a live talk show from his own living room in the Hollywood Hills overlooking the San Fernando Valley. The first show aired live on June 15, 2006, at 11 pm EST, was originally called "Tom Green Live!", and was airing Mondays through Thursdays. In January 2008, shortly after Green's split from ManiaTV, the show was renamed "Tom Green's House Tonight". The shows are broadcast live at TomGreen.com. A pared-down version was later broadcast on The Comedy Network and various local channels in the United States, until Green stopped syndicating the show to television. On a 2009 blog, Green noted that he stopped his show from syndication on television due to dissatisfaction with his lack of creative control. He continues to broadcast the show from his website. Green later started a monthly subscription service that allowed subscribers to have full access to all the videos on his website.


title: Tom Green

text: Due to lack of an established term, Green often refers to his live streaming broadcast as "Web-o-Vision." He also jokingly says he is broadcasting to "The National Internet", despite the show having a worldwide audience. Green often refers to his show as, "The highest rated, longest running, and only talk show on the Internet."


title: Tom Green

text: From Green's website, "Tom Green's House Tonight" typically aired live on weeknights at 10 pm EST, although shows can begin at any time during the day and night. The shows were then archived on his website. The format of the show often includes Green taking live telephone calls and Skype video calls where viewers around the world are able to chat with Green and his guests. Green would often be a victim of prank calls due to the live nature of the show and would sometimes voice his frustration with the callers. On top of the live web show, Green has added many video segments from his past as well as present.


title: Tom Green

text: In 2007, "Tom Green Live" won the 2007 TV Guide "Online Video Award" for Best Web Talk Show. In 2008, "Tom Green's House Tonight" won a 2007 Webby Award for "Best Variety Show".


title: Tom Green

text: As host of the show, Green often plays the straight man while interviewing guests. There have been hundreds of shows with many notable guests including stars such as Adam Carolla, Val Kilmer, Thora Birch, Pamela Anderson, hip-hop artists Blackalicious and Xzibit, skateboarder Tony Hawk, former "TRL" host and talk show host Carson Daly, guitarist Dave Navarro, actor Crispin Glover, Digg.com founder Kevin Rose, comedic musician "Weird Al" Yankovic, as well as comedians Neil Hamburger, Andrew Dice Clay, Joe Rogan, and Andy Dick. The longest standard format show, in which Green interviewed Steve-O, ran for 3.5 hours and ended with Green drunk and Steve-O heavily intoxicated.


title: Tom Green

text: When Green does not have guests, he has done many unconventional shows such as playing the saxophone for an hour, having a week dedicated to performing karaoke, or updating the viewers about "The Channel" while taking telephone and Skype calls.


title: Tom Green

text: On his website, Green has talked about the substantial costs of continuing the online show and that "The Channel" may be gone in mid-2011 if it is not profitable by then. In 2011, Green ended the subscription service on his website and stated that his live show is on hiatus. Green also took down the TV studio that was in his living room.


title: Tom Green

text: During the summer of 2015, Green brought back his web-o-vision show and hosts it daily from his studio in Burbank.


title: Tom Green

text: From October – December 2010, Green did seven weekly podcasts interviewing guests at Kevin Smith's SModcastle. This was done in a long format interview style in a theater that held an audience of 50 people.


title: Tom Green

text: From January 2013 to mid 2013, Green started doing an audio podcast entitled "Tom Green Radio" for his website and downloadable on iTunes and tomgreen.com. Guests have included Bryan Callen, Steve-O, Kat Von D, Neil Hamburger, and deadmau5. In August 2015, Green restarted his podcast on Play.it.


title: Tom Green

text: On September 25, 2013, it was announced that Green would be hosting a new live weekly talk-show entitled "Tom Green Live" on AXS TV starting October 3, 2013. Green has stated in interviews that the set was modeled after "The Late Late Show with Tom Snyder". The show was similar to his web show where there is a featured guest and a long format one-hour discussion. Additionally, fans can call in from Skype. Scheduled guests have included Richard Belzer, Howie Mandel, Tony Hawk, and Norm Macdonald. Season 2 debuted on January 9, 2014, and the finale was April 3, 2014. The show renewed with season 3 debuting on June 12, 2014, and concluded its run with AXS TV on November 20, 2014.


title: Tom Green

text: In Green's comedy acts, he focuses on traditional stand-up comedy that has included rap performances. He voices his thoughts on social media, technology, his career in show business, oppression, and social political commentary on society. He often takes time to meet with people in the audience afterwards.


title: Tom Green

text: In numerous interviews, Green has stated that he started doing stand-up comedy at the age of 15 but stopped after he started his public-access television show. Green said that going back to stand-up comedy was something he always wanted to do.


title: Tom Green

text: In September 2009, Green performed several stand-up comedy shows in Los Angeles, and later appeared at a MySpace secret stand-up event in New York. On November 10, 2009, he announced his first ever world stand-up comedy tour and as of January 2010, has been touring the world going to countries such as Canada, the United States, England, Scotland, and Australia.


title: Tom Green

text: In October 2010, he performed in Belleville, Ontario at the Empire Theatre with his parents and brother in attendance. Green dressed in a Belleville Bulls jersey donated by a local movie studio he had visited earlier that day. He discussed the city's recent ordeal involving the sentencing of disgraced CFB Trenton Base Commander Russell Williams, stating that he hoped Williams "was having an awesome weekend".


title: Tom Green

text: On August 13, 2010, after being invited, Green performed stand-up comedy at the Gathering of the Juggalos. He was later involved in attempting to calm the audience down after Tila Tequila had rocks, excrement and urine thrown at her during her performance at the same event. In subsequent interviews, Green said he successfully calmed the audience down for 10 minutes, but things got worse when he left the stage. Tequila continued performing for an additional 20 minutes and eventually suffered facial injuries after being struck in the face by a rock.


title: Tom Green

text: Green's September 2011 stand-up performance in Boston aired on Showtime in August 2012; titled "Tom Green Live", it was released on iTunes, on Netflix and on DVD in March 2013. Green performed on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" on August 17, 2012.


title: Tom Green

text: In 2015, Tom Green began broadcasting from a studio in Los Angeles through the live streaming service on his YouTube channel.


title: Tom Green

text: A video montage that features Green screaming "Unleash the Fury" has been used at Washington Capitals hockey games since 2007. Clips from "Road Trip" are interspersed with various "pump-up elements" in a late-game rally video. In 2010, the feature started using new video footage in which Green wore a Capitals jersey and performed scenes from the movie.


title: Tom Green

text: Tom Green was married to actress Drew Barrymore from July 7, 2001, to October 15, 2002. In December 2001, Green filed for divorce. In 2010, Green stated that he had not seen Barrymore since the divorce, although Barrymore has spoken highly of him. On September 25, 2020, the pair met and spoke for the first time in fifteen years when Green was a guest on Barrymore's eponymous talk show.


title: Tom Green

text: As a 2009 contestant on the reality television game show "The Celebrity Apprentice", Green played to benefit the Butch Walts and Donald Skinner Urologic Cancer Research Foundation. He later stated that he would not be alive today had it not been for Donald G. Skinner.


title: Tom Green

text: On July 18, 2021, Green announced that he had returned to Canada to live on a 100-acre property located on White Lake in Central Frontenac, Ontario, after having lived decades in Los Angeles.


title: Franz Liszt

text: Franz Liszt (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, pianist and teacher of the Romantic period. With a diverse body of work spanning more than six decades, he is considered to be one of the most prolific and influential composers of his era and remains one of the most popular composers in modern concert piano repertoire.


title: Franz Liszt

text: Liszt first gained renown during the early nineteenth century for his virtuoso skill as a pianist. Regarded as one of the greatest pianists of all time, he toured Europe during the 1830s and 1840s, often playing for charity. In these years, Liszt developed a reputation for his powerful performances as well as his physical attractiveness. In what has now been dubbed "Lisztomania", he rose to a degree of stardom and popularity among the public not experienced by the virtuosos who preceded him. Whereas earlier performers mostly served the upper class, Liszt attracted a more general audience. During this period and into his later life, Liszt was a friend, musical promoter and benefactor to many composers of his time, including Frédéric Chopin, Charles-Valentin Alkan, Richard Wagner, Hector Berlioz, Robert Schumann, Clara Schumann, Camille Saint-Saëns, Edvard Grieg, Ole Bull, Joachim Raff, Mikhail Glinka, and Alexander Borodin.


title: Franz Liszt

text: Liszt was one of the most prominent representatives of the New German School (). He left behind an extensive and diverse body of work that influenced his forward-looking contemporaries and anticipated 20th-century ideas and trends. Among Liszt's musical contributions were the symphonic poem, developing thematic transformation as part of his experiments in musical form, and radical innovations in harmony. Liszt has also been regarded as a forefather of Impressionism in music, with his "Années de pèlerinage", often regarded as his masterwork, featuring many impressionistic qualities. In a radical departure from his earlier compositional styles, many of Liszt’s later works also feature experiments in atonality, foreshadowing the serialist movement of the 20th century.


title: Franz Liszt

text: Franz Liszt was born to Anna Liszt (née Maria Anna Lager) and Adam Liszt on 22 October 1811, in the village of Doborján (German: Raiding) in Sopron County, in the Kingdom of Hungary, Austrian Empire. Liszt's father played the piano, violin, cello, and guitar. He had been in the service of Prince Nikolaus II Esterházy and knew Haydn, Hummel, and Beethoven personally. At age six, Franz began listening attentively to his father's piano playing. Franz also found exposure to music through attending mass as well as traveling Romani bands that toured the Hungarian countryside. Adam began teaching him the piano at age seven, and Franz began composing in an elementary manner when he was eight. He appeared in concerts at Sopron and Pressburg (Hungarian: Pozsony, present-day Bratislava, Slovakia) in October and November 1820 at age nine. After the concerts, a group of wealthy sponsors offered to finance Franz's musical education in Vienna.


title: Franz Liszt

text: There, Liszt received piano lessons from Carl Czerny, who in his own youth had been a student of Beethoven and Hummel. He also received lessons in composition from Ferdinando Paer and Antonio Salieri, who was then the music director of the Viennese court. Liszt's public debut in Vienna on 1 December 1822, at a concert at the "Landständischer Saal", was a great success. He was greeted in Austrian and Hungarian aristocratic circles and met Beethoven and Schubert. In the spring of 1823, when his one-year leave of absence came to an end, Adam Liszt asked Prince Esterházy in vain for two more years. Adam Liszt, therefore, took his leave of the Prince's services. At the end of April 1823, the family returned to Hungary for the last time. At the end of May 1823, the family traveled to Vienna once more.


title: Franz Liszt

text: Towards the end of 1823 or early 1824, Liszt's first composition was published, his Variation on a Waltz by Diabelli (now S. 147), appeared as Variation 24 in of "Vaterländischer Künstlerverein". This anthology, commissioned by Anton Diabelli, includes 50 variations on his waltz by 50 different composers being taken up by Beethoven's 33 variations on the same theme, which are now separately better known simply as his "Diabelli Variations", Op. 120. Liszt's inclusion in the Diabelli project (he was described in it as "an 11-year-old boy, born in Hungary") was almost certainly at the instigation of Czerny, his teacher, and also a participant. Liszt was the only child composer in the anthology.


title: Franz Liszt

text: After his father's death in 1827, Liszt moved to Paris; for the next five years, he lived with his mother in a small apartment. He gave up touring, and in order to earn money, Liszt gave lessons on playing piano and composition, often from early morning until late at night. His students were scattered across the city and he had to cover long distances. Because of this, he kept uncertain hours and also took up smoking and drinking— habits he would continue throughout his life.


title: Franz Liszt

text: The following year, Liszt fell in love with one of his pupils, Caroline de Saint-Cricq, the daughter of Charles X's minister of commerce, Pierre de Saint-Cricq. Her father, however, insisted that the affair be broken off.


title: Franz Liszt

text: Liszt fell very ill, to the extent that an obituary notice was printed in a Paris newspaper, and he underwent a long period of religious doubts and pessimism. He again stated a wish to join the Church but was dissuaded this time by his mother. He had many discussions with the Abbé de Lamennais, who acted as his spiritual father, and also with Chrétien Urhan, a German-born violinist who introduced him to the Saint-Simonists. Urhan also wrote music that was anti-classical and highly subjective, with titles such as "Elle et moi, La Salvation angélique" and "Les Regrets", and may have whetted the young Liszt's taste for musical romanticism. Equally important for Liszt was Urhan's earnest championship of Schubert, which may have stimulated his own lifelong devotion to that composer's music.


title: Franz Liszt

text: During this period, Liszt read widely to overcome his lack of general education, and he soon came into contact with many of the leading authors and artists of his day, including Victor Hugo, Alphonse de Lamartine and Heinrich Heine. He composed practically nothing in these years. Nevertheless, the July Revolution of 1830 inspired him to sketch a Revolutionary Symphony based on the events of the "three glorious days," and he took a greater interest in events surrounding him. He met Hector Berlioz on 4 December 1830, the day before the premiere of the "Symphonie fantastique". Berlioz's music made a strong impression on Liszt, especially later when he was writing for orchestra. He also inherited from Berlioz the diabolic quality of many of his works.


title: Franz Liszt

text: After attending a charity concert on 20 April 1832, for the victims of the Parisian cholera epidemic, organized by Niccolò Paganini, Liszt became determined to become as great a virtuoso on the piano as Paganini was on the violin. Paris in the 1830s had become the nexus for pianistic activities, with dozens of pianists dedicated to perfection at the keyboard. Some, such as Sigismond Thalberg and Alexander Dreyschock, focused on specific aspects of technique, such as the "three-hand effect" and octaves, respectively. While it has since been referred to as the "flying trapeze" school of piano playing, this generation also solved some of the most intractable problems of piano technique, raising the general level of performance to previously unimagined heights. Liszt's strength and ability to stand out in this company was in mastering all the aspects of piano technique cultivated singly and assiduously by his rivals.


title: Franz Liszt

text: In 1833, he made transcriptions of several works by Berlioz including the "Symphonie fantastique". His chief motive in doing so, especially with the "Symphonie", was to help the poverty-stricken Berlioz, whose symphony remained unknown and unpublished. Liszt bore the expense of publishing the transcription himself and played it many times to help popularize the original score. He was also forming a friendship with a third composer who influenced him, Frédéric Chopin; under his influence, Liszt's poetic and romantic side began to develop.


title: Franz Liszt

text: In 1833, Liszt began his relationship with the Countess Marie d'Agoult. In addition to this, at the end of April 1834, he made the acquaintance of Felicité de Lamennais. Under the influence of both, Liszt's creative output exploded.


title: Franz Liszt

text: In 1835, the countess left her husband and family to join Liszt in Geneva; Liszt's daughter with the countess, Blandine, was born there on 18 December. Liszt taught at the newly founded Geneva Conservatory, wrote a manual of piano technique (later lost) and contributed essays for the Paris "Revue et gazette musicale". In these essays, he argued for the raising of the artist from the status of a servant to a respected member of the community.


title: Franz Liszt

text: For the next four years, Liszt and the countess lived together, mainly in Switzerland and Italy, where their daughter, Cosima, was born on Lake Como, with occasional visits to Paris. On 9 May 1839, Liszt's and the countess's only son, Daniel, was born, but that autumn relations between them became strained. Liszt heard that plans for a Beethoven Monument in Bonn were in danger of collapse for lack of funds and pledged his support. Doing so meant returning to the life of a touring virtuoso. The countess returned to Paris with the children, while Liszt gave six concerts in Vienna, then toured Hungary.


title: Franz Liszt

text: For the next eight years Liszt continued to tour Europe, spending holidays with the countess and their children on the island of Nonnenwerth on the Rhine in the summers of 1841 and 1843. In spring 1844, the couple finally separated. This was Liszt's most brilliant period as a concert pianist. Honors were showered on him and he was met with adulation wherever he went. Liszt wrote his Three Concert Études between 1845 and 1849. Since he often appeared three or four times a week in concert, it could be safe to assume that he appeared in public well over a thousand times during this eight-year period. Moreover, his great fame as a pianist, which he would continue to enjoy long after he had officially retired from the concert stage, was based mainly on his accomplishments during this time.


title: Franz Liszt

text: During his virtuoso heyday, Liszt was described by the writer Hans Christian Andersen as a "slim young man...[with] dark hair hung around his pale face". He was seen as handsome by many, with the German poet Heinrich Heine writing concerning his showmanship during concerts: "How powerful, how shattering was his mere physical appearance".


title: Franz Liszt

text: In 1841, Franz Liszt was admitted to the Freemason's lodge "Unity" "Zur Einigkeit", in Frankfurt am Main. He was promoted to the second degree and elected master as a member of the lodge "Zur Eintracht", in Berlin. From 1845, he was also an honorary member of the lodge "Modestia cum Libertate" at Zürich and in 1870 of the lodge in Pest (Budapest-Hungary). After 1842, "Lisztomania"—coined by 19th-century German poet and Liszt's contemporary, Heinrich Heine—swept across Europe. The reception that Liszt enjoyed, as a result, can be described only as hysterical. Women fought over his silk handkerchiefs and velvet gloves, which they ripped to shreds as souvenirs. This atmosphere was fuelled in great part by the artist's mesmeric personality and stage presence. Many witnesses later testified that Liszt's playing raised the mood of audiences to a level of mystical ecstasy.


title: Franz Liszt

text: On 14 March 1842, Liszt received an honorary doctorate from the University of Königsberg—an honor unprecedented at the time and an especially important one from the perspective of the German tradition. Liszt never used 'Dr. Liszt' or 'Dr. Franz Liszt' publicly. Ferdinand Hiller, a rival of Liszt at the time, was allegedly highly jealous of the decision made by the university.


title: Franz Liszt

text: Adding to his reputation was the fact that Liszt gave away much of his proceeds to charity and humanitarian causes in his whole life. In fact, Liszt had made so much money by his mid-forties that virtually all his performing fees after 1857 went to charity. While his work for the Beethoven monument and the Hungarian National School of Music is well known, he also gave generously to the building fund of Cologne Cathedral, the establishment of a "Gymnasium" at Dortmund, and the construction of the Leopold Church in Pest. There were also private donations to hospitals, schools, and charitable organizations such as the Leipzig Musicians Pension Fund. When he found out about the Great Fire of Hamburg, which raged for three days during May 1842 and destroyed much of the city, he gave concerts in aid of the thousands of homeless there.


title: Franz Liszt

text: In February 1847, Liszt played in Kiev. There he met the Polish Princess Carolyne zu Sayn-Wittgenstein, who was to become one of the most significant people in the rest of his life. She persuaded him to concentrate on composition, which meant giving up his career as a traveling virtuoso. After a tour of the Balkans, Turkey, and Russia that summer, Liszt gave his final concert for pay at Yelisavetgrad in September. He spent the winter with the princess at her estate in Woronince. By retiring from the concert platform at 35, while still at the height of his powers, Liszt succeeded in keeping the legend of his playing untarnished.


title: Franz Liszt

text: The following year, Liszt took up a long-standing invitation of Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia to settle at Weimar, where he had been appointed "Kapellmeister Extraordinaire" in 1842, remaining there until 1861. During this period he acted as conductor at court concerts and on special occasions at the theatre. He gave lessons to a number of pianists, including the great virtuoso Hans von Bülow, who married Liszt's daughter Cosima in 1857 (years later, she would marry Richard Wagner). He also wrote articles championing Berlioz and Wagner. Finally, Liszt had ample time to compose and during the next 12 years revised or produced those orchestral and choral pieces upon which his reputation as a composer mainly rested.


title: Franz Liszt

text: During those twelve years, he also helped raise the profile of the exiled Wagner by conducting the overtures of his operas in concert, Liszt and Wagner would have a profound friendship that lasted until Wagner's death in Venice in 1883.


title: Franz Liszt

text: Princess Carolyne lived with Liszt during his years in Weimar. She eventually wished to marry Liszt, but since she had been previously married and her husband, Russian military officer Prince Nikolaus zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Ludwigsburg (1812–1864), was still alive, she had to convince the Roman Catholic authorities that her marriage to him had been invalid. After huge efforts and a monstrously intricate process, she was temporarily successful (September 1860). It was planned that the couple would marry in Rome, on 22 October 1861, Liszt's 50th birthday. Although Liszt arrived in Rome on 21 October, the marriage was made impossible by a letter that had arrived the previous day to the Pope himself. It appears that both her husband and the Tsar of Russia had managed to quash permission for the marriage at the Vatican. The Russian government also impounded her several estates in the Polish Ukraine, which made her later marriage to anybody unfeasible.


title: Franz Liszt

text: The 1860s were a period of great sadness in Liszt's private life. On 13 December 1859, he lost his 20-year-old son Daniel, and, on 11 September 1862, his 26-year-old daughter Blandine also died. In letters to friends, Liszt announced that he would retreat to a solitary living. He found it at the monastery "Madonna del Rosario", just outside Rome, where on 20 June 1863, he took up quarters in a small, spartan apartment. He had on 23 June 1857, already joined the Third Order of Saint Francis.


title: Franz Liszt

text: On 25 April 1865, he received the tonsure at the hands of Cardinal Hohenlohe. On 31 July 1865, he received the four minor orders of porter, lector, exorcist, and acolyte. After this ordination, he was often called "Abbé" Liszt. On 14 August 1879, he was made an honorary canon of Albano.


title: Franz Liszt

text: On some occasions, Liszt took part in Rome's musical life. On 26 March 1863, at a concert at the Palazzo Altieri, he directed a programme of sacred music. The "Seligkeiten" of his "Christus-Oratorio" and his "Cantico del Sol di Francesco d'Assisi", as well as Haydn's "Die Schöpfung" and works by J. S. Bach, Beethoven, Jommelli, Mendelssohn, and Palestrina were performed. On 4 January 1866, Liszt directed the "Stabat mater" of his "Christus-Oratorio", and, on 26 February 1866, his "Dante Symphony". There were several further occasions of similar kind, but in comparison with the duration of Liszt's stay in Rome, they were exceptions.