title: Intermodal container

text: General purpose 53’ containers were introduced in the United States in 1989, and are used both in the US and Canada, mainly for domestic road and rail transport. They are considered High-Cubes, based on their ISO-standard height. Their width of however makes them wider than ISO-standard containers. These large boxes have 60% more capacity than 40’ containers, enabling shippers to consolidate more cargo into fewer containers.


title: Intermodal container

text: Generally, North American 53-foot containers were not constructed strong enough to endure the rigors of ocean transport, but in 2007 container carrier American President Lines introduced the first 53-foot ocean-capable containers. All new, reinforced 53-foot boxes were built specifically for international trade and designed to withstand ocean voyages on its South China-to-Los Angeles service. In 2013 however, APL stopped offering vessel space for 53-foot containers on its trans-Pacific ships. Nevertheless, In 2015 both Crowley and TOTE Maritime each announced the construction of their respective second combined container and roll-on/roll-off ships for Puerto Rico trade, with the specific design to maximize cubic cargo capacity by carrying 53-foot, containers.


title: Intermodal container

text: In May 2017, Canadian Tire and Canadian Pacific Railway announced deployment of the first 60-foot intermodal containers in North America. The containers allow Canadian Tire to increase the volume of goods shipped per container by 13%.


title: Intermodal container

text: The ISO 668 standard has so far never standardized containers to be the same height as so-called "Standard-height", , 20- and 40-foot containers. By the ISO standard, 10-foot (and previously included 5-ft and 6-ft boxes) are only of unnamed, 8-foot (2.44 m) height. But industry makes 10-foot units more frequently of height, to mix, match (and stack) better in a fleet of longer, 8 ft 6 in tall containers. Smaller units, on the other hand, are no longer standardized, leading to deviating lengths, like or , with non-standard widths of 2.20 m / 86.6 in and 1.95 m / 76¾ in respectively, and non-standard heights of 2.26 m / 7 ft 5 in and 1.91 m / 6 ft 3.2 in respectively, for storage or off-shore use.


title: Intermodal container

text: The United States military continues to use small containers, strongly reminiscent of their Transporter and Conex boxes of the 1950s and 1960s. These mostly comply with (previous) ISO standard dimensions, or are a direct derivative thereof. Current terminology of the United States armed forces calls these small containers Bicon, Tricon and Quadcon, with sizes that correspond with (previous) ISO 668 standard sizes 1D, 1E and 1F respectively. These containers are of a standard height, and with a footprint size either one half (Bicon), one third (Tricon) or one quarter (Quadcon) the size of a standard 20-foot, one TEU container. At a nominal length of , two Bicons coupled together lengthwise match one 20-foot ISO container, but their height is shy of the more commonly available 10-foot ISO containers of so-called 'standard' height, which are tall. Tricons and Quadcons however have to be coupled transversely – either three or four in a row – to be stackable with twenty foot containers. Their length of corresponds to the width of a standard 20-foot container, which is why there are forklift pockets at their ends, as well as in the sides of these boxes, and the doors only have one locking bar each. The smallest of these, the Quadcon, exists in two heights: or . Only the first conforms to ISO-668 standard dimensions (size 1F).


title: Intermodal container

text: In Japan's domestic freight rail transport, most of the containers are long in order to fit Japan's unique standard pallet sizes.


title: Intermodal container

text: Each container is allocated a standardized ISO 6346 reporting mark (ownership code), four letters long ending in either U, J or Z, followed by six digits and a check digit. The ownership code for intermodal containers is issued by the (International container bureau, abbr. B.I.C.) in France, hence the name "BIC-Code" for the intermodal container reporting mark. So far there exist only four-letter BIC-Codes ending in "U".


title: Intermodal container

text: The placement and registration of BIC Codes is standardized by the commissions TC104 and TC122 in the JTC1 of the ISO which are dominated by shipping companies. Shipping containers are labelled with a series of identification codes that includes the manufacturer code, the ownership code, usage classification code, UN placard for hazardous goods and reference codes for additional transport control and security.


title: Intermodal container

text: Following the extended usage of pallet-wide containers in Europe the EU started the Intermodal Loading Unit (ILU) initiative. This showed advantages for intermodal transport of containers and swap bodies. This led to the introduction of ILU-Codes defined by the standard EN 13044 which has the same format as the earlier BIC-Codes. The International Container Office BIC agreed to only issue ownership codes ending with U, J or Z. The new allocation office of the UIRR (International Union of Combined Road-Rail Transport Companies) agreed to only issue ownership reporting marks for swap bodies ending with A, B, C, D or K – companies having a BIC-Code ending with U can allocate an ILU-Code ending with K having the same preceding letters. Since July 2011 the new ILU codes can be registered, beginning with July 2014 all intermodal ISO containers and intermodal swap bodies must have an ownership code and by July 2019 all of them must bear a standard-conforming placard.


title: Intermodal container

text: Containers are transferred between rail, truck, and ship by container cranes at container terminals. Forklifts, reach stackers, straddle carriers, container jacks and cranes may be used to load and unload trucks or trains outside of container terminals. Swap bodies, sidelifters, tilt deck trucks, and hook trucks allow transfer to and from trucks with no extra equipment.


title: Intermodal container

text: ISO-standard containers can be handled and lifted in a variety of ways by their corner fixtures, but the structure and strength of 45-foot (type E) containers limits their tolerance of side-lifting, nor can they be forklifted, based on ISO 3874 (1997).


title: Intermodal container

text: Containers can be transported by container ship, truck and freight trains as part of a single journey without unpacking. Units can be secured in transit using "twistlock" points located at each corner of the container. Every container has a unique BIC code painted on the outside for identification and tracking, and is capable of carrying up to 20–25 tonnes. Costs for transport are calculated in twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU).


title: Intermodal container

text: When carried by rail, containers may be carried on flatcars or well cars. The latter are specially designed for container transport, and can accommodate double-stacked containers. However, the loading gauge of a rail system may restrict the modes and types of container shipment. The smaller loading gauges often found in European railroads will only accommodate single-stacked containers. In some countries, such as the United Kingdom, there are sections of the rail network through which high-cube containers cannot pass, or can pass through only on well cars. On the other hand, Indian Railways runs double-stacked containers on flatcars under 25 kV overhead electrical wires. The wires must be at least above the track. China Railway also runs double-stacked containers under overhead wires, but must use well cars to do so, since the wires are only above the track.


title: Intermodal container

text: About 90% of non-bulk cargo worldwide is transported by container, and the largest container ships can carry over 19,000 TEU (Twenty-Foot Equivalent, or how many 20 foot containers can fit on a ship). Between 2011 and 2013, an average of 2,683 containers were reported lost at sea. Other estimates go up to 10,000; of these 10% are expected to contain chemicals toxic to marine life. Various systems are used for securing containers on ships. Losses of containers at sea are low.


title: Intermodal container

text: Containers can also be transported in planes, as seen within intermodal freight transport. However, transporting containers in this way is typically avoided due to the cost of doing such and the lack of availability of planes which can accommodate such awkwardly sized cargo.


title: Intermodal container

text: There are many established methods and materials for stabilizing and securing intermodal containers loaded on ships, as well as the internal cargo inside the boxes. Conventional restraint methods and materials such as steel strapping and wood blocking and bracing have been around for decades and are still widely used. Polyester strapping and lashing, and synthetic webbings are also common today. Dunnage bags (also known as "air bags") are used to keep unit loads in place.


title: Intermodal container

text: Flexi-bags can also be directly loaded, stacked in food-grade containers. Indeed, their standard shape fills the entire ground surface of a 20 ft ISO container.


title: Intermodal container

text: Intermodal containers which contain valuables can be the target of break-ins and burglary when left unattended. In these cases, the container may be fitted with a security system consisting of a motion detector and panel inside the container. The panel can trigger a siren, strobe, or light to deter intruders, or use a radio signal to alert security guards.


title: Intermodal container

text: Items that were packed incorrectly may come loose and cause a false response from an inside motion detector. If criminals break in by cutting through a wall of the container, the obstructed motion detector becomes useless. Tomographic motion detectors work well in intermodal containers because they do not require a line of sight to detect motion. The entire container is covered by a volumetric sensing mesh that is not blocked by equipment or inventory. Tomographic motion detection is not prone to misdetection due to dirt buildup as is the case for beams and infrared sensors.


title: Intermodal container

text: Container-sized units are also often used for moving large pieces of equipment to temporary sites. Specialised containers are particularly attractive to militaries already using containerisation to move much of their freight around. Shipment of specialized equipment in this way simplifies logistics and may prevent identification of high value equipment by enemies. Such systems may include command and control facilities, mobile operating theatres or even missile launchers (such as the Russian 3M-54 Klub surface-to-surface missile).


title: Intermodal container

text: Half the containers that enter the United States leave empty. Their value in the US is lower than in China, so they are sometimes used for other purposes. This is typically but not always at the end of their voyaging lives. The US military often used its Conex containers as on-site storage, or easily transportable housing for command staff and medical clinics. Nearly all of the more than 150,000 Conex containers shipped to Vietnam remained in the country, primarily as storage or other mobile facilities. Permanent or semi-permanent placement of containers for storage is common. A regular forty-foot container has about of steel, which takes of energy to melt down. Repurposing used shipping containers is increasingly a practical solution to both social and ecological problems. The global ISO Container industry valued at 686.6 thousand units in 2021 and 743.0 thousand units in 2022 respectively.


title: Intermodal container

text: Shipping container architecture employs used shipping containers as the main framing of modular home designs, where the steel may be an integrated part of the design, or be camouflaged into a traditional looking home. They have also been used to make temporary shops, cafes, and computer datacenters, e.g. the Sun Modular Datacenter.


title: Intermodal container

text: Intermodal containers are not strong enough for conversion to underground bunkers without additional bracing, as the walls cannot sustain much lateral pressure and will collapse. Also, the wooden floor of many used containers could contain some fumigation residues, rendering them unsuitable as confined spaces, such as for prison cells or bunkers. Cleaning or replacing the wood floor can make these used containers habitable, with proper attention to such essential issues as ventilation and insulation.


title: Caroline Schermerhorn Astor

text: Caroline Webster "Lina" Schermerhorn Astor (September 22, 1830 – October 30, 1908) was a prominent American socialite of the second half of the 19th century who led the Four Hundred. Famous for being referred to later in life as "the Mrs. Astor" or simply "Mrs. Astor", she was the wife of businessman, racehorse breeder/owner, and yachtsman William Backhouse Astor Jr. She was the mother of five children, including Colonel John Jacob Astor IV, who perished on the RMS "Titanic". Through her marriage, she was a prominent member of the Astor family and matriarch of the male line of American Astors.


title: Caroline Schermerhorn Astor

text: Lina was born on September 22, 1830 into a wealthy family who were part of New York City's Dutch aristocracy, descendants of the city's original settlers. Her father, Abraham Schermerhorn (1783–1850), and the extended Schermerhorn family were engaged in shipping. At the time of Lina's birth, Abraham was worth half a million dollars (equivalent to $ million in ). Her mother was Helen Van Courtlandt (née White) Schermerhorn (1792–1881). Lina was the couple's ninth child. Her older sister Elizabeth married General James I. Jones, who owned a vast farm in upper Manhattan called Jones's Wood.


title: Caroline Schermerhorn Astor

text: Her maternal grandparents were Henry White and Anne (née Van Cortlandt) White while her paternal grandparents were Peter Schermerhorn and Elizabeth (née Bussing) Schermerhorn. Among her extended Schermerhorn family was first cousin, William Colford Schermerhorn, the father of Annie Schermerhorn Kane, wife of John Innes Kane (a great-grandson of John Jacob Astor).


title: Caroline Schermerhorn Astor

text: At the time of her birth, her family lived at 1 Greenwich Street, near the Bowling Green, but the population growth and increasing urbanization of lower Manhattan in the 1830s led her family to move farther north to 36 Bond Street, near the ultra fashionable "Lafayette Place," which had been developed by her future husband's paternal grandfather, fur-trader John Jacob Astor.


title: Caroline Schermerhorn Astor

text: Young Lina was educated at a school run by Mrs. Bensee, a French emigree. There she learned to speak French fluently.


title: Caroline Schermerhorn Astor

text: On September 23, 1853, she married William Backhouse Astor Jr. (1829–1892) at Trinity Church. Her husband was the middle son of real estate businessman William Backhouse Astor Sr. and Margaret Alida Rebecca Armstrong. His paternal grandfather was John Jacob Astor and his maternal grandparents were Senator John Armstrong Jr. and Alida (née Livingston) Armstrong, daughter of Robert Livingston of the Livingston family.


title: Caroline Schermerhorn Astor

text: Her husband's family, the Astors, had made a fortune initially through the fur trade, and later through investing in New York City real estate. Despite the wealth of the Astor family, Lina had the superior pedigree as a member of an old Knickerbocker (original 1600's Dutch settlers of Manhattan) family.


title: Caroline Schermerhorn Astor

text: Although popularly imagined as wholly preoccupied with "Society", for the first several decades of her married life, Lina Astor was principally occupied with raising her five children and running her household, as was typical of women of her class in mid-19th-century New York City. Due to an inheritance from her parents, Lina had her own money, thus she was far less dependent on her husband than most American women of the time.


title: Caroline Schermerhorn Astor

text: In 1862, she and her husband built a four-bay townhouse in the newly fashionable brownstone style at 350 Fifth Avenue, the present site of the Empire State Building. The home was next door to her husband's elder brother, John Jacob Astor III; the two families were next-door neighbors for 28 years, although the Astor brothers' wives did not get along. The Astors also maintained a grand "summer cottage" in Newport, Rhode Island, called Beechwood, which had a ballroom large enough to fit "The 400" – the most fashionable socialites of the day. It also neighbored his brother's family, who lived at Beaulieu.


title: Caroline Schermerhorn Astor

text: In the decades following the Civil War the population of New York City grew almost exponentially, and immigrants and wealthy "arrivistes" from the Midwest began challenging the dominance of the old New York Establishment. Aided by the social arbiter Ward McAllister, whose first cousin, Samuel Cutler Ward, had married into the Astor family, Lina attempted to codify proper behavior and etiquette, as well as determine who was acceptable among the "arrivistes" for an increasingly heterogeneous city. They were the champions of old money and tradition.


title: Caroline Schermerhorn Astor

text: McAllister once stated that, amongst the vastly rich families of Gilded Age New York, there were only 400 people who could be counted as members of Fashionable Society. He did not, as is commonly written, arrive at this number based on the limitations of Mrs. Astor's New York City ballroom. (McAllister referred to her as the "Mystic Rose".) Her husband's lack of interest in the social whirl did not stop but instead fueled her burgeoning social activities, which increased in intensity as her children grew older.


title: Caroline Schermerhorn Astor

text: Lina was the foremost authority on the "Aristocracy" of New York in the late nineteenth century. She held ornate and elaborate parties for herself and other members of the elite New York socialite crowd. None was permitted to attend these gatherings without an official calling card from her. Lina's social groups were dominated by strong-willed "aristocratic" females. These social gatherings were dependent on overly conspicuous luxury and publicity. More so than the gatherings themselves, importance was highly placed upon the group as the upper-crust of New York's elite. She and her ladies therefore represented the "Aristocratic", or the Old Money, whereas the newly wealthy Vanderbilt family would establish a new wave of New Money.


title: Caroline Schermerhorn Astor

text: The Vanderbilts, as members of socialite New York through the copious amounts of money that the family had earned rather than inherited, represented a type of wealth that was abhorrent to Astor and her group. "The" Mrs. Astor found railroad money distasteful. For this reason, Astor was reluctant to call upon the Vanderbilt girls. In 1883, however, Astor was forced to formally acknowledge the wealthy socialite Alva Erskine Smith, first wife of horse breeder/railroad manager William Kissam Vanderbilt, thereby providing the Vanderbilts, the greatest "new" fortune in New York, entrance into the highest rungs of society.


title: Caroline Schermerhorn Astor

text: An oft-repeated New York legend has it that Alva Vanderbilt had planned an elaborate costume ball for her housewarming, with entertainments given by young society figures, but at the last minute notified young Caroline Astor (Lina's youngest daughter) that she could not participate, because Astor had never formally called on Vanderbilt. Also likely, Astor had noted the rising social profile of the Vanderbilt family, led by Alva and Willie and, viewing them as useful allies in her efforts to keep New York society exclusive, had called formally on the Vanderbilts prior to Alva's lavish ball which Astor herself attended. The Vanderbilts were subsequently invited to Astor's annual ball, a formal acknowledgement of their full acceptance into the upper echelon of New York society.


title: Caroline Schermerhorn Astor

text: Until 1887, Lina Astor had been formally known as "Mrs. William Astor", but with Charlotte Augusta Gibbes' death that year, she shortened her formal title to "Mrs. Astor", as she was then the senior Mrs. Astor, the only remaining one in her generation. Charlotte's son, William Waldorf Astor, felt that his own wife, Mary "Mamie" Dahlgren Paul, should be "the Mrs. Astor." With the death of John Jacob Astor III in 1890, William Waldorf Astor had inherited his father's share of the Astor holdings and, titularly, became the head of the Astor family. In his mind, this made Mamie ""The" Mrs. Astor." However, Mamie was eighteen years younger than Lina and lacked Lina's social power.


title: Caroline Schermerhorn Astor

text: His further attempts at challenging Lina's preeminence in New York society, however, were thwarted, and he soon moved with his family to England, where he later became a viscount.


title: Caroline Schermerhorn Astor

text: In retaliation for his aunt's intransigence, William Waldorf Astor had his father's house torn down and replaced by the first Waldorf Hotel. The hotel was specifically designed to overshadow Mrs. Astor's mansion, which was right next door, in an attempt to overshadow her status with it. The Waldorf Hotel was thirteen stories tall and was built in the form of a German Renaissance chateau: it thus not only overshadowed Lina, but all other structures in the neighborhood as well. Mrs. Astor famously stated about the hotel, "There's a glorified tavern next door."


title: Caroline Schermerhorn Astor

text: Until the opulence of the Waldorf Hotel revolutionized how New York socialized publicly, polite society did not gather in public places, especially hotels. Unwilling to live next door to New York's latest sensation and public draw, she and her son, Jack, first contemplated tearing down her house and replacing it with livery stables. Eventually she and Jack tore down their house and erected another hotel at its site, the Astoria, and soon the two hotels merged and became the original Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. Astor consequently built a double mansion, one of the largest ever built in New York, for her and her son, with Mrs. Astor occupying the northern residence, 841 Fifth Avenue and her son occupying the southern half, 840 Fifth Avenue.


title: Caroline Schermerhorn Astor

text: The Astors' Fifth Avenue home and the Astoria Hotel were both eventually torn down in 1927 and 1928 to make way for Temple Emanu-El and the Empire State Building, respectively.


title: Caroline Schermerhorn Astor

text: By the time she moved into her new house facing Central Park, at the corner of 65th Street, her husband had died, and she lived with her son and his family. Astor spent her last several years suffering from periodic dementia. She died at age 78 on October 30, 1908, and was interred in the Trinity Church Cemetery in upper Manhattan.


title: Caroline Schermerhorn Astor

text: Her youngest daughter, Carrie, erected a commemorative 39 foot tall (11.9 m) cenotaph in her memory, in addition to her uptown burial plot. The inscription is dated A.D. MDMXIV and the cenotaph is located within the small churchyard cemetery at the intersection of Broadway and Wall Street, in which many prominent early Americans are buried.


title: Caroline Schermerhorn Astor

text: Following Mrs. Astor's death, it reportedly took three women to fill her role in New York Society: Marion Graves Anthon Fish, the wife of Stuyvesant Fish, Theresa Fair Oelrichs, the wife of Hermann Oelrichs, and Alva Belmont, by then the wife of Oliver Belmont.


title: Ordre des Arts et des Lettres

text: The Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Order of Arts and Letters) is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is the recognition of significant contributions to the arts, literature, or the propagation of these fields.


title: Ordre des Arts et des Lettres

text: Its origin is attributed to the Order of Saint Michael (established 1 August 1469), as acknowledged by French government sources.


title: Ordre des Arts et des Lettres

text: To be considered for the award, French government guidelines stipulate that citizens of France must be at least thirty years old, respect French civil law, and must have "significantly contributed to the enrichment of the French cultural inheritance".


title: Ordre des Arts et des Lettres

text: Membership is not, however, limited to French nationals; recipients include numerous foreign luminaries. Foreign recipients are admitted into the Order "without condition of age".


title: Ordre des Arts et des Lettres

text: The (medallion) of the Order is an eight-pointed, green-enameled asterisk, in gilt for Commanders and Officers and in silver for Knights; the obverse central disc has the letters "A" and "L" on a white-enameled background, surrounded by a golden ring emblazoned with the phrase . The reverse central disc features the head of Marianne on a golden background, surrounded by a golden ring bearing the words . The Commander's badge is topped by a gilt twisted ring.


title: Ordre des Arts et des Lettres

text: According to the statutes of the Order, French citizens must wait a minimum of 5 years before they are eligible to be upgraded from to , or to , and must have displayed additional meritorious deeds than just those that originally made them a . However, in the statutes, there is a clause saying "". (Translation: "The officers and commanders of the Legion of Honour can be promoted directly to an equivalent grade in the Order of Arts and Letters".) This means that if someone were to be made of the Legion of Honour, then the next year, that person could be directly made of the Order of Arts and Letters and bypass a nomination as a knight and the five-year rule.


title: Lottery

text: A lottery is a form of gambling that involves the drawing of numbers at random for a prize. Some governments outlaw lotteries, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national or state lottery. It is common to find some degree of regulation of lottery by governments. The most common regulation is prohibition of sale to minors, and vendors must be licensed to sell lottery tickets. Although lotteries were common in the United States and some other countries during the 19th century, by the beginning of the 20th century, most forms of gambling, including lotteries and sweepstakes, were illegal in the U.S. and most of Europe as well as many other countries. This remained so until well after World War II. In the 1960s, casinos and lotteries began to re-appear throughout the world as a means for governments to raise revenue without raising taxes.


title: Lottery

text: Lotteries come in many formats. For example, the prize can be a fixed amount of cash or goods. In this format, there is risk to the organizer if insufficient tickets are sold. More commonly, the prize fund will be a fixed percentage of the receipts. A popular form of this is the "50–50" draw, where the organizers promise that the prize will be 50% of the revenue. Many recent lotteries allow purchasers to select the numbers on the lottery ticket, resulting in the possibility of multiple winners.


title: Lottery

text: The first recorded signs of a lottery are keno slips from the Chinese Han Dynasty between 205 and 187 BC. These lotteries are believed to have helped to finance major government projects like the Great Wall of China. From the Chinese "Book of Songs" (2nd millennium BC.) comes a reference to a game of chance as "the drawing of wood", which in context appears to describe the drawing of lots.


title: Lottery

text: The first known European lotteries were held during the Roman Empire, mainly as an amusement at dinner parties. Each guest would receive a ticket, and prizes would often consist of fancy items such as dinnerware. Every ticket holder would be assured of winning something. This type of lottery, however, was no more than the distribution of gifts by wealthy noblemen during the Saturnalian revelries. The earliest records of a lottery offering tickets for sale is the lottery organized by Roman Emperor Augustus. The funds were for repairs in the City of Rome, and the winners were given prizes in the form of articles of unequal value.


title: Lottery

text: The first recorded lotteries to offer tickets for sale with prizes in the form of money were held in the Low Countries in the 15th century. Various towns held public lotteries to raise money for town fortifications, and to help the poor. The town records of Ghent, Utrecht, and Bruges indicate that lotteries may be even older. A record dated 9 May 1445 at L'Ecluse refers to raising funds to build walls and town fortifications, with a lottery of 4,304 tickets and total prize money of 1737 florins (worth about US$170,000 in 2014). In the 17th century it was quite usual in the Netherlands to organize lotteries to collect money for the poor or in order to raise funds for a wide range of public usages. The lotteries proved very popular and were hailed as a painless form of taxation. The Dutch state-owned "Staatsloterij" is the oldest running lottery (1726). The English word lottery is derived from the Dutch noun "lot" meaning "fate".


title: Lottery

text: The first recorded Italian lottery was held on 9 January 1449 in Milan organized by the Golden Ambrosian Republic to finance the war against the Republic of Venice. However, it was in Genoa that "Lotto" became very popular. People used to bet on the name of Great Council members, who were drawn by chance, five out of ninety candidates every six months. This kind of gambling was called "Lotto" or "Semenaiu". When people wanted to bet more frequently than twice a year, they began to substitute the candidates names with numbers and modern lotto was born, to which both modern legal lotteries and the illegal numbers game can trace their ancestry.


title: Lottery

text: King Francis I of France discovered the lotteries during his campaigns in Italy and decided to organize such a lottery in his kingdom to help the state finances. The first French lottery, the "Loterie Royale", was held in 1539 and was authorized with the edict of Châteaurenard. This attempt was a fiasco, since the tickets were very costly and the social classes which could afford them opposed the project. During the two following centuries lotteries in France were forbidden or, in some cases, tolerated.


title: Lottery

text: Although the English probably first experimented with raffles and similar games of chance, the first recorded official lottery was chartered by Queen Elizabeth I, in the year 1566, and was drawn in 1569. The 400,000 tickets issued cost 10 shillings (£0.50) each (roughly three weeks of wages for ordinary citizens), with the grand prize worth roughly £5,000. This lottery was designed to raise money for the "reparation of the havens and strength of the Realme, and towardes such other publique good workes", including the rebuilding of ports and new ships for the royal fleet. Each ticket holder won a prize, and the total value of the prizes equalled the money raised. Prizes were in the form of both "ready money" and valuable commodities such as silver plate, tapestries, and fine linen cloth. Additionally, each participant was granted immunity from one arrest, "so long as the crime wasn't piracy, murder, felonies, or treason." The lottery was promoted by scrolls posted throughout the country showing sketches of the prizes.


title: Lottery

text: Thus, the lottery money received was an interest free loan to the government during the three years that the tickets ('without any Blankes') were sold. In later years, the government sold the lottery ticket rights to brokers, who in turn hired agents and runners to sell them. These brokers eventually became the modern day stockbrokers for various commercial ventures.


title: Lottery

text: Most people could not afford the entire cost of a lottery ticket, so the brokers would sell shares in a ticket; this resulted in tickets being issued with a notation such as "Sixteenth" or "Third Class".


title: Lottery

text: Many private lotteries were held, including raising money for The Virginia Company of London to support its settlement in America at Jamestown. The English State Lottery ran from 1694 until 1826. Thus, the English lotteries ran for over 250 years, until the government, under constant pressure from the opposition in parliament, declared a final lottery in 1826. This lottery was held up to ridicule by contemporary commentators as "the last struggle of the speculators on public credulity for popularity to their last dying lottery".


title: Lottery

text: An English lottery, authorized by King James I in 1612, granted the Virginia Company of London the right to raise money to help establish settlers in the first permanent English colony at Jamestown, Virginia.


title: Lottery

text: Lotteries in colonial America played a significant part in the financing of both private and public ventures. It has been recorded that more than 200 lotteries were sanctioned between 1744 and 1776, and played a major role in financing roads, libraries, churches, colleges, canals, bridges, etc.


title: Lottery

text: In the 1740s, the foundation of Princeton and Columbia Universities was financed by lotteries, as was the University of Pennsylvania by the Academy Lottery in 1755.


title: Lottery

text: During the French and Indian Wars, several colonies used lotteries to help finance fortifications and their local militia. In May 1758, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts raised money with a lottery for the "Expedition against Canada".


title: Lottery

text: Benjamin Franklin organized a lottery to raise money to purchase cannons for the defense of Philadelphia. Several of these lotteries offered prizes in the form of "Pieces of Eight". George Washington's Mountain Road Lottery in 1768 was unsuccessful, but these rare lottery tickets bearing Washington's signature became collectors' items; one example sold for about $15,000 in 2007. Washington was also a manager for Col. Bernard Moore's "Slave Lottery" in 1769, which advertised land and slaves as prizes in "The Virginia Gazette".


title: Lottery

text: At the outset of the Revolutionary War, the Continental Congress used lotteries to raise money to support the Colonial Army. Alexander Hamilton wrote that lotteries should be kept simple, and that "Everybody ... will be willing to hazard a trifling sum for the chance of considerable gain ... and would prefer a small chance of winning a great deal to a great chance of winning little". Taxes had never been accepted as a way to raise public funding for projects, and this led to the popular belief that lotteries were a form of hidden tax.


title: Lottery

text: At the end of the Revolutionary War the various states had to resort to lotteries to raise funds for numerous public projects.


title: Lottery

text: In Austria the first lottery was drawn in 1751, during the reign of Empress Maria Theresia, and was named "Lotto di Genova" since it was based on 90 numbers.


title: Lottery

text: Spain offers a wealth of lottery games, the majority of which are operated by Loterías y Apuestas del Estado with the remaining lotteries operated by the ONCE and the Catalan government. The first Spanish lottery game was played back in 1763 and, over the last two centuries, playing the lottery in Spain has developed into a tradition.


title: Lottery

text: The Spanish Christmas Lottery (officially Sorteo Extraordinario de Navidad [soɾˈteo ekstɾaorðiˈnaɾjo ðe naβiˈðað] or simply Lotería de Navidad [loteˈɾia ðe naβiˈðað]) is a national lottery. It is organized every year since 1812 by a branch of the Spanish Public Administration, now called Loterías y Apuestas del Estado. The name Sorteo de Navidad was used for the first time in 1892.


title: Lottery

text: The Spanish Christmas lottery is the second longest continuously running lottery in the world. This includes the years during the Spanish Civil War when the lottery draw was held in Valencia after the Republicans were forced to relocate their capital from Madrid. After the overthrow of the Republican government the lottery continued uninterrupted under the Franco regime.


title: Lottery

text: The first lottery in Australia took place in the 1880s in Sydney. It was a private sweepstakes that was quickly prohibited, despite being moved to other areas such as Queensland and Victoria. In 1916, the Australian government started their own lottery, named the 'Golden Casket Art Union', with the intention of raising money for charities and projects. Its first draw is credited with raising funds for veterans of World War One.


title: Lottery

text: Lotteries in Canada are administered by five regional organizations; the Atlantic Lottery Corporation (which serves Atlantic Canada), Loto-Québec, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, the Western Canada Lottery Corporation (which serves Western and Northern Canada, excluding British Columbia), and the British Columbia Lottery Corporation. The five regional lotteries are members of a consortium known as the Interprovincial Lottery Corporation, which administrates national games, including the flagship Lotto 6/49 and Lotto Max. The five lotteries offer draw games, scratch cards, and sports betting—the latter primarily under the brand Sport Select.


title: Lottery

text: The largest single jackpot record in Canadian lottery history was a Lotto Max drawing on January 7, 2020 for a jackpot of $70 million.


title: Lottery

text: In Finland, Veikkaus began selling lottery tickets in December 1970, and the first draw was televised on January 3, 1971. The lottery turned 40 on January 3, 2011, and by then the lottery had been drawn 2,126 times. Since then, there has been one lottery draw every week. Lottery game time usually ends on Saturday at 9:45 p.m., and the draw is usually held on Saturday at 10:15 p.m. Large public holidays on Saturdays may postpone the draw to Sunday. The lottery has two official supervisors; from 3 January 1971 to 29 September 2013, the lottery was televised on Yle TV1, and in October 2013, the lottery draws were postponed on MTV3 after ten evening news, because according to FICORA, the sponsorship cooperation between Veikkaus and Yle was illegal.


title: Lottery

text: In the current lottery played in Finland, the player chooses seven numbers between 1 and 40 (initially, until the autumn of 1980, six numbers between 1 and 40 were chosen, then for a few years seven numbers between 1 and 37 and then seven numbers between 1 and 39). In the draw, seven numbers and one (previously three and then two) additional numbers are drawn; the line price is 1 euro. The profit categories were changed, for example, from the 2011 round 41. The main victory at that time was with 7 correct results and the smallest victory with three actual and one additional number, the number of which was reduced from three to two. The lottery return percentage is 41.1.


title: Lottery

text: Another lottery game played in Finland is Vikinglotto, which can be played in all Nordic countries as well as in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. In Vikinglotto, six actual numbers and two additional numbers out of 48 are drawn. There are five winning categories: 6 correct, 5 + extra number, 5 correct, 4 correct and 3 correct.


title: Lottery

text: Lottery industry start operated in Malaysia on early 1969 by Berjaya Group. Sports Toto Malaysia Sdn Bhd is a Malaysian company, which operates in the gambling sector.


title: Lottery

text: Founded and incorporated by the Malaysian Government in 1969, it was focused on the commercialisation of 4-Digits–based games. On 1 August 1985, the government in a non-tender privatisation, sold the company to businessman Vincent Tan who merged it into his Berjaya Group.


title: Lottery

text: Today, Sports Toto is a wholly owned subsidiary of Berjaya Sports Toto Berhad (MYX: 1562), which is listed on the main market of Bursa Malaysia. It claims to be the largest operator in Malaysia of 4D-based games, with 680 sales outlets offering a total of 7 games.


title: Lottery

text: The Mexican "Lotería Nacional" dates back to the late 18th century. The goal of the Lotería is to create jobs and to "impulse the wealth redistribution process". The Lotería is also a member of the North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries.


title: Lottery

text: As measured by the total prize payout, the Spanish Christmas Lottery is considered the biggest lottery worldwide. In 2012, if all of the tickets had been sold, the total amount payout of prizes would have been worth €2.52 billion (70% of ticket sales). The total amount of all prizes of the first category called El Gordo ("the fat one") was €720 million which was distributed among 180 winning tickets (billetes) that win €4 million each.


title: Lottery

text: For 2013, due to falling demand, the number of €20 tickets available was reduced from 180 million to 160 million, reducing the potential maximum prize pool to €2.24 billion (70% of ticket sales), with a maximum potential El Gordo of €720 million.


title: Lottery

text: A lottery was first held in Thailand (then known as Siam) in 1874 during the reign of King Chulalongkorn (Rama V), as part of an international fair organised for his birthday. A lottery was organised in 1917 by the British government with Thai consent to help finance Britain's war effort. Lotteries were held intermittently until 1933, when they became regularised under the finance department.


title: Lottery

text: The present Thai lottery is managed by The Government Lottery Office, a state enterprise managed by the Ministry of Finance. The drawings take place on the 1st and 16th of each month, with the top price now up to 32 million baht.


title: Lottery

text: Shrines of local folklore and popular religion, such as Nang Ta-Khian, are often propitiated in order to be lucky in the Thai lottery draw.


title: Lottery

text: The principal lottery in the United Kingdom is the National Lottery, a state-franchised lottery sanctioned by the Gambling Commission (formerly the National Lottery Commission), and established in 1994. It is operated by the Camelot Group, which was first granted the franchise in 1994. Camelot's current franchise agreement runs through 2019. 28% of National Lottery revenue, along with all unclaimed prizes, are distributed as grants to charitable causes. 12% of the revenue from the National Lottery is expected to go to the government, 5% goes to lottery retailers, 5% is retained by Camelot Group for operating costs, and 50% remains for the total prize fund of which 5% is diverted to a Super Draw fund, leaving 45% for normal prizes.


title: Lottery

text: Northern & Shell also operates a commercial lottery known as The Health Lottery, which distributes its revenue to support health-related charities and causes. To comply with the Gambling Act, which forbids other parties from operating a national lottery, The Health Lottery operates as an umbrella corporation representing a group of 51 society lotteries across the United Kingdom with a common drawing and prize pool. Each drawing is held on behalf of one or more of the society lotteries, whose revenues go to support health-related causes in their respective area. The Health Lottery received criticism on launch for only pledging to donate 20.3% of ticket costs to charity, compared to the National Lottery's 28%, and that the lottery's structure was designed to contravene British law regarding lotteries. In the UK, winning the lottery is correlated to expressing more preference for the Conservative Party. Winning larger prizes results in a larger shift in favor of the Conservative Party.


title: Lottery

text: People's Postcode Lottery is a subscription lottery in the UK. The format was introduced by Dutch company Novamedia BV: players pay at minimum £10 monthly to play, and winning postcodes are announced daily. In accordance with restrictions under the Gambling Act 2005, the maximum amount which can be won by a single ticket is £500,000, or 10% of the total draw proceeds. A minimum of 33% of the ticket price from players' subscriptions supports various trusts, which in turn fund local and international charities and community projects. Some £850 million have been donated. People's Postcode Lottery has a number of celebrity ambassadors, including David Attenborough, Judi Dench, Shobna Gulati, Tim Healy, Stephen Jardine, Ellen MacArthur, Aggie MacKenzie, Carey Mulligan, John Stapleton and Emma Thompson.


title: Lottery

text: Lotteries are operated at the state level in the U.S.; 45 states and 3 territories operate state lotteries, and nearly all of them are members of consortiums that operate regional games, and the two near-national games Mega Millions and Powerball. In January 2016, Powerball set a record for the largest lottery jackpot in U.S. history, with its January 13, 2016 draw having an estimated jackpot of US$1.5 billion.


title: Lottery

text: The precursor to legal lotteries were the underground "numbers game" of the 1800s, which operated out of "Policy shops" where bettors choose numbers. In 1875, a report of a select committee of the New York State Assembly stated that "the lowest, meanest, worst form ... [that] gambling takes in the city of New York, is what is known as policy playing". The game was also popular in Italian neighborhoods known as the Italian lottery, and it was known in Cuban communities as "bolita" ("little ball"). By the early 20th century, the game was associated with poor communities, and could be played for as little as $0.01. The game's attractions to low income and working class bettors were the ability to bet small amounts of money, and that bookies could extend credit to the bettor. In addition, policy winners could avoid paying income tax. Different policy banks would offer different rates, though a payoff of 600 to 1 was typical. Since the odds of winning were 1000:1, the expected profit for racketeers was enormous.


title: Lottery

text: The first modern government-run US lottery was established in Puerto Rico in 1934, followed by New Hampshire in 1964.


title: Lottery

text: In 2018, Ohio became one of the first states to offer people a digital lottery option. The technology, developed by Linq3, allows players to play the lottery on their smart phones.


title: Lottery

text: There are many lotteries in India. All lotteries are run by state governments but only 13 of the 28 Indian states allow them. The leader within Indian lotteries is the Kerala State Government that started their lottery department in 1967 following the country wide ban on private lotteries.


title: Lottery

text: The Kerala State Lotteries became an inspiration for other Indian states that started their own lotteries. As of right now lotteries are available in Kerala, Goa, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, West Bengal, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Manipur, Sikkim, Nagaland and Mizoram.


title: Lottery

text: The public ban on lotteries in other states has not been very effective since several lottery providers allow Indians to play online. Indian players can play lotteries from all over the world thanks to online lottery agents and bookkeepers. Some states have tried to combat this with different measures. The state government of Tamil Nadu decided to ban GooglePay since it allows payments to online lotteries and awards its users in India with Scratchcards.


title: Lottery

text: Indian lotteries provide a substantial economic boost for the states that provide them. In the fiscal year 2017-2018 Kerala collected GST worth Rs 908 crore and state revenue of Rs 1,691 crore.


title: Lottery

text: The purchase of lottery tickets cannot be accounted for by decision models based on expected value maximization. The reason is that lottery tickets cost more than the expected gain, as shown by lottery mathematics, so someone maximizing expected value should not buy lottery tickets. Yet, lottery purchases can be explained by decision models based on expected utility maximization, as the curvature of the utility function can be adjusted to capture risk-seeking behavior. More general models based on utility functions defined on things other than the lottery outcomes can also account for lottery purchase. In addition to the lottery prizes, the ticket may enable some purchasers to experience a thrill and to indulge in a fantasy of becoming wealthy. If the entertainment value (or other non-monetary value) obtained by playing is high enough for a given individual, then the purchase of a lottery ticket could represent a gain in overall utility. In such a case, the disutility of a monetary loss could be outweighed by the combined expected utility of monetary and non-monetary gain, thus making the purchase a rational decision for that individual.


title: Lottery

text: The chances of winning a lottery jackpot can vary widely depending on the lottery design, and are determined by several factors, including the count of possible numbers, the count of winning numbers drawn, whether or not order is significant, and whether drawn numbers are returned for the possibility of further drawing.


title: Lottery

text: In a simple 6-from-49 lotto, a player chooses six numbers from 1 to 49 (no duplicates are allowed). If all six numbers on the player's ticket match those produced in the official drawing (regardless of the order in which the numbers are drawn), then the player is a jackpot winner. For such a lottery, the chance of being a jackpot winner is 1 in 13,983,816.


title: Lottery

text: In bonusball lotteries where the bonus ball is compulsory, the odds are often even lower. In the Mega Millions multi-state lottery in the United States, 5 numbers are drawn from a group of 75 and 1 number is drawn from a group of 15, and a player must match all 6 balls to win the jackpot prize. The chance of winning the jackpot is 1 in 258,890,850.


title: Lottery

text: The odds of winning can also be reduced by increasing the group from which numbers are drawn. In the SuperEnalotto of Italy, players must match 6 numbers out of 90. The chance of winning the jackpot is 1 in 622,614,630.


title: Lottery

text: Most lotteries give lesser prizes for matching just some of the winning numbers, with a lesser prize for fewer matches. Although none of these additional prizes affect the chances of winning the jackpot, they do improve the odds of winning something and therefore add a little to the value of the ticket.


title: Lottery

text: Lotteries, like any form of gambling, are susceptible to fraud, despite the high degree of scrutiny claimed by the organizers. Numerous lottery scams exist.


title: Lottery

text: Some advance fee fraud scams on the Internet are based on lotteries. The fraud starts with spam congratulating the recipient on their recent lottery win. The email explains that in order to release funds the email recipient must part with a certain amount (as tax/fees) as per the rules or risk forfeiture.


title: Lottery

text: Another form of scam involves the selling of "systems" which purport to improve a player's chances of selecting the winning numbers in a Lotto game. These scams are generally based on the buyer's (and perhaps the seller's) misunderstanding of probability and random numbers. Sale of these systems or software is legal, however, since they mention that the product cannot guarantee a win, let alone a jackpot.


title: Lottery

text: There have also been several cases of cashiers at lottery retailers who have attempted to scam customers out of their winnings. Some locations require the patron to hand the lottery ticket to the cashier to determine how much they have won, or if they have won at all, the cashier then scans the ticket to determine one or both. In cases where there is no visible or audible cue to the patron of the outcome of the scan some cashiers have taken the opportunity to claim that the ticket is a loser or that it is worth far less than it is and offer to "throw it away" or surreptitiously substitute it for another ticket. The cashier then pockets the ticket and eventually claims it as their own.


title: Lottery

text: The BBC TV series "The Real Hustle" showed a variation of the lottery scam in which a group of scammers pretended to have won a lottery, but was prevented from claiming the prize as the person who wrote the name on the back of the ticket was supposedly out of the country on that date. They were able to persuade a stranger to put up money as collateral in order to share in the prize pool.


title: Lottery

text: On some occasions, the actual lottery draw itself has been compromised by fraudsters. The 1980 Pennsylvania Lottery scandal involved weighting balls in "The Daily Number". In the Hot Lotto fraud scandal software code was added to the "Hot Lotto" random number generator allowing a fraudster to predict winning numbers on specific days of the year.


title: Lottery

text: In 2003, Mohan Srivastava, a Canadian geological statistician, found non-random patterns in "Tic-Tac-Toe" tickets sold by the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation. "Tic-Tac-Toe" was pulled off the shelves, and became the first game ever recalled by the OLG.


title: Lottery

text: Winnings (in the U.S.) are not necessarily paid out in a lump sum, contrary to the expectation of many lottery participants. In certain countries, mainly the U.S., the winner gets to choose between an annuity payment and a one-time payment. The one-time payment ("cash" or "lump sum") is a "smaller" amount than the advertised (annuity) jackpot, having regard to the time value of money, even before applying any income taxes to which the prize is subject. While withholdings vary by jurisdiction and how winnings are invested, it is suggested that a winner who chooses lump sum expects to pocket of the advertised jackpot at the end of the tax year. Therefore, a winner of a $90m jackpot who chooses cash can expect $30m net after filing income tax document(s) for the year in which the jackpot was won.


title: Lottery

text: Lottery annuities are often for a period from 20 to 30 years. Some U.S. lottery games, especially those offering a "lifetime" prize, do not offer a lump-sum option. According to some experts, choosing the annuity is better than opting for the lump-sum, especially for those who lack investment experience.


title: Lottery

text: In some online lotteries, the annual payments are only $25,000, with a balloon payment in the final year. This type of installment payment is often made through investment in government-backed securities. Online lotteries pay the winners through their insurance backup. However, many winners choose lump sum, since they believe they can get a better rate of return on their investment elsewhere.


title: Lottery

text: In some countries, lottery winnings are not subject to personal income tax, so there are no tax consequences to consider in choosing a payment option. In France, Canada, Australia, Germany, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Finland, and the United Kingdom all prizes are immediately paid out as one lump sum, tax-free to the winner. In Liechtenstein, all winnings are tax-free and the winner may opt to receive a lump sum or an annuity with regard to the jackpot prizes.


title: Lottery

text: In the US, federal courts have consistently held that lump sum payments received from third parties in exchange for the rights to lottery annuities are not capital assets for tax purpose. Rather, the lump sum is subject to ordinary income tax treatment.


title: Lottery

text: Some people hire a third party to cash the lottery ticket for them. This can be done to avoid paying income taxes, hide the winnings from being seized for child support, or for money laundering of profits from illegal activity; some jurisdictions investigate overly frequent "winners" and may freeze payments to prevent these abuses.


title: Lottery

text: In jurisdictions where public disclosure is required for winners to claim their prizes, some winners may hire an attorney to set up a blind trust for them so they can claim their prize and remain anonymous. This is done so that winners can avoid scams, jealousy, and other disadvantages that can come with winning a lottery jackpot.


title: Lottery

text: A study by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that people in Sweden who won large sums of money from the lottery tended to retain their wealth over a period of 10 years, often kept their jobs but took more vacation, and maintained or increased their happiness and mental health. The same study states that the common anecdote that "70% of people who receive a large influx of money will lose it within a few years" is false, and is falsely attributed to the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE). NEFE released a statement disassociating themselves from the claim.


title: Lottery

text: "Time Magazine" mentions a "curse of the lottery". Financial consultant Don McNay provides anecdotes supporting this claim in his book, "Life Lessons from the Lottery".


title: Mom (film)

text: Mom is a 2017 Indian Hindi-language crime thriller film directed by Ravi Udyawar from a screenplay written by Girish Kohli. The film stars Sridevi as a vigilante who sets out to avenge her stepdaughter after she is sexually assaulted at a party. The film also stars Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Akshaye Khanna, and Pakistani actors Sajal Ali and Adnan Siddiqui in supporting roles. Music for the film was composed and produced by A. R. Rahman.


title: Mom (film)

text: "Mom" was released on 7 July 2017 in four languages, and emerged as a blockbuster at the global box office, grossing worldwide. The film earned highly positive reviews from critics, with Sridevi receiving widespread critical acclaim for her "powerhouse" performance. The film marked Sridevi's 300th and final major film appearance before her death on 24 February 2018.


title: Mom (film)

text: "Mom" received 2 awards at the 65th National Film Awards: Best Actress (Sridevi), marking the first posthumous win in the category, and Best Background Score (Rahman). At the 63rd Filmfare Awards, "Mom" received 6 nominations, including Best Actress and Best Actress (Critics) (both for Sridevi) and Best Supporting Actor (Siddiqui).


title: Mom (film)

text: Mrs. Devki Sabarwal is a vivacious biology teacher who is popular among her students. In class, a student, Mohit Chadda, sends Devki's stepdaughter Arya an offensive video and Devki throws his phone out of the window. At home, despite Devki's persistent and warm approach toward her, Arya remains frosty and distant, rebuffing her attempts to build a relationship. When Arya is invited to a Valentine's Day party at a farmhouse called Zodiac Farms, Devki and her husband, Anand, permit her to go with great hesitation. Arya rejects Mohit and his cousin Charles Deewan at the party. Angered by this very public rejection, Charles, Mohit, their criminal friend Joginder "Jagan" Singh, and the security guard of the farmhouse Baburam Yadav attack Arya when she leaves the party. They brutally rape her and dump her body in a drain along the side of a road, leaving her for dead after half-strangling her. Arya is found barely alive and brought to the hospital. Devki and Anand are shattered. Arya soon recovers and releases a statement naming her attackers.


title: Mom (film)

text: Inspector Mathew Francis quickly rounds up the perpetrators. However, the case falls apart when Arya was found to be drinking, building the argument that her memory is unreliable. Furthermore, the semen samples were recovered very late and were too weak to match the attackers. The judge acquits the four attackers due to lack of evidence. Arya, still in shock and broken by the court verdict, tears away from Devki. Devki realizes she has probably lost Arya forever.


title: Mom (film)

text: Devki recalls the somewhat shady detective, Dayashankar Kapoor ("DK"), whom she'd met the night Arya was raped. A father of a daughter himself, DK understands her pain and agrees to help her seek justice and revenge for Arya.


title: Mom (film)

text: Devki seeks the help of former students to attack the security guard Baburam. They seduce and drug him. He awakens four days later, still drunk and remembering nothing, to find that he has been castrated. In a state of shock, he dies in an accident. Next, Devki breaks into Charles' home and mixes crushed apple seeds – a source of cyanide – into his fitness powder. Charles is paralyzed. When Mohit visits Charles at the hospital, Devki, tipped off by DK, plants apple seeds and other evidence at Mohit's home, but leaves behind her glasses. Inspector Mathew quickly arrests Mohit; Charles will die soon and Mohit will be charged with murder.


title: Mom (film)

text: As Devki takes down each of Arya's attackers, their situations make it on the news, which Arya follows with surprise. She believes the vigilante may be her father, and is deeply grateful to him. Mathew also suspects Anand, since he had attacked Mohit in court, but when he has him tailed, he discovers nothing. Mathew finds Devki's glasses in Mohit's apartment and begins to suspect her.


title: Mom (film)

text: Mathew warns Devki that the fourth man, Jagan, is a hardened criminal: going after him will be dangerous for her family. Jagan visits Mohit, who is being physically abused by another inmate. Jagan then visits Charles; in his final moments, Charles reveals that it is Devki who is retaliating. Jagan goes after DK and discovers that Devki is on a holiday at a snow cottage in Kufri. He kills DK and goes after Devki. Matthew discovers a hidden camera in DK's glasses and hurries to save Devki.


title: Mom (film)

text: Jagan cuts power at the cottage and shoots Anand. There is a scuffle and Arya runs out into the snow. Jagan pursues her and Devki tries to save her. As Jagan is about to kill Devki, Mathew intercepts and tackles Jagan. There is a standoff: Devki and Matthew point their guns at Jagan and Matthew attempts to talk her down by telling her that Anand is alive and if she shoots Jagan, she'll go to jail. Jagan angrily recounts how Devki finished off the other attackers and Arya overhears from the bushes. Devki knows if Jagan is left alive, he will come after her again. At this point, Mathew hands her his gun and urges her to kill him. Devki hesitates, but when an overwhelmed Arya acknowledges Devki as "Mom" for the first time, Devki shoots Jagan dead. Arya and Devki share a tearful and tender embrace.


title: Mom (film)

text: It was announced in early 2016 that Sridevi would be starring next in Boney Kapoor's woman-centric home-production titled "Mom" to be directed by Ravi Udyawar. Nawazuddin Siddiqui was cast to play an important role in the film and the actor revealed that it was a dream come true for him to work with Sridevi. Subsequently, Akshaye Khanna and actors Sajal Ali and Adnan Siddiqui were cast in crucial roles. A. R. Rahman was signed to compose the music of "Mom".


title: Mom (film)

text: Filming began in New Delhi in March 2016 around Shri Ram College of Commerce in Delhi University and Noida Film City. Following this, "Mom" was shot on an extensive schedule in Mestia, Georgia. The crew shot in freezing conditions of -7 degrees for over two months. Despite the challenging climate, shooting was successfully concluded in Georgia. Shooting resumed once more in March 2017 and the last leg of the film was completed in Bangkok.


title: Mom (film)

text: The first look of "Mom" was unveiled at the Zee Cine Awards 2017 by Salman Khan, who hailed Sridevi as "a bigger star than the Khans." Sridevi shared the first look on Twitter, where it went viral. Subsequently, the teaser of "Mom" acquired 1.2 million views in its first 24 hours on YouTube. It also met with a positive response in Pakistan. The positive reception of the teaser led to distributors in South India asking for a dubbed version of the film preemptively. The filmmakers announced that "Mom" would also be dubbed and released in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam.


title: Mom (film)

text: The film released in China on 22 March 2019, two years after its release in India. Zee Studios International, the distributors of the film, released an international poster for Chinese audiences.


title: Mom (film)

text: The film grossed 14.25 crore on its first domestic weekend. It had a domestic gross of approximately 51.78 crore. Overseas, it grossed 3.87 crore from North America, 164 million from the United Kingdom, 4.2 million from Australia, 1.4 million from New Zealand, 34.5 million from the UAE, 100,000 from Malaysia, and 36 million from the rest of the world, bringing the film's worldwide gross to in 2017.


title: Mom (film)

text: The film released in China on 10 May 2019. The film had an opening weekend gross of () in China, where it was at number four on the weekend charts, just below the Hollywood films "Pokémon Detective Pikachu" and "" and the Arabic film "Capernaum". As of 4 June 2019, the film has grossed () in China.


title: Mom (film)

text: "Mom" received highly positive reviews from critics, with Sridevi's performance receiving widespread critical acclaim. Meena Iyer of "The Times of India" rated it 4 stars out of 5 and said, "this one still manages to stay ahead with some interesting twists and turns". Sarita A Tanwar of "Daily News and Analysis" rated it 3 stars, saying, ""Mom" is interestingly cast and that's a major part of the battle won." Shubhra Gupta of "The Indian Express" rated it 2 out of 5 stars and said, "The plot is riddled with holes, and is too focused on Sridevi." Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV India rated it 3.5 stars out of 5 and said that it doesn't strictly belong to "conventional rape-and-revenge drama" category as it does not have "clearly defined moral and emotional context." Mayank Shekhar of "Mid-Day" rated it 3 out of 5 stars, saying that "the filmmakers effectively employ their talent" on the fresh ensemble cast, the characters, and "fine passages of photography and production design." IANS of "The Economic Times" said, "the scenes are cut in a way that they heighten the drama without resorting to hysteria." Kunal Guha of "Mumbai Mirror" rated it 3.5 out of 5 stars and said, "Several scenes in "Mom" wordlessly convey more than what can be said through dialogue." Rajeev Masand of News18 India rated it 2.5 out of 5 stars, saying, ""Mom" is a far from perfect film, but it's never boring." Rohit Vats of "Hindustan Times", while rating the movie 3 stars out of 5, pointed out that the film "can hold the audience's attention".


title: Mom (film)

text: Sridevi's performance received further critical praise with "India Today" calling her "unbelievably good as the mother thirsty for revenge," while "NDTV" found her "magnificently expressive as the titular figure." "Times of India" described her act as a "captivating performance where she walks you through the entire gamut of emotions with panache" while "Indian Express" declared that "Sridevi needs only a twitch or a glance to prove that she is a powerhouse and there are several scenes she lifts by just being there." "Deccan Chronicle" wrote that "Turning your eyes elsewhere will be criminal when Sridevi is on screen in the film," and "Rediff" hailed the actress as "the master of expressivity...it's classic Sridevi." Rajeev Masand declared that "Sridevi's performance elevates Mom to another level" while "TV Today" declared that "Sridevi's breakdown scene in the film must be studied in film schools." "Firstpost" commented "Here is a 53-year-old leading actress doing what Amitabh Bachchan once excelled at...Sridevi is a far more a riveting watch than a shirtless Salman Khan with his 6 plus packs or the quintessential middle-aged Hindi film hero, who refuses to grow up...Suddenly, Bollywood shines bright with hope for the heroine over 50."


title: Mom (film)

text: Manjusha Radhakrishnan of "Gulf News" commented while rating 3.5 out of 5 stars, "taut thriller studded with some superlative performances". Sadaf Siddique of "DAWN" said, "it is the riveting performances that hold the narrative together despite its flaws." Rohit Bhatnagar of "Deccan Chronicle" rated 3 out of 5 stars and said, "Although the production of the film makes it look grand and fancy, the climax is too dramatic for such an intense film."


title: Mom (film)

text: The soundtrack album was released on 27 June 2017 by T-Series. The first song of "Mom" titled "O Sona Tere Liye" earned positive reviews with "Indian Express" describing it as "a soothing balm for a hurt soul," while a writer from "The Times of India" wrote that the "song will stir your soul." Rahman won the National Film Award for Best Music Direction - Background Score.


title: Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan

text: Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan () is a 2020 Hindi-language romantic comedy film written and directed by Hitesh Kewalya and produced by Aanand L. Rai, Himanshu Sharma, Bhushan Kumar and Krishan Kumar under the banners Colour Yellow Productions and T-Series. A spiritual successor to the 2017 film "Shubh Mangal Saavdhan", whose script was also written by Kewalya, it stars Ayushmann Khurrana alongside Jitendra Kumar, Neena Gupta, Gajraj Rao and Maanvi Gagroo. The film tells the story of a gay man and his partner, who have trouble convincing the former's parents of their relation.


title: Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan

text: Filming wrapped on 16 December 2019 in Varanasi and it was theatrically released in India on 21 February 2020.


title: Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan

text: Aman Tripathi, an advertiser is from an orthodox middle-class family in Allahabad. His family consists of his mother Sunaina—a housewife, father Shankar—a conservative agricultural scientist; aunt, uncle and cousins. Aman lives with his boyfriend, Kartik Singh, in Delhi. One day, Sunaina asks him to attend Goggle's (Aman's sister) wedding to Ashok. Sunaina and Shankar intend to marry Aman off to a family friend's daughter, Kusum Nigam. Aman and Kartik board the train "Vivah Express", on which Aman's family are already present. On board the train, Aman and Kartik share a kiss, but are caught by Shankar. Kartik suggests to Aman about talking to his father. Shankar asks Aman to stay away from Kartik.


title: Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan

text: At Goggle's wedding, Shankar tries to keep Kartik and Aman away from each other but fails. Kartik and Aman share a kiss publicly, leaving everyone shocked. Shankar and Sunaina confront Aman, who in turn confronts them and they remain unconvinced of his sexuality. Meanwhile, Ashok refuses to marry Goggle due to Aman's sexuality. Kartik is whisked away by Chaman (Aman's paternal uncle) to the railway station; while Shankar blackmails Aman into agreeing to marry Kusum. Goggle runs away to the railway station and attempts suicide there, but Kartik stops her. Kartik convinces Goggle that she has a family who supports her. Goggle, in turn, convinces Kartik to win back Aman and reveals that she knew from childhood that Aman was gay.


title: Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan

text: While returning to Allahabad, Kusum tells Aman that she is already in love with another man called Rakesh. She gives a proposition: they will marry, but continue to live with their respective lovers in Delhi. Shankar and Sunaina decide to rechristen Aman in order to cleanse him of his "sins". Returning to Allahabad, the family is in the middle of rechristening when Goggle and Kartik appear at their home. Shankar beats Kartik up with a stick, rendering him unconscious. Goggle at the same time fights with her parents and protests that she does not want to marry. Meanwhile, Aman agrees to marry Kusum in order to save Kartik. The family starts the wedding preparations. Kartik tries to convince Aman to not marry Kusum, but Aman is unable to fight against his family.


title: Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan

text: On the day of the wedding, Shankar and Sunaina learn that the Supreme Court is going to deliver its judgment on the decriminalization of homosexuality the next day. They fight over their past lovers and realize that they have been living with each other half-heartedly. They feel that they do not want the same for their son, but decide to proceed with the wedding anyway, thinking that everything will be fine after the wedding. Kartik opens up one of Shankar's black cauliflowers and shows him that it is full of worms. He personifies the cauliflower as Shankar and the worms as his nature. Meanwhile, Kusum steals all of Sunaina's jewelry and escapes, leaving behind a letter in Aman's room. Kartik reads the letter and disguises as the 'bride'. Goggle finds this out and decides to help Aman and Kartik.


title: Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan

text: During the ceremony, Shankar suspects something is wrong, and inadvertently chases the "bride", when Kartik suddenly reveals himself to everyone's surprise. Goggle then hands over Kusum's note to Sunaina, shocking everyone. Aman confesses his love for Kartik in front of his family, and says that he knew his family were never going to understand him. He asks Shankar if their father-son relationship will change in any way just because he loves Kartik. He tells Sunaina that she had lost her son long before she lost her jewellery. At that moment, the police arrive to arrest Aman and Kartik, they caught Kusum trying to board a bus with the stolen jewellery, who in turn revealed to the police that Aman and Kartik are gay. The family tries to stop the police, but they refuse to leave that night saying Aman and Kartik may escape and they have to follow the law. Kusum returns the jewellery to Sunaina, who realizes that her son's happiness is more important and gives all of the jewellery to Kusum. Goggle's parents realize that marriage is not the most important thing in the world and give her their approval to stay single if that is what she wants to do. Shankar opens up more of his black cauliflowers and realizes that all of them are full of worms, which in turn makes him realize that his beliefs need to change.


title: Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan

text: The next day, the Supreme Court in its landmark judgement, decriminalizes homosexuality. Aman and Kartik reconcile with the family, and leave for Delhi. Shankar burns all of his black cauliflowers and drops Aman and Kartik at the railway station and tells them that even if he may not understand their love, he does not want Aman to stop living his life to its fullest. The final scene shows that Aman and Kartik will run until they can live their life happily.


title: Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan

text: The film was released on 21 February 2020. After Indian theatres shut down mid-March due to COVID-19, The film released on Amazon Prime Video.


title: Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan

text: The song "Gabru" was originally composed by Yo Yo Honey Singh. The song was released in 2011 in the album "International Villager". The song is sung by Romy & music was recreated by Tanishk Bagchi.


title: Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan

text: The song "Arey Pyaar Kar Le" was a remake of the song "Yaar Bina Chain Kahan Re" from the 1985 film Saaheb, was originally composed by Bappi Lahiri, lyrics by Anjaan and sung by Bappi Lahiri and S. Janaki then was recreated by Tanishk Bagchi.


title: Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan

text: The song "Kya Karte Thay Sajna" was originally sung by Anuradha Paudwal and Udit Narayan, composed by Anand–Milind and written by Majrooh Sultanpuri from the made-for-television film Lal Dupatta Malmal Ka. It is recreated by Tanishk Bagchi, voiced by Zara Khan and written by Vayu.


title: Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan

text: "Shubh Mangal Zyada Savdhaan" earned 95.5 million net at the domestic box office on its opening day. On the second day, the film collected ₹110.8 million. On the third day, the film collected ₹120.3 million taking total opening weekend collection to ₹326.6 million.


title: Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan

text: , with a gross of 72.36 crore in India and 14.03 crore overseas, the film has a worldwide gross collection of 870 million.


title: Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan

text: The film holds an approval rating of based on reviews on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of .


title: Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan

text: Pallabi Dey Purkayastha of "The Times of India" praised the cast, writing that "if Ayushmann highjacks the film with his infectious energy, a mellow Jitendra balances it out with his poker-faced humour and the relatability factor that he maintains throughout the film" and "it is noteworthy as to how well the supporting cast renders its complete (and able) support to the lead pair," while critiquing that "since the film is primarily invested in the small-town drama pertaining to the taboo around same-sex relationships, the writer-director fails to tap on the elements exclusive to small cities like Allahabad" and that "while the first half is engaging, the second half loses its sheen pretty early on and could have been trimmed down by a good 20 minutes."


title: Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan

text: Anupama Chopra of "Film Companion" noted that, ""Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan" wants to be both – an impassioned defense of same-sex love as well as a family entertainer. But the writing can't seamlessly blend the disparate elements."


title: Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan

text: Saibal Chatterjee of "NDTV" proclaimed that "The comic flights of fancy do not always take off in the right direction or land smoothly, but with the actors going all out to make the film work, some parts of "Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan" are genuinely funny and quirky. The film may be erratic in parts, but its entertainment quotient is delightfully high for a film tackling a clash between conservatism and freedom, between tradition and modernity."


title: Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan

text: Monika Rawal Kukreja of "Hindustan Times" commented that ""Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan" is an important film that talks about an important subject conveyed in the simplest manner without sounding preachy at any given point. It touches your heart, makes you laugh and stays with you for a long time."


title: Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan

text: Devesh Sharma of "Filmfare" gave the film a rating of 4/5 and urged the audience to "Watch the film for its hilarious comedy, slick all around performances and ultimately for its powerful message of love and acceptance."


title: Blaise Matuidi

text: Blaise Matuidi (born 9 April 1987) is a French professional footballer who most recently played as a midfielder for Major League Soccer club Inter Miami.


title: Blaise Matuidi

text: Matuidi began his football career playing for amateur clubs in the Île-de-France region, such as US Fontenay-sous-Bois and CO Vincennois. In 1999, he was selected to attend the prestigious Clairefontaine academy. After departing Clairefontaine, Matuidi joined semi-professional club Créteil and spent three years developing in the club's youth academy. In 2004, he signed with professional club Troyes and made his professional debut in the 2004–05 season. After three seasons with Troyes, Matuidi joined Saint-Étienne. With Saint-Étienne, he played European football for the first time after participating in the 2008–09 edition of the UEFA Cup. In the 2009–10 season, he was named first-choice captain under manager Alain Perrin. In July 2011, after four seasons with Saint-Étienne, Matuidi transferred to Paris Saint-Germain on a three-year deal. He won 16 domestic honours during his time with the club, including four consecutive Ligue 1 titles. In 2017, he joined Italian side Juventus, winning a domestic double in his first season, followed by two more consecutive league titles over the next two seasons, as well as the 2018 Supercoppa Italiana. He joined MLS club Inter Miami in the summer of 2020.


title: Blaise Matuidi

text: Matuidi is a former France youth international, having represented his nation at under-19 and under-21 level. In August 2010, Matuidi was called up to the senior team for the first time under new manager Laurent Blanc. He made his international debut in September 2010 in a UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying match against Bosnia and Herzegovina and has since represented his nation at two UEFA European Football Championships and two FIFA World Cups, winning a runners-up medal at Euro 2016, and a winner's medal at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.


title: Blaise Matuidi

text: Matuidi was born in Toulouse, Haute-Garonne, to an Angolan father, Faria Rivelino, and a Congolese mother, Élise. Rivelino emigrated to France at a young age. Matuidi has four other siblings and was raised in the Parisian suburb of Fontenay-sous-Bois. He grew an attraction to the sport of football watching Paris Saint-Germain and became an admirer of former PSG attacker Jay-Jay Okocha.


title: Blaise Matuidi

text: Matuidi began his football career at the age of six playing for hometown club US Fontenay-sous-Bois. After five years at the club, he joined CO Vincennes in nearby Vincennes, where he was teammates with Yacine Brahimi for a year. In 1999, Matuidi was rated as one of the best players in the Île-de-France region and was subsequently selected to attend the prestigious Clairefontaine academy. He trained at the academy for three seasons, playing there on weekdays while simultaneously playing for Vincennes on the weekends. In 2001, Matuidi left Vincennes to sign for semi-professional club Créteil on an "aspirant" (youth) contract. He spent four years in the club youth academy quickly becoming one of the club's most sought after prospects. Despite an intriguing offer from the two-time defending champions Lyon, Matuidi signed with Troyes, citing the club's training centre as his primary reason.


title: Blaise Matuidi

text: Matuidi began his career with Troyes playing on the club's reserve team in the Championnat de France amateur 2, the fifth division of French football. In November 2004, he was called up to the senior team by manager Jean-Marc Furlan and made his professional debut on 23 November in the team's Ligue 2 match against Gueugnon. Matuidi started the match and played over 60 minutes in a 2–1 victory. His only other appearance with the senior team in the 2004–05 season came on 4 February 2005 in a league match against Guingamp. Matuidi was relegated back to the club's reserve team for the rest of the campaign where he helped the team finish in sixth place. In the following season, Matuidi was promoted to the senior team, who were now playing in Ligue 1, on a permanent basis. He was inserted as a starter by Furlan and appeared in 31 league matches. Matuidi was also one of the league leaders in card accumulation, with 11. He scored his first professional goal on 11 January 2006 in a 1–0 victory against Lille, converting a volley that was described by the media as "magnificent." Despite the impressive individual season from Matuidi, Troyes finished only one spot above the relegation zone.


title: Blaise Matuidi

text: Following the season, on 16 June 2006, Matuidi signed his first professional contract, agreeing to a four-year deal with Troyes despite interest from English club Charlton Athletic. Despite the firing of Furlan, Matuidi remained first-choice under new manager Denis Troch. He appeared in 35 total matches and score three goals. He also reduced his card accumulation to only six. Arguably Matuidi's greatest performance in a Troyes shirt came on 28 April 2007 against Sedan, whom Troyes were contesting a relegation battle with. With Troyes trailing 2–1 at home with 15 minutes remaining, Matuidi scored an equalizing goal in the 75th minute. Eight minutes later, he scored the winning goal to give Troyes a 3–2 victory. Matuidi scored again on the final match day of the season against Lens in a 3–0 win, however, Troyes still dropped down to Ligue 2 after finishing the season in the 18th position. The club's relegation back to Ligue 2 caused speculation regarding Matuidi's future with the club.


title: Blaise Matuidi

text: Despite being linked with a hosts of Ligue 1 clubs, notably Bordeaux, Lille, and Monaco, on 12 July 2007, it was confirmed that Matuidi had agreed to join Saint-Étienne after agreeing to a four-year deal with the club. Upon his arrival, Matuidi was given the number 12 shirt and was inserted into the starting XI, where he established midfield partnerships with Loïc Perrin and Christophe Landrin. He also formed a bond with former and fellow "Troyen" Bafétimbi Gomis, who had a breakout season. Matuidi made his club debut on 11 August 2007 in a league match against Valenciennes. He remained first-choice for the entire season under Laurent Roussey. The club's play that season culminated into a fifth-place finish and qualification for the UEFA Cup.


title: Blaise Matuidi

text: During the 2008–09 season, Matuidi's performances caught the attention of English club Arsenal, who sent its scout Gilles Grimandi to watch him. Grimandi subsequently recommended the player to fellow Frenchman and Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger. Matuidi was also tracked by Italian club Milan during the season. On 16 August 2008, he scored his first career goal for Saint-Étienne in a 2–1 win over Sochaux. Matuidi made his European debut on 18 September 2008 in the team's first leg tie in the first round of the UEFA Cup against Israeli club Hapoel Tel Aviv. He made eight appearances in the competition as Saint-Étienne ultimately reached the Round of 16 before suffering elimination to German club Werder Bremen. Matuidi appeared consistently in the league until receiving his first career red card in the team's 3–0 defeat to Lille. In the second half of the season, Matuidi and the club in general struggled with injuries. The team's broken collective resulted in Saint-Étienne barely avoiding relegation, having survived on the last day of the season. After the season, Matuidi announced his intent to leave the club, telling French newspaper "L'Equipe", "My wish is to leave because I think it's time." Matuidi also stated that he would be happy if he remained at Saint-Étienne. After failing to receive any significant offers from clubs in the 2009 summer, sporting director Damien Comolli announced that Matuidi would remain at the club for the 2009–10 season.


title: Blaise Matuidi

text: Matuidi was named as the club's captain by incoming manager Alain Perrin following the first league match of the 2009–10 season due to injuries to incumbent captain Loïc Perrin. Despite Loïc Perrin returning to the team in September 2009, Matuidi still held onto the armband. Under his leadership, Saint-Étienne defeated the defending champions Bordeaux 3–1 on 3 October 2009. Following the firing of Alain Perrin midway through the season, incoming manager Christophe Galtier returned the captaincy back to Loïc Perrin. On 18 May 2010, Matuidi was involved in a physical altercation with teammate Dimitri Payet during the team's 1–0 defeat to Toulouse. Midway through the first-half, Payet received criticism from teammate Yohan Benalouane for displaying a lack of aggression. He was then confronted by Matuidi, who echoed Benalouane's sentiments. Matuidi and Payet went face-to-face with the latter player delivering a blow to Matuidi's head before the two were separated by referee Bruno Coue and teammates. As a result of the incident, Payet was substituted out after 31 minutes and sanctioned by club president Roland Romeyer. On 6 October 2010, following both Matuidi and Payet's call up to the France national team, Matuidi described the altercation as a "lack of maturity" on both players part, while Payet described the incident as "an argument that had no place" and that "the incident was explained and the two were on new ground".


title: Blaise Matuidi

text: On 25 July 2011, Paris Saint-Germain confirmed that the club had signed Matuidi to a three-year contract as a replacement for the departed Claude Makélélé, who retired from the sport. The transfer fee was undisclosed, but is purported to be in the region of €7.5 million plus future incentives. Matuidi was presented to the media the same day alongside fellow new signing and international teammate Jérémy Ménez and was assigned the number 14 shirt. He made his club debut for the team in its 1–0 defeat to the New York Red Bulls at the Emirates Cup. Matuidi made his competitive debut for PSG on 6 August 2011 in the team's opening 1–0 league defeat to Lorient. During the 2012–13 season, Matuidi scored in wins against Bastia(0–4), Troyes (4–0, 0–1), Lyon (1–0), and Brest as PSG won Ligue 1 for the first time in 19 years. He scored his first UEFA Champions League goal in a 4–0 defeat of Dinamo Zagreb at the Parc des Princes on 6 November 2012, and went on to score a stoppage time equalising goal in a 2–2 draw with Barcelona in the quarter-final first leg.


title: Blaise Matuidi

text: On 26 February 2014, Matuidi agreed a four-year contract extension. On 10 May 2014, he scored in PSG's 3–1 win at Lille as the Parisians set a new points record in Ligue 1.


title: Blaise Matuidi

text: On 30 September 2014, Matuidi scored the winning goal for PSG in a 3–2 home victory over Barcelona in the group stage of the 2014–15 UEFA Champions League.


title: Blaise Matuidi

text: On 16 May 2015, he scored in a 2–1 win at Montpellier to confirm a third consecutive French league title for Paris Saint-Germain.


title: Blaise Matuidi

text: In the 2015–16 season, Matuidi was named in the UNFP Ligue 1 Team of the Year for the second time. On 21 May 2016, he scored the opening goal of PSG's 2016 Coupe de France Final win over Marseille to record the second consecutive league-Coupe de France-Coupe de la Ligue domestic treble for the club.


title: Blaise Matuidi

text: On 28 September 2016, Matuidi scored the equalising goal for PSG in the 3–1 away victory against Ludogorets Razgrad in PSG's second 2016–17 UEFA Champions League Group A match, his first goal for PSG since the 2016 Coupe de France Final.


title: Blaise Matuidi

text: On 18 August 2017, Matuidi joined Juventus on a three-year contract that would expire on 30 June 2020. The initial transfer fee was €20 million, plus up to €10.5 million in potential bonuses that would depend on the number of appearances made by him in Juventus' competitive matches over the next three seasons. He made his club and Serie A debut on 19 August 2017, in a 3–0 home win over Cagliari. Matuidi scored his first goal for Juventus on 17 December; the final goal of a 3–0 away win over Bologna.


title: Blaise Matuidi

text: On 1 September 2018, Matuidi scored his first goal of the 2018–19 season in a 2–1 away win over Parma in Serie A. On 30 October 2019, Matuidi made his 100th appearance for Juventus in a 2–1 home win over Genoa in Serie A.


title: Blaise Matuidi

text: On 12 August 2020, Matuidi terminated his contract with Juventus on a consensual basis. In three seasons at the club, Matuidi won three Serie A titles, one Coppa Italia, and one Supercoppa Italiana; he played 133 games in all competitions for Juventus, more than any other player at the club since his arrival — other than Paulo Dybala (134) – and scored eight goals, also providing five assists.


title: Blaise Matuidi

text: On 13 August 2020, Matuidi signed for Major League Soccer club Inter Miami on a free transfer. He made his club debut on 6 September, in a scoreless home draw against Nashville in the MLS. In May 2021, Inter Miami had to pay a $2m fine for breaking MLS rules, as Matuidi was the fourth designated player in the team rather than the permitted three.


title: Blaise Matuidi

text: Matuidi is a former French youth international, having represented his nation at under-19 and under-21 level. He went unnoticed while developing at both Créteil and Troyes; after establishing himself in the 2006–07 season with the latter club, however, he was called up to the under-19 team by coach Guy Ferrier. Matuidi made his youth international debut on 5 October 2005 in a 4–0 friendly match victory over Norway. He subsequently appeared with the team in qualifying matches for the 2006 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship. France ultimately failed to qualify for the competition and Matuidi finished the campaign with nine appearances and no goals.


title: Blaise Matuidi

text: Matuidi earned his first call up to the under-21 team under coach René Girard in the team's first match following the 2006 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship against Belgium, appearing as a half-time substitute for Jimmy Briand. He featured in qualification matches for the 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship and appeared as a substitute in both legs of the team's surprising defeat to Israel in the qualifying playoffs. Matuidi was among a handful of underage players who remained with the team after its elimination appearing with the team in its first match of 2007 against Sweden, which France won 4–0. Matuidi appeared with the team in the next ten matches, which included qualifiers for the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship. After missing the last match of 2007, he returned to the team for their first match of 2008 against Spain. Matuidi remained with the team for the rest of the qualifying campaign. His under-21 career came to an end following the team's defeat to Germany in a two-legged play-off, which determined who would earn a berth in the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship.


title: Blaise Matuidi

text: After failing to appear at international level for nearly two years, on 5 August 2010, Matuidi was called up to the senior team for the first time by new manager Laurent Blanc for the team's friendly match against Norway on 11 August 2010. He failed to make an appearance in the match, but was called back into the team the following month as an injury replacement for UEFA Euro 2012 qualification matches against Belarus and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Matuidi made his international debut in the team's 2–0 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina, appearing as a substitute. On 29 March 2011, he made his first start in the team's 0–0 draw with Croatia.


title: Blaise Matuidi

text: Matuidi was named in France's squad for Euro 2012 but did not make an appearance in the tournament due to injury. He appeared nine times during 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification and impressed in midfield in the team's 3–0 play-off defeat of Ukraine at the Stade de France to secure qualification.


title: Blaise Matuidi

text: Matuidi scored his first international goal with a scissor kick in a 2–0 friendly win against the Netherlands on 5 March 2014.


title: Blaise Matuidi

text: On 13 May 2014, Matuidi was named in Didier Deschamps' squad for the 2014 World Cup. On 8 June, he scored twice as France defeated Jamaica 8–0 in their final World Cup warm-up match.


title: Blaise Matuidi

text: Matuidi started alongside Paul Pogba and Yohan Cabaye in midfield in France's opening match of the tournament, a 3–0 defeat of Honduras. In the second match, Matuidi scored his first goal in a competitive international as "Les Bleus" beat Switzerland 5–2 and qualified for the knockout stage.


title: Blaise Matuidi

text: In May 2016, Matuidi was named by national side manager Deschamps to France's 23-man squad for Euro 2016, hosted on home soil. On 3 July, Matuidi assisted Olivier Giroud's opening goal in the quarter-finals of the tournament at the Stade de France, as the host nation defeated Iceland 5–2. He started in the final of the tournament on 10 July, where France suffered a 1–0 extra-time defeat to Portugal.


title: Blaise Matuidi

text: On 17 May 2018, he was called up to the 23-man French squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. On 15 July, Matuidi started in France's 4–2 victory against Croatia in the final of the tournament.


title: Blaise Matuidi

text: Described as a "fierce and strong tackler", with good defensive attributes, Matuidi is known in particular for his energy, work-rate, mobility, tenacity, and physical strength, as well as his discipline, positional sense, and tactical intelligence, which enable him to excel in a holding role as a ball-winner in midfield, due to his ability to close down spaces, intercept loose balls, or break down possession. Despite not being particularly skilful or gifted from a technical standpoint, he is a versatile and well-rounded team player, who is capable of playing in several other midfield positions, and is known for his ability to carry, distribute the ball, and start attacking plays after winning back possession, often acting as a box-to-box player in the centre of the pitch. His movement on the pitch also allows him to contribute to his team's offensive play, as it often draws opponents out of position, and in turn creates space for his teammates. He is also capable of making effective attacking runs into the box and scoring goals, which has seen him be deployed in a more offensive, left-sided central midfield role during his time with Juventus under manager Massimiliano Allegri, a position known as the "mezzala" or "incursore" role in Italian football jargon. Although his main influence is Claude Makélélé, his playing style has also been compared to that of Jean Tigana.


title: Blaise Matuidi

text: During the 2018 World Cup, Matuidi was also deployed in a new position for France under manager Deschamps, playing out wide, rather than in the centre, as a left-sided winger or attacking midfielder in a 4–2–3–1 formation. In this system, he proved to be equally effective, in spite of his unorthodox playing role, as he was able to track back and limit the attacking threat of the opposing full-backs on the flank. Moreover, he also often tucked into the centre, in order to help support Paul Pogba and N'Golo Kanté defensively, which also helped minimise the amount of space given to the main playmakers of France's opponents throughout the tournament, and ultimately helped to nullify their impact on the game. Furthermore, Matuidi's more defensive role on the left flank provided balance within the team, as it in turn gave Kylian Mbappé the licence to attack and run at defences from the right wing. He also been used in a similar role by Allegri at Juventus. A left-footed player, Matuidi has also been used in a more defensive role along the left flank on occasion, as a left-back, in particular under manager Maurizio Sarri during his time at Juventus. Beyond his qualities as a player, he has also stood out for his consistency and mentality. In 2011, Christopher Almeras of "Bleacher Report" described Matuidi as one of the best ball-winners in Europe.


title: Blaise Matuidi

text: The rapper Niska paid tribute to Matuidi by creating the song "Matuidi Charo (PSG)" and dance of the Charo, dance of the vulture, which was then popularised on the football field by Matuidi.