title: Gemini (constellation)

text: When the Moon moves through Gemini, its motion can easily be observed in a single night as it appears first west of Castor and Pollux, then aligns, and finally appears east of them.


title: Gemini (constellation)

text: The brightest star in Gemini is Pollux, and the second-brightest is Castor. Castor's Bayer designation as "Alpha" arose because Johann Bayer did not carefully distinguish which of the two was the brighter when he assigned his eponymous designations in 1603. Although the characters of myth are twins, the actual stars are physically very different from each other.


title: Gemini (constellation)

text: α Gem (Castor) is a sextuple star system 52 light-years from Earth, which appears as a magnitude 1.6 blue-white star to the unaided eye. Two spectroscopic binaries are visible at magnitudes 1.9 and 3.0 with a period of 470 years. A wide-set red dwarf star is also a part of the system; this star is an Algol-type eclipsing binary star with a period of 19.5 hours; its minimum magnitude is 9.8 and its maximum magnitude is 9.3.


title: Gemini (constellation)

text: β Gem (Pollux) is an orange-hued giant star of magnitude 1.14, 34 light-years from Earth. Pollux has an extrasolar planet revolving around it, as do two other stars in Gemini, HD 50554, and HD 59686.


title: Gemini (constellation)

text: δ Gem (Wasat) is a long-period binary star 59 light-years from Earth. The primary is a white star of magnitude 3.5, and the secondary is an orange dwarf star of magnitude 8.2. The period is over 1000 years; it is divisible in medium amateur telescopes.


title: Gemini (constellation)

text: ε Gem (Mebsuta), a double star, includes a primary yellow supergiant of magnitude 3.1, nine hundred light-years from Earth. The optical companion, of magnitude 9.6, is visible in binoculars and small telescopes.


title: Gemini (constellation)

text: ζ Gem (Mekbuda) is a double star, whose primary is a Cepheid variable star with a period of 10.2 days; its minimum magnitude is 4.2 and its maximum magnitude is 3.6. It is a yellow supergiant, 1,200 light-years from Earth, with a radius that is 60 times solar, making it approximately 220,000 times the size of the Sun. The companion, a magnitude 7.6 star, is visible in binoculars and small amateur telescopes.


title: Gemini (constellation)

text: η Gem (Propus) is a binary star with a variable component. 380 light-years away, it has a period of 500 years and is only divisible in large amateur telescopes. The primary is a semi-regular red giant with a period of 233 days; its minimum magnitude is 3.9 and its maximum magnitude is 3.1. The secondary is of magnitude 6.


title: Gemini (constellation)

text: κ Gem is a binary star 143 light-years from Earth. The primary is a yellow giant of magnitude 3.6; the secondary is of magnitude 8. The two are only divisible in larger amateur instruments because of the discrepancy in brightness.


title: Gemini (constellation)

text: ν Gem is a double star divisible in binoculars and small amateur telescopes. The primary is a blue giant of magnitude 4.1, 550 light-years from Earth, and the secondary is of magnitude 8.


title: Gemini (constellation)

text: 38 Gem, a binary star, is also divisible in small amateur telescopes, 84 light-years from Earth. The primary is a white star of magnitude 4.8 and the secondary is a yellow star of magnitude 7.8.


title: Gemini (constellation)

text: Mu Gem (Tejat) is the Bayer designation for a star in the northern constellation of Gemini. It has the traditional name Tejat Posterior, which means back foot, because it is the foot of Castor, one of the Gemini twins.


title: Gemini (constellation)

text: M35 (NGC 2168) is a large, elongated open cluster of magnitude 5, discovered in the year 1745 by Swiss astronomer Philippe Loys de Chéseaux. It has an area of approximately 0.2 square degrees, the same size as the full moon. Its high magnitude means that M35 is visible to the unaided eye under dark skies; under brighter skies it is discernible in binoculars. The 200 stars of M35 are arranged in chains that curve throughout the cluster; it is 2800 light-years from Earth. Another open cluster in Gemini is NGC 2158. Visible in large amateur telescopes and very rich, it is more than 12,000 light-years from Earth.


title: Gemini (constellation)

text: NGC 2392 is a planetary nebula with an overall magnitude of 9.2, located 4,000 light-years from Earth. In a small amateur telescope, its 10th magnitude central star is visible, along with its blue-green elliptical disk. It is said to resemble the head of a person wearing a parka.


title: Gemini (constellation)

text: The Medusa Nebula is another planetary nebula, some 1,500 light-years distant. Geminga is a neutron star approximately 550 light-years from Earth. Other objects include NGC 2129, NGC 2158, NGC 2266, NGC 2331, NGC 2355, and NGC 2355.


title: Gemini (constellation)

text: The Geminids is a bright meteor shower that peaks on December 13–14. It has a maximum rate of approximately 100 meteors per hour, making it one of the richest meteor showers. The Epsilon Geminids peak between October 18 and October 29 and have only been recently confirmed. They overlap with the Orionids, which make the Epsilon Geminids difficult to detect visually. Epsilon Geminid meteors have a higher velocity than Orionids.


title: Gemini (constellation)

text: In Babylonian astronomy, the stars Castor and Pollux were known as the Great Twins. The Twins were regarded as minor gods and were called Meshlamtaea and Lugalirra, meaning respectively 'The One who has arisen from the Underworld' and the 'Mighty King'. Both names can be understood as titles of Nergal, the major Babylonian god of plague and pestilence, who was king of the Underworld.


title: Gemini (constellation)

text: In Greek mythology, Gemini was associated with the myth of Castor and Pollux, the children of Leda and Argonauts both. Pollux was the son of Zeus, who seduced Leda, while Castor was the son of Tyndareus, king of Sparta and Leda's husband. Castor and Pollux were also mythologically associated with St. Elmo's fire in their role as the protectors of sailors. When Castor died, because he was mortal, Pollux begged his father Zeus to give Castor immortality, and he did, by uniting them together in the heavens.


title: Gemini (constellation)

text: Gemini is dominated by Castor and Pollux, two bright stars that appear relatively very closely together forming an o shape, encouraging the mythological link between the constellation and twinship. The twin above and to the right (as seen from the Northern Hemisphere) is Castor, whose brightest star is α Gem; it is a second-magnitude star and represents Castor's head. The twin below and to the left is Pollux, whose brightest star is β Gem (more commonly called Pollux); it is of the first magnitude and represents Pollux's head. Furthermore, the other stars can be visualized as two parallel lines descending from the two main stars, making it look like two figures.


title: Gemini (constellation)

text: H. A. Rey has suggested an alternative to the traditional visualization that connected the stars of Gemini to show twins holding hands. Pollux's torso is represented by the star υ Gem, Pollux's right hand by ι Gem, Pollux's left hand by κ Gem; all three of these stars are of the fourth magnitude. Pollux's pelvis is represented by the star δ Gem, Pollux's right knee by ζ Gem, Pollux's right foot by γ Gem, Pollux's left knee by λ Gem, and Pollux's left foot by ξ Gem. γ Gem is of the second magnitude, while δ and ξ Gem are of the third magnitude. Castor's torso is represented by the star τ Gem, Castor's left hand by ι Gem (which he shares with Pollux), Castor's right hand by θ Gem; all three of these stars are of the fourth magnitude. Castor's pelvis is represented by the star ε Gem, Castor's left foot by ν Gem, and Castor's right foot by μ Gem and η Gem; ε, μ, and η Gem are of the third magnitude. The brightest star in this constellation is Pollux.


title: Gemini (constellation)

text: In "Meteorologica" (1 343b30) Aristotle mentions that he observed Jupiter in conjunction with and then occulting a star in Gemini. This is the earliest-known observation of this nature. A study published in 1990 suggests the star involved was 1 Geminorum and the event took place on 5 December 337 BC.


title: Gemini (constellation)

text: When William Herschel discovered Uranus on 13 March 1781 it was located near η Gem. In 1930 Clyde Tombaugh exposed a series of photographic plates centred on δ Gem and discovered Pluto.


title: Gemini (constellation)

text: In Chinese astronomy, the stars that correspond to Gemini are located in two areas: the White Tiger of the West (西方白虎, "Xī Fāng Bái Hǔ") and the Vermillion Bird of the South (南方朱雀, "Nán Fāng Zhū Què").


title: Gemini (constellation)

text: , the Sun appears in the constellation Gemini from June 21 to July 20. In tropical astrology, the Sun is considered to be in the sign Gemini from May 22 to June 21, and in sidereal astrology, from June 16 to July 16.


title: John Banner

text: John Banner (born Johann Banner, January 28, 1910 – January 28, 1973) was an Austrian-born American actor, best known for his role as Sergeant Schultz in the situation comedy "Hogan's Heroes" (1965–1971). Schultz, constantly encountering evidence that the inmates of his stalag were planning mayhem, frequently feigned ignorance with the catchphrase, "I see nothing! I hear nothing! I know nothing!" (or, more commonly as the series went on, "I know nothing, "nothing!"").


title: John Banner

text: Banner was born to Jewish parents in Stanislau, Austria-Hungary (now Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine). He studied for a law degree at the University of Vienna, but decided instead to become an actor. In 1938, when he was performing with an acting troupe in Switzerland, Adolf Hitler annexed Austria to Nazi Germany. Banner emigrated to the United States, where he rapidly learned English.


title: John Banner

text: In 1942, Banner enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps, underwent basic training in Atlantic City and became a supply sergeant. He even posed for a recruiting poster (before he became portly). He served until 1945.


title: John Banner

text: According to fellow "Hogan's Heroes" actor Robert Clary, who was a Holocaust survivor himself, "John lost a lot of his family" to the Holocaust.


title: John Banner

text: Banner appeared on Broadway three times: in a musical revue called "From Vienna", which ran for two months in 1939; and in two comic plays, "Pastoral", in which he had a leading role, but which had a very brief run in November 1939; and "The Big Two", which ran briefly in January 1947. Early on, before he became fluent in English, Banner had to learn his lines phonetically.


title: John Banner

text: Banner appeared in more than 40 feature films. His first credited role was a German captain in "Once Upon a Honeymoon" (1942), starring Cary Grant and Ginger Rogers. He also played a Gestapo agent in 20th Century Fox's "Chetniks! The Fighting Guerrillas" (1943). His typecasting did not please him, but these were the only roles he was offered. Banner later learned that his family members who remained in Vienna had all perished in Nazi concentration camps.


title: John Banner

text: Banner made more than 70 television appearances between 1950 and 1970, including the "Lone Ranger" (episode "Damsels In Distress", 1950), "Sky King" (premiere episode "Operation Urgent", 1952), "Sheena, Queen of the Jungle" ("The Renegades", 1955), "Adventures of Superman" ("The Man Who Made Dreams Come True", 1957), "Father Knows Best" ("Brief Holiday", 1957), "Mister Ed" (episode "Ed the Artist", 1965), "Thriller" (episode "Portrait Without a Face", 1961), "The Untouchables" ("Takeover", 1962), "My Sister Eileen", "The Lucy Show", "Perry Mason", "The Partridge Family", "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" ("Hot Line", 1964), "Alias Smith and Jones", "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." ("The Neptune Affair", 1964), and "Hazel" ("The Investor", 1965).


title: John Banner

text: In the late 1950s, a still-slim Banner portrayed Peter Tchaikovsky's supervisor on a Disneyland anthology series about the composer's life. This followed a scene with fellow "Hogan's Heroes" actor Leon Askin (General Burkhalter) as Nikolai Rubinstein. In 1953, he had a bit part in the Kirk Douglas feature film "The Juggler" as the witness of an attack on an Israeli policeman by a disturbed concentration camp survivor.


title: John Banner

text: In 1954, he had a regular role playing Bavarro in the children's science-fiction TV series "Rocky Jones, Space Ranger". Two years later, he played a train conductor in the episode "Safe Conduct" of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents", appearing with future co-star Werner Klemperer (Colonel Klink in "Hogan's Heroes"), who played a spy. He also played Nazi villains in several later films - the German town mayor in "The Young Lions" (1958), Rudolf Höss in "Operation Eichmann" (1961, opposite Werner Klemperer as Adolf Eichmann), and Gregor Strasser in "Hitler" (1962). The year before the premiere of "Hogan's Heroes", Banner portrayed a World War II German "home guard" soldier in "36 Hours" (1964), starring James Garner. Although it was a serious role in a war drama, Banner still displayed some of the affable nature that became his defining character trait the following year in "Hogan's Heroes". By coincidence, during the final moments of "36 Hours", John Banner's character meets up with a border guard played by Sig Ruman, who had portrayed another prisoner-of-war camp chief guard named Sergeant Schulz in the 1953 film "Stalag 17", starring William Holden.


title: John Banner

text: The comedy series "Hogan's Heroes", in which Banner played Sergeant Hans Schultz, the role for which he is most often remembered, debuted on the CBS Television Network in 1965. According to Banner, before he met and married his French wife Christine, he weighed ; he claimed her good cooking was responsible for his weight gain to , which helped him land the part. The character of Schultz is a bumbling, but ultimately lovable German guard at a World War II prisoner-of-war camp. The camp is used by the prisoners as a secret staging area for sabotage and intelligence gathering. To obtain nuggets of information from the commandant's office, the prisoners often bribe Schultz with food and candy. Schultz's main goal is to avoid any trouble with his superiors, which often leads him to ignore the clandestine activities of the prisoners. (On those occasions, he often used his catchphrase "I hear nothing, I see nothing, I know nothing!" As the series went on, this became simply "I know nothing. "Nothing!"). The genesis of the line could be from Banner’s appearance on the TV crime drama "The Untouchables", in the episode "The Takeover" (1961), when confronted by a gangster, he nervously responds with his future classic line. Another signature phrase used was "Jolly joker!", when one of the POWs would make a joke at his expense. Schultz's gentle nature is exemplified by his occupation before the war: he is a toymaker.


title: John Banner

text: Banner was loved not only by the viewers, but also by the cast, as recalled by cast members during the "Hogan's Heroes" DVD commentary. The Jewish Banner defended his character, telling "TV Guide" in 1967, "Schultz is not a Nazi. I see Schultz as the representative of some kind of goodness in any generation." Banner appeared in every episode of the series, which ran for six years.


title: John Banner

text: In 1968, during the series' run, Banner co-starred with fellow "Hogan's Heroes" actors Werner Klemperer, Leon Askin, and Bob Crane in the Cold War comedy "The Wicked Dreams of Paula Schultz", starring Elke Sommer in the title role.


title: John Banner

text: After "Hogan's Heroes" was cancelled in 1971, Banner starred as the inept gangster Uncle Latzi in a short-lived television situation comedy, "The Chicago Teddy Bears". His last acting appearance was in the March 17, 1972, episode of "The Partridge Family". He then retired to France with his Paris-born second wife.


title: John Banner

text: Banner died on January 28, 1973 – his 63rd birthday – following an abdominal hemorrhage. At the time of his death, he was visiting friends in Vienna.


title: Javelin

text: A javelin is a light spear designed primarily to be thrown, historically as a ranged weapon, but today predominantly for sport. The javelin is almost always thrown by hand, unlike the sling, bow, and crossbow, which launch projectiles with the aid of a hand-held mechanism. However, devices do exist to assist the javelin thrower in achieving greater distance, such as spear-throwers or the amentum.


title: Javelin

text: The word javelin comes from Middle English and it derives from Old French "javelin", a diminutive of "javelot", which meant spear. The word "javelot" probably originated from one of the Celtic languages.


title: Javelin

text: There is archaeological evidence that javelins and throwing sticks were already in use by the last phase of the Lower Paleolithic. Seven spear-like objects were found in a coal mine in the city of Schöningen, Germany. Stratigraphic dating indicates that the weapons are about 400,000 years old. The excavated items were made of spruce (Picea) trunk and were between 1.83 and 2.25 metres long. They were manufactured with the maximum thickness and weight situated at the front end of the wooden shaft. The frontal centre of gravity suggests that these weapons were used as javelins. A fossilized horse shoulder blade with a projectile wound, dated to 500,000 years ago, was revealed in a gravel quarry in the village of Boxgrove, England. Studies suggested that the wound was probably caused by a javelin.


title: Javelin

text: In "History of Ancient Egypt": Volume 1 (1882), George Rawlinson depicts the javelin as an offensive weapon used by the Ancient Egyptian military. It was lighter in weight than that used by other nations. He describes the Ancient Egyptian javelin's features:


title: Javelin

text: It consisted of a long thin shaft, sometimes merely pointed, but generally armed with a head, which was either leaf-shaped, or like the head of a spear, or else four-sided, and attached to the shaft by projections at the angles.


title: Javelin

text: A strap or tasseled head was situated at the lower end of the javelin: it allowed the javelin thrower to recover his javelin after throwing it.


title: Javelin

text: Egyptian military trained from a young age in special military schools. Focusing on gymnastics to gain strength, hardiness and endurance in childhood, they learned to throw the javelin – along with practicing archery and the battle-axe – when they grew older, before entering a specific regiment.


title: Javelin

text: Javelins were carried by Egyptian light infantry, as a main weapon, and as an alternative to a spear or a bow and arrow, generally along with a shield. They also carried a curved sword, a club or a hatchet as a side-arm. An important part in battles is often assigned to javelin-men, "whose weapons seem to inflict death at every blow".


title: Javelin

text: One or multiple javelins were also sometimes carried by Egyptian war-chariots, in the quiver and/or the bow case.


title: Javelin

text: Beyond its military purpose, the javelin was likely also a hunting instrument, both to seek food and as a sport.


title: Javelin

text: The peltasts, usually serving as skirmishers, were armed with several javelins, often with throwing straps to increase stand-off power. The peltasts hurled their javelins at the enemy's heavier troops, the hoplite phalanx, in order to break their lines so that their own army's hoplites could destroy the weakened enemy formation. In the battle of Lechaeum, the Athenian general Iphicrates took advantage of the fact that a Spartan hoplite phalanx operating near Corinth was moving in the open field without the protection of any missile-throwing troops. He decided to ambush it with his force of peltasts. By launching repeated hit-and-run attacks against the Spartan formation, Iphicrates and his men were able to wear the Spartans down, eventually routing them and killing just under half. This marked the first recorded occasion in ancient Greek military history in which a force entirely made up of peltasts had defeated a force of hoplites.


title: Javelin

text: The thureophoroi and thorakitai, who gradually replaced the peltasts, carried javelins in addition to a long thrusting spear and a short sword.


title: Javelin

text: Javelins were often used as an effective hunting weapon, the strap adding enough power to take down large game. Javelins were also used in the Ancient Olympics and other Panhellenic games. They were hurled in a certain direction and whoever hurled it the farthest, as long as it hit tip-first, won that game.


title: Javelin

text: In 387 BC, the Gauls invaded Italy, inflicted a crushing defeat on the Roman Republican army, and sacked Rome. After this defeat, the Romans undertook a comprehensive reform of their army and changed the basic tactical formation from the Greek-style phalanx armed with the "hasta" spear and the "clipeus" round shield to a more flexible three-line formation. The "hastati" stood in the first line, the "principes" in the second line and the "triarii" in the third line. While the "triarii" were still armed with "hastae", the "hastati" and the "principes" were rearmed with short swords and heavy javelins. Each soldier from the "hastati" and "principes" lines carried two javelins. This heavy javelin, known as a "pilum" (plural "pila"), was about two metres long overall, consisting of an iron shank, about 7 mm in diameter and 60 cm long, with pyramidal head, secured to a wooden shaft. The iron shank was either socketed or, more usually, widened to a flat tang. A "pilum" usually weighed between , with the versions produced during the empire being somewhat lighter. Pictorial evidence suggests that some versions of the weapon were weighted with a lead ball at the base of the shank in order to increase penetrative power, but no archaeological specimens have been found. Recent experiments have shown "pila" to have a range of about 30 metres, although the effective range is only 15 to 20 metres. "Pila" were sometimes referred to as "javelins", but the archaic term for the javelin was ""verutum"".


title: Javelin

text: From the third century BC, the Roman legion added a skirmisher type of soldier to its tactical formation. The "velites" were light infantry armed with short swords (the "gladius" or "pugio"), small round shields, and several small javelins. These javelins were called ""veruta"" (singular "verutum"). The "velites" typically drew near the enemy, hurled javelins against their formation, and then retreated behind the legion's heavier infantry. The "velites" were considered highly effective in turning back war elephants, on account of discharging a hail of javelins at some range and not presenting a "block" that could be trampled on or otherwise smashed – unlike the close-order infantry behind them. At the Battle of Zama in 202 BC, the javelin-throwing "velites" proved their worth and were no doubt critical in helping to herd Hannibal's war elephants through the formation to be slaughtered. The "velites" would slowly have been either disbanded or re-equipped as more-heavily armed legionaries from the time when Gaius Marius and other Roman generals reorganised the army in the late second and early first centuries BC. Their role would most likely have been taken by irregular auxiliary troops as the republic expanded overseas. The "verutum" was a cheaper missile weapon than the "pilum". The "verutum" was a short-range weapon, with a simply made head of soft iron.


title: Javelin

text: Legionaries of the late republic and early empire often carried two "pila", with one sometimes being lighter than the other. Standard tactics called for a Roman soldier to throw his "pilum" (both if there was time) at the enemy just before charging to engage with his "gladius". Some "pila" had small hand-guards, to protect the wielder if he intended to use it as a melee weapon, but it does not appear that this was common.


title: Javelin

text: In the late Roman Empire, the Roman infantry came to use a differently-shaped javelin from the earlier pilum. This javelin was lighter and had a greater range. Called a plumbata, it resembled a thick stocky arrow, fletched with leather vanes to provide stability and rotation in flight (which increased accuracy). To overcome its comparatively small mass, the plumbata was fitted with an oval-shaped lead weight socketed around the shaft just forward of the center of balance, giving the weapon its name. Even so, plumbatae were much lighter than pila, and would not have had the armour penetration or shield transfixing capabilities of their earlier counterparts.


title: Javelin

text: Two or three plumbatae were typically clipped to a small wooden bracket on the inside of the large oval or round shields used at the time. Massed troops would unclip and hurl plumbatae as the enemy neared, hopefully stalling their movement and morale by making them clump together and huddle under their shields. With the enemy deprived of rapid movement and their visibility impaired by their own raised shields, the Roman troops were then better placed to exploit the tactical situation. It is unlikely plumbatae were viewed by the Romans as the killing blow, but more as a means of stalling the enemy at ranges greater than previously provided by the heavier and shorter ranged pilum.


title: Javelin

text: The Gallic cavalry used to hurl several javelin volleys to soften the enemy before a frontal attack. The Gallic cavalry used their javelins in a tactic similar to that of horse archers' Parthian shot. The Gauls knew how to turn on horseback to throw javelins backwards while appearing to retreat.


title: Javelin

text: The Hispanic cavalry was a light cavalry armed with "falcatas" and several light javelins. The Cantabri tribes invented a military tactic to maximize the advantages of the combination between horse and javelin. In this tactic the horsemen rode around in circles, toward and away from the enemy, continually hurling javelins. The tactic was usually employed against heavy infantry. The constant movement of the horsemen gave them an advantage against slow infantry and made them hard to target. The maneuver was designed to harass and taunt the enemy forces, disrupting close formations. This was commonly used against enemy infantry, especially the heavily armed and slow moving legions of the Romans. This tactic came to be known as the Cantabrian circle. In the late Republic various auxiliary cavalry completely replaced the Italian cavalry contingents and the Hispanic auxiliary cavalry was considered the best.


title: Javelin

text: The Numidians were indigenous tribes of northwest Africa. The Numidian cavalry was a light cavalry usually operating as skirmishers. The Numidian horseman was armed with a small shield and several javelins. The Numidians had a reputation as swift horsemen, cunning soldiers and excellent javelin throwers. It is said that Jugurtha, the Numidian king "...took part in the national pursuits of riding, javelin throwing and competed with other young men in running." [Sallust The Jugurthine War: 6]. The Numidian Cavalry served as mercenaries in the Carthaginian Army and played a key role in assisting both Hannibal and Scipio during the Second Punic War.


title: Javelin

text: There is some literary and archeological evidence that the Norse were familiar with and used the javelin for hunting and warfare, but they commonly used a spear designed for both throwing and thrusting. The Old Norse word for javelin was "frakka".


title: Javelin

text: The Anglo-Saxon term for javelin was "france". In Anglo-Saxon warfare, soldiers usually formed a shield wall and used heavy weapons like Danish axes, swords and spears. Javelins, including barbed angons, were used as an offensive weapon from behind the shield wall or by warriors who left the protective formation and attacked the enemy as skirmishers.


title: Javelin

text: Designed to be difficult to remove from either flesh or wood, the Angon javelin used by Anglo-Saxon warriors was an effective means of disabling an opponent or his shield, thus having the potential to disrupt opposing shield-walls.


title: Javelin

text: The Almogavars were a class of Aragonese infantrymen armed with a short sword, a shield and two heavy javelins, known as azcona. The equipment resembled that of a Roman legionary and the use of the heavy javelins was much the same.


title: Javelin

text: The Jinetes were Arabic light horsemen armed with several javelins, a sword, and a shield. They were proficient at skirmishing and rapid maneuver, and played an important role in Arabic mounted warfare throughout the Reconquista until the sixteenth century. These units were widespread among the Italian infantrymen of the fifteenth century.


title: Javelin

text: The Welsh, particularly those of North Wales, used the javelin as one of their main weapons. During the Norman and later English invasions, the primary Welsh tactic was to rain javelins on the tired, hungry, and heavily armoured English troops and then retreat into the mountains or woods before the English troops could pursue and attack them. This tactic was very successful, since it demoralized and damaged the English armies while the Welsh ranks suffered little.


title: Javelin

text: The "kern" of Ireland used javelins as their main weapon as they accompanied the more heavily armoured "galloglass".


title: Javelin

text: Various kingdoms and dynasties in China have used javelins, such as the iron-headed javelin of the Qing dynasty.


title: Javelin

text: Many African kingdoms have used the javelin as their main weapon since ancient times. Typical African warfare was based on ritualized stand-off encounters involving throwing javelins without advancing for close combat. In the flag of Eswatini there is a shield and two javelins, which symbolize the protection from the country's enemies.


title: Javelin

text: The Zulu warriors used a long version of the assegai javelin as their primary weapon. The Zulu legendary leader Shaka initiated military reforms in which a short stabbing spear, with a long, swordlike spearhead named iklwa, had become the Zulu warrior's main weapon and was used as a mêlée weapon. The assegai was not discarded, but was used for an initial missile assault. With the larger shields, introduced by Shaka to the Zulu army, the short spears used as stabbing swords and the opening phase of javelin attack; the Zulu regiments were quite similar to the Roman legion with its Scutum, Gladius and Pilum tactical combination.


title: Javelin

text: In Norse mythology, Odin, the chief god, carried a javelin or spear called Gungnir. It was created by a group of dwarves known as the Sons of Ivaldi who also fashioned the ship of Freyr called Skidbladnir and the golden hair of Sif. It had the property of always finding its mark ("the spear never stopped in its thrust"). During the final conflict of Ragnarok between the gods and giants, Odin will use Gungnir to attack the wolf Fenrir before being devoured by him.


title: Javelin

text: During the war (and subsequent alliance) between the Aesir and Vanir at the dawn of time, Odin hurled a javelin over the enemy host which, according to custom, was thought to bring good fortune or victory to the thrower. Odin also wounded himself with a spear while hanging from Yggdrasil, the World Tree, in his ritual quest for knowledge but in neither case is the weapon referred to specifically as Gungnir.


title: Javelin

text: When the god Baldr began to have prophetic dreams of his own death, his mother Frigg extracted an oath from all things in nature not to harm him. However, she neglected the mistletoe, thinking it was too young to make, let alone respect, such a solemn vow. When Loki learned of this weakness, he had a javelin or dart made from one of its branches and tricked Hod, the blind god, into hurling it at Baldr and causing his death.


title: Drawn Together

text: Drawn Together is an American adult animated sitcom created by Dave Jeser and Matt Silverstein and premiered on Comedy Central on October 27, 2004. The series is a parody of "The Surreal Life" and follows the misadventures of the housemates in the fictional show of the same name and uses a sitcom format with a reality TV show setting.


title: Drawn Together

text: The show's main characters are a combination of personalities that were recognizable and familiar prior to the series. Differently, however, "Drawn Together" used caricatures of established cartoon characters and stock characters. In addition, their character traits parody personality types that are typically seen in reality TV shows.


title: Drawn Together

text: Comedy Central advertised it as the first animated reality TV series, and in some episodes, the characters participate in challenges that are similar to reality TV challenges, although the premise is largely dropped in later episodes.


title: Drawn Together

text: After three seasons, the show was cancelled. Subsequently, a direct-to-video film and series finale, "" was released on April 20, 2010.


title: Drawn Together

text: The show's visual style is that of digital ink-and-paint. The style was chosen both for the retro feel it gives the show and for the versatility and freedom it allows the animators, providing an environment in which it is possible to combine many different styles of animation. Another unique aspect of the show is that, where most cartoons present their characters, though animated, as real within the show's world, the "Drawn Together" characters retain their identities as cartoon characters even within their animated world, and they acknowledge their status as animations. The show has cameo appearances by famous characters (or in some cases, clones to avoid infringing copyright) from all across the animated spectrum. In keeping with the various animation styles for the characters, Wooldoor and Toot have four fingers on each hand, whereas Clara, Foxxy, Hero and Xandir have five. In promotional artwork for the show, Toot and Wooldoor are drawn with the standard five fingers, but in the show itself they have four. Whereas most of the characters are drawn with black outlines, Clara and items belonging to her are drawn with soft edges, a reference to Disney animation techniques, which involve "cleanup" of any black outlines. Contrasting, Toot is drawn in the grainy, high-contrast monochrome of her era's technology.


title: Drawn Together

text: The show was made by Rough Draft Studios in Glendale, California, with much of the animation done at the studio's facilities in South Korea. A gag in "The Drawn Together Clip Show" is that they show a list of all the Korean children who died animating the show.


title: Drawn Together

text: The movie was produced by 6 Point Harness and done completely with Flash animation due to budget cuts.


title: Drawn Together

text: A total of three seasons were produced. Season 3 began airing on October 5, 2006, and took a mid-season break which started on November 15, 2006. The second half of season three began airing on October 4, 2007.


title: Drawn Together

text: In March 2007, it was announced that creators Dave Jeser and Matt Silverstein had left Comedy Central, and later created "DJ & the Fro" for their sister channel MTV in 2009, and eventually signed a two-year contract with 20th Century Fox Television to create new series and/or work on the studio's existing shows.


title: Drawn Together

text: The season three finale included multiple jokes about the show's cancellation. "TV Guide" listed this episode as a series finale and described the episode as follows: ""The series wraps up with the housemates participating in a singing competition as they look back on their recent misadventures.""


title: Drawn Together

text: In March 2008, Tara Strong confirmed that the show had been cancelled, and the back of the third season DVDs box refers to it as the "third and final season".


title: Drawn Together

text: Since cancellation, the show has partial rotation late-nights, and airs uncensored on Comedy Central's "Secret Stash" and on Logo.


title: Drawn Together

text: Despite the cancellation, the official page of "Drawn Together" in Myspace had suggested the fans call Comedy Central and convince them to make a new season.


title: Drawn Together

text: The plots and humor of "Drawn Together" are adult-oriented and laden with shock comedy. The humor is largely morbid and satirical in nature, its primary focus being the mockery of stereotypes and the casual exploration of taboo subject matter, such as masturbation, paraphilia, kinky sex, homosexuality or gay marriage, abortion, rape, incest, pedophilia, menstruation, spousal abuse, racism, homophobia, xenophobia, antisemitism, necrophilia, terrorism, graphic violence and death. Episodes such as "Gay Bash" or "A Very Special Drawn Together Afterschool Special", for example, feature the exploration of homosexuality as a central theme. Nearly all episodes feature at least one death, and several episodes feature characters going on killing sprees or perpetrating or becoming victims of , though the main characters subsequently returned alive and uninjured. The show breaks the fourth wall regularly; on one occasion, the show mocks Adam Carolla, the voice of Spanky Ham.


title: Drawn Together

text: Despite the show's overt and underlined sexuality, the characters' innocent and sensual sides are often the main driving force of the plot (alongside comedic non-sequitur moments intended to parody standard plot lines). This adds romantic comedy, melodrama, action film, war film, court drama and other genres to the pool of spoofing material. Sincere feelings the characters are forced to experience (and comic disregard thereof) seem to add integrity to the plot and imbue every episode with a genuine moral message, made more efficient by constant spoofing of moral message clichés like "character X has learned a valuable lesson".


title: Drawn Together

text: Comedy Central's original tagline for the show was "Find out what happens when cartoon characters stop being polite... and start making out in hot tubs", referring to Clara and Foxxy's kiss in the pilot episode. The line is a parody of "The Real World"<nowiki>'</nowiki>s tagline, "Find out what happens when people stop being polite... and start getting real." The aforementioned hot tub kiss is considered one of the show's defining images; Comedy Central based nearly all of its first-season promotional material for "Drawn Together" on it. In "", a billboard featuring the hot tub kiss is a major plot point in the film and is the main reason why the Network Head is hunting the housemates down in order to kill them in the movie, due to the billboard being the cause of his wife and daughter's death.


title: Drawn Together

text: The extensive use of stereotypes is another controversial aspect of the show, though the intent is actually to make fun of bigotry. As Jess Harnell states in the DVD commentary for "Hot Tub", "Most of the racism on the show is coming from people who are so obviously stupid about it; it really isn't that threatening". (Jewish people are mocked, including creators and principal cast member Tara Strong.) Other content known to be featured on some episodes are occurrences of natural disasters, depictions of dictators and sexual fetishes.


title: Drawn Together

text: "Drawn Together" is heavy with popular culture references. Animation is a major source of material; as mentioned above, many characters from comics and animated cartoons make cameo appearances and often are the subjects of parody. However, numerous live-action films, TV shows, and video games are referenced as well. Reality shows are another prime inspiration, not surprising given that "Drawn Together" is presented as a reality show that takes place in a cartoon world. However, although many of the first-season plots made extensive use of the reality show scenario, this aspect of the show has largely been de-emphasized in later episodes. The spoofing of film and television clichés is another common theme on the show; many "Drawn Together" stories are parodies of overused plots from TV and films.


title: Drawn Together

text: One notable factor of the series are musical numbers. Some are parodies of real songs (i.e. in "Hot Tub", the song "Black Chick's Tongue" is a parody of "A Whole New World" from "Aladdin"; in the episode "Super Nanny", the song at the DMV is a riff on "Who's That Guy?" from "Grease 2"; in "Freaks & Greeks", the song at the end is a take on "Summer Nights" from "Grease"; and "You'll Really Love Being Abandoned Here" in "Alzheimer's That Ends Well" is a reference to "I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here" from "Annie"). Other songs are those written by the show's creators/writers, like "The Bully Song" from "Requiem for a Reality Show" and "La-La-La-La-Labia" in "Clara's Dirty Little Secret"). Only two episodes ("Lost in Parking Space, Part One" and "Nipple Ring-Ring Goes to Foster Care") do not feature a musical performance.


title: Drawn Together

text: In terms of continuity, events in different episodes contradict each other, as there is a loose sense of canon. One such example is in "The Other Cousin" and "N.R.A.y RAY", in which Toot is pictured with a penis, something that is not consistent with other episodes. Another is Foxxy's various and contradictory stories about her son Timmy (one involves selling him on the black market, another involves her accidentally shooting him after believing him to be rabid, when he was really just brushing his teeth). Plots and gags are often used that do not make any type of internal sense, but are used as one-off jokes, as when Foxxy, who is in her twenties, is said to have a teenage grandson. Some episodes begin with a fake recap of events supposed to have happened in a (non-existent) previous episode. According to executive producer Bill Freiberger, "Very little on "Drawn Together" can be considered canon. If you try to find continuity on this show you'll drive yourself nuts. The only thing that's consistent is we try to make the show as funny as possible. And we'd never let a little thing like continuity get in the way of that."


title: Drawn Together

text: Occasionally, episodes of "Drawn Together" are shown with less editing for content during "Secret Stash", a Comedy Central program aired on weekends at 1am that showcases films (i.e. "Not Another Teen Movie"), comedy specials (Comedy Central Roast), and animated programs (this and "South Park") with uncensored language. Though "Secret Stash" programs typically have the nudity still censored, "Drawn Together" is an exception to this. Some nudity not seen in the original broadcast is shown in the "Secret Stash" version, while the nudity in other scenes is censored with a caption reading "DVD only"; this is done as a way of promoting the show's DVD releases.


title: Drawn Together

text: "Drawn Together" features a mix of veteran voice actors (Tara Strong, Cree Summer, Jess Harnell, Adam Carolla and James Arnold Taylor) and newcomers to the field (Abbey McBride and Jack Plotnick).


title: Drawn Together

text: Three of the show's voice actors had worked with creators Dave Jeser and Matt Silverstein on other projects: Jack Plotnick on "Action", and Adam Carolla and Abbey McBride on "The Man Show". Two of "Drawn Together"<nowiki>'</nowiki>s guest stars also came from the casts of earlier Jeser/Silverstein projects: "The Other Cousin" guest star Sarah Silverman (from "Greg the Bunny"), and Carolla's "Man Show" co-host Jimmy Kimmel, who guest-starred in "Xandir and Tim, Sitting in a Tree" and "Alzheimer's That Ends Well".


title: Drawn Together

text: Principal cast member Tara Strong has stated that she deeply loves the show, as it was such a departure from the family-friendly productions that she was used to working on at the time. The only problems that she had with it were a few jokes related to Anne Frank.


title: Drawn Together

text: Originally, Xandir was to have been played by Nat Faxon, but he was fired following the first table read because the network felt his portrayal of the character was too stereotypically gay. Actor Jack Plotnick ended up being cast because he could play a gay man without resorting to stereotypical mannerisms such as the gay lisp.


title: Drawn Together

text: In addition to their regular roles, the show's cast provides many of the minor roles and guest voices on the series, Summer, Strong, Harnell and Taylor in particular. In the DVD commentary for "Hot Tub", Tara Strong jokes that this is because the show does not have a lot of money to pay guest stars. Chris Edgerly appears in the majority of Season One and Two episodes despite not having a regular role on the series.


title: Drawn Together

text: The pilot episode, "Hot Tub", was given mediocre reviews, which focused mostly on its crudity. "USA Today" deemed "Drawn Together" "the smutty offspring of "Real World" and "Superfriends"", stating that the pilot pushed the limits of taste, being overpowered by violence, sex, and disgusting subject matter. According to "The New York Times", "Hot Tub", while it had many good sight gags, did not go far enough in parodying reality television. The domination of Clara's racism in the story was criticized as being a weak attempt to "send up racism while still showcasing its cruel excitement". Toot's cutting was praised as a good parody of self-harm presented on reality shows, but Spanky's flatulence was considered more disgusting than humorous.


title: Drawn Together

text: The pilot episode was given an F rating from "Entertainment Weekly", leading to the second-season episode "Xandir and Tim, Sitting in a Tree" having a subplot in which the majority of the housemates seek revenge for the rating. The latter episode also received an F from the magazine. Some reviewers called "Drawn Together" a "bizarre and highly entertaining series" which has a unique style of humor and "level of self-parody."


title: Drawn Together

text: In May 2019, the series began streaming on the Viacom owned streaming platform, Pluto TV on the Comedy Central Pluto TV channel. The entire series was added to CBS All Access's roster in July 2020 among other ViacomCBS properties.


title: Drawn Together

text: The first season of "Drawn Together" was released on DVD by Paramount Home Entertainment on October 4, 2005. Its release was timed to coincide to be the same month as the premiere of Season Two on television on October 19, 2005. The set includes all seven aired first-season episodes. (By the time the release was finalized, it had been determined that the unaired "Terms of Endearment" would air during Season Two, so it was left off the set and eventually released as part of the Season Two set.) The profanity and nudity are intact and uncensored. Some shows also contain additional lines and scenes. Special features include audio commentary on select episodes by creators Dave Jeser and Matt Silverstein along with assorted cast and crew members, in addition to deleted scenes and karaoke/sing-along versions of the show's songs.


title: Drawn Together

text: The set has a game called the "Censored/Uncensored" game: A line is given, and the viewer must decide if the line aired on television as given (uncensored), or if it had to be altered significantly or deleted (censored). Some of the censored lines appear intact in the extended DVD version of the episode. Getting at least 11 of the 19 questions correct unlocks a hidden feature, a prank phone call by Jeser and Silverstein to their agent regarding the royalties they are to receive for the DVD audio commentaries.


title: Drawn Together

text: The song "Time of My Life" from "Dirty Pranking No. 2" had to be left off the first season DVD because of copyright concerns. The show mocked the situation in the lyrics of the replacement music.


title: Drawn Together

text: Season Two Uncensored was released on September 25, 2007. Like the Season One set, the set features audio commentaries by Jeser and Silverstein along with assorted cast and crew members, as well as karaoke/singalong versions of the show's songs. The set also contains, in the words of the box art, "potentially annoying" commentary on the commentary for "Terms of Endearment". The behind-the-scenes interviews in the set are the same ones that appear on Comedy Central's website, which feature each of the voice actors talking about his or her character, along with a separate interview with creators Jeser and Silverstein. Tara Strong does two separate interviews, one for each of her characters (Princess Clara and Toot Braunstein).


title: Drawn Together

text: The set includes the controversial horse shot from "Terms of Endearment", which was not allowed to air on television.


title: Drawn Together

text: The censored broadcast cuts of the episodes have never been made available on DVD or any other physical media, but they are available on Amazon.com's streaming service, with the original music.


title: M. Visvesvaraya

text: Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya (15 September 1861 – 12/14 April 1962), also referred to by his initials, MV, was an Indian civil engineer, administrator, and statesman, who served as the 19th Diwan of Mysore from 1912 to 1918.


title: M. Visvesvaraya

text: Visvesvaraya is regarded in India as one of the foremost civil engineers whose birthday, 15 September, is celebrated every year as Engineer’s Day in India, Sri Lanka, and Tanzania. He is also often regarded as “the father of modern Mysore [Kingdom]”. According to "Prajavani", a Kannada language newspaper, he is also the most popular figure in the southern Indian state of Karnataka.


title: M. Visvesvaraya

text: Visvesvaraya worked as a civil engineer for the government of British India and later as Prime Minister of the government of the Kingdom of Mysore. For his services to British India, he was appointed CIE and later knighted KCIE. For his services to the Kingdom of Mysore and the Republic of India, he was awarded the Bharata Ratna by Government of India in 1955.


title: M. Visvesvaraya

text: M. Visvesvaraya was born on 15 September 1861 at Muddenahalli, Kingdom of Mysore (in present-day Chikkaballapur district, Karnataka) in a Telugu Brahmin family to Mokshagundam Srinivasa Shastry and Venkatalakshmi. His ancestors hail from Mokshagundam, a village in present-day Andhra Pradesh, and had migrated to the kingdom around three hundred years prior to Visvesvaraya's birth.


title: M. Visvesvaraya

text: Visvesvaraya received his primary education in Bangalore and earned a Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree from the University of Madras. He later studied at the College of Engineering, Pune (then College of Science at the University of Bombay) and graduated as an engineer, receiving Diploma in Civil Engineering (DCE). It was here that he became a member of the Deccan Club and was its first secretary; he would therefore have been well-acquainted with the progressives in Pune, including Sir R. G. Bhandarkar, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, and Justice Mahadev Govind Ranade, who were members of the club.


title: M. Visvesvaraya

text: Visvesvaraya became an assistant engineer in 1885 at the Public Works Department, Bombay, in Bombay Presidency.


title: M. Visvesvaraya

text: In 1899, Visvesvaraya was invited to join the Indian Irrigation Commission where he implemented an intricate system of irrigation in the Deccan Plateau and designed and patented a system of automatic weir water floodgates that were first installed in 1903 at Khadakvasla Dam near Pune. These gates raised the storage level in the reservoir to the highest level likely to be attained without causing damage to the dam. Based on the success of these gates, the same system was installed at Tigra Dam in Gwalior and later at the KRS Dam near Mysore, Karnataka. He was later the chief engineer of the Laxmi Talav Dam near Kolhapur.


title: M. Visvesvaraya

text: In around 1906/1907, the Government of British India sent Visvesvaraya to the British Colony of Aden (present-day Yemen), to study water supply and drainage systems. The project prepared by him was successfully implemented in Aden.


title: M. Visvesvaraya

text: After opting for voluntary retirement in 1908, Visvesvaraya took a foreign tour to study industrialised nations. Then, for a short period, he worked for Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan. He was one of the chief engineers of the flood protection system for the city of Hyderabad when suggested flood relief measures for the city, which was under constant threat by the Musi river. He achieved celebrity status when he designed a flood protection system for the city. He was instrumental in developing a system to protect Visakhapatnam port from sea erosion. This dam created the biggest reservoir in Asia at the time of its construction.


title: M. Visvesvaraya

text: In November 1909, Visvesvaraya was appointed Chief Engineer of Mysore State. He was the chief engineer of the KRS Dam near Mysore. He was also later the chairman of the board of engineers for the Tungabhadra Dam in Hospet, Karnataka.


title: M. Visvesvaraya

text: In 1912, Visvesvaraya was appointed Diwan of Mysore by Maharaja Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV. He served for nearly seven years until 1918. With support from the maharaja, Visvesvaraya contributed to the general development of the Kingdom of Mysore.


title: M. Visvesvaraya

text: During his premiership as Diwan, Visvesvaraya was responsible for the founding of factories and institutions funded for by the maharaja, including Mysore Soap Factory, Parasitoid Laboratory, Mysore Iron & Steel Works in Bhadravathi, Bangalore Polytechnic (now Sri Jayachamarajendra Polytechnic Bangalore), Bangalore Agricultural University, State Bank of Mysore, Century Club, Mysore Chamber of Commerce (now Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce & Industry), Mysore Apex Chamber of Commerce (now Apex Chamber of Karnataka), and numerous other industrial places.The Bangalore Press was also established during his tenure as Diwan. He was also instrumental in the founding of Government Engineering College (now University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering) at Bangalore in 1917, one of the first engineering institutes in India. He commissioned several new railway lines in Mysore Railways (now part of Southwestern Indian Railways).


title: M. Visvesvaraya

text: Visvesvaraya encouraged private investment in industry during his tenure as Diwan. He was instrumental in charting out a plan for road construction between Tirumala and Tirupati.


title: M. Visvesvaraya

text: Visvesvaraya gave his technical advice for the location of Mokama Bridge over the Ganga in Bihar. At the time, he was over 90 years old.


title: M. Visvesvaraya

text: Visvesvaraya was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire (CIE) in 1911 by King Edward VII. In 1915, while he was Diwan of Mysore, Visvesvaraya was knighted as a Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire (KCIE) by King George V for his contributions to the public good.


title: M. Visvesvaraya

text: After India attained independence, Visvesvaraya received the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour, in 1955. He received an honorary membership from the Institution of Civil Engineers, London, a fellowship from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, and several honorary degrees including D.Sc., LL.D., D.Litt. from eight universities in India. He was the president of the 1923 session of the Indian Science Congress.


title: M. Visvesvaraya

text: Visvesvaraya received recognition in many fields, most notably education and engineering. Visvesvaraya Technological University in Belagavi (to which most engineering colleges in Karnataka are affiliated) was named in his honour, as well as prominent colleges like University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering, Bangalore; Sir M. Visvesvaraya Institute of Technology, Bangalore; and Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology, Nagpur; Visvesvaraya Hostel, IIT (BHU) Varanasi; Visvesvaraya Industrial and Technological Museum, Bangalore.


title: M. Visvesvaraya

text: The College of Engineering, Pune, his alma mater, erected a statue in Visvesvaraya's honour. Two metro stations in India, one in Bangalore on the Purple Line (Sir M. Visveshwaraya Station, Central College), and another one in Delhi on the Pink Line (Sir Vishweshwaraiah Moti Bagh), are named after him.


title: M. Visvesvaraya

text: On 15 September 2018, to celebrate his 158th birthday, Visvesvaraya was honored with a Google Doodle.


title: M. Visvesvaraya

text: A very important part of Visvesvaraya's nature was his love for Kannada language. He set up Kannada Parishat for the improvement of Kannada. He wanted seminars for Kannada supporters to be instituted and conducted right in Kannada.


title: M. Visvesvaraya

text: Visvesvaraya National Memorial Trust manages a memorial for Visvesvaraya at his birthplace of Muddenahalli. The memorial exhibits his awards, titles and personal belongings, including his living room, spectacles, cups, books and block with which his visiting cards were printed. Models of the Krishna Raja Sagar Dam, which Visvesvaraya designed and supervised the construction of, are exhibited. The memorial is adjacent to his house, which was refurbished and is regarded as a shrine by locals.


title: Public sector banks in India

text: Public Sector Undertakings (Banks) are a major type of government owned banks in India, where a majority stake (i.e. more than 50%) is held by the Ministry of Finance of the Government of India or State Ministry of Finance of various State Governments of India. The shares of these government-owned-banks are listed on stock exchanges. Their main objective is social welfare


title: Public sector banks in India

text: The Central Government entered the banking business with the nationalization of the Imperial Bank of India in 1955. A 60% stake was taken by the Reserve Bank of India and the new bank was named State Bank of India. The seven other state banks became subsidiaries of the new bank in 1959 when the "State Bank of India (Subsidiary Banks) Act, 1959" was passed by the Union government.


title: Public sector banks in India

text: The next major government intervention in banking took place on 19 July 1969 when the Indira government nationalised an additional 14 major banks. The total deposits in the banks nationalised in 1969 amounted to 50 crores. This move increased the presence of nationalised banks in India, with 84% of the total branches coming under government control.


title: Public sector banks in India

text: The share of the banking sector held by the public banks continued to grow through the 1980s, and by 1991 public sector banks accounted for 90% of the banking sector. A year later, in March, 1992, the combined total of branches held by public sector banks was 60,646 across India, and deposits accounted for ₹1,10,000 crore. The majority of these banks was profitable, with only one out of the 21 public sector banks reporting a loss.


title: Public sector banks in India

text: The nationalised banks reported a combined loss of ₹1160 crores. However, the early 2000s saw a reversal of this trend, such that in 2002-03 a profit of ₹7780 crores by the public sector banks: a trend that continued throughout the decade, with a ₹16856 crore profit in 2008–2009.


title: Public sector banks in India

text: The consolidation of SBI-associated banks started first by State Bank of India merging its subsidiary State Bank of Saurashtra with itself on 13 August 2008. Thereafter it merged State Bank of Indore with itself on August 27, 2010. The remaining subsidiaries, namely the State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur, State Bank of Hyderabad, State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Patiala and State Bank of Travancore, and Bharatiya Mahila Bank were merged with State Bank of India with effect from 1 April 2017.


title: Public sector banks in India

text: Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank were merged into Bank of Baroda in 2018. IDBI Bank was categorised as a private bank with effect from January 2019.


title: Public sector banks in India

text: On 30 August 2019, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the government's plan for further consolidation of public sector banks: Indian Bank's merger with Allahabad Bank (anchor bank - Indian Bank); Punjab National Bank's merger with Oriental Bank of Commerce and United Bank (anchor bank - Punjab National Bank); Union Bank of India's merger with Andhra Bank and Corporation Bank (anchor bank - Union Bank of India); and Canara Bank's merger with Syndicate Bank (anchor bank - Canara Bank). The mergers took effect from 1 April 2020.


title: Travie McCoy

text: Travis Lazarus "Travie" McCoy (born August 5, 1981) is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He is the co-founder and former lead vocalist of the rap rock band Gym Class Heroes, in addition to having a solo career. McCoy became involved with punk rock scenes as a teenager. He formed the band Gym Class Heroes with childhood friend Matt McGinley; after several line-up changes, the group was signed to Fueled by Ramen, which released their debut album.


title: Travie McCoy

text: Gym Class Heroes took a three-year hiatus from music, leaving McCoy to focus on his solo career; McCoy released, under T-Pain's label Nappy Boy Entertainment, his debut solo album, "Lazarus", in 2010. The lead single from the album, "Billionaire" (featuring Bruno Mars), peaked at number four on the "Billboard" Hot 100 and number three on the UK Singles Chart.


title: Travie McCoy

text: In 2021, McCoy signed with Hopeless Records and released his first single in six years "A Spoonful Of Cinnamon" on June 18.


title: Travie McCoy

text: McCoy was born and raised in Geneva, New York. His father is Haitian and his mother is of Native American and Irish descent. As a child, McCoy used a wheelchair for four months after a skateboarding accident; his lack of mobility allowed him to focus on art. When he was 15, McCoy worked in a tattoo parlor as an apprentice, and shortly after, he began tattooing his friends. As a teenager, McCoy was a fan of hardcore punk bands such as Snapcase and Earth Crisis, as well as underground rap acts such as Company Flow and the Arsonists. He says of his musical tastes "I was never a typical hip-hop kid. I didn't want to be pigeonholed." McCoy frequently took buses down to Manhattan, New York, throughout high school to participate in battle raps at the indie rap club Fat Beats.


title: Travie McCoy

text: McCoy played the drums in high school and created a rap group with his father and his brother called "True Life Playas", and says of the experience, "It was so bad! The tapes exist somewhere but hopefully they'll never be found." In high school, he met future bandmate Matt McGinley in his gym class and the two bonded over a common interest in music, in particular punk rock, indie rock, and hip hop. They decided to start a band and played with other musicians until Gym Class Heroes was formed in 1997. After graduating from Geneva High School, McCoy attended art school at Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute and majored in fine arts and illustration. However, he dropped out at age 20 to focus on his tattoo work and his musical career. At one time, McCoy was working at a tattoo parlor, teaching art at a Boys & Girls Club in the daytime, and working at a gas station at night. He decided to quit all three jobs and work on art full-time, opening an art show with his friend. He lived off of the money he made from selling paintings before Gym Class Heroes became successful.


title: Travie McCoy

text: Travis made his MTV debut in the summer of 2002, as he appeared on stage at the beach house, winning a standard nationwide MC battle that was held on the MTV show "Direct Effect".


title: Travie McCoy

text: McCoy and Matt McGinley became friends at their local high school's gym class in ninth grade in Geneva, New York. They officially formed the group in 1997. The band originated when bassist Ryan Geise and drummer McGinley were performing at a party in a band with no vocals. McCoy, who was in attendance at the party, took the microphone onstage and started rapping. A week later, the group came together and started making music. A prominent opening act for Gym Class Heroes was the critically acclaimed hip-hop group "ModifiedBlockStyle." After the addition of guitarist Disashi Lumumba-Kasongo and bassist Eric Roberts, Gym Class Heroes was signed to Fueled by Ramen and Decaydance Records, Pete Wentz's independent record label.


title: Travie McCoy

text: On the label, the band released the gold-selling album "As Cruel as School Children". Since that release, the band's single "Cupid's Chokehold" reached #3 on the UK Singles Chart and #4 on the "Billboard" Hot 100. "Clothes Off!!" and "Cookie Jar" peaked at #5 and #6 on the UK Singles Chart. They have collaborated with Fall Out Boy's Patrick Stump on numerous occasions, notably for providing backing vocals on the song "Cupid's Chokehold". Stump also produced the majority of their album "The Quilt", which was released on September 9, 2008, and peaked at #14 on the U.S. "Billboard" 200 chart and #41 on the UK Albums Chart. In 2009, McCoy remixed the Bring Me the Horizon song "Chelsea Smile" for their remixes album, "". McCoy and Gym Class Heroes released a new album, "The Papercut Chronicles II", in November 2011.


title: Travie McCoy

text: McCoy began a solo career in 2010. He denied rumors that Gym Class Heroes had broken up, asserting that "Since the inception of Gym Class in 1997, every member has had another musical outlet, if not three or four. This is just another one of those." McCoy had originally prepared to record an introspective album of "sad and somber" acoustic songs reflective of his state of mind following his breakup with Katy Perry and his addiction to painkillers. However, he decided to scrap his early material and start over, calling the early material "too personal." He explained, "I didn't want that to be my first look as a solo artist," and compared the album to Kanye West's "808s & Heartbreak".


title: Travie McCoy

text: He relocated to Miami, Florida, to record new material and recover from his addiction, which helped him to create a more upbeat album because he "want[ed] to do something positive." McCoy decided to officially call himself "Travie" instead of Travis; he explained that he has been called Travie by friends and family for "as long as [he] can remember." He believes that the new name allows listeners to become "that much closer" to him and to "feel much more comfortable with calling me Travie and being part of the family."


title: Travie McCoy

text: In early May 2010, McCoy released the hit single "Billionaire" with Bruno Mars, which has been successful in Europe and the U.S. since its release. McCoy released his first solo album, "Lazarus" on June 8, 2010, after being in the works for a year and a half. He calls the album "The longest, I think, I've spent on a record in my whole career." He stated that he wanted to keep the number of collaborations on the album "kinda tight," but he plans to work with other artists on remixes of the album. Producers on the album include Bruno Mars, T-Pain, The Smeezingtons, The Stereotypes, Lucas Secon, Oligee and Josh Abraham; Mars, T-Pain and Cee Lo Green provide guest vocals.


title: Travie McCoy

text: The album debuted at number 25 on the U.S. "Billboard" 200 chart with sales of 15,000 copies. On August 21, 2010 "Lazarus" was released in Europe and entered the UK Album Charts at number 69, its peak position thus far. "Need You" was the second single from the album in the U.S, released in September 2010. "We'll Be Alright" was released on October 25, 2010, as the second single in the UK. It was featured in the movie trailer of "Yogi Bear". In July and August 2010, McCoy supported Rihanna on some of the North American dates of her Last Girl on Earth Tour. McCoy and Bruno Mars embarked on a 13-date tour of Europe throughout October and November. They played five dates in the United Kingdom, four in Germany and one each in the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden and France. McCoy performed at the 2010 MTV VMAs on September 12, 2010, on the main stage before the program cut to a performance by N.E.R.D. In November 2010, McCoy performed on the Australian Summerbeatz tour alongside Flo Rida, Jay Sean and Soulja Boy. "Billionaire" was performed on the September 21, 2010, episode of "Glee". McCoy was a guest star on the sitcom "Shell Games", the third episode of "Malibu Country", and sang with Reba McEntire.


title: Travie McCoy

text: McCoy is featured on the remix of teen-pop singer Jessica Jarrell's debut single "Up and Running," on the singer's upcoming debut album on Island Records. McCoy is also featured on Livin's "City of Brotherly Love" album, scheduled to be released in early 2011 on 700 Level Entertainment. The track "When I Approach" features Livin, McCoy and Joe Budden, and is produced by Sev-One. A video released on YouTube showed McCoy recording the song. In mid-2010 he worked with producer Starsmith and British singer Cheryl Cole for her upcoming album. He is featured on the track "Yeah Yeah" of Cole's album "Messy Little Raindrops". In November 2010, McCoy collaborated with English R&B artist Taio Cruz on Cruz's single "Higher". He performed "Stereo Hearts" with Adam Levine of Maroon 5 on November 5, 2011, on "Saturday Night Live". Gym Class Heroes performed the song with Levine at the American Music Awards of 2011 as well. In January 2012, McCoy collaborated with English Girl Group Stooshe with their single Love Me. On April 24, 2012, McCoy's song with ex Hollywood Undead singer, Deuce, was released on Deuce's album "Nine Lives". The title of the track is "I Came to Party".


title: Travie McCoy

text: In 2013, Travie McCoy released "Rough Water", a single with Jason Mraz. On March 23, 2014, McCoy released the single "Keep On Keeping On" with Panic! at the Disco lead singer Brendon Urie. The music video for the song premiered on Idolator and YouTube on March 24. He features on Olly Murs' hit single "Wrapped Up", released in October 2014.


title: Travie McCoy

text: In 2021, McCoy signed with Hopeless Records and released his first single in six years "A Spoonful of Cinnamon" on June 18.


title: Travie McCoy

text: In early March 2007, McCoy opened up about his battles with opioids. He stated that he had been addicted to pharmaceuticals since he was 15 years old. The death of his best friend in 2007 led McCoy to retreat further into his addiction, leading him to "dive into drugs face-first." He went through his second stint in a detox program, and claimed that his opiate receptors had been cleaned. He said of the experience, "I feel like a layer of shit has been peeled off of my brain." On his blog, he also stated that "I felt an enormous amount of guilt for glorifying drug use in our music."


title: Travie McCoy

text: On July 2, 2008, McCoy was arrested after hitting a man on the head with his microphone. The man had been in the crowd at a concert in St. Louis when he shouted racial slurs at McCoy. McCoy asked the man, "What did you just call me?" As security was removing the man from the venue, McCoy brought the man on stage to call him out in front of the crowd. In a statement, McCoy's publicist said that the man hit McCoy's knee, which was in a brace after he had suffered a recent strain. McCoy was later charged with third-degree assault and a warrant issued for his arrest. On October 28, 2010, McCoy was arrested again while on tour in Berlin, Germany for tagging the Berlin Wall. He was later released on €1,500 bail ($2,081), and continued on his European tour in Amsterdam. He later posted a picture of the artwork on his Twitter account.


title: Travie McCoy

text: McCoy dated singer Katy Perry for over two years. After they split up in December 2008, they briefly reconciled before Perry ended their relationship via email due to his drug addiction in 2009. In late November 2006, she played his love interest in the music video for "Cupid's Chokehold". McCoy is allegedly the subject of Perry's song "Circle the Drain" from her 2010 album "Teenage Dream". In 2012, McCoy said of their relationship: "I chose drugs over our relationship... As things started taking off for her the more I started to doubt my role in her life. There were times I felt like a stepping ladder."


title: What to Expect When You're Expecting (film)

text: What to Expect When You're Expecting is a 2012 American romantic comedy film directed by Kirk Jones and distributed by Lionsgate. It was written by Shauna Cross and Heather Hach and is based on Heidi Murkoff's 1984 pregnancy guide of the same name. Its story follows the lives of five couples as their lives are turned upside down by the difficulties and surprises of parenthood. It stars Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Lopez, Elizabeth Banks, Chace Crawford, Brooklyn Decker, Ben Falcone, Anna Kendrick, Matthew Morrison, Dennis Quaid, Chris Rock and Rodrigo Santoro.


text: The film was produced by Alcon Entertainment, Phoenix Pictures, What to Expect Productions, and Georgia Public and was released on May 18, 2012. It grossed $84 million worldwide against a budget of $40 million and received mixed reviews from critics.


text: Set in Atlanta, the film opens with TV fitness trainer Jules Baxter and her dance partner Evan Webber performing on the TV show "Celebrity Dance Factor". They are crowned the winners of the show, but Jules vomits in their trophy, discovering that she is pregnant.


text: Jules struggles when trying to balance her pregnancy with her normal active life. After being told during the ultrasound that she is having a son, she has an ongoing argument with Evan over whether or not to have their son circumcised. During labor, she chooses not to have an epidural. She gives birth to a daughter they name Emerson, ending their debate. After giving birth, Jules and Evan get engaged.


text: Photographer Holly Castillo can't conceive children and decides to adopt one from Ethiopia with her husband, Alex. They decide to buy a new house for the baby. Holly sends Alex to hang out with the "dudes group", a group of fathers who walk around the park and support one another, which was founded by Vic Mac. Alex feels even more nervous to become a father. Holly loses her job and becomes hurt when she realizes how much Alex is unprepared for a child. However, they eventually go to Ethiopia and adopt a baby boy named Kaleb.


text: Wendy Cooper runs a breast feeding boutique called The Breast Choice and has been trying to have a baby with her husband Gary for two years. She eventually does conceive and shares the news with Gary after taking five pregnancy tests. Having planned a magical and happy pregnancy, Wendy feels awful throughout it and, during a convention she was chosen to speak at about the miracle of childbirth, she begins to break down and begins to rant about the problematic process of pregnancy. Her outburst is filmed and becomes a viral hit on YouTube, after which her boutique is flooded with customers. After many labor-inducing activities, she goes to the hospital only to find out she has to have a cesarean section, which is against her birth plan. She suffers severe blood loss, but survives and delivers a son named Theo.


text: Ramsey Cooper, a famous race car driver, and Gary's father, is married to a much younger woman named Skyler, making her Gary's stepmother. She treats Gary as her own son despite her obviously not being his mother, much to Gary's annoyance. During a brunch where Wendy and Gary announce her pregnancy, Ramsey and Skyler also announce they are expecting. Unlike Wendy, Skyler cruises through her pregnancy without issues. Wendy envies her and detests her ease; however, soon after Skyler gives birth to twin girls, she and Ramsey are shown struggling with the fussy babies.


text: Rosie Brennan, a food-truck chef, meets an old high school friend, Marco, also a food-truck chef, during a turf war between their food trucks. She believes he is a player and initially blows him off, but the reunion leads to an unexpected pregnancy after sex that night. Worried at first, they eventually adjust to the idea of becoming parents and move in together. However, one night Rosie discovers she is bleeding and they drive to the hospital where they discover she has miscarried. Devastated, Rosie tells Marco to leave, which he does, but he makes several attempts to get back with her. Eventually, they get back together and decide to take things slowly and their story ends with them joining forces to create a food truck together.


text: At different points in the film, certain characters meet others. Many of the characters are fans of one or both of Jules' two TV series. Gary was on Jules' weight loss program and is a regular customer of Marco's food truck, Skyler is Rosie's cousin, and Holly is Wendy and Skyler's photographer.


text: Written by Heidi Murkoff, "What to Expect When You're Expecting" is a pregnancy guide released in 1984. It is a top-selling book on "The New York Times" Best Seller list and is considered one of the most influential books of the past twenty-five years. Additionally, it was dubbed "the bible of American pregnancy" and has sold over 20 million units worldwide. On January 14, 2010, it was announced that Lionsgate had acquired the book's worldwide distribution rights from Phoenix Pictures. Heather Hach, who was nine months pregnant at the time, was hired to write the film's screenplay "based on her pitch", which would follow the story of seven couples who experience the "ups and downs" of preparing for parenthood. David Thwaites produced it alongside Mike Medavoy and Arnie Messer. Alli Shearmur, Lionsgate's President of Motion Picture Productions, said the book is "a brand that knows no boundaries" and they were "excited about this film as the first in a potential franchise". Murkoff said she was excited to see Phoenix Pictures and Lionsgate "bring my baby to life". Medavoy, Messer and Thwaites felt that the book provides the "perfect launching point" to tell a funny story.


text: Kirk Jones directed the film. Jones hadn't read or heard about the book, and assumed it was a novel before receiving the script. However, he then discovered that it was in fact a pregnancy guide. Although puzzled at first, he recalled his pregnancy experience as "funny, tragic, exciting" and "hilarious", and thought combining these elements would make for a "really interesting" film. Speaking about the film's theme, he stated that "everybody's experience is different" and multiple different stories "allow the audience to share in everything that is going on" and "by sharing in what's going on and seeing so many characters, there's this energy, and there's humor and there's drama in comparing all of the stories, which are taking place at the same time". "What to Expect When You're Expecting" stars an ensemble cast, which focuses primarily on the five couples who are going to be first-time parents. According to "Access Atlanta", the project also needed "a lot of extras who are in the family way" as well as "babies with star potential". An open casting call was held on July 9, 2011. Casting director Christopher Gray said at the time, "We need a lot of pregnant women. We want the real deal". The movie also featured a number of Ethiopians, for which a casting call was issued as well. Additionally, film contains cameos by various celebrities. This includes Dwyane Wade, Whitney Port, Megan Mullally, and Cheryl Cole, Taboo and Tyce Diorio, who star as themselves as judges on a TV dance talent show.


text: The film began principal photography in Atlanta on July 19, 2011. On July 26, production filmed in Midtown on Peachtree Street near High Museum and in Piedmont Park. Jones said it was "tough" organizing schedules because of the number of cast members there were. Having never "shot five simultaneous stories like this", he stated: "Through necessity we had to schedule the film so that I shot everything with Jennifer Lopez in two weeks, everything with Cameron Diaz in two weeks ... because they are not available to keep flying in from another continent for two days work and then flying back again".


text: The film's score was composed by Mark Mothersbaugh. The soundtrack also contains "Dance (Disco Heat)" performed by Sylvester, "Nobody" performed by Ne-Yo, "Shivas Regal (Theme For Gypsy)" performed by Sonny Lester & His Orchestra, "Oye Como Va" performed by Kinky, "Happening" performed by Chiddy Bang, "Kellerman's Anthem" performed by Emile Bergstein Chorale, "Get Me Golden" performed by Terraplane Sun, "Home" performed by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, "Don't Let Your Feet Touch Ground" performed by Ash Koley, "Weightless" performed by Natasha Bedingfield, "Forever Love" performed by Alex Ebert, "Hypnotize" performed by The Notorious B.I.G., "Comin' Home Baby" performed by Mel Tormé, "Forgetting" performed by David Gray, "Never Gonna Stop" performed by The So Manys, "Inside Out" performed by Nire' AllDai, "Waiting On The Light To Change" performed by Matthew Perryman Jones, "Addicted To Love" performed by Robert Palmer, "Modern Art" performed by Black Lips, "Don't You Want Me" performed by Phil Oakey, Philip Adrian Wright and Jo Callis, "Do What You Want" performed by Daphne Willis, "Broken Sky" performed by Rob Laufer, "Why Don't We Get Drunk" performed by Jimmy Buffett, "Put Your Hands Up" performed by The MIDI Mafia, "Samba Vocalizado" performed by Luciano Perrone, "Get It Daddy" performed by Sleeper Agent, "Now Is The Start" performed by Alison Sudol, "The Hormone Song" performed by Elizabeth Banks and "Big Poppa" performed by Ernie Isley, Marvin Isley, O'Kelly Isley, Jr., Ronald Isley, Rudolph Isley, Chris Jasper and The Notorious B.I.G.


text: The film was a moderate success. Released across 3,021 theaters on May 18, 2012, it closed on August 2, 2012.


text: "What to Expect When You're Expecting" was released on DVD and Blu-ray on September 11, 2012 by Lionsgate Home Entertainment.


text: "What to Expect When You're Expecting" debuted in fifth place with $10.5 million. By the end of May, the film grossed $26.4 million in the United States. In total, "What to Expect When You're Expecting" grossed $41.2 million domestically, for a worldwide gross of $84.4 million.


text: On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 23% based on 136 reviews, with an average rating of 4.50/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "The cast is stocked with likable performers, but "What to Expect When You're Expecting" is too disjointed -- and too reliant on stock rom-com cliches -- to live up to its distinguished literary namesake." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 41 out of 100, based on 30 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B−" on an A+ to F scale.


text: Cara Nash of the Australian film magazine "Filmink" gave the film a mixed review, criticizing the storyline as not having "complexity" or "genuine conflict", but praised Lopez and Banks who "manage to find the humanity in their clichéd roles but they can't transcend all the surface-level schmaltz on display here". Peter Travers of "Rolling Stone" gave the film a negative review, stating that "the movie itself triggered the vomiting", but appreciated Rock, Kendrick and Crawford's performances "if you dramatically drop your expectations". Simon Miraudo of Quickflix called it "ill-conceived" and gave the film a mixed review while stating: "Despite an immensely appealing cast and a few funny moments, I would only recommend "What to Expect" at a 'push'. The eggs are there; someone just forgot to fertilise them."


text: Betsy Sharkey of the "Los Angeles Times" among other critics noted the confusion of the swiftly moving film, writing that "Rather than the engaging enlightenment of the source, the film becomes bloated by confusion." "New York Daily News" gave the film 3 and a half stars, writing "Thankfully the film, unlike being a parent, is a fairly smooth and entertaining ride that has a universal appeal to both parents and those who ever had a father or a mother", and named the scene in which Jennifer Lopez's character travels to Ethiopia to meet the child she is adopting as the film's most touching moment. "The Guardian"s Mike McCahill described the movie as "insight-deficient fluff".


title: Josh Donaldson

text: Joshua Adam Donaldson (born December 8, 1985) is an American professional baseball third baseman for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Oakland Athletics, Toronto Blue Jays, Cleveland Indians, Atlanta Braves, and Minnesota Twins. He was initially drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 2007 MLB draft after playing college baseball at Auburn University. Donaldson made his MLB debut with the Athletics in 2010 as a catcher, progressing with the team, switching positions to third base, and eventually becoming an All-Star in the 2014 MLB season.


title: Josh Donaldson

text: After being traded to the Blue Jays, Donaldson was voted the American League's Most Valuable Player for the 2015 MLB season and was named as a starter to the 2015 MLB All-Star Game, earning the most fan votes obtained by a player in the process. Donaldson also won the Silver Slugger Award and led the American League in RBIs (runs batted in) and runs scored. He was traded to the Indians in August 2018, and then signed as a free agent with the Braves in November 2018. After a successful year with the Braves in 2019, Donaldson agreed to a four-year deal with the Minnesota Twins on January 14, 2020.


title: Josh Donaldson

text: Born in Pensacola, Florida, Donaldson attended Pace High School in Pace, Florida for his sophomore year and played varsity baseball, before his mother, Lisa, moved him to Faith Academy in Mobile, Alabama to reunite him with his friend, P. J. Walters, at the academy. At Faith, Donaldson competed in football, basketball, and baseball. As a shortstop and pitcher, Donaldson was the Alabama Gatorade Player of the Year as a senior, batting .515 on the season, and led Faith Academy to a state title. Donaldson set four Faith Academy single-season records in baseball, hits (55), triples (6), doubles (21), and RBIs (54). In football, Donaldson was a wide receiver, defensive back, and punter, setting a school record with 11 interceptions in one season as a senior.


title: Josh Donaldson

text: Donaldson enrolled at Auburn University, where he played college baseball as a catcher and third baseman for the Auburn Tigers baseball team in the Southeastern Conference. During his freshman season in 2005, Donaldson started 39 games at third base, hitting .294 with seven home runs, and also began learning to play catcher. In his sophomore season, Donaldson hit .276 and led the team with ten home runs; he also threw out 15 of 38 base stealers and had seven pickoffs. In the summer of 2006, Donaldson played for the Harwich Mariners of the Cape Cod Baseball League where he was an All-Star and hit .302. In 2007, Donaldson was named a Louisville Slugger Preseason All-American.


title: Josh Donaldson

text: The Chicago Cubs drafted Donaldson as a catcher in the first round (48th overall) of the 2007 Major League Baseball draft. In his first minor league season Donaldson played 53 games for the Rookie Arizona League Cubs and Short Season-A Boise Hawks, batting a combined .335 with nine home runs and 25 RBIs. He also walked more than he struck out, with 39 and 38 respectively. In 2008, he played 63 games with the Class-A Peoria Chiefs, where he hit .217 with six home runs and 23 RBIs.


title: Josh Donaldson

text: In July 2008, the Cubs traded Donaldson, Matt Murton, Eric Patterson, and Sean Gallagher to the Oakland Athletics for Rich Harden and Chad Gaudin. He played 47 games with the Advanced-A Stockton Ports, where he batted .330 and had nine home runs and 39 RBIs. Donaldson then played the entire 2009 season with the Double-A Midland RockHounds, and recorded a batting average of .270 with nine home runs and 91 RBIs.


title: Josh Donaldson

text: Donaldson was called up to the majors for the first time on April 30, 2010, filling in for injured catcher Kurt Suzuki. He made his debut that night as a pinch hitter, and struck out. The next day, he recorded his first major league hit, a two-run home run on the first pitch by Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Dana Eveland. In 14 games played during the 2010 season, Donaldson made 34 plate appearances and recorded five hits. After returning to the minor leagues, he spent the season with the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats and hit .238 with 18 home runs and 67 RBIs for the season. Donaldson played the entire 2011 season in Sacramento, improving his average to .261, and hit 17 home runs and 70 RBIs.


title: Josh Donaldson

text: Donaldson officially converted to third base from catching in the beginning of the 2012 season during spring training. He started the regular season as the everyday third baseman for the A's for the first half, but due to struggles he was sent to the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats for much of the season. The A's recalled him in mid August after everyday third baseman Brandon Inge was placed on the 15-day disabled list with an injured arm. Donaldson helped the A's into making the postseason, and finished the 2012 season with nine home runs, 33 RBIs and a .241 average.


title: Josh Donaldson

text: Against Detroit Tigers reliever Brayan Villarreal, Donaldson hit his first career walk-off home run on April 12, 2013. It was the A's first walk-off win in 2013. He hit his first career grand slam on June 7 against Chicago White Sox starter Chris Sale. Major League Baseball named Donaldson the American League Player of the Month for September after batting .337 with 20 runs scored, eight doubles, five home runs and 16 RBIs in 25 games. He played 158 games and finished the season with 24 home runs, 93 RBIs and a .301 average and placed fourth in AL MVP voting.


title: Josh Donaldson

text: Donaldson was elected to his first All-Star appearance in 2014 as the starter at third base for the American League. Donaldson hit a three-run walk-off home run in the ninth inning against the Baltimore Orioles on July 17 to lead the A's to a 5–4 victory. Donaldson won his first career Fielding Bible Award for his work at third base. During the 2014 season, Donaldson hit 98 RBIs, 29 home runs, and 93 runs scored, beating out his career highs with Oakland. However, Donaldson's batting average went down to .255. Donaldson would end up finishing 8th in the AL MVP voting.


title: Josh Donaldson

text: On November 28, 2014, the Athletics traded Donaldson to the Toronto Blue Jays for Brett Lawrie, Kendall Graveman, Sean Nolin, and Franklin Barreto. The following February, he lost his salary arbitration case against the Blue Jays after seeking $5.75 million. Instead, he was awarded the Blue Jays' offer of $4.3 million for the 2015 season.


title: Josh Donaldson

text: On June 1, Donaldson was named the American League Player of the Week for the second time in his career. From May 25–31, he batted .440 with 11 runs scored, six home runs, and 11 RBIs. A campaign was launched in early June to elect Donaldson as a starter to the 2015 MLB All-Star Game, which was led by Don Cherry and Stephen Amell. At the time the campaign began, Mike Moustakas of the Kansas City Royals led voting for third basemen. It was announced in a voting update on June 29 that Donaldson had surpassed Moustakas, and on July 5, was announced as the starting third baseman for the All-Star game, with a record 14,090,188 votes. He participated in the Home Run Derby on July 13, losing in the semi-finals to eventual winner Todd Frazier.


title: Josh Donaldson

text: From August 3–9, he batted .385 (10 hits in 26 at bats) with two doubles, five home runs, eight RBIs and nine runs scored as the Blue Jays won eight games in a row. This performance led to his second AL Player of the Week Award of the season.


title: Josh Donaldson

text: By the end of August, observers began referring to Donaldson's season as one of the best in Blue Jays' history. Several members of the media wrote articles naming him as the American League Most Valuable Player Award frontrunner over Mike Trout, and fans attending both home and away games began chanting "M-V-P! M-V-P!" when he would bat. On September 7, Donaldson hit his 100th career home run. He hit his 40th home run of the season on September 25, and in doing so, joined Shawn Green and Carlos Delgado as the only players in franchise history to have 40 doubles and 40 home runs in the same season. Donaldson finished the 2015 regular season with a .297 batting average, 122 runs scored, 41 doubles, 41 home runs, and 123 RBIs. According to Baseball-Reference.com, his 8.8 Wins Above Replacement (WAR) in 2015 ranked as the highest single-season total in club history, surpassing José Bautista's previous record of 8.1 in 2011.


title: Josh Donaldson

text: "Sporting News" announced on October 29, 2015, that Donaldson had won their MLB Player of the Year Award. Other awards included the American League Hank Aaron Award, the American League third baseman's Silver Slugger Award, and Players Choice Awards for both Major League Player of the Year and American League Outstanding Player. On November 19, 2015, Donaldson was named the 2015 American League Most Valuable Player (AL MVP), finishing ahead of Mike Trout and Lorenzo Cain. On December 5, 2015, Donaldson was revealed as the cover athlete for "MLB The Show 16".


title: Josh Donaldson

text: In February 2016, Donaldson and the Blue Jays appeared to be heading to salary arbitration for the second consecutive year. Donaldson had asked for $11.8 million for the 2016 season, while the Blue Jays had countered at $11.35 million. On February 10, Donaldson signed a two-year, $28.65 million extension that paid him $11.65 million in 2016 and $17 million in 2017.


title: Josh Donaldson

text: In the first half of 2016, Donaldson resumed the high level of play from his MVP season. He won the June 19 Player of the Week Award after hitting three home runs, four doubles, one triple and nine runs driven in with 12 hits in 27 at bats. He led the league in total bases (27), extra-base hits (8) and tied for first in slugging percentage (1.000). On July 7, he was announced as a reserve for the American League in the 2016 All-Star Game. Heading into the All-Star break, Donaldson was batting .304 with 23 home runs and 63 RBIs. He had also scored 80 runs, which made him the first player in Blue Jays history to do so before the All-Star break. On August 28, Donaldson hit three home runs in a game for the first time in his career, leading the Blue Jays to a 9–6 win and a sweep of the Minnesota Twins. Donaldson finished the 2016 regular season with a .284 batting average, 37 home runs, and 99 RBI.


title: Josh Donaldson

text: Despite struggling with a hip injury late in the season, Donaldson played very well in the Jays' division series with the Texas Rangers, the second consecutive season Toronto faced Texas in the playoffs. In the three game sweep, he hit for a .500 batting average, five doubles, .526 on-base percentage, .778 slugging percentage, four runs scored and three RBI. He also scored the series-winning run in the tenth inning in dramatic fashion, scampering home from second base on a heads-up base running play following a throwing error by Rangers' second baseman Rougned Odor. Donaldson was awarded his second consecutive Silver Slugger Award on November 10. He finished fourth in American League MVP voting.


title: Josh Donaldson

text: On April 13, 2017, Donaldson left the game after straining his right calf, and was placed on the 10-day disabled list the following day. He returned to the lineup in late May. From August 1 to the end of the 2017 season, Donaldson hit .302 with 22 home runs in 227 plate appearances.


title: Josh Donaldson

text: On January 12, 2018, Donaldson avoided salary arbitration with the Blue Jays by agreeing to a one-year, $23 million contract for the 2018 season.


title: Josh Donaldson

text: On March 30, it was revealed that Donaldson was diagnosed with dead arm syndrome, in which he was criticized for his awkward throws on opening day. Although the issue was not too serious, the Blue Jays decided to use Donaldson temporarily as a designated hitter. On April 13, he was placed on the 10-day disabled list for shoulder inflammation. His return to action was cemented with a two-RBI double which was critical in ensuring a 13–9 win over the Cleveland Indians. However, Donaldson returned to the 10-day disabled list on June 1 after suffering a calf strain. While on rehab assignment on June 26, he re-aggravated the calf strain and was eventually transferred to the 60-day disabled list.


title: Josh Donaldson

text: On August 31, 2018, the Blue Jays traded Donaldson to the Cleveland Indians for a player to be named later, later revealed to be pitching prospect Julian Merryweather. Donaldson wore the number 27 as number 20 is retired in honor of Frank Robinson. On September 3, he was placed on the 10-day disabled list due to a left calf strain, and sent to the Triple-A Columbus Clippers on a rehab assignment, where he hit a grand slam in his first rehab game. The Indians activated Donaldson from the disabled list on September 11, 2018. Donaldson made his Indians debut that evening, starting at third base and batting fifth.


title: Josh Donaldson

text: On November 26, 2018, Donaldson signed a one-year, $23 million contract with the Atlanta Braves. Donaldson batted .259/.379/.521 with 37 home runs and 94 RBIs in 2019. He made contact with the lowest percentage of pitches he swung at in the strike zone (76.6%) of all NL batters. On defense in 2019, he had a 15 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) rating, the best in the National League among third basemen. He was named the 2019 NL Comeback Player of the Year.


title: Josh Donaldson

text: On January 22, 2020, Donaldson signed a four-year $92 million contract with the Minnesota Twins. In his first season with the Twins, Donaldson was limited to 28 games in the shortened 60-game season because of injury. He hit .222 with six home runs and 11 RBIs. In October 2020, Donaldson tweeted his opinion that umpire John Tumpane was a "Top 3 worst ump in the game," adding "Trust me this guy has no idea what the zone is in the rule book."


title: Josh Donaldson

text: On January 31, 2021, Donaldson changed his number from 24, which he used in his first year in Minnesota, to his customary 20, vacated by the recently departed Eddie Rosario. On May 29, Donaldson scored the 2,000,000th run in MLB history when he scored on a ground-rule double hit by Nelson Cruz off Kansas City Royals pitcher Ervin Santana.