title: Shreveport, Louisiana

text: Shreveport was home to the "Louisiana Hayride" radio program, broadcast weekly from the Shreveport Municipal Memorial Auditorium. During its heyday from 1948 to 1960, this program stimulated the careers of some of the greatest figures in American music. The "Hayride" featured musicians including Hank Williams and Elvis Presley, who made his broadcasting debut at this venue. In the mid-1950s, KWKH was the first major radio station to feature the music of Presley on its long-running "Louisiana Hayride" program at the Shreveport Municipal Auditorium. Horace Logan, long-term KWKH program manager and originator of the "Hayride", and Frank Page introduced Presley on the "Hayride".


title: Shreveport, Louisiana

text: African American veterans of World War II were among activists in Shreveport through the 1960s who worked in the civil rights movement to correct injustices under Jim Crow and disenfranchisement of blacks. While activism gradually increased, 1963 was a particularly violent year in Shreveport because of white resistance. The Shreveport home of Dr. C. O. Simpkins was bombed in retaliation for his work with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.


title: Shreveport, Louisiana

text: In September 1963 George W. D'Artois, Public Service Commissioner, refused a permit for a march to the Little Union Baptist Church in Shreveport, where mourners gathered to honor and commemorate four black girls killed in the 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing on September 15 in Birmingham, Alabama. D'Artois and other officers entered the church on horseback and took out the pastor, Dr. Harry Blake, beating him severely.


title: Shreveport, Louisiana

text: Also in 1963, headlines across the country reported that African American musician Sam Cooke was arrested in Shreveport after his band tried to register at a "whites-only" Holiday Inn, where they planned to stay before performing in the city. Public facilities in Louisiana were still segregated. In the months following, Cooke recorded the civil rights era song, "A Change Is Gonna Come". In 1964 Congress passed the Civil Rights Act to end segregation of public facilities.


title: Shreveport, Louisiana

text: In the mid-1990s, the coming of riverboat gambling to Shreveport attracted numerous new patrons to the downtown and spurred a revitalization of the adjacent riverfront areas. Many downtown streets were given a facelift through the "Streetscape" project. Traditional brick sidewalks and crosswalks were built, and statues, sculptures, and mosaics were added to create a better pedestrian environment. The O.K. Allen Bridge, commonly known as the Texas Street bridge, was lit with neon lights. Residents predictably had a variety of reactions to these changes. Shreveport was named an All-American City in 1953, 1979, and 1999.


title: Shreveport, Louisiana

text: During the September 11, 2001 attacks, President George W. Bush was taken to the nearby Barksdale Air Force Base. He also made a visit to speak in the city on March 11, 2005.


title: Shreveport, Louisiana

text: Since the downturn in the oil industry and other economic problems, the city has struggled with a declining population, unemployment, poverty, drugs and violent crime. City data from 2017 showed a dramatic increase in certain violent crimes from the previous year, including a 138 percent increase in homicides, a 21 percent increase in forcible rapes and more than 130 percent increases in both business armed robberies and business burglaries. In 2018 the local government and police authorities reported a crime drop in most categories; it was part of an overall reduction in crime since the late 20th century. As Shreveport continued its economic resurgence, the Adrian Perkins administration saw the coming of Advanced Aero Services, Tomakk Glass Partners, and the revitalization plan of the Shreveport Economic Recovery Task Force after the Cross Bayou redevelopment plan was rejected.


title: Shreveport, Louisiana

text: In June 2020, rapper Hurricane Chris was arrested in Shreveport for second-degree murder. Following the George Floyd killing in Minnesota, multiple protests were held in the city.


title: Shreveport, Louisiana

text: Shreveport is located in Northwest Louisiana. It is the center of the Ark-La-Tex region where Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas meet. It is also part of the I-20 Cyber Corridor linking the tech-centered Dallas–Fort Worth, Shreveport–Bossier, Greater Monroe, and Greater Atlanta metropolitan areas together. The city of Shreveport is from Dallas, from Tyler, and from Marshall, Texas; from Little Rock and from Texarkana, Arkansas; and from the state capital of Baton Rouge, from Monroe, from Ruston, and from Minden, Louisiana. The city's proximity to the nearby cities makes it North Louisiana and the Ark-La-Tex's transportation hub.


title: Shreveport, Louisiana

text: Shreveport is the parish seat of Caddo Parish. Portions of the city extend into neighboring Bossier Parish, bordering Bossier City. Shreveport sits on a low elevation overlooking the Red River. Western and northern portions of Shreveport have an elevation over above sea level. Pine forests, cotton fields, wetlands, and waterways mark the outskirts of the city. According to the United States Census Bureau in 2010, the city had a total area of , of which is land and is water.


title: Shreveport, Louisiana

text: Shreveport—since the mid-1990s—has been a major gambling center with a modest downtown skyline. The "Streetscape" project, inspired by the coming of riverboat gaming, gave Shreveport's downtown traditional brick sidewalks, statues, sculptures, and mosaics. The O.K. Allen Bridge (Texas Street bridge) was lit with neon lights. Since then, Downtown Shreveport has seen minor changes until the 2010s; the whole of Shreveport has been improving roads since the mid-2010s, with continued road projects in 2018. In 2018, buildings in Shreveport's downtown and nearby districts were revitalized due to re-investment in the area. In 2020, plans were unveiled for the I-49 Connector and further redevelopment of the city.


title: Shreveport, Louisiana

text: Shreveport encompasses many areas, neighborhoods, and districts. The busiest thoroughfares and areas of Shreveport are the Youree Drive area (named for Peter Youree), the Shreveport Downtown Riverfront, and Highland neighborhood. All of the busiest areas are located in Eastern Shreveport, nearby or along the Red River. Below is a list of areas in the Shreveport area of Caddo Parish:


title: Shreveport, Louisiana

text: In the Highland section, along Fairfield Avenue, more than a half dozen houses have been designated as historic and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. These include residences once occupied by Lieutenant Governor Thomas Charles Barret, who served early in the 20th century; a Broadway director, Joshua Logan; a former governor, Ruffin Pleasant, and wife; a physician and developer, George W. Robinson; a Coca-Cola bottler, Zehntner Biedenharn; Ewald Max Hoyer, the first mayor of Bossier City beginning in 1907; and John B. Slattery, a major real estate owner, whose former home is one of five remaining structures in Shreveport designed by the noted architect N. S. Allen.


title: Shreveport, Louisiana

text: Shreveport has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification "Cfa"). Rainfall is abundant, with the normal annual precipitation averaging over , with monthly averages ranging from less than in August to more than in June. Severe thunderstorms with heavy rain, hail, damaging winds and tornadoes occur in the area during the spring and summer months. The winter months are normally mild, with an average of 35 days of freezing or below-freezing temperatures per year, with ice and sleet storms possible.


title: Shreveport, Louisiana

text: Summer months are hot and humid, with maximum temperatures exceeding on an average of 91 days per year, with high to very high relative average humidity. The extreme temperatures range from on February 12, 1899, to on August 18, 1909. Shreveport is home to a branch of the National Weather Service which provides forecasts and warnings for the greater Ark-La-Tex region.


title: Shreveport, Louisiana

text: Shreveport's population was initially 1,728 at the 1850 U.S. census, and has experienced growth to a historic high of 206,989 at the 1980 census. According to the 2020 United States census, there were 187,593 people, 73,114 households, and 42,775 families residing in the city; the 2020 American Community Survey determined an estimated 189,890 people resided in the city, purporting a slight population rebound. The 2020 census estimates showed Shreveport had 75,680 households with an average of 2.4 people per household. Of the households, 39% were married-couple households, though 44% of its male population and 40% of its female population have never married.


title: Shreveport, Louisiana

text: Throughout the city, there were 89,523 housing units, with a 85% occupancy rate; among them, 54% were owner-occupied. Among its units, 73% were single-unit detached homes and 31% of its population moved into those homes from 2015 to 2016. The median value of its owner-occupied housing units were $151,700, and 30% of its units were estimated to be under $100,000; 38% of its units were estimated to cost from $100,000 to $200,000. From 2014 to 2018, the median value of an owner-occupied housing unit was $144,800. The median monthly cost with a mortgage was $1,178 and the median monthly cost without a mortgage was $364; the city of Shreveport had a median gross rent of $810.


title: Shreveport, Louisiana

text: The median income from 2014 to 2018 was $36,338, and the mean income was $55,582. The per capita income was $25,022. By the 2020 American Community Survey, its median household income increased to $40,809. The median income for families grew to $54,023 with a mean income of $82,854; married-couple families $84,282 with a mean of $112,363; and non-family households $26,628 with a mean of $41,090. According to census estimates, 25% of its population earned from $50,000 to $100,000 annually; 13% $100,000 to $200,000; and 5% over $200,000. Approximately 24.9% of Shreveport lived at or below the poverty line, down from 2014 to 2018's census estimates of 25.4%.


title: Shreveport, Louisiana

text: In 2019, the racial and ethnic makeup of Shreveport was 56.9% Black and African American, 36.8% non-Hispanic white, 0.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.7% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander, 0.1% some other race, 1.5% two or more races, and 2.6% Hispanic and Latino American of any race. At the 2010 U.S. census, the racial and ethnic composition of the population was 54.70% Black or African American, 41.16% White, 1.0% Native American, 2.0% Asian, 1.2% from some other race and 1.5% from two or more races. In 2010, about 6.5% of the population was Hispanic or Latino American of any race.


title: Shreveport, Louisiana

text: Reflecting the decline in North Louisiana's population, the city of Shreveport's racial and ethnic makeup among Hispanic and Latino Americans declined from 2010 yet rebounded from 2019's census estimates. At the 2020 census, Shreveport remained a predominantly Black and African American city, with 57.77% of the population identifying as such; non-Hispanic whites slightly declined to 35.26% and multiracial or Americans of another race increased to 3.45% of the population. Data from the 2020 United States census reflected growing trends of Hispanic and Latino, and Asian American population growth nationwide.


title: Shreveport, Louisiana

text: Christianity is the city and metropolitan area's dominant religion, being part of the Bible Belt. Its residents were predominantly Protestant through the nineteenth century. Today, Baptists form the majority of Christians in Shreveport, followed by Methodists and Catholics. Many Baptist and Methodist churches are affiliated with Evangelical Protestant denominations, though several are also affiliated with Mainline Protestantism; among Baptists, the Southern Baptist Convention, National Baptist Convention (USA), National Baptist Convention of America, and Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship are the largest Protestant Baptist denominations in the city. The Progressive National Baptist Convention is the largest Progressive Baptist group in the area. Methodists are mainly affiliates of the African Methodist Episcopal Church or Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, though some also claimed affiliation to the mainline United Methodist Church. The Catholic community is primarily served by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Shreveport.


title: Shreveport, Louisiana

text: A large First Baptist Church was once pastored by Monroe E. Dodd, an early radio minister and founder of the former Dodd College for Girls. Former Governor Jimmie Davis, also a Shreveport city commissioner, taught history for a year under Dodd's tutelage. Other historic large Baptist congregations include Galilee Missionary Baptist, Calvary Baptist, Broadmoor Baptist, Summer Grove Baptist, and Mount Canaan Missionary Baptist Church. Summer Grove Baptist Church was previously pastored by Wayne L. DuBose, a Baptist denominational officer. Mount Canaan was previously pastored by Civil Rights icon Dr. Harry Blake.


title: Shreveport, Louisiana

text: At the head of Texas Street is the large First United Methodist Church, established at that site in 1884. The current sanctuary dates to 1913. Among its former pastors were D. L. Dykes Jr. and John E. Fellers. During a severe thunderstorm in 2009, the fiberglass steeple of the church toppled and fell onto a passing car. It has since been replaced.


title: Shreveport, Louisiana

text: A second Methodist congregation is named for J. S. Noel Jr. The church was begun as a mission in 1906. Methodist layman James Noel and his wife, Fannie, provided financially for the church in its early years. The congregation decided to name the church for the Noel's late son. Like First United Methodist, it opened in the current sanctuary in 1913 and grew rapidly. A fire gutted the building in 1925, and only a portion of the loss was covered by insurance. The members expanded their ranks and rebuilt at the 500 Herndon location.The large Holy Trinity Catholic Church, located downtown, was founded in 1858; it served Irish and German immigrants as well as native-born residents. Five priests died of yellow fever in the 1873 epidemic. The current sanctuary in Romanesque revival style architecture dates to 1896. Particularly striking in size and architecture is St. Mark's Cathedral, an Episcopal Church congregation at 908 Rutherford Street in the Highland area of Shreveport. St. Mark's dates its establishment to the first religious service held in Shreveport in 1839. It became the see of the Episcopal Diocese of Western Louisiana in 1990.


title: Shreveport, Louisiana

text: Shreveport is home to Shreveport Community Church, an Evangelical church affiliated with Assemblies of God. The church owns and operates Evangel Christian Academy, a pre‑K through 12th grade private school that has produced an average of 1 million dollars of scholastic scholarships for its graduating seniors every year. The church has produced a biblical musical, "Songs of the Season", during the Christmas holidays for over 20 years. Westview Christian Church is an independent Christian church that serves members from diverse denominational backgrounds.


title: Shreveport, Louisiana

text: The Eastern Orthodox Church has maintained a presence in Shreveport since the early 1900s. The oldest Orthodox church in the city is St. George Greek Orthodox Church of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, followed by St. Nicholas Orthodox Church (Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America), and the Holy Nativity of the Lord Church of the Orthodox Church in America.


title: Shreveport, Louisiana

text: The Jewish community of Shreveport dates to the organization of Congregation Har El in 1859, made up primarily of German Jewish immigrants in its early years. It developed as B'nai Zion Temple, today the city's Reform congregation, which built the city's largest synagogue. Agudath Achim, founded in 1905 as an Orthodox congregation of immigrants from Eastern Europe, is today a traditional Jewish synagogue. Shreveport, historically, has had a large and civic-minded Jewish community and has elected three Jewish mayors.


title: Shreveport, Louisiana

text: The Islamic community in Shreveport-Bossier constituted approximately 14% of Louisiana's total Muslim population in 2018. The majority of Shreveporter Muslims are Sunni, followed by the Nation of Islam and non-denominational Islam.


title: Shreveport, Louisiana

text: Shreveport was once a major player in United States oil business, and at one time could boast Standard Oil of Louisiana as a locally based company. The Louisiana branch was later absorbed by Standard Oil of New Jersey. Beginning in 1930, United Gas Corporation, the nation's busiest pipeline operator and massive integrated oil company, was headquartered in Shreveport. Pennzoil performed a hostile takeover in 1968, and forced a merger. In the 1980s, the oil and gas industry suffered a large economic downturn. This affected all of the regional economy, and many companies cut back jobs or went out of business, including a large retail shopping mall (South Park Mall) which closed in the late 1990s. Its major facilities were adapted for use by Summer Grove Baptist Church. Shreveport suffered severely from this recession, and many residents left the area.


title: Shreveport, Louisiana

text: Since that time, Shreveport has largely transitioned to a service economy. In particular, there has been rapid growth in the gaming industry. The city hosts various riverboat gambling casinos, and, before Hurricane Katrina in 2005, was second only to New Orleans in Louisiana tourism. Nearby Bossier City is home to one of the three horse racetracks in the state, Louisiana Downs. Casinos in Shreveport-Bossier include Sam's Town, Bally's, Horseshoe, Boomtown, and Margaritaville. Diamond Jacks Casino (formerly Isle of Capri) closed in 2020. The Shreveport-Bossier Convention and Tourist Bureau is the official tourism information agency for the region. The bureau maintains a comprehensive database of restaurants, accommodations, attractions, and events.


title: Shreveport, Louisiana

text: In May 2005, the Louisiana Boardwalk, a shopping and entertainment complex, opened in Bossier City across from Shreveport's downtown. It features outlet shopping, several restaurants, a 14‑screen movie theater, a bowling complex, and Bass Pro Shops.


title: Shreveport, Louisiana

text: A convention center was completed in the Shreveport Downtown Riverfront. Managed by SMG, it includes an 800-space parking garage. An adjoining Hilton Hotel opened in June 2007. It was constructed by and owned by the city, which has been a controversial issue, and the subject of discussions about use of public funds.


title: Shreveport, Louisiana

text: Shreveport is a major medical center of the region and state. The Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center Shreveport operates at expanded facilities once used by the former Confederate Memorial Medical Center. Major hospitals include Christus Highland Medical Center, Willis Knighton, and the Shriners Hospital for Children.


title: Shreveport, Louisiana

text: As of November 2008, excitement had centered around development of the Haynesville Shale, with many new jobs in the natural gas industry expected to be created over the next few years. Residents in the region have been given large bonuses for signing mineral rights leases up to $25,000 per acre. However, economic downturn had resulted in a lower market price for natural gas and slower-than-expected drilling activity. The city expected to generate revenue by leasing the mineral rights on public lands in the near future as neighboring municipalities had already done.


title: Shreveport, Louisiana

text: Shreveport was home to Shreveport Operations, a General Motors plant that closed in August 2012. The plant produced the Chevrolet Colorado, GMC Canyon, Hummer H3 series, and the Isuzu i-Series. In January 2013, the plant was leased from Caddo Parish by Elio Motors. In addition to GM, other notable large companies that have had or still have Shreveport manufacturing/assembly or production facilities or operations include: General Electric (electric transformer production), Western Electric (payphone manufacturing, approximately 7,500 employees at its peak, changed ownership through the years but closed in 2001) Honeywell UOP, Libbey-Owens-Ford, Beaird-Poulan (the originator of and, for decades, the only manufacturer of the single-operator chainsaw in the world), Calumet Specialty Products Partners (originally United Gas Corporation's Atlas Processing Unit and then Pennzoil), and Frymaster, LLC (a subsidiary of The Manitowoc Company). In 2017, manufacturing and other goods-producing (e.g. petrochemical refining) jobs accounted for about 5% of Shreveport occupations, compared to 8% for the nationwide percentage of the workforce involved in manufacturing.


title: Shreveport, Louisiana

text: Outside of the manufacturing, gambling and hotel industries in Shreveport, JPMorgan Chase, Capital One, and Regions Financial Corporation have regional offices in Shreveport's downtown and surrounding districts and neighborhoods. Dallas–Fort Worth and Metro Atlanta-based AT&T, and New York-based Verizon Communications are also prevalent in the city. AT&T's regional headquarters is located in Downtown Shreveport. Walmart, Lamar Advertising Company, Target and Best Buy, and United Parcel Service also have facilities throughout Shreveport. Amazon and Governor Edwards announced plans to open a fulfillment center in 2021. Amazon began construction on the $200 million fulfillment center in 2021 with completion expected by the end of 2022.The fulfillment center has been expected to create 1,000 direct jobs. Additionally, other business investments alongside Amazon during the early 2020s contributed more than $750 million to revitalizing and expanding the municipal and metropolitan economy.


title: Shreveport, Louisiana

text: In 2014, the city government pumped $16.5 million into Mall St. Vincent. In 2015 "Fortune" magazine ranked Shreveport the "#1 place to start a business". In 2017, Gymboree and Grimaldi's Pizzeria closed their Mall St. Vincent operations; Sears is now closed as well as of 2018. In 2020, Advanced Aero Services planned to open a facility at Shreveport Regional Airport. On July 31, 2020 the Shreveport Economic Recovery Task Force released a revitalization plan with a primary focus on the downtown area.


title: Shreveport, Louisiana

text: Tax incentives offered by the state government have given Louisiana the third largest film industry in the country, behind California and New York. Louisiana is sometimes called "Hollywood South". A number of films have been made in Shreveport. Facilities include sound stages, prop rental facilities, the Fairgrounds Complex, and the Louisiana Wave Studio, a computer-controlled outdoor wave pool.


title: Shreveport, Louisiana

text: Several television series have been shot in Shreveport and the surrounding area, including "The Gates" (2010), and "Salem" (2014). The Louisiana Film Prize has spurred the creation of over 200 short films shot in Shreveport and Northwest Louisiana by filmmakers from around the world since its inception in 2012.


title: Shreveport, Louisiana

text: Mardi Gras celebrations in Shreveport date to the mid‑19th century when krewes and parades were organized along the lines of those of New Orleans. Mardi Gras in Shreveport did not survive the cancellations caused by World War I. Attempts to revive it in the 1920s were unsuccessful, and the last Carnival celebrations in Shreveport for decades were held in 1927. Mardi Gras in Shreveport was revived beginning in 1984 with the organization of the Krewe of Apollo. The Krewes of Gemini, Centaur, Aesclepius, Highland, Sobek, Harambee, and others, followed during the next decade and a half. The first krewe to revive parading was Gemini in 1989. Today, Mardi Gras is again an important part of the cultural life of the Shreveport-Bossier metropolitan area.


title: Shreveport, Louisiana

text: Dating back to 1911, the state fairgrounds (and later Independence Stadium, formerly State Fair Stadium) has traditionally hosted a college football game or two during the State Fair of Louisiana, an event currently dubbed the Red River State Fair Classic. Since 1976, Independence Stadium has served as host of college football's annual Independence Bowl. Also, the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team occasionally hosts games at Independence Stadium. Shreveport was also home to a few now defunct football teams. The Houston franchise of the professional World Football League relocated to Shreveport rebranded as the Shreveport Steamer midway through the 1974 season, but the franchise along with the WFL folded midway through the 1975 season.


title: Shreveport, Louisiana

text: Another franchise named the Shreveport Steamers played as a member of the American Football Association from 1979 until folding in 1981. Shreveport's Independence Stadium was also home to the Shreveport Pirates, an unsuccessful professional Canadian Football League franchise that opened play in 1994 but folded after the 1995 season.Baseball in Shreveport has an extensive past. The city had affiliated Minor League Baseball teams from 1968 to 2002. The most memorable team was the Shreveport Captains of the Texas League. Baseball teams in Shreveport have gone through eight different name changes and seven different leagues all since 1895. Shreveport's most recent independent minor league baseball team, the Shreveport-Bossier Captains, ceased operations in 2011 and moved to Laredo, Texas.


title: Shreveport, Louisiana

text: The city also has an extensive history in basketball and soccer. The Shreveport Crawdads and Shreveport Storm operated in 1994 and 1995 as members of the Continental Basketball Association. The Shreveport-Bossier Mavericks of the American Basketball Association played from 2013 to 2015 before relocating to Owensboro, Kentucky; since 2021, the Mavericks returned as the Shreveport Mavericks within The Basketball League. The Shreveport/Bossier Lions played in 1998 as affiliates of the United Soccer League. NPSL-affiliate Shreveport Rafters FC operated from 2016 to 2018; their expansion team for the Women's Premier Soccer League operated for one season in 2017. Shreveport almost had a USL expansion team in 2020 before its rejection by the city council, though USL League Two announced the establishment of Blue Goose SC in 2022.


title: Shreveport, Louisiana

text: The city was once considered as location for an NBA G League-affiliate of the New Orleans Pelicans. The city council unanimously rejected the proposal. The Shreveport Mudbugs are a Tier II junior ice hockey team that has competed in the North American Hockey League since 2016. The Centenary Gentlemen and Ladies compete in NCAA Division III as a member of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference. The LSU–Shreveport Pilots compete in the NAIA as a member of the Red River Athletic Conference.


title: Shreveport, Louisiana

text: Founded in 1836 and incorporated in 1839, Shreveport is the parish seat of Caddo Parish. It is part of the First Judicial District, housing the parish courthouse. It also houses the Louisiana Second Circuit Court of Appeal, which consists of nine elected judges representing twenty parishes in Northwest Louisiana. A portion of east Shreveport extends into Bossier Parish due to the changing course of the Red River.


title: Shreveport, Louisiana

text: The city of Shreveport has a mayor-council government. The elected municipal officials include the mayor, Adrian Perkins, and seven members of the city council. Cedric Glover, a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives, was the first African American to hold the mayoral position. Under the mayor-council government, the mayor serves as the executive officer of the city. As the city's chief administrator and official representative, the mayor is responsible for the general management of the city and for seeing that all laws and ordinances are enforced.


title: Shreveport, Louisiana

text: According to the most recent FBI statistics, the total crime rate in Shreveport is 5,722.4 per 100,000 people, or 143.92% higher than the national rate of 2,346.0 per 100,000 people and 62.39% higher than the Louisiana total crime rate of 3,523.8 per 100,000 people. The violent crime rate in Shreveport is 923.0 per 100,000 people, or 138.01% higher than the national rate of 387.8 per 100,000 people, and 44.35% higher than the Louisiana violent crime rate of 639.4 per 100,000 people.


title: Shreveport, Louisiana

text: Shreveport has one of the highest crime rates in America compared to all communities of all sizes—from the smallest towns to the very largest cities. One's chance of becoming a victim of either violent or property crime is 1 in 15. Within Louisiana, more than 93% of the communities had a lower crime rate than Shreveport. NeighborhoodScout found Shreveport to be one of the top 100 most dangerous cities in the United States. In the late 1980s, authorities started to track local Los Angeles-based gangs that distributed cocaine out of low-income neighborhoods. The first and the biggest street gang was the 52nd Street Hoover Crips; shortly after LA gangs moved in, gang-related homicides began to rise. Shreveport was the first city in Louisiana to have Crips and Blood gangs. In 1993, Shreveport hit a peak in murders, with 86 killings. Most of the killings were drug- or gang-related homicides. In 2017, Shreveport was placed 18th on "24/7 Wall St." list of "America's 25 Murder Capitals." Shreveport's crime rate was 71% higher than the Louisiana average. The crime rate was also 149% higher than the national average.


title: Shreveport, Louisiana

text: The city had a so-called "saggy pants" law since 2007. The city ordinance was repealed by the city council in June 2019.


title: Shreveport, Louisiana

text: Caddo Public Schools is a school district based in Shreveport. The district serves all of Caddo Parish. Its founding superintendent was Clifton Ellis Byrd, a Virginia native, who assumed the chief administrative position in 1907 and continued until his death in 1926. C. E. Byrd High School, which was established in 1925 on Line Avenue at the intersection with East Kings Highway, bears his name. There are a number of private schools in the city as well, including Loyola College Prep, a coeducational high school founded in 1902 as the all-male St. John's High School. Caddo Parrish Magnet High school, the nation's first magnet Arts and Academic High School is located in the heart of the Parrish and has produced a number of notable celebrities through the years.


title: Shreveport, Louisiana

text: Shreveport has several colleges, including the Methodist-affiliated Centenary College (founded at Jackson, Louisiana, in 1825; relocated to Shreveport in 1908) and Louisiana State University in Shreveport, which opened as a two-year institution in 1967; it became a four-year institution in 1976. Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center Shreveport, the only medical school in Northern Louisiana, opened in 1969. Shreveport also has one of the largest nursing schools in northern Louisiana, the Northwestern State University College of Nursing.


title: Shreveport, Louisiana

text: Louisiana Tech University at Shreveport-Bossier City was launched in 2012 offering their Executive MBA and main campus undergraduate and graduate degree programs at the university's Shreveport Center. Southern University at Shreveport (SUSLA) offers a two-year associate's degree program. Founded in 1973, Louisiana Baptist University and Theological Seminary is also located in Shreveport, at 6301 Westport Avenue.


title: Shreveport, Louisiana

text: Ayers Career College is a Shreveport-based college that offers career training in the medical and HVAC fields. Since July 2007, Shreveport is home to a local Remington College campus. This location offers both diploma and degree programs, and is active in the Shreveport community. Virginia College opened in 2012. Located in Shreveport-Bossier City, it offers career training in areas such as business and office, health and medical, and medical billing.


title: Shreveport, Louisiana

text: Shreveport and its surrounding area are served by a variety of local newspapers, magazines, television stations and radio stations. The major daily newspaper serving the area is "The Shreveport Times", owned by "USA Today" parent Gannett. Its headquarters is in Shreveport's downtown near Interstate 20. The newspaper's former rival, the afternoon "Shreveport Journal", ceased publication in 1991. Other major newspapers include "The Shreveport Sun", "Caddo Citizen", and "SB Magazine". "The Shreveport Sun" is the area's primary African American newspaper.


title: Shreveport, Louisiana

text: Across the Red River, Shreveport's sister city of Bossier City is served by the daily "Bossier Press-Tribune". "The Barksdale Warrior" is the weekly newspaper of record for the Barksdale Air Force Base. Alternative publications include "The Forum Newsweekly", "City Lights", "The Inquisitor" and "The Shreveport Catalyst". Twice annually, "North Louisiana History", the journal of the North Louisiana Historical Association, is published in Shreveport.


title: Shreveport, Louisiana

text: Shreveport and Bossier City are primarily served by two major cable television and internet companies: Shreveport is served by Comcast and Bossier City is served by Suddenlink.


title: Shreveport, Louisiana

text: Shreveport is home to several radio stations, particularly KWKH and KEEL, which have reputations beyond the city. The three commercial television outlets are KSLA (CBS), founded in 1954; KTBS-TV (ABC), founded in 1955; and KTAL-TV, which arrived in Shreveport in September 1961 as the NBC station. KTBS was an NBC station, with occasional ABC programs, from 1955 to 1961, when it switched affiliation to ABC. KTAL, formerly known as KCMC of Texarkana, was a CBS outlet prior to conversion to NBC, when it began to cover Shreveport as well as Texarkana. Don Owen (1930–2012), a member of the Louisiana Public Service Commission from 1984 to 2002, is also a former news anchorman on KSLA. The Shreveport-Bossier City metropolitan area is also the point of origination of internet radio station KHAM Radio which signed on in March 2011. The internet radio station is completely web-based and is not affiliated with any terrestrial radio station in the area.


title: Shreveport, Louisiana

text: Shreveport's past reflects the need for mass transit and public roads. As far back as the 1870s, residents used mule-drawn street cars that were converted to electric motorized cars by 1890. Commuter rail systems in Shreveport flourished for many decades, and rail car lines extended out to rural areas. In 1930 trolleys and rail cars began to be replaced by buses, although motor buses did not finally replace all trolley service until the 1960s. In the 1960s, the Interstate Highway System came to the area with the construction of Interstate 20.


title: Shreveport, Louisiana

text: The local public transportation provider, SporTran, provides moderately extensive bus service throughout Shreveport and Bossier City. Sportran operates seven days a week on seventeen bus routes (five night routes) from 6:00 a.m. to 1:00 am, with no night service on Sunday. The highway system has a cross-hair and loop freeway structure similar to that of Texas cities like Houston and Dallas. The loop consists of the Outer Loop Freeway Interstate 220 on the north and the Inner Loop Freeway, Louisiana Highway 3132, on the south, forming approximately an semi-loop around downtown. Another loop is formed by the Bert Kouns Industrial Loop (Louisiana Highway 526) and circles further south, bisecting Interstate 49. I-49 now extends north to Interstate 30 in Arkansas, though there is a gap in I-49 within Shreveport.


title: Shreveport, Louisiana

text: Shreveport lies along the route of the proposed Interstate 69 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) superhighway that will link Canada, the U.S. industrial Midwest, Texas, and Mexico.


title: Shreveport, Louisiana

text: Shreveport is served by two airports. The larger is Shreveport Regional Airport (SHV), established in 1952, and is served by Allegiant Air (to Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Daytona Beach (starting June 2, 2022), Destin/Fort Walton Beach (starting May 27, 2022) and Orlando), American Airlines (to Dallas/Ft. Worth and Charlotte), Delta Air Lines (to Atlanta), and United Airlines (as United Express) (to Houston and Denver). The smaller airport, Shreveport Downtown Airport (DTN), was built in 1931 and is located north of the Downtown Business District along the Red River. It is currently a general aviation and reliever airport, but was originally Shreveport's commercial airport.


title: Shreveport, Louisiana

text: The Shreveport Waterworks Museum contains the Shreveport Railroad Museum, commemorating area railroad history.


title: Shreveport, Louisiana

text: Barksdale Air Force Base is located in Bossier Parish across the river from Shreveport, which annexed and donated the land for its construction in the 1920s. Named for pioneer army aviator Lt. Eugene Hoy Barksdale and originally called Barksdale Army Air Field, it opened in 1933 and became Barksdale Air Force Base in 1947. Headquartered here are the Air Force Global Strike Command, 8th Air Force, 2d Bomb Wing, and 307th Wing. The primary aircraft housed here is the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress. In earlier years, the base was the home to other famous aircraft, including the B-47 Stratojet.


title: Shreveport, Louisiana

text: Shreveport is home to the two 108th Cavalry Squadrons, the reconnaissance element of the 256th Infantry Brigade. Three of the squadron's four cavalry troops are located at 400 East Stoner Avenue in a historic armory known as "Fort Humbug". It got the name due to the Confederate Army burning logs to look like cannons and placing them along the Red River. This caused Union ironclad ships sailing north on the Red River to be tricked into turning back south.


title: George O'Malley

text: George O'Malley, M.D. is a fictional character from the medical drama television series "Grey's Anatomy", which airs on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in the United States. The character was created by series producer Shonda Rhimes, and was portrayed by actor T. R. Knight from 2005 to 2009. Introduced as a surgical intern at the fictional Seattle Grace Hospital, O'Malley worked his way up to resident level, while his relationships with his colleagues Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo), Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh), Izzie Stevens (Katherine Heigl) and Alex Karev (Justin Chambers) formed a focal point of the series. O'Malley married Callie Torres (Sara Ramirez) from whom he later separated to pursue a relationship with Stevens. O'Malley also had entertained romantic interests with Grey and Olivia Harper (Sarah Utterback).


title: George O'Malley

text: Knight auditioned for the show, expecting a 1-season run. In 2007, Knight's co-star Isaiah Washington (Preston Burke) insulted him with a homophobic slur, which resulted in the termination of Washington's "Grey's Anatomy" contract. In 2009, after the conclusion of the fifth season, it was confirmed that Knight would not be returning for the show's sixth season. The actor stated the reason for his departure was due to a "breakdown in communication" with Rhimes, his character's lack of screen-time, as well as his decision to come out as gay. Knight received positive reviews for his performance as O'Malley, and garnered a nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series at the 59th Primetime Emmy Awards. Despite this, his death received mixed feedback from critics and audiences.


title: George O'Malley

text: George O'Malley is introduced as a fellow surgical intern along with Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo), Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh), Izzie Stevens (Katherine Heigl) and Alex Karev (Justin Chambers); the 5 of them working under Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson). O'Malley and Stevens move in with Meredith, for whom he has romantic feelings but did not express them due to his fear of rejection and the fact that she and one of the attendings Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey) had a mutual interest in one another. On the first day of internship, O'Malley is selected by chief of cardiothoracic surgery Preston Burke (Isaiah Washington) as the first intern to perform surgery. He freezes in the operating room, and is mocked by his peers, and earns the nickname "007" because of almost killing a patient in such a simple operation (referring to James Bond's "license to kill"). O'Malley dates nurse Olivia Harper (Sarah Utterback), breaking up with her when he contracts syphilis from her, which she in turn contracted from Karev. His friendship with Karev is further strained when the two become trapped in an elevator with a patient who begins to bleed out. Karev freezes, and O'Malley is able to save the patient single-handedly. He finally admits his feelings to Meredith, and the two have a one-night stand. When Meredith tells him that sleeping together was a mistake, O'Malley begins avoiding her and starts dating orthopedic surgeon Callie Torres (Sara Ramirez).


title: George O'Malley

text: During a camping trip, O'Malley learns that Torres has slept with chief of plastic surgery Mark Sloan (Eric Dane), and also discovers that Burke is experiencing tremors in his hand. When O'Malley's father is diagnosed with esophageal cancer and a leaking aortic valve, he refuses to allow Burke to operate on him, instead contacting Erica Hahn (Brooke Smith), Burke's medical school rival. His relationship with Torres is strained when he confronts her about sleeping with Sloan, but he allows her to support him through his father's deteriorating health. Complications from his father's surgery leave him in multi-system organ failure, and his life support is turned off. In an attempt to overcome his grief, O'Malley elopes with Callie to Las Vegas. He later begins to feel that he was mistaken to marry her, and sleeps with Stevens while intoxicated. Stevens confesses that she is in love with him, so O'Malley considers transferring to a different hospital so he can be faithful to his wife. However, he is ineligible to transfer after failing the intern exams. O'Malley decides to repeat his intern year, and confesses to Torres that he slept with Stevens, leading the two to separate. O'Malley and Stevens embark on a short-lived relationship, only to discover there is no real chemistry between them.


title: George O'Malley

text: O'Malley moves in with new intern Lexie Grey (Chyler Leigh), Meredith's half-sister. Lexie and O'Malley discover that he failed his exam by only a single point, leading him to confront Richard Webber (James Pickens Jr.), the chief of surgery, to ask for a chance to retake the exam. He passes the second attempt, and begins to distance himself from Lexie, who has fallen in love with him. O'Malley supports Stevens when she discovers she has melanoma, and walks her down the aisle as she marries Karev. O'Malley begins to display a talent for trauma surgery, and is told by the chief of trauma surgery Owen Hunt (Kevin McKidd) that it is definitely his specialty. He then abruptly and inexplicably decides to join the U.S. Army in Iraq. While his friends at the hospital prepare an intervention to convince O'Malley to stay, they all work on a severely disfigured John Doe, brought in after a horrible bus accident, in which he pushed a woman out of the way and saved her life. John Doe writes on Meredith's hand "007" and she realizes it is actually George. She runs to tell the other surgeons and they rush him to surgery. However, he flatlines and is ultimately declared braindead. There is confusion on if John Doe is really George and Callie confirms by a freckle on his hand. His organs are donated after Stevens confirms that it is what O'Malley would have wanted, and he is buried a week later.


title: George O'Malley

text: T. R. Knight signed on for the pilot as O'Malley, expecting that the role might be short-lived, because he liked that the character was multi-faceted. In October 2006, news reports surfaced that Washington had insulted Knight with a homophobic slur, during an argument with Patrick Dempsey. Shortly after, the details of the argument became public, and Knight later disclosed that the slur made him come out as gay. "I was under no delusions," Knight said at the time. "My friends on the set knew. We talked about it. Publicly it's not my thing to call up "People" magazine and be like, 'Hey, you want to know something about me?'...I could've just let it slide and not said anything, but it became important. It became important to make the statement." The situation seemed somewhat resolved when Washington issued a statement, apologizing for his "unfortunate use of words during the recent incident on-set".


title: George O'Malley

text: At the 64th Golden Globe Awards, while being interviewed on the red carpet, Washington joked, "I love gay. I wanted to be gay. Please let me be gay." Later, Washington claimed he never used the slur, labeling it "vile". In June 2007, it was reported that the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) and Shonda Rhimes had chosen not to renew Washington's contract with the show, not immediately specifying a reason. In a subsequent interview, Washington claimed that "they fired the wrong guy" (referring to Knight), and said he was considering filing a lawsuit as a result. He accused Knight of using the controversy to bolster his own career and increase his salary on "Grey's Anatomy".


title: George O'Malley

text: On July 2, 2007, Washington appeared on "Larry King Live", to present his side of the controversy. According to Washington, he never used the "F-Word" in reference to Knight, but rather blurted it out in an unrelated context in the course of an argument "provoked" by Dempsey, who he felt was treating him like a "B-word", a "P-word", and the "F-word", which Washington said conveyed "somebody who is being weak and afraid to fight back". In 2009, Rhimes told "Entertainment Weekly" that she may not have handled the incident correctly, stating: "I wasn't interested in what anybody thought publicly. I was interested in what was going on right here on the ground...with the people I work with every day. Did I do it perfectly? Of course not. This is my first television show. It was a learning experience." Knight said that Rhimes was among those for discouraging him to come out, however Rhimes said: "I remember saying [to fellow executive producer], 'This is our proudest day here. T. R. got to come out and I got to say to him that it wouldn't affect his character' because he was concerned he was going to come out and George would suddenly be gay. The idea that a gay actor can't play a straight man is insulting."


title: George O'Malley

text: In December 2008, reports speculated that Knight requested to be released from his contract and that "they were working out the details" at that time. In June 2009, after the conclusion of the fifth season of "Grey's Anatomy", it was confirmed that Knight would not be returning for the show's sixth season. The actor stated the reason for his departure was due to a "breakdown in communication" with Rhimes, O'Malley's lack of screen-time, as well as his decision to be openly gay. Prior to the official announcement of his departure, there was speculation that the role of O'Malley would be recast, but Rhimes labeled it as a "hilarious, ridiculous rumor". After the confirmation of his exit, Knight told "TV Guide": "Leaving "Grey's Anatomy" was not an easy decision for me to make. I am extremely grateful to have had the opportunity to play this character and will miss my fellow cast and crew very much. I continue to wish them the very best, and wholeheartedly thank all of the fans who have supported me and the show with such passion and enthusiasm." In a statement confirming Knight's departure, Rhimes said: "I think I speak for the entire "Grey's Anatomy" family when I say we wish T. R. Knight the best in his future endeavors. He is an incredibly talented actor and a person whose strength of character is admired by all of us."


title: George O'Malley

text: In an interview with "Entertainment Weekly", Rhimes said she tried to talk him out of quitting, explaining: "I looked in his face and he was really sure. It felt like the right thing for him." However, in another interview, Knight said of his exit: "My five-year experience proved to me that I could not trust any answer that was given [about O'Malley]." Knight was "at peace" with his departure, saying: "There just comes a time when it's so clear that moving on is the best decision." However, Heigl tried to talk Knight out of leaving, saying: "I didn't think it was the right decision. I felt like some of the problems could be worked through. But by the time it came to fruition, I was [glad] for him because he was ready to go." On the topic of losing a US$14 million contract, Knight commented: "From an outsider's perspective, I get the [impression that] 'He's just a spoiled actor, he doesn't know how good he has it.' There are a lot of people who would like to be in my position. But in the end, I need to be fulfilled in my work."


title: George O'Malley

text: O'Malley was characterized a "hapless naif". On the topic of O'Malley's longtime crush on Meredith in the second season, Knight said: "What's going to be very interesting to see is what he's going to do with Meredith. It's getting close to time. Whatever he chooses to do will inform who he is the rest of his life." After their sexual encounter occurred onscreen, Knight said in an interview with Maureen Ryan of the "Chicago Tribune": "George wasn't really paying full attention. He was letting his own feelings override his respect for Meredith. A person really clued in would get that there wasn't anything coming back, but he was so in his head about it and caught up in his own feelings that he wasn't listening. It's not just that he loves her...it's a kind of selfish love he had for her." He also added that, "I think George has a lot of growing up to do. Part of that is making horrible, stupid mistakes. He's been pretty sheltered."


title: George O'Malley

text: Series writer Stacy McKee said of the sexual encounter: "There's no turning back. There's nothing George and Meredith can do. The damage is done – things will never be the same. They've just changed something important in their lives forever." When asked if O'Malley was becoming more assertive, Knight said:


title: George O'Malley

text: Knight also commented that the character does not appreciate himself and his positive traits. On the topic of O'Malley performing open heart surgery in an elevator, Knight said: "It's a slow change but he's starting to realize, 'The way I have been doing things is not working.' The big thing about the open-heart surgery in the elevator was he was forced into it. He needs to be kind of kicked in the (butt) to do these things."


title: George O'Malley

text: Knight felt a parallel to George in that his "confidence isn't always at its absolute highest", but overall he sees more differences than similarities. However, when the actor starts to think he is so different from O'Malley, an awkward move can suggest otherwise. "I was walking, doing a scene with Katherine Heigl. I finished my line with her, and then I walked straight into the light stand." Critical of her affair with O'Malley, Knight's co-star Heigl explained: "They really hurt somebody, and they didn't seem to be taking a lot of responsibility for it. I have a really hard time with that kind of thing. I'm maybe a little too black and white about it." Speaking of O'Malley's relationship with Lexie, Rhimes offered her insight: "I love them as friends. They make good friends. We all have that friend we met in school or the gym or somewhere – we just hit it off right away. And right away there was no pretense or airs. Just pure honesty. That's Lexie and George. They're really good friends and I can see the friendship evolving into something even greater." When asked what his "favorite George moment" was, Knight said his relationships with Stevens and Bailey.


title: George O'Malley

text: Fans were "widely against" O'Malley's affair with Meredith in the second season, however certain fans who supported their relationship were critical when Torres was introduced as a love-interest for him. Fans and critics were also against O'Malley's relationship with Stevens in the fourth season; "Maclean's" said: "George must die. He's slept with virtually everyone except the male cast and has been in love with virtually everyone except the male cast. And he's not that great of a doctor. Evolve or die." Christopher Monfette of "IGN" said O'Malley and Stevens were a "mismatch", adding: "Unfortunately, while it's refreshing to see a plotline driven by activity vs. apathy, the idea of these two ever-affable, best-friend characters suddenly discovering their potential, out-of-nowhere love for each other quickly feels both force-fed and emotionally-incorrect." Similarly, "DVD Verdict" stated that George and Izzie were "one of the strongest 'best-friend' vibes on television" for the first 3 seasons, explaining "they were perfect "as friends" [while] George and Callie made a good couple." "UGO.com" put the two on their list of "Character Couples Who Should Have Never Happened".


title: George O'Malley

text: Jennifer Armstrong of "Entertainment Weekly" said that when O'Malley told Torres about his affair with Stevens, the scene was too "melodramatic". Laura Burrows, also of "IGN", said that the fourth season premiere "introduced a new side of George". Armstrong said of O'Malley and Stevens' reconciliation: "George and Izzie are finally on the old "Grey's Anatomy" road to ruin. And I admit this is a good lesson in "Grey's" viewing as well as life: Sit tight if you hate something, as nothing is permanent." Armstrong also commented that the "sparkling" friendship development between O'Malley and Lexie "won her over". The following year, Monfette observed of O'Malley's lack of screen-time: "His growing interest in trauma surgery at the side of Owen leads to an interesting development in the finale, but the character is virtually sidelined this season." Carina MacKenzie of the "Los Angeles Times" said of the character's death: "The time-lapse episode was an interesting choice, and though we sped through six weeks of mourning in 2 hours, it didn't feel rushed to me. I'm not sure the show could have held my attention for another season of crippling sadness."


title: George O'Malley

text: "The Huffington Post" Michael Pascua commented that O'Malley's funeral did not live up to his expectations, writing that it "wasn't as sad as [he] thought it would be". In 2006, Knight and the other cast of "Grey's Anatomy" were nominated for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series, at the 12th Screen Actors Guild Awards. Also in 2006, the cast won the award for Best Cast – Television Series at the 11th Satellite Awards. The cast won the award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series at the 13th Screen Actors Guild Awards, and were nominated again the following year. Knight's performance in season 3 earned him a nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series at the 59th Primetime Emmy Awards.


title: Geocaching

text: Geocaching is an outdoor recreational activity, in which participants use a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver or mobile device and other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers, called "geocaches" or "caches", at specific locations marked by coordinates all over the world. As of 2021 there were over a million active players in the United States.


title: Geocaching

text: A typical cache is a small waterproof container containing a logbook and sometimes a pen or pencil. The geocacher signs the log with their established code name and dates it, in order to prove that they found the cache. After signing the log, the cache must be placed back exactly where the person found it. Larger containers such as plastic storage containers (Tupperware or similar) or ammo boxes can also contain items for trading, such as toys or trinkets, usually of more sentimental worth than financial. Geocaching shares many aspects with benchmarking, trigpointing, orienteering, treasure hunting, letterboxing, trail blazing, and Munzee.


title: Geocaching

text: Geocaching was originally similar to the game letterboxing (which originated in 1854), which uses clues and references to landmarks embedded in stories. Geocaching was conceived shortly after the removal of Selective Availability from the Global Positioning System on May 2, 2000 (Blue Switch Day.), because the improved accuracy of the system allowed for a small container to be specifically placed and located.


title: Geocaching

text: The first documented placement of a GPS-located cache took place on May 3, 2000, by Dave Ulmer of Beavercreek, Oregon. The location was posted on the Usenet newsgroup sci.geo.satellite-nav at . Within three days, the cache had been found twice, first by Mike Teague. According to Dave Ulmer's message, this cache was a black plastic bucket that was partially buried and contained software, videos, books, money, a can of beans, and a slingshot. The geocache and most of its contents were eventually destroyed by a lawn mower; the can of beans was the only item salvaged and was turned into a trackable item called the "Original Can of Beans". Another geocache and plaque called the Original Stash Tribute Plaque now sit at the site.


title: Geocaching

text: Geocaching company Groundspeak allows extraterrestrial caches, e.g. the Moon or Mars, although presently, the website provides only earthbound coordinates. The first published extraterrestrial geocache was GC1BE91, which was on the International Space Station between 2008 and 2017. It used the Baikonur launch area in Kazakhstan as its position. The original cache contained a travel bug (the first geocaching trackable item in space), which stayed on the station until it was brought back to earth in 2013. Due to fire restrictions on board the station, the geocache contained no official paper logbook. As of February 2021, only one confirmed geocacher (in 2013) has actually found the geocache, although others have claimed to have found it providing varying amounts of evidence. To commemorate the occasion, Groundspeak allowed specialized geocaching events to be published across the world, allowing attendees to obtain a virtual souvenir on their profile.


title: Geocaching

text: The second geocaching trackable in space is TB5EFXK which is attached to the SHERLOC calibration target on board the Mars Perseverance Rover, which landed on Mars on 18 February 2021. Geocachers were given the opportunity to virtually discover the trackable after the WATSON camera sent back its first photographs of the calibration target that contained the tracking code number. The code is printed on a prototype helmet visor material that will be used to test how well it can withstand the Martian environment. This will help scientists in creating a viable Martian spacesuit for future crewed missions to Mars.


title: Geocaching

text: The activity was originally referred to as the "GPS stash hunt" or "gpsstashing." This was changed shortly after the original hide when it was suggested in the gpsstash eGroup that "stash" could have negative connotations and the term "geocaching" was adopted.


title: Geocaching

text: Over time, a variety of different hide-and-seek-type activities have been created or abandoned, so that "geocaching" may now refer to hiding and seeking containers, or locations or information without containers.


title: Geocaching

text: An independent accounting of the early history documents several controversial actions taken by Jeremy Irish and Grounded, Inc., a predecessor to Groundspeak, to increase "commercialization and monopolistic control over the hobby". More recently, other similar hobbies such as Munzee have attracted some geocachers by rapidly adopting smart-phone technology, which has caused "some resistance from geocaching organizers about placing caches along with Munzees".


title: Geocaching

text: For the traditional geocache, a geocacher will place a waterproof container containing a log book (with pen and/or pencil) and trade items or trackables, then record the cache's coordinates. These coordinates, along with other details of the location, are posted on a listing site (see list of some sites below). Other geocachers obtain the coordinates from that listing site and seek out the cache using their handheld GPS receivers. The finding geocachers record their exploits in the logbook and online, but then must return the cache to the same coordinates so that other geocachers may find it. Geocachers are free to take objects (except the logbook, pencil, or stamp) from the cache in exchange for leaving something of similar or higher value.


title: Geocaching

text: Typical cache "treasures", also known in the geocaching world as SWAG (a backronym of "stuff we all get"), are not high in monetary value but may hold personal value to the finder. Aside from the logbook, common cache contents are unusual coins or currency, small toys, ornamental buttons, CDs, or books. Although not required, many geocachers decide to leave behind signature items, such as personal geocoins, pins, or craft items, to mark their presence at the cache location. Disposable cameras are popular as they allow for anyone who found the cache to take a picture which can be developed and uploaded to a Geocaching web site listed below. Also common are objects that are moved from cache to cache called "hitchhikers", such as Travel Bugs or geocoins, whose travels may be logged and followed online. Cachers who initially place a Travel Bug or geocoin(s) often assign specific goals for their trackable items. Examples of goals are to be placed in a certain cache a long distance from home, or to travel to a certain country, or to travel faster and farther than other hitchhikers in a race. Less common trends are site-specific information pages about the historic significance of the site, types of trees, birds in the area or other such information. Higher-value items are occasionally included in geocaches as a reward for the First to Find (called "FTF"), or in locations which are harder to reach.


title: Geocaching

text: Dangerous or illegal items, weapons, food, and drugs are not allowed and are specifically against the rules of most geocache listing sites.


title: Geocaching

text: If a geocache has been vandalized or stolen by a person who is not familiar with geocaching, it is said to have been "muggled". The term plays off the fact that those not familiar with geocaching are called muggles, a word borrowed from the "Harry Potter" series of books which were rising in popularity at the same time geocaching started.


title: Geocaching

text: Traditional geocaching gave birth to GeoCaching – an active urban game of the Encounter project. The game is quite similar to geocaching but has time limitations and hints.


title: Geocaching

text: Geocaches vary in size, difficulty, and location. Simple caches that are placed near a roadside are often called "drive-bys", "park 'n grabs" (PNGs), or "cache and dash". Geocaches may also be complex, involving lengthy searches, significant travel, or use of specialist equipment such as SCUBA diving, kayaking, or abseiling. Different geocaching websites list different variations per their own policies.


title: Geocaching

text: Container sizes range from "nanos", particularly magnetic nanos, which can be smaller than the tip of a finger and have only enough room to store the log sheet, to 20-liter (5 gallon) buckets or even larger containers, such as entire trucks. The most common cache containers in rural areas are lunch-box-sized plastic storage containers or surplus military ammunition cans. Ammo cans are considered the gold standard of containers because they are very sturdy, waterproof, animal- and fire-resistant, and relatively cheap, and have plenty of room for trade items. Smaller containers are more common in urban areas because they can be more easily hidden.


title: Geocaching

text: Over time many variations of geocaches have developed. Different platforms often have their own rules on which types are allowed or how they are classified. The following cache types are supported by both geocaching.com and opencaching.us unless stated otherwise.


title: Geocaching

text: A Traditional cache is the most common type and consists of a container with a logbook. Exact coordinates where the cache is located are given.


title: Geocaching

text: A Multi-cache consists of one or more stages, each of them containing the coordinates for the next one; the final stage contains a physical container with the logbook. An Offset cache is a multi-cache in which the initial coordinates are for a location containing information that encodes the final cache coordinates. An example would be to direct the finder to a plaque where the digits of a date on the plaque correspond to coordinates of the final cache.


title: Geocaching

text: Mystery or puzzle caches require one to discover information or solve a puzzle to find the cache. Some mystery caches provide a puzzle that must be solved to determine the physical cache location. Caches which do not fit into other categories are classified as mystery caches.


title: Geocaching

text: Challenge caches require a geocacher to complete a reasonably attainable geocaching-related task before being able to log the find. Examples include finding a number of caches that meet a category, completing a number of cache finds within a period of time, or finding a cache for every calendar day. On geocaching.com it is considered a subtype of the Mystery cache, while it is a type on its own on opencaching.us.


title: Geocaching

text: A Night cache is multi-stage and intended to be found at night by following a series of reflectors with a flashlight to the final cache location. Considered a variant of the Mystery cache on "geocaching.com".


title: Geocaching

text: A Chirp cache is a Garmin-created innovative advance on multi-caches using new wireless beacon technology. The Chirp stores hints, multicache coordinates, counts visitors and confirms the cache is nearby. These caches were fully supported at OpenCaching.com, but they caused considerable discussion and some controversy at Groundspeak, where they were given a new "attribute".


title: Geocaching

text: A Wherigo cache is a multi-stage cache hunt that uses a Wherigo "cartridge" to guide the player to find a physical cache sometime during cartridge play, usually at the end. Not all Wherigo cartridges incorporate geocaches into game play. Wherigo caches are unique to the geocaching.com website. Wherigo is a GPS location-aware software platform initially released in January 2008. Authors can develop self-enclosed story files (called "cartridges") that are read by the Wherigo player software, installed on either a GPS unit or smartphone. The player and story take advantage of the location information provided by the GPS to trigger in-game events, such as using a virtual object or interacting with characters. Completing an adventure can require reaching different locations and solving puzzles. Cartridges are coded in Lua. Lua may be used directly, but a builder application is usually used. The Wherigo site offers a builder application and a database of adventures free for download, though the builder has remained in its Alpha version since its last release in May 2008. The official player is only available for Pocket PC. A built-in player is available on Garmin Colorado and Oregon GPS models. The Wherigo Foundation was organized in December 2012. The group is composed of all Wherigo application developers who, up until that time, had been acting and developing separately. Their goal is to provide a consistent Wherigo experience across platforms, connect Wherigo applications via an API, and add modern features to the Wherigo platform. While Groundspeak is aware of this project, the company has yet to take a position.


title: Geocaching

text: A Letterbox cache or a Letterbox hybrid cache is a combination of a geocache and a letterbox in the same container. A letterbox has a rubber stamp and a logbook instead of tradable items. Letterboxers carry their own stamp with them, to stamp the letterbox's log book and inversely stamp their personal log book with the letterbox stamp. The hybrid cache contains the important materials for this and may or may not include trade items.


title: Geocaching

text: Moving or traveling caches are found at a listed set of coordinates. The finder hides the cache in a different location, and updates the listing, essentially becoming the hider, and the next finder continues the cycle. This cache type is supported at opencaching.us while it has been discontinued at geocaching.com.


title: Geocaching

text: Guest Book caches use guest books often found in museums, tourist information centers, etc. They are listed exclusively at opencaching.us.


title: Geocaching

text: A BIT cache is a laminated card with a QR code, similar to Munzee. The BIT Cache also contains a URL and a password, for logging purposes. They are listed exclusively on opencaching.us.


title: Geocaching

text: Virtual caches are coordinates for a location which has some other described object. Validation for finding a virtual cache generally requires one to email the cache hider with information such as a date or a name on a plaque, or to post a picture of oneself at the site with GPS receiver in hand. New virtual caches are no longer allowed by Groundspeak, but they remain supported by other sites. The Groundspeak website no longer lists new caches without a physical container, including virtual and webcam caches; however, older caches of these types have been grandfathered in (except for locationless or reverse, which are completely archived). On August 24, 2017, Groundspeak announced "Virtual Rewards", allowing 4000 new virtual caches to be placed during the following year. Earthcaches are one of the two exceptions to the no-container rule; they are caches in which players must answer geological questions to complete the cache. The other exception is for event caches; for an event to qualify, it must be specifically or mainly for geocachers, and must have a minimum duration dependent upon its category (CITO, regular, Mega, or Giga). Attendees of event caches can log that they 'attended', which will increment their number of found caches. Groundspeak created a waymarking website to handle all other non-physical caches.


title: Geocaching

text: EarthCache™ are virtual caches that are organized by the Geological Society of America, but are located in many countries. The cacher usually has to perform a task which teaches an educational lesson about the Earth science of the cache area. They are listed at geocaching.com.


title: Geocaching

text: Locationless or reverse caches are similar to a scavenger hunt. A description is given for something to find, such as a one-room schoolhouse, and the finder locates an example of this object. The finder records the location using their GPS receiver and often takes a picture at the location showing the named object and his or her GPS receiver. Typically others are not allowed to log that same location as a find.


title: Geocaching

text: Webcam caches are virtual caches whose coordinates have a public webcam. The finder is often required to capture their image from the webcam for verification of the find. New webcam caches are no longer allowed by Groundspeak, but they remain supported by opencaching.us.


title: Geocaching

text: Finally, a USB Cache or Dead Drop cache location has a USB flash drive embedded into walls or other structures. The cache is retrieved by connecting a device that has a USB port and can read standard text files. This type is available at opencaching.us.


title: Geocaching

text: An Event Cache is a gathering organized and attended by geocachers. It is not a true cache, but is treated as such by geocaching platforms: it can be "found" upon attending the event.


title: Geocaching

text: Cache-In Trash-Out (CITO) Events are coordinated activities of trash pickup and other maintenance tasks (such as constructing footpaths, planting trees and removing invasive species) to improve the environment. CITO is an ongoing environmental initiative created by Groundspeak Inc. related to geocaching which encourages geocachers to clean up parks and other areas. This is done in two ways: specific events, traditionally around the time of Earth Day each year, in which groups go around picking up litter and maintaining the landscape while finding geocaches.


title: Geocaching

text: Finally, a GPS Adventures Maze Exhibit is an exhibit at various museums and science centers in which participants in the maze learn about geocaching. These "events" have their own cache type on geocaching.com and include many non-geocachers.


title: Geocaching

text: Geodashing is an outdoor sport in which teams of players use GPS receivers to find and visit randomly selected "dashpoints" (also called "waypoints") around the world and report what they find. The objective is to visit as many dashpoints as possible.


title: Geocaching

text: Unlike geocaching, nothing is to be left at the dashpoints; the sole objective is to visit them within the time limit.


title: Geocaching

text: The first game, organized by gpsgames.org, ran for two months (June and July 2001); each subsequent game has run for one month. Players are often encouraged to take pictures at the dashpoints and upload them to the site.


title: Geocaching

text: Geocaching from space is a combination of flight to near space, the geocaching game, and a unique science experiment. The first Stratocaching event was held on 16 November 2013 in Prague and was successful. Ten caches and two "radioseeds" went up to into the stratosphere on a gondola called Dropion module carried by a high-altitude balloon. The caches and seeds then fell to earth for people to find.


title: Geocaching

text: GPX files containing information such as a cache description and information about recent visitors to the cache are available from various listing sites. Geocachers may upload geocache data (also known as waypoints) from various websites in various formats, most commonly in file-type GPX, which uses XML. Some websites allow geocachers to search (build queries) for multiple caches within a geographic area based on criteria such as ZIP code or coordinates, downloading the results as an email attachment on a schedule. In recent years, Android and iPhone users can download apps such as GeoBeagle that allow them to use their 3G and GPS-enabled devices to actively search for and download new caches.


title: Geocaching

text: A variety of geocaching applications are available for geocache data management, file-type translation, and personalization. Geocaching software can assign special icons or search (filter) for caches based on certain criteria (e.g. distance from an assigned point, difficulty, date last found).


title: Geocaching

text: Paperless geocaching means hunting a geocache without a physical printout of the cache description. Traditionally, this means that the seeker has an electronic means of viewing the cache information in the field, such as pre-downloading the information to a PDA or other electronic device. Various applications can directly upload and read GPX files without further conversion. Newer GPS devices released by Garmin, DeLorme, and Magellan have the ability to read GPX files directly, thus eliminating the need for a PDA. Other methods include viewing real-time information on a portable computer with internet access or with an Internet-enabled smart phone. The latest advancement of this practice involves installing dedicated applications on a smart phone with a built-in GPS receiver. Seekers can search for and download caches in their immediate vicinity directly to the application and use the on-board GPS receiver to find the cache.


title: Geocaching

text: A more controversial version of paperless caching involves mass-downloading only the coordinates and cache names (or waypoint IDs) for hundreds of caches into older receivers. This is a common practice of some cachers and has been used successfully for years. In many cases, however, the cache description and hint are never read by the seeker before hunting the cache. This means they are unaware of potential restrictions such as limited hunt times, park open/close times, off-limit areas, and suggested parking locations.


title: Geocaching

text: The website geocaching.com now sells mobile applications which allow users to view caches through a variety of different devices. Currently, the Android, iPhone, and Windows Phone mobile platforms have applications in their respective stores. The apps also allow for a trial version with limited functionality. The site promotes mobile applications, and lists over two dozen applications (both mobile and browser/desktop based) that are using their proprietary but royalty-free public application programming interface (API). Developers at c:geo have criticised Groundspeak for being incompatible with open-source development.


title: Geocaching

text: Additionally "c:geo - opensource" is a free opensource full function application for Android phones that is very popular. This app includes similar features to the official Geocaching mobile application, such as: View caches on a live map (Google Maps or OpenStreet Maps), navigation using a compass, map, or other applications, logging finds online and offline, etc.


title: Geocaching

text: Geocaching enthusiasts have also made their own hand-held GPS devices using a Lego Mindstorms NXT GPS sensor.


title: Geocaching

text: Geocache listing websites have their own guidelines for acceptable geocache publications. Government agencies and others responsible for public use of land often publish guidelines for geocaching, and a "Geocacher's Creed" posted on the Internet asks participants to "avoid causing disruptions or public alarm". Generally accepted rules are to not endanger others, to minimize the impact on nature, to respect private property, and to avoid public alarm.


title: Geocaching

text: Cachers have been approached by police and questioned when they were seen as acting suspiciously. Other times, investigation of a cache location after suspicious activity was reported has resulted in police and bomb squad discovery of the geocache, such as the evacuation of a busy street in Wetherby, Yorkshire, England in 2011, and a street in Alvaston, Derby in 2020.


title: Geocaching

text: Schools have been evacuated when a cache has been seen by teachers or police, such as the case of Fairview High School in Boulder, Colorado in 2009. A number of caches have been destroyed by bomb squads. Diverse locations, from rural cemeteries to Disneyland, have been locked down as a result of such scares.


title: Geocaching

text: The placement of geocaches has occasional critics among some government personnel and the public at large, who consider it littering. Some geocachers act to mitigate this perception by picking up litter while they search for geocaches, a practice referred to in the community as "Cache In Trash Out". Events and caches are often organized revolving around this practice, with many areas seeing significant cleanup that would otherwise not take place, or would instead require federal, state, or local funds to accomplish. Geocachers are also encouraged to clean up after themselves by retrieving old containers once a cache has been removed from play.


title: Geocaching

text: Geocaching is legal in most countries and is usually positively received when explained to law enforcement officials. However, certain types of placements can be problematic. Although generally disallowed, hiders could place caches on private property without adequate permission (intentionally or otherwise), which encourages cache finders to trespass. Historic buildings and structures have also been damaged by geocachers, who have wrongly believed the geocache to be placed within, or on the roof of, the buildings.


title: Geocaching

text: Caches might also be hidden in places where the act of searching can make a finder look suspicious (e.g., near schools, children's playgrounds, banks, courthouses, or in residential neighborhoods), or where the container placement could be mistaken for a drug stash or a bomb (especially in urban settings, under bridges, near banks, courthouses, or embassies). As a result, geocachers are strongly advised to label their geocaches where possible, so that they are not mistaken for a harmful object if discovered by non-geocachers.


title: Geocaching

text: As well as concerns about littering and bomb threats, some geocachers have hidden their caches in inappropriate locations, such as electrical boxes, which may encourage risky behavior, especially by children. Hides in these areas are discouraged, and cache listing websites enforce guidelines that disallow certain types of placements. However, as cache reviewers typically cannot see exactly where and how every cache is hidden, problematic hides can slip through. Ultimately it is also up to cache finders to use discretion when attempting to search for a cache, and report any problems.


title: Geocaching

text: Regional rules for placement of caches have become complex. For example, in Virginia, the Virginia Department of Transportation and the Wildlife Management Agency now forbids the placement of geocaches on all land controlled by those agencies. Some cities, towns, and recreation areas allow geocaches with few or no restrictions, but others require compliance with lengthy permitting procedures.


title: Geocaching

text: The South Carolina House of Representatives passed Bill 3777 in 2005, stating, "It is unlawful for a person to engage in the activity of geocaching or letterboxing in a cemetery or in a historic or archaeological site or property publicly identified by a historical marker without the express written consent of the owner or entity which oversees that cemetery site or property." The bill was referred to committee on first reading in the Senate and has been there ever since.


title: Geocaching

text: The Illinois Department of Natural Resources requires geocachers who wish to place a geocache at any Illinois state park to submit the location on a USGS 7.5 minute topographical map, the name and contact information of the person(s) wishing to place the geocache, a list of the original items to be included in the geocache, and a picture of the container that is to be placed.


title: Geocaching

text: In April 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the township of Highlands East, Ontario, Canada temporarily banned geocaching, over concerns that geocache containers cannot be properly disinfected between finds.


title: Geocaching

text: The death of a 21-year-old experienced cacher, in December 2011, "while attempting a Groundspeak cache that does not look all that dangerous", led to discussions of whether changes should be made, and whether cache owners or Groundspeak could be held liable. Groundspeak has since updated their geocaching.com Terms of Use Agreement which specifies that geocachers find geocaches at their own risk.


title: Geocaching

text: In 2008, two lost hikers on Mount Hood, Oregon, United States, after spending the night in a snow cave, stumbled across a geocache and phoned this information out to rescuers, resulting in their timely rescue.


title: Geocaching

text: Three adult geocachers, a 24-year-old woman and her parents, were trapped in a cave and rescued by firefighters in Rochester, New York, United States, while searching for an ammo can in 2012. Rochester Fire Department spokesman Lt. Ted Kuppinger said, "It's difficult, because you're invested in it, you want to find something like that, so people will probably try to push themselves more than they should, but you need to be prudent about what you're capable of doing."


title: Geocaching

text: In 2015, the coastguard were called to a group of geocachers who were spotted walking into the Severn Estuary off the coast of Clevedon, England, in search of clues to a multi-cache. Although they felt they were safe and able to return to land, they were considered to be in danger and were airlifted back to the shore.


title: Geocaching

text: In October 2016, four people discovered a crashed car at the bottom of a ravine in Benton, Washington, United States, while out geocaching. They spotted the driver still trapped inside, and alerted the emergency services who effected a rescue.


title: Geocaching

text: On 9 June 2018 four people in Prague, Czech Republic, were surprised by a strong sudden storm while searching for a cache in 4 km long tunnel. They were carried by the storm surge for most of the length of the tunnel to its exit at the Vltava river. One woman was found dead in the river a few hours later. Six days later a second body, that of a man in the group, was also found. The two other geocachers survived and were rescued from the river, suffering from numerous bruises and blunt traumas.


title: Geocaching

text: Numerous websites list geocaches around the world. Geocaching websites vary in many ways, including control of data.


title: Geocaching

text: The first website to list geocaches was announced by Mike Teague on May 8, 2000. On September 2, 2000, Jeremy Irish emailed the gpsstash mailing list that he had registered the domain name geocaching.com and had set up his own Web site. He copied the caches from Mike Teague's database into his own. On September 6, Mike Teague announced that Jeremy Irish was taking over cache listings. , Teague had logged only 5 caches.


title: Geocaching

text: The largest site is Geocaching.com, owned by Groundspeak Inc., which began operating in late 2000. With a worldwide membership and a freemium business model, the website claims millions of caches and members in over 200 countries. Hides and events are reviewed by volunteer regional cache reviewers before publication. Free membership allows users access to coordinates, descriptions, and logs for some caches; for a fee, users are allowed additional search tools, the ability to download large amounts of cache information onto their gps at once, instant email notifications about new caches, and access to premium-member-only caches. Geocaching Headquarters are located in the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, United States.


title: Geocaching

text: The Opencaching Network provides independent, non-commercial listing sites based in the cacher's country or region. The Opencaching Network lists the most types of caches, including traditional, virtual, moving, multi, quiz, webcam, BIT, guest book, USB, event, and MP3. The Opencaching Network is less restrictive than many sites, and does not charge for the use of the sites, the service being community driven. Some (or all) listings may or may not be required to be reviewed by community volunteers before being published and although cross-listing is permitted, it is discouraged. Some listings are listed on other sites, but there are many that are unique to the Opencaching Network. Features include the ability to organize one's favourite caches, build custom searches, be instantly notified of new caches in one's area, seek and create caches of all types, export GPX queries, statpics, etc. Each Opencaching Node provides the same API for free (called "OKAPI") for use by developers who want to create third-party applications which can use the Opencaching Network's content.


title: Geocaching

text: Countries with associated opencaching websites include the United States at www.opencaching.us; Germany at www.opencaching.de; Sweden at www.opencaching.se; Poland at www.opencaching.pl; Czech Republic at www.opencaching.cz; The Netherlands at www.opencaching.nl; Romania at www.opencaching.ro; the United Kingdom at www.opencache.uk.


title: Geocaching

text: The main difference between opencaching and traditional listing sites is that all services are open to the users at no cost. Generally, most geocaching services or websites offer some basic information for free, but users may have to pay for premium membership that allows access to more information or advanced searching capabilities. This is not the case with opencaching; every geocache is listed and accessible to everyone for free.


title: Geocaching

text: Additionally, Opencaching sites allow users to rate and report on existing geocaches. This allows users to see what other cachers think of the cache and it encourages participants to place higher quality caches. The rating system also greatly reduces the problem of abandoned or unsatisfactory caches still being listed after repeated negative comments or posts in the cache logs.


title: Geocaching

text: OpenCaching.com (short: OX) was a site created and run by Garmin from 2010 to 2015, which had the stated aim of being as free and open as possible with no paid content. Caches were approved by a community process and coordinates were available without an account. The service closed on 14 August 2015.


title: Geocaching

text: In many countries there are regional geocaching sites, but these mostly only compile lists of caches in the area from the three main sites. Many of them also accept unique listings of caches for their site, but these listings tend to be less popular than the international sites, although occasionally the regional sites may have more caches than the international sites. There are some exceptions though, e.g. in the former Soviet Union, the site Geocaching.su remains popular because it accepts listings in the Cyrillic script. Additional international sites include Geocaching.de, a German website, and Geocaching Australia, which accepts listings of cache types deprecated by geocaching.com, cache types such as TrigPoint and Moveable caches, as well as traditional geocache types.


title: Geocaching

text: GPSgames.org is an online community dedicated to all kinds of games involving Global Positioning System receivers. GPSgames.org allows traditional geocaches as well as virtual, locationless, and traveler geocaches. Geodashing, Shutterspot, GeoVexilla, MinuteWar, GeoPoker, and GeoGolf are among the GPS games available. GPSgames.org has been 100% free since 2001, through donations.


title: Geocaching

text: Navicache.com started as a regional listing service in 2001. While many of the website's listings have been posted to other sites, it also offers unique listings. The website lists nearly any type of geocache and does not charge to access any of the caches listed in its database. All submissions are reviewed and approved. In 2012 it was announced that Navicache was under transition to new owners, who said they "plan to develop a site that geocachers want, with rules that geocachers think are suitable. Geocaching.com and OX are both backed by large enterprises, and while that means they have more funding and people, we're a much smaller team – so our advantage is the ability to be dynamic and listen to the users.". However, as of 2021 the site is mostly dormant, and the most recent cache listing is from 2014.


title: Geocaching

text: Terracaching.com seeks to provide high-quality caches made so by the difficulty of the hide or from the quality of the location. Membership is managed through a sponsorship system, and each cache is under continual peer review from other members. Terracaching.com embraces virtual caches alongside traditional or multi-stage caches and includes many locationless caches among the thousands of caches in its database. It is increasingly attracting members who like the point system. In Europe, TerraCaching is supported by Terracaching.eu. This site is translated in different European languages, has an extended FAQ and extra supporting tools for TerraCaching. TerraCaching strongly discourages caches that are listed on other sites (so-called double-listing).


title: Geocaching

text: Extremcaching is a German private database for alternative geocaches with a focus on T5 / climbing caches, night caches, and lost place caches. For extreme caching all you need is an extreme caching account and a GPS device with coordinates or a GPS-enabled smartphone with geocaching or outdoor navigation software, e.g. c:geo.


title: Geocaching

text: Geocaching Australia is a community website for geocachers in Australia and New Zealand. Geocaching Australia also has many unique cache types such as Burke And Wills, Moveable_cache & Podcache geocaches.


title: Big Energy

text: "Big Energy" is a song by American rapper Latto. It was released through Streamcut and RCA Records on September 24, 2021, as the lead single from Latto's second studio album, "777" (2022). It was written by Latto, A1 LaFlare, Jaucquez Lowe, Randall Hammers, Theron Thomas, Dr. Luke, and Vaughn Oliver, with the latter two handling the production. Adrian Belew, Chris Frantz, Steven Stanley, and Tina Weymouth received songwriting credits since the song samples Tom Tom Club's 1981 song "Genius of Love". "Big Energy" has been described as pop and funk-rap.


title: Big Energy

text: A remix with American singer Mariah Carey featuring DJ Khaled was released on March 28, 2022, with an interpolation of Carey's song "Fantasy", which also heavily samples "Genius of Love". "Big Energy" earned Latto her highest-charting song on the US "Billboard" Hot 100, peaking at number three in April 2022. Consequently, it became the highest-charting solo song by a female rapper since March 2021. It also reached the top 10 in Australia and Canada, and top 20 in New Zealand. "Big Energy" became Latto's breakthrough on mainstream radio, and she performed the song live on several television appearances. The remix was nominated for the Song of the Summer Award at the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards.


title: Big Energy

text: In May 2021, Latto released the song "The Biggest" following the announcement of her stage name changing from Mulatto to Latto. Released in September, "Big Energy" was first premiered at the 2021 MTV Video Music Awards, where Latto performed three songs in short segments throughout the show. Latto also promoted the song with performances at the 2021 BET Hip Hop Awards and on "Late Night with Seth Meyers". In April 2022, she performed a medley of "Big Energy" and "Sunshine" on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon".


title: Big Energy

text: Latto has stated that she first conceived the idea of having American singer Mariah Carey on the remix back in November 2021. Although she was her first option, Latto "did not think [she] could get her realistically".


title: Big Energy

text: On March 25, 2022, Latto revealed that Mariah Carey and record producer DJ Khaled would be featured on her "Big Energy" remix, set to be released March 28, 2022. This announcement came days after speculation on who was to be featured on the song's remix grew as Latto released her album's tracklist, blurring the featured artist's name. A few days later, on March 25, Latto ultimately revealed through the single cover art that the blurred artist would be Mariah Carey, after a Twitter exchange between the two artists, which further increased speculation.


title: Big Energy

text: Latto told "Billboard" that in the lyrics she took the "masculine, trendy 'big dick energy' quote" from social media and made it a concept that all genders can have and take it deeper than just a sexual aspect." Latto added, "I wanted it to be empowering. It's an aura that you carry and a confidence. It’s just an overall vibe and when you walk in the room, you have 'big energy' and no one can tell you otherwise". Her A&R representatives first played her the beat during a studio session in Los Angeles, which she felt keen on but perceived it as musically different and "out of [her] comfort zone". Latto described the writing process as a dynamic collaborative effort, collecting different opinions with "people in the room [to] bounce ideas off of each other... talking out loud, playing the beat out loud. It wasn't a sit-down-and-write type of thing... and I was asking the girls in the room, 'What does big energy mean to you?'


title: Big Energy

text: The song was produced by Dr. Luke and Vaughn Oliver. The funk-infused pop and pop-rap song heavily samples the 1981 single, "Genius of Love" by Tom Tom Club, one of the most sampled rhythm tracks of the 1980s, particularly within the hip hop and R&B genre. Notable sample uses of that single include Dr. Jeckyl & Mr. Hyde's "Genius Rap" in 1981, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five's "It's Nasty" in 1982, Mariah Carey's "Fantasy" in 1995, and The X-Ecutioners' "Genius of Love 2002" in 2002. Latto stated that the sample was a new sound for her that "might cause controversy", but felt confident that its catchiness would bring a new audience and wider fanbase to her career. In another interview, however, Latto declared that she wants to avoid the mainstream public thinking that her music catalogue sounds similar to the pop-leaning "Big Energy", saying that she prioritizes rap music with different composition and that "that's not where [her] heart is".


title: Big Energy

text: In the Mariah Carey remix, Carey supplies her signature whistle notes to the intro of the song, while Latto raps the first verse. Carey follows with an interpolation of the opening verse of her song "Fantasy", and then sings the post-chorus that merges both songs. Musically, the remix has been described as a blend of pop and R&B.