title: Maraschino cherry

text: When Wiegand began his research, sodium metabisulfite was being used to preserve maraschino cherries. Some accounts indicate that this preservation method was being used long before Prohibition. Some manufacturers used maraschino or imitation liqueurs to flavor the cherries, but newspaper stories from the early part of the century suggest that many manufacturers stopped using alcohol and artificial dyes before Prohibition.


title: Maraschino cherry

text: After Prohibition was repealed, lobbying by the non-alcoholic preserved cherry industry encouraged the Food and Drug Administration to revise federal policy toward canned cherries. It held a hearing in April 1939 to establish a new standard of identity. Since 1940, "maraschino cherries" have been defined as "cherries which have been dyed red, impregnated with sugar, and packed in a sugar syrup flavored with oil of bitter almonds or a similar flavor."


title: Maraschino cherry

text: FD&C Red Number 1 and 4, and FD&C Yellow Number 1 through 4 were removed from the approved list in 1960. The ban on Red Number 4 was lifted in 1965 to allow the coloring of maraschino cherries, which by then were considered mainly decorative and not a foodstuff. In 1975, William F. Randolph of the FDA ruled that if an "artificial bitter almond flavor or any synthetic flavor is used, the product must be labeled artificial or artificially flavored." The following year, the ban on Red No. 4 was reinstated.


title: 2019 World Series

text: The 2019 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2019 season. The 115th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the American League champion Houston Astros and the National League champion Washington Nationals. The series was played from October 22 to October 30. The Nationals won the series, four games to three, to secure their first title in franchise history and first in the capital city since the 1924 series. Washington pitcher Stephen Strasburg was named the World Series Most Valuable Player (MVP) after earning two wins in the series.


title: 2019 World Series

text: The Astros had home-field advantage for the series, due to having a better regular-season record than the Nationals. It was the third World Series in which home-field advantage was decided by the regular-season records of the American and National league champions, a practice that started in the 2017 season. It was the first World Series in which the Houston Astros had home-field advantage. The series was played in a 2–3–2 format, with the Astros hosting Games 1, 2, 6, and 7; and the Nationals hosting Games 3, 4, and 5.


title: 2019 World Series

text: For the first time in any of the major North American sports leagues, the visiting team won all the games of a seven-game championship series, surpassing the previous high of five. The road team outscored the home team 49-14 in the seven games played. Washington won despite scoring only three runs at home. It was the sixth straight World Series in which the championship was clinched by the visiting team.


title: 2019 World Series

text: With the Nationals being from the National League East, this marked the sixth World Series in a row to have been won by teams from separate divisions in Major League Baseball.


title: 2019 World Series

text: For the third straight year, MLB sold presenting sponsorships to all of postseason series. As with the 2017 and 2018 World Series, this World Series was sponsored by YouTube TV and was officially known as the "2019 World Series presented by YouTube TV".


title: 2019 World Series

text: This was the first World Series appearance for the franchise that began its existence as the Montreal Expos in 1969, and moved to Washington, D.C. in 2005 to become the Nationals. The Nationals were also the last team from the 1969 expansion class (which also included the Kansas City Royals, Milwaukee Brewers—who began as the Seattle Pilots—and San Diego Padres) to earn a trip to the series. Their World Series appearance also means that all National League (NL) teams have played in at least one World Series. The only American League (AL) team that has yet to play in a World Series is the Seattle Mariners, who were part of the 1977 expansion. Prior to this series, the Astros and Nationals had never played each other in a postseason series, despite Houston playing in the NL from 1962 to 2012 until their move to the AL West in 2013. In fact, the Nationals are the only team the Astros have faced in the World Series that they have never faced in a pre-World Series playoff round, since the Astros have faced the White Sox, Dodgers, and Braves during at least one playoff round prior to the World Series. The Astros and Nationals did not play an interleague game in 2019, and last faced each other during the 2017 regular season. The two teams share a spring training site in West Palm Beach, Florida, and opened the 2019 spring training schedule against each other. This was the second World Series to feature two expansion teams, the first being in between the Kansas City Royals and the New York Mets.


title: 2019 World Series

text: The Nationals finished the 2018 season with an 82–80 () win–loss record, and started the 2019 season with a 19–31 () record. Second-year manager Dave Martinez began to receive public pressure to be fired by the Nationals. The team engineered a turnaround and finished the season in second place in the National League East, four games behind the Atlanta Braves, ending the year with a 93–69 () record. The Nationals were one of two teams to qualify for the playoffs as a wild card team from the National League. Martinez had missed three games in September due to a cardiac catheterization procedure to treat angina.


title: 2019 World Series

text: The fourth-seeded Nationals defeated the Milwaukee Brewers at home in the National League Wild Card Game, coming behind from a 3–1 deficit in the eighth inning to win 4–3. The Nationals then upset the top-seeded Los Angeles Dodgers, who had won the previous two National League pennants, in the National League Division Series. The Nationals were behind two games to one, and won their second and third elimination games of the postseason to take the best-of-five series. The postseason series win was the first in Washington Nationals history. In the best-of-seven National League Championship Series, the Nationals swept the St. Louis Cardinals (who had defeated the Braves in the Division Series round) in four games to secure the first pennant in franchise history (including their time as the Montreal Expos from 1969 to 2004). It was the first World Series appearance for a team from Washington D.C. since , including 33 seasons that the city did not host an MLB team (1972–2004).


title: 2019 World Series

text: In the prior two seasons, the Astros had won the 2017 World Series, the franchise's first World Series championship, and lost the 2018 American League Championship Series to the Boston Red Sox. The Astros finished the 2019 regular season atop the American League West—their third consecutive division championship—with a 107–55 () win–loss record. Their 107 wins were a franchise record, and the most in MLB for the season.


title: 2019 World Series

text: The Astros entered the postseason as the overall #1 seed. Their first opponent in the postseason was determined by the American League Wild Card Game, which saw the Tampa Bay Rays defeat the Oakland Athletics. In the best-of-five American League Division Series, the top-seeded Astros defeated fifth-seeded Tampa Bay in five games, with each game of the series being won by the home team. The Astros' opponent in the best-of-seven American League Championship Series (ALCS) was the second-seeded New York Yankees, who had defeated the Minnesota Twins in their playoff series, three games to none. In the ALCS, the Astros and Yankee split the first two games, followed by the Astros winning two-of-three games played at Yankee Stadium. Game 6 in Houston was then won by the Astros, giving them the series win, four games to two. The Astros' ALCS victory advanced them to their third overall World Series appearance (2 in the American League & one in the National League), and second in three years.


title: 2019 World Series

text: The below game summaries include a line score of each game, showing the runs scored by each team during each inning. Various baseball terms appearing in the summaries can be found in the glossary of baseball. The performance of pitchers in a game is often summarized by wording such as "two runs on three hits while striking out four batters", indicating how many runs and hits the pitcher allowed (the fewer, the better) and how many opposing batters the pitcher struck out (the more, the better).


title: 2019 World Series

text: Before the national anthem sung by Nicole Scherzinger, a moment of silence took place in honor of umpire Eric Cooper, who had died on October 20. Former Astro Brian McCann threw out the ceremonial first pitch to former teammate Evan Gattis. Max Scherzer started for the Nationals, while Gerrit Cole started for the Astros. With two outs in the bottom of the first inning, Yuli Gurriel hit a two-run double, giving the Astros a 2–0 lead. In the top of the second inning, Ryan Zimmerman hit a home run to cut the Astros' lead to 2–1. Juan Soto led off the top of the fourth inning with a home run to tie the game, 2–2. Soto became the fourth-youngest player to hit a home run in a World Series; Andruw Jones in 1996 was the youngest to date. Adam Eaton batted in a run in the top of the fifth inning, followed two batters later by a Soto two-run double, giving the Nationals a 5–2 lead.


title: 2019 World Series

text: Scherzer exited after pitching five innings, having allowed two runs on five hits while striking out seven batters. Cole went seven innings, allowing five runs on eight hits while striking out six. After Nationals pitcher Patrick Corbin pitched a scoreless sixth, George Springer led off the bottom of the seventh inning with the 14th postseason home run of his career, off Nats relief pitcher Tanner Rainey. He also broke a World Series record held by Reggie Jackson and Lou Gehrig, with a home run in five consecutive World Series games, dating back to Game4 of the 2017 World Series. The Astros loaded the bases later in the inning with two walks off Rainey and an infield single off Daniel Hudson, but Hudson struck out Yordan Álvarez to prevent any more scoring. In the bottom of the eighth inning, pinch hitter Kyle Tucker singled, advanced to second on a fly ball by Aledmys Díaz, and Springer batted in another run with a double, pulling the Astros to within one run, 5–4. Sean Doolittle, the Nationals' fifth pitcher of the game, got the final out of the eighth inning and retired the side in order in the bottom of the ninth, concluding matters when Carlos Correa lined out to Víctor Robles to preserve the win. Doolittle earned his second save of the postseason and the underdogs took the series lead, marking the first time in franchise history that the Nationals won a World Series game.


title: 2019 World Series

text: Gymnast and Houston native Simone Biles threw out the ceremonial first pitch of Game2. The starting pitchers were Stephen Strasburg for the Nationals and Justin Verlander for the Astros. After a walk and a single to start the game, Anthony Rendon batted in two runs with a double. Alex Bregman tied the game with a two-run home run in the bottom of the first. In the top of the second inning, Verlander recorded the 200th postseason strikeout of his career, surpassing John Smoltz (whose career spanned 1988–2009) and setting a new MLB record.


title: 2019 World Series

text: Leading off the top of the seventh, Kurt Suzuki hit a home run to put the Nationals ahead, 3–2. Verlander exited one batter later; he was charged with four runs on seven hits while striking out six batters, and was later assessed the loss. Washington scored five more runs in the seventh off Ryan Pressly, extending their lead to 8–2. With a six-run lead, Strasburg was removed before the bottom of the seventh, having held the Astros to two runs on seven hits while striking out seven. In the eighth inning, a two-run home run by Adam Eaton plus a run batted in (RBI) by Asdrúbal Cabrera extended the Nationals' lead to nine runs. A ninth-inning home run by Michael A. Taylor off Chris Devenski pushed the lead to 12–2. Astro Martín Maldonado hit a home run in the bottom of the ninth off relief pitcher Javy Guerra, but there was no further scoring as the Nationals completed their eighth consecutive playoff win.


title: 2019 World Series

text: This was the first World Series game played in Washington D.C. since October 7, 1933, which was the clinching Game5 of the New York Giants' win over the Washington Senators. Chad Cordero of the 2005 Nationals threw out the ceremonial first pitch to former teammate Brian Schneider; former astronaut Buzz Aldrin also threw a ceremonial pitch. Aníbal Sánchez started for the Nationals, while Zack Greinke started for the Astros. In the second inning, Josh Reddick batted in Carlos Correa as Houston scored the game's first run. In the third inning, José Altuve doubled and advanced to third on an error, then scored on an infield single by Michael Brantley, giving the Astros a 2–0 lead. The Nationals loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the third, but were unable to score. In the bottom of the fourth, Ryan Zimmerman walked then was driven in by a triple by Víctor Robles, cutting the Astros' lead to 2–1.


title: 2019 World Series

text: Houston restored their two-run lead in the top of the fifth, as Altuve doubled and was then batted in by Brantley. Greinke left with two outs in the bottom of the fifth, having allowed one run on seven hits while striking out six batters. The Astros extended their lead to 4–1 in the top of the sixth, as Robinson Chirinos hit a home run off the left field foul pole netting. Sánchez lasted until one out in the top of the sixth, having allowed four runs on 10 hits while striking out four. With no additional scoring through the middle of the ninth, the Astros brought in closer Roberto Osuna to pitch the bottom of the ninth. Osuna allowed a one-out single to Adam Eaton, but otherwise retired the Nationals; Juan Soto struck out looking to end the Nationals’ eight-game playoff winning streak. Osuna earned his second save this postseason, as Houston narrowed Washington's lead in the series to 2–1. This became the first World Series to begin with three games won by the road team since 1996, when the first five games were won by the road team.


title: 2019 World Series

text: The ceremonial first pitch was thrown out by a Nationals Youth Baseball Academy scholar-athlete. Patrick Corbin started for the Nationals and José Urquidy started for the Astros. The Astros scored early, recording two runs in the first inning on four consecutive singles with one out. Robinson Chirinos hit a two-run home run in the fourth inning, extending Houston's lead to 4–0. Urquidy exited after five innings, having held the Nationals scoreless, retiring nine straight batters before being removed.


title: 2019 World Series

text: Washington scored a run in the bottom of the sixth, coming on a Juan Soto ground out with the bases loaded and one out. Corbin pitched six innings, allowing four runs on seven hits while striking out five. A grand slam by Alex Bregman in the seventh inning extended Houston's lead to 8–1. It was the 20th ever World Series grand slam and first since Addison Russell hit one in Game6 of the 2016 World Series. With no further scoring, the Astros evened the series, 2–2, ensuring a sixth game in Houston. This was the fifth time a World Series started with the road team winning the first four games, the most recent occurrence having been 1996.


title: 2019 World Series

text: The ceremonial first pitch was thrown out by chef José Andrés. The starting pitchers were Gerrit Cole for Houston and Joe Ross for Washington. Max Scherzer was scheduled to start for Washington, but was scratched about three hours before the game due to neck spasms.


title: 2019 World Series

text: A two-run home run by Yordan Álvarez in the top of the second inning gave the Astros an early lead. In the top of the fourth, Carlos Correa hit another two-run home run, extending Houston's lead to 4–0. Ross pitched for five innings, allowing four runs on five hits while striking out one batter. Juan Soto narrowed the lead to 4–1 with a home run in the bottom of the seventh. Yuli Gurriel batted in a run in the top of the eighth to restore the four-run lead. Cole left after seven innings, having held the Nationals to one run on three hits while striking out nine. George Springer's two-run home run in the top of the ninth stretched Houston's lead to 7–1. With Ryan Pressly ending the game by allowing no baserunners in the bottom of the ninth, the Astros moved to within a victory of their second title in three years. This became the third World Series—along with and —to have the road team win the first five games.


title: 2019 World Series

text: Home plate umpire Lance Barksdale's strike zone during the game drew attention, with some sports journalists, including Jeff Passan, increasing their appeals to MLB for a computerized strike zone. Two women in the crowd flashed their bare chests during the game—briefly visible on television—in an attempt to raise awareness for their website, claiming proceeds from the site "will be going to women with breast cancer". Along with a third woman, they were removed from the game and were banned from all MLB stadiums "indefinitely". U.S. President Donald Trump was booed and "chants of 'Lock him up!' broke out in some sections" when he and wife Melania were introduced after the third inning during the regular serviceperson recognition segment. This led to some discussion in the media of the civility required of the event and the larger political discourse taking place. This was not the first time at a World Series that a President was booed; at the 1931 World Series, taking place during Prohibition, fans in Philadelphia had chanted at Herbert Hoover, "We Want Beer! We want Beer!"


title: 2019 World Series

text: The ceremonial first pitch was thrown by Hakeem Olajuwon to Clyde Drexler, both of whom played college basketball for the Houston Cougars and later won the 1995 NBA Finals with the Houston Rockets. Starting pitchers were Justin Verlander for Houston and Stephen Strasburg for Washington, the same as in Game2.


title: 2019 World Series

text: Anthony Rendon batted in a run in the top of the first, giving the Nationals an early 1–0 lead. A sacrifice fly by José Altuve and a home run by Alex Bregman in the bottom of the first gave Houston a 2–1 lead. Bregman carried his bat to first base after homering, which some media members considered disrespectful. Fifth-inning home runs by Adam Eaton and Juan Soto gave the Nationals a 3–2 lead. Soto also carried his bat to first base after homering, mimicking Bregman. Post-game, both managers voiced displeasure with the bat-carrying; Bregman apologized and said he was at fault.


title: 2019 World Series

text: Verlander exited after five innings, having allowed three runs on five hits while striking out three batters. In the top of the seventh inning, Trea Turner was controversially called out for interference on a play at first base, which Washington manager Dave Martinez furiously took issue with, leading to his ejection. Later that inning, a two-out, two-run home run by Rendon off Will Harris—who had not allowed an earned run in the postseason—increased Washington's lead to 5–2. Rendon batted in two more runs in the top of the ninth with a double off Chris Devenski, extending the Nationals' lead to 7–2. Strasburg left with one out in the bottom of the ninth, having held the Astros to two runs on five hits while striking out seven. Sean Doolittle relieved Strasburg, and allowed a two-out double to Carlos Correa, but nothing further, and the Nationals evened the series to force a deciding seventh game. This was the first instance in MLB, NBA, or NHL history where the road team won the first six games of a best-of-seven series.


title: 2019 World Series

text: In the top of the seventh inning, the Nationals had a 3–2 lead with a runner, Yan Gomes, on first base with no outs when batter Trea Turner hit a swinging bunt to the third base side of the pitcher's mound. Astros pitcher Brad Peacock fielded the ball and threw it to first base; the ball was not caught by first baseman Yuli Gurriel and rolled into foul territory beyond the base, apparently giving the Nationals runners on second and third with no outs. However, Turner was called out by home plate umpire Sam Holbrook for interference, negating the play and requiring Gomes to return to first base. While initial reports and television commentary indicated the call was for running outside the runner's lane, MLB's chief baseball officer, Joe Torre, clarified after the game that Turner had interfered with Gurriel's attempt to catch the ball, stating that Turner "did run to the fair side of the 45-foot line, but really the violation was when he kept Gurriel from being able to catch the ball at first base." The call led to a delay of nearly minutes while umpires confirmed their interpretation of the rules (the decision itself was a judgment call not reviewable via MLB instant replay). The call was argued by Nationals manager Dave Martinez when it was first made and again, more intensely, during the seventh-inning stretch, resulting in his ejection by Holbrook. It was the first ejection in a World Series since , when Atlanta Braves manager Bobby Cox had been ejected.


title: 2019 World Series

text: This was the 40th time a World Series reached its deciding Game 7. The starting pitchers were Washington's Max Scherzer, who won Game1, and Houston's Zack Greinke, who received a no decision in Game3, making this the first World Series Game7 started by two previous Cy Young Award winners. Ceremonial first pitches were thrown by former Astros Jeff Bagwell and Craig Biggio.


title: 2019 World Series

text: A home run by Yuli Gurriel in the bottom of the second inning gave the Astros an early 1–0 lead. Carlos Correa hit a two-out RBI single in the bottom of the fifth inning to extend the lead to 2–0. Scherzer pitched five innings, allowing two runs on seven hits while striking out three batters. Greinke had given up only one hit (a single) before Anthony Rendon's home run in the top of the seventh cut the Astros' lead to 2–1. Greinke walked Soto after Rendon's homer and was then replaced by Will Harris. Harris gave up a two-run home run to Howie Kendrick off the right field foul pole, giving the Nationals a 3–2 lead, which they never relinquished. Greinke was charged with two runs on two hits while striking out three in innings. Roberto Osuna pitched the eighth inning for Houston, when Juan Soto batted in Adam Eaton with two outs to give Washington a two-run lead. The Nationals extended their lead to 6–2 in the ninth inning, with two runs scoring on a one-out single by Eaton with the bases loaded. With Patrick Corbin having pitched three scoreless innings in relief for Washington, Daniel Hudson came in to pitch the bottom of the ninth and retired the side in order, as Michael Brantley struck out swinging to end the game, series, and baseball season, giving the Nationals franchise their first World Series title in 51 seasons, and the city's first since the Senators won in .


title: 2019 World Series

text: The Nationals' win marked the sixth straight year that a team clinched the World Series title via a win on the road, including four times that a Game7 was won by the visiting team. For the first time in major North American sports history, the visiting team won all seven games of a best-of-seven postseason series. In championship series of the NBA, NHL, and MLB contested during 2019, road teams compiled an overall 17–3 record. Additionally, the Nationals became the first team to win the World Series in their first appearance since 2002, when the Anaheim Angels accomplished the feat by defeating the San Francisco Giants in seven games. During postgame ceremonies, Washington's Stephen Strasburg was presented with the World Series Most Valuable Player Award, the first time a former No. 1 overall draft pick earned the award, and the first time a pitcher had won the award since Madison Bumgarner had won in 2014.


title: 2019 World Series

text: The World Series was televised by Fox for the 20th straight year. Joe Buck called the games as play-by-play announcer along with John Smoltz as color commentator and Ken Rosenthal and Tom Verducci as field reporters. Kevin Burkhardt hosted the network's pregame shows, joined by analysts Frank Thomas, Alex Rodriguez and David Ortiz. Fox Deportes aired the series in Spanish, with Rolando Nichols calling the play-by-play, Edgar Gonzalez as color commentator, and Carlos Álvarez as field reporter.


title: 2019 World Series

text: MLB International fed the series to broadcasters outside the United States, with Matt Vasgersian providing play-by-play and Buck Martinez as color commentator.


title: 2019 World Series

text: Game1 had the second-lowest audience for any Game1 to date, with only the 2014 World Series having a smaller audience for the opener. Game2 had the lowest audience for any Game2 to date, a distinction previously held by the 2012 World Series. Game4 was the lowest rated World Series game ever, and had the second-smallest audience ever, with only Game3 of the 2008 World Series having a smaller audience. Game7 was the least-watched Game7 ever, falling below the seventh game of 2014. Overall, this World Series had the fourth-lowest average number of viewers, with only 2014, 2012, and 2008 being lower. Ratings spiked considerably for Game 7, and there were strong ratings in the Houston (42.7/63) and Washington, D.C. (31.8/53) markets, making it the most-viewed MLB game in Washington since 1998.


title: 2019 World Series

text: ESPN Radio broadcast the World Series for the 22nd straight year, with coverage presented by AutoZone. Dan Shulman served as play-by-play announcer, with Chris Singleton as color commentator and Buster Olney as field reporter. Marc Kestecher and Kevin Winter hosted the pregame shows with reporter Tim Kurkjian. New Spanish-language radio network Unanimo Deportes, flagshipped at WMYM Miami, broadcast its first World Series with Beto Ferreiro and Orlando Hernández announcing.


title: 2019 World Series

text: Locally, both teams' flagship radio stations broadcast the series with their regular announcers. In Houston, KBME aired the series with Robert Ford and Steve Sparks announcing. In Washington, WJFK-FM aired the series with Charlie Slowes and Dave Jageler calling the games. Per MLB rules, the teams' other radio affiliates may carry the series but must air the ESPN Radio broadcast.


title: 2019 World Series

text: Speculation about sign stealing by the Astros had been rampant for a number of years. After being knocked out by the Nationals in the National League Division Series, several Dodgers (the team the Astros beat in the 2017 World Series) reached out to Washington Nationals second baseman Brian Dozier, who had been with Los Angeles the previous year, to warn him that Houston was elaborately stealing signs. Many American League clubs also reached out to Washington to say the same as well.


title: 2019 World Series

text: Shortly after the 2019 World Series concluded, on November 12, 2019, journalists Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich published a story in "The Athletic" detailing for the first time specific allegations that the Astros had engaged in illicit electronic sign stealing. MLB launched an investigation and found evidence that the Astros did engage in illegal electronic sign stealing in 2017 and 2018, but found no evidence they used the scheme in 2019.


title: 2019 World Series

text: After losing the 2019 World Series, the Astros have continued to be a top team, coming within one win of making the World Series in the shortened 2020 season and returning to the World Series in 2021 and 2022, which they lost to the Atlanta Braves and won over the Philadelphia Phillies, respectively.


title: 2019 World Series

text: The Nationals, however, quickly lost many players from their championship team and fell to the bottom of the league. The Nationals let all-star third baseman Anthony Rendon leave in free agency to the Los Angeles Angels in the offseason (the Angels also signed 2019 Nationals part-time catcher Kurt Suzuki). Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Nationals were not able to properly celebrate their 2019 championship the following season, as spectators were not allowed in the stands during the shortened season. They raised their championship banner in front of an empty Nationals Park on the first day of the 2020 season, and received their championship rings in the clubhouse rather than on the field in front of the fans. The Nationals finished tied for last in the NL East in 2020. Postseason hero Howie Kendrick retired at the end of the season. Struggling at the trade deadline in 2021, the Nationals engaged in a large-scale selloff of top players who had led them to the championship. The Nationals became the first team to trade three players who were All-Stars before the end of the season, which included starting pitcher Max Scherzer, outfielder Kyle Schwarber, and shortstop Trea Turner. They also traded off important pieces from their World Series team, such as catcher Yan Gomes and reliever Daniel Hudson. By the end of 2021, only a handful of players from the 2019 championship team were still with the club.


title: 2019 World Series

text: The Nationals rotation that many saw as the team's strength during their World Series run was not as effective going forward. Scherzer, although still dominant, struggled with lower body injuries until he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers at the 2021 trade deadline. Patrick Corbin led the National League is losses and earned runs given up in 2021 and 2022. Anibal Sanchez struggled mighty during the 2020 season so much that he spent the 2021 season out of baseball entirely, only to return to Washington in 2022. Lastly, Stephen Strasburg, Washington's MVP of the 2019 World Series, was rewarded with a lucrative seven-year contract with the Nationals after the World Series. Unfortunately, Strasburg's body would break down rapidly due to injuries, only making a combined eight starts from 2020-2022.


title: 2019 World Series

text: By 2022, the Lerner family were exploring a sale of the Nationals. Later that year at the trade deadline, the team traded superstar Juan Soto, after he rejected a reported 14-year extension, to San Diego for young players and prospects.


title: Cork (material)

text: Cork is an impermeable buoyant material, the phellem layer of bark tissue that is harvested for commercial use primarily from "Quercus suber" (the cork oak), which is native to southwest Europe and northwest Africa. Cork is composed of suberin, a hydrophobic substance. Because of its impermeable, buoyant, elastic, and fire retardant properties, it is used in a variety of products, the most common of which is wine stoppers. The montado landscape of Portugal produces approximately half of the cork harvested annually worldwide, with Corticeira Amorim being the leading company in the industry. Cork was examined microscopically by Robert Hooke, which led to his discovery and naming of the cell.


title: Cork (material)

text: Cork composition varies depending on geographic origin, climate and soil conditions, genetic origin, tree dimensions, age (virgin or reproduction), and growth conditions. However, in general, cork is made up of suberin (average of about 40%), lignin (22%), polysaccharides (cellulose and hemicellulose) (18%), extractables (15%) and others.


title: Cork (material)

text: Cork is a natural material used by humanity for over 5,000 years. It is a material whose applications have been known since antiquity, especially in floating devices and as stopper for beverages, mainly wine, whose market, from the early twentieth century, had a massive expansion, particularly due to the development of several cork based agglomerates. In China, Egypt, Babylon, and Persia from about 3000 BC, cork was already used for sealing containers, fishing equipment, and domestic applications. In ancient Greece (1600 to 1100 years BC) cork was used in footwear, to manufacture a type of sandals attached to the foot by straps, generally leather and with a sole in cork or leather. In the second century AD, a Greek physician, Dioscorides, noted several medical applications of cork, mainly for hair loss treatment. Nowadays, the majority of people know cork for its use as stoppers in wine bottles. Cork stoppers were introduced at the beginning of the seventeenth century by the Benedictine monk Dom Pérignon, who used them to seal the bottles of his famous champagne. Cork stoppers were adopted in 1729 by Ruinart and in 1973 by Moët et Chandon.


title: Cork (material)

text: Cork presents a characteristic cellular structure in which the cells have usually a pentagonal or hexagonal shape. The cellular wall consists of a thin, lignin rich middle lamella (internal primary wall), a thick secondary wall made up from alternating suberin and wax lamella and a thin tertiary wall of polysaccharides. Some studies suggest that the secondary wall is lignified, and therefore, may not consist exclusively of suberin and waxes. The cells of cork are filled with a gas mixture similar to the air, making them behave as authentic “pads,” which contributes to the capability of cork recovery after compressed.


title: Cork (material)

text: Annual production is about 300,000 tons; 49.6% from Portugal, 30.5% from Spain, 5.8% from Morocco, 4.9% from Algeria, 3.5% from Tunisia, 3.1% from Italy, and 2.6% from France.


title: Cork (material)

text: Once the trees are about 25 years old the cork is traditionally stripped from the trunks every nine years, with the first two harvests generally producing lower quality cork. The trees live for about 300 years.


title: Cork (material)

text: The cork industry is generally regarded as environmentally friendly. Cork production is generally considered sustainable because the cork tree is not cut down to obtain cork; only the bark is stripped to harvest the cork. The tree continues to live and grow. The sustainability of production and the easy recycling of cork products and by-products are two of its most distinctive aspects. Cork oak forests also prevent desertification and are a particular habitat in the Iberian Peninsula and the refuge of various endangered species.


title: Cork (material)

text: Carbon footprint studies conducted by Corticeira Amorim, Oeneo Bouchage of France and the Cork Supply Group of Portugal concluded that cork is the most environmentally friendly wine stopper in comparison to other alternatives. The Corticeira Amorim’s study, in particular ("Analysis of the life cycle of Cork, Aluminum and Plastic Wine Closures"), was developed by PricewaterhouseCoopers, according to ISO 14040. Results concluded that, concerning the emission of greenhouse gases, each plastic stopper released 10 times more CO, whilst an aluminium screw cap releases 26 times more CO than does a cork stopper. For example, to produce 1,000 cork stoppers 1.5 kg are emitted, but to produce the same amount of plastic stoppers 14 kg of are emitted and for the same amount of aluminium screw caps 37 kg are emitted.


title: Cork (material)

text: The cork oak is unrelated to the "cork trees" ("Phellodendron"), which have corky bark but are not used for cork production.


title: Cork (material)

text: Cork is extracted only from early May to late August, when the cork can be separated from the tree without causing permanent damage. When the tree reaches 25–30 years of age and about 24 in (60 cm) in circumference, the cork can be removed for the first time. However, this first harvest almost always produces poor quality or "virgin" cork (Portuguese "cortiça virgem"; Spanish "corcho bornizo" or "corcho virgen"). Bark from initial harvests can be used to make flooring, shoes, insulation and other industrial products. Subsequent extractions usually occur at intervals of 9 years, though it can take up to 13 for the cork to reach an acceptable size. If the product is of high quality it is known as "gentle" cork (Portuguese "cortiça amadia", but also "cortiça secundeira" only if it is the second time; Spanish "corcho segundero", also restricted to the "second time"), and, ideally, is used to make stoppers for wine and champagne bottles.


title: Cork (material)

text: The workers who specialize in removing the cork are known as extractors. An extractor uses a very sharp axe to make two types of cuts on the tree: one horizontal cut around the plant, called a crown or necklace, at a height of about 2–3 times the circumference of the tree, and several vertical cuts called rulers or openings. This is the most delicate phase of the work because, even though cutting the cork requires significant force, the extractor must not damage the underlying phellogen or the tree will be harmed.


title: Cork (material)

text: To free the cork from the tree, the extractor pushes the handle of the axe into the rulers. A good extractor needs to use a firm but precise touch in order to free a large amount of cork without damaging the product or tree.


title: Cork (material)

text: These freed portions of the cork are called planks. The planks are usually carried off by hand since cork forests are rarely accessible to vehicles. The cork is stacked in piles in the forest or in yards at a factory and traditionally left to dry, after which it can be loaded onto a truck and shipped to a processor.


title: Cork (material)

text: Cork's elasticity combined with its near-impermeability makes it suitable as a material for bottle stoppers, especially for wine bottles. Cork stoppers represent about 60% of all cork based production. Cork has an almost zero Poisson's ratio, which means the radius of a cork does not change significantly when squeezed or pulled.


title: Cork (material)

text: Cork is an excellent gasket material. Some carburetor float bowl gaskets are made of cork, for example.


title: Cork (material)

text: Cork's bubble-form structure and natural fire retardant make it suitable for acoustic and thermal insulation in house walls, floors, ceilings, and facades. The by-product of more lucrative stopper production, corkboard is gaining popularity as a non-allergenic, easy-to-handle and safe alternative to petrochemical-based insulation products.


title: Cork (material)

text: Sheets of cork, also often the by-product of stopper production, are used to make bulletin boards as well as floor and wall tiles.


title: Cork (material)

text: Cork's low density makes it a suitable material for fishing floats and buoys, as well as handles for fishing rods (as an alternative to neoprene).


title: Cork (material)

text: Granules of cork can also be mixed into concrete. The composites made by mixing cork granules and cement have lower thermal conductivity, lower density, and good energy absorption. Some of the property ranges of the composites are density (400–1500 kg/m), compressive strength (1–26 MPa), and flexural strength (0.5–4.0 MPa).


title: Cork (material)

text: As late as the mid-17th century, French vintners did not use cork stoppers, using instead oil-soaked rags stuffed into the necks of bottles.


title: Cork (material)

text: Wine corks can be made of either a single piece of cork, or composed of particles, as in champagne corks; corks made of granular particles are called "agglomerated corks".


title: Cork (material)

text: Natural cork closures are used for about 80% of the 20 billion bottles of wine produced each year. After a decline in use as wine-stoppers due to the increase in the use of synthetic alternatives, cork wine-stoppers are making a comeback and currently represent approximately 60% of wine-stoppers in 2016.


title: Cork (material)

text: Because of the cellular structure of cork, it is easily compressed upon insertion into a bottle and will expand to form a tight seal. The interior diameter of the neck of glass bottles tends to be inconsistent, making this ability to seal through variable contraction and expansion an important attribute. However, unavoidable natural flaws, channels, and cracks in the bark make the cork itself highly inconsistent. In a 2005 closure study, 45% of corks showed gas leakage during pressure testing both from the sides of the cork as well as through the cork body itself.


title: Cork (material)

text: Since the mid-1990s, a number of wine brands have switched to alternative wine closures such as plastic stoppers, screw caps, or other closures. During 1972 more than half of the Australian bottled wine went bad due to corking. A great deal of anger and suspicion was directed at Portuguese and Spanish cork suppliers who were suspected of deliberately supplying bad cork to non-EEC wine makers to help prevent cheap imports. Cheaper wine makers developed the aluminium "Stelvin" cap with a polypropylene stopper wad. More expensive wines and carbonated varieties continued to use cork, although much closer attention was paid to the quality. Even so, some high premium makers prefer the Stelvin as it is a guarantee that the wine will be good even after many decades of ageing. Some consumers may have conceptions about screw caps being representative of lower quality wines, due to their cheaper price; however, in Australia, for example, much of the non-sparkling wine production now uses these Stelvin caps as a cork alternative, although some have recently switched back to cork citing issues using screw caps. These alternatives to cork have both advantages and disadvantages. For example, screwtops are generally considered to offer a trichloroanisole (TCA) free seal, but they also reduce the oxygen transfer rate between the bottle and the atmosphere to almost zero, which can lead to a reduction in the quality of the wine. TCA is the main documented cause of cork taint in wine. However, some in the wine industry say natural cork stoppers are important because they allow oxygen to interact with wine for proper aging, and are best suited for wines purchased with the intent to age. Stoppers which resemble natural cork very closely can be made by isolating the suberin component of the cork from the undesirable lignin, mixing it with the same substance used for contact lenses and an adhesive, and molding it into a standardized product, free of TCA or other undesirable substances. Composite corks with real cork veneers are used in cheaper wines. Celebrated Australian wine writer and critic James Halliday has written that since a cork placed inside the neck of a wine bottle is 350-year-old technology, it is logical to explore other more modern and precise methods of keeping wine safe.


title: Cork (material)

text: The study "Analysis of the life cycle of Cork, Aluminum and Plastic Wine Closures," conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers and commissioned by a major cork manufacturer, Amorim, concluded that cork is the most environmentally responsible stopper, in a one-year life cycle analysis comparison with plastic stoppers and aluminum screw caps.


title: Midget

text: Midget (from "midge", a tiny biting insect) is a term for a person of unusually short stature that is considered by some to be pejorative due to its etymology. While not a medical term like "dwarfism", a medical condition with a number of causes including achondroplasia, there is overlap, particularly in proportionate dwarfism. The word has a history of association with the performance arts as little people were often employed by acts in the circus,


title: Midget

text: The term may also refer to anything of much smaller than normal size, as a synonym for "miniature" or "mini", such as midget cell, midget crabapple, midget flowerpecker, midget submarine, MG Midget, Daihatsu Midget, and the Midget Mustang airplane; or to anything that regularly uses anything that is smaller than normal (other than a person), such as midget car racing and quarter midget racing.


title: Midget

text: "Midget" may also reference a smaller version of play or participation, such as midget golf; or to anything designed for very young (i.e., small) participants—in many cases children—such as Disneyland's Midget Autopia, midget hockey, and midget football. Some sports organizations, like Hockey Canada, have committed to removing the word, recognizing that it might be considered offensive.


title: Midget

text: Midgets have always been popular entertainers but were often regarded with disgust and revulsion in society. In the early 19th century, midgets were romanticized by the middle class and regarded with the same affectionate condescension extended to children, as creatures of innocence. The term "midget" came into prominence in the mid-19th century after Harriet Beecher Stowe used it in her novels "Sunny Memories of Foreign Lands" and "Old Town Folks" where she described children and an extremely short man, respectively. P. T. Barnum indirectly helped popularize the term "midget" when he began featuring General Tom Thumb, Lavinia Warren and Commodore Nutt in his circus. "Midget" became linked to referencing short people put on public display for curiosity and sport. Barnum's midgets reached position of high society, given fantasy military titles, introduced to dignitaries and royalty, and showered with gifts.


title: Midget

text: Such performances continued to be widespread through the mid part of the twentieth century, with Hermines Midgets brought from their performances in Paris to appear at the 1939 New York World's Fair, the same year that MGM released "The Wizard of Oz", which featured 124 midgets in its cast, most of whom were from the Singer's Midgets troupe.


title: Midget

text: When interviewed for a 1999 piece, performers engaged in midget wrestling stated that they did not view the term as derogatory but merely descriptive of their small size. Others disagreed, with one stating that the performances themselves perpetuated an outdated and demeaning image.


title: Midget

text: Towards the end of the 20th century, the word became considered by some as a pejorative term when referencing people with dwarfism. Some, such as actor Hervé Villechaize continued to self-identify as "midgets".


title: Midget

text: There have been movements to remove the use of the word "midget" from age classification categories in youth sports, with Hockey Canada announcing that it would refer to the division as "U18" in 2020 as part of a wider renaming scheme.


title: Baptiste (TV series)

text: Baptiste is a British TV drama starring Tchéky Karyo as Julien Baptiste, a character that originated in the series "The Missing". The spinoff is produced by Two Brothers Pictures and distributed worldwide by their parent company All3Media. The first series, set in Amsterdam, was broadcast on BBC One starting in February 2019 and is written by Jack and Harry Williams, who also wrote "The Missing". In the United States, it was broadcast by PBS on its series "Masterpiece" beginning on 12 April 2020. A second series, set in Budapest, began on BBC One on 18 July 2021.


title: Baptiste (TV series)

text: The show uses one of the central characters from the TV series, "The Missing", the detective Julien Baptiste, played by Tchéky Karyo. Baptiste's wife and daughter are played by the same actors from "The Missing", otherwise, all other characters and actors starring in the programme are new.


title: Baptiste (TV series)

text: After having an operation on his brain tumour, Julien Baptiste claims he is not the man he once was. His former boss persuades him to help the Dutch Police look for a missing 15-year-old enslaved sex worker in Amsterdam. While looking, he meets Edward Stratton, the uncle of the missing girl. All is not as it seems with Edward and the show also introduces Kim Vogel, who has a criminal history and Constantin, a Romanian national who is seen murdering and dismembering a victim at the start of the programme.


title: Baptiste (TV series)

text: The BBC announced in April 2018 that a spin-off from its successful "The Missing" series would go into production and was set to be broadcast in 2019.


title: Baptiste (TV series)

text: Most of the action for the first series was set in Amsterdam in the Netherlands; although some exterior scenes were shot there, some were actually filmed in Antwerp and Ghent in Belgium. Additionally, a handful of scenes were shot in Deal, Kingsdown, Ramsgate and Sandwich, all in Kent, England.


title: Baptiste (TV series)

text: Carol Midgley writing in "The Times", gave the first episode three out of five and declared the first 45 minutes to be "underwhelming", though the last 15 minutes picked up and left her "semi-intrigued". "The Guardian" described the programme as a "slowburning spin-off" and "the opener draws you into a darkly compelling plot".


title: Baptiste (TV series)

text: "The Daily Telegraph" described the first series as "worth sticking with" and gave it three out of five.


title: Administrative divisions of India

text: The administrative divisions of India are subnational administrative units of India; they are composed of a nested hierarchy of administrative divisions.


title: Administrative divisions of India

text: Indian states and territories frequently use different local titles for the same level of subdivision (e.g., the "mandals" of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana correspond to "tehsils" of Uttar Pradesh and other Hindi-speaking states but to "talukas" of Gujarat, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu).


title: Administrative divisions of India

text: The smaller subdivisions (villages and blocks) exist only in rural areas. In urban areas, urban local bodies exist instead of these rural subdivisions.


title: Administrative divisions of India

text: The states of India have been grouped into six zones having an Advisory Council "to develop the habit of cooperative working" among these States. Zonal Councils were set up vide Part-III of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956. The North Eastern States' special problems are addressed by another statutory body - The North Eastern Council, created by the North Eastern Council Act, 1971. The present composition of each of these Zonal Councils is as under:


title: Administrative divisions of India

text: Each zone has a zonal headquarters where a zonal cultural center has been established. Several states have membership in multiple zones, but no state subdivisions are utilized in the zonal divisions. In addition to promoting the culture of the zones they are responsible for, each zonal center also works to cross-promote and create exposure to other cultural zones of India by organizing functions and inviting artistes from other zones.


title: Administrative divisions of India

text: The Sixth Schedule of the Constitution of India allows for the formation of autonomous administrative divisions which have been given autonomy within their respective states.


title: Administrative divisions of India

text: Presently, 10 Autonomous Councils in Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura are formed by virtue of the Sixth Schedule with the rest being formed as a result of other legislation.


title: Administrative divisions of India

text: Many of the Indian states are subdivided into divisions, which have official administrative governmental status, and each division is headed by a senior IAS officer called Divisional Commissioner.


title: Administrative divisions of India

text: As of September 2022, divisions exist in 18 of the 28 states and 3 of the 8 union territories. As of September 2022, there are a total of 102 divisions in India.


title: Administrative divisions of India

text: States and territories (or divisions) are further subdivided into districts ("zilla"), of which there are 776 (as of Aug 2022). Each District is headed by an IAS officer called District Magistrate.


title: Administrative divisions of India

text: The Community Development Block also known as CD Block or just block, is often the next level of administrative division (for development purposes, whereas tehsil is next to the district for revenue purposes).


title: Administrative divisions of India

text: Villages are often the lowest level of subdivisions in India. The governmental bodies at the village level are called Gram Panchayat, of which there were an estimated 256,000 in 2002.


title: Administrative divisions of India

text: Each Gram Panchayat covers a large village or a cluster of smaller villages with a combined population exceeding 500 Gram Sabha. Clusters of villages are also sometimes called Hobli or Patti.


title: Administrative divisions of India

text: Certain governmental functions and activities - including clean water availability, rural development, and education - are tracked at a sub-village level. These hamlets are termed "habitations". India is composed of 1,714,556 habitations In some states, most villages have a single habitation; in others (notably Kerala and Tripura) there is a high ratio of habitations to villages.


title: Administrative divisions of India

text: A metro area usually comprises multiple jurisdictions and municipalities: neighbourhoods, townships, cities, exurbs, suburbs, counties, districts, states, and even nations like the eurodistricts.


title: Administrative divisions of India

text: As social, economic, and political institutions have changed, metropolitan areas have become key economic and political regions.


title: Administrative divisions of India

text: Metropolitan areas include one or more urban areas, as well as satellite cities, towns, and intervening rural areas that are socio-economically tied to the urban core, typically measured by commuting patterns


title: Administrative divisions of India

text: The metropolitan cities of India are: Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Pune.


title: Chlorophytum comosum

text: Chlorophytum comosum, usually called spider plant or common spider plant due to its spider-like look, also known as spider ivy, ribbon plant (a name it shares with "Dracaena sanderiana"), and hen and chickens is a species of evergreen perennial flowering plant of the family Asparagaceae. It is native to tropical and Southern Africa, but has become naturalized in other parts of the world, including Western Australia and the Bangladesh. "Chlorophytum comosum" is easy to grow as a houseplant because of its resilience, but it can be sensitive to the fluoride in tap water, which commonly gives it "burnt tips". Variegated forms are the most popular.


title: Chlorophytum comosum

text: "Chlorophytum comosum" grows to about tall, although as a hanging plant it can descend many feet. It has fleshy, tuberous roots, each about long. The long narrow leaves reach a length of and are around wide.


title: Chlorophytum comosum

text: Flowers are produced in a long, branched inflorescence, which can reach a length of up to and eventually bends downward to meet the earth. Flowers initially occur in clusters of 1–6 at intervals along the stem (scape) of the inflorescence. Each cluster is at the base of a bract, which ranges from in length, becoming smaller toward the end of the inflorescence. Most of the flowers that are produced initially die off, so that relatively, the inflorescences are sparsely flowered.


title: Chlorophytum comosum

text: Individual flowers are greenish-white, borne on stalks (pedicels) some long. Each flower has six triply veined tepals that are long and slightly hooded or boat-shaped at their tips. The stamens consist of a pollen-producing anther about long with a filament of similar length or slightly longer. The central style is long. Seeds are produced in a capsule, long, on stalks (pedicels) that lengthen to up to .


title: Chlorophytum comosum

text: The inflorescences carry plantlets at the tips of their branches, which eventually droop and touch the soil, developing adventitious roots. The stems (scapes) of the inflorescence are called "stolons" in some sources, but this term is more correctly used for stems that do not bear flowers and have roots at the nodes.


title: Chlorophytum comosum

text: The first formal description of "Chlorophytum comosum" was by the Swedish naturalist Carl Peter Thunberg as "Anthericum comosum" in the 1794 volume of "Prodromus Plantarum Capensium", Thunberg's work on the plants of South Africa. The species was subsequently moved to a number of different genera, including "Phalangium", "Caesia", "Hartwegia" , and "Hollia", before receiving its current placement in "Chlorophytum" by Jacques in 1862.


title: Chlorophytum comosum

text: The species has been confused with "Chlorophytum capense" by some authors, but this is a different species.


title: Chlorophytum comosum

text: There are three described varieties of the species: the autonym "C. comosum" var. "comosum" has strap-shaped narrow leaves and is found along forest margins; "C. comosum" var. "bipindense" has broader, petiolate leaves with stripes on the underside and the inflorescences are 2–3 times the length of the leaves; and "C. comosum" var. "sparsiflorum" also has broader leaves that narrow to the base, and usually lacks a petiole and the striping on the underside of the leaf and the inflorescences are up to two times the length of the leaves. The latter two are rainforest-dwelling taxa that had been described earlier as separate species, but botanists Axel Dalberg Poulsen and Inger Nordal reduced the taxa to varieties of "C. comosum" in 2005.


title: Chlorophytum comosum

text: Delimitation of species boundaries within the genus "Chlorophytum" is reported to be difficult, possibly because of several evolutionary radiations into forest environments that led to morphological aspects that are too similar to reliably distinguish separate species. The evidence given to support this is the widespread distribution of most taxa in the genus and poor seed dispersal, leading to the conclusion of deeper evolutionary divergence among the taxa.


title: Chlorophytum comosum

text: The three described varieties in "C. comosum" could be an example of this convergent evolution of leaf shape among the forest-dwelling varieties from species of disparate origin, leading to the species "C. comosum" being polyphyletic, instead of the traditional view of morphological divergence among the varieties within the species with the assumption of a common origin (monophyly). The widespread "C. comosum" var. "comosum" has slender, near linear leaves that lack a petiole similar to plants found in cultivation and is only found growing at the margins of the rainforest. The two other varieties, "C. comosum" var. "sparsiflorum" and "C. comosum" var. "bipindense", possess petioles and have broader leaves necessary for collecting more light in the shady Guineo-Congolean rainforest. A study published in 2005 used 16 morphological characters and was unable to delimit species boundaries among these three taxa, so they were relegated to varietal status. A follow-up study published in 2008 provided preliminary evidence from phylogenetic analysis of plastid and nuclear DNA sequences that established samples from disparate collections sites identified as "C. comosum" were polyphyletic.


title: Chlorophytum comosum

text: "Chlorophytum comosum" has a widespread native distribution in Africa, being native to six of the ten World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions regions of Africa (West Tropical Africa, West-Central Tropical Africa, Northeast Tropical Africa, East Tropical Africa, South Tropical Africa, and Southern Africa).


title: Chlorophytum comosum

text: "Chlorophytum comosum" is a popular houseplant. The species with all-green leaves forms only a small proportion of plants sold. More common are two variegated cultivars:


title: Chlorophytum comosum

text: Propagating "Chlorophytum comosum" commonly occurs through potting the plantlets, informally referred to as 'spiderettes', or 'pups', directly into potting soil attached to the main plant or cutting the running stems and then potting them.


title: Chlorophytum comosum

text: Spider plants are easy to grow, being able to thrive in a wide range of conditions. They will tolerate temperatures down to , but grow best at temperatures between and . Plants can be damaged by high fluoride or boron levels.


title: Chlorophytum comosum

text: The NASA Clean Air Study determined that this plant was effective at removing common household air toxins formaldehyde and xylene.


title: Chlorophytum comosum

text: Spider plants have been shown to reduce indoor air pollution in the form of formaldehyde, and approximately 70 plants would neutralize the formaldehyde released by materials in a representative (ca. ) energy-efficient house, assuming each plant occupies a pot.


title: Two-factor theory

text: The two-factor theory (also known as Herzberg's motivation-hygiene theory and dual-factor theory) states that there are certain factors in the workplace that cause job satisfaction while a separate set of factors cause dissatisfaction, all of which act independently of each other. It was developed by psychologist Frederick Herzberg.


title: Two-factor theory

text: Feelings, attitudes and their connection with industrial mental health are related to Abraham Maslow's theory of motivation. His findings have had a considerable theoretical, as well as a practical, influence on attitudes toward administration. According to Herzberg, individuals are not content with the satisfaction of lower-order needs at work; for example, those needs associated with minimum salary levels or safe and pleasant working conditions. Rather, individuals look for the gratification of higher-level psychological needs having to do with achievement, recognition, responsibility, advancement, and the nature of the work itself. This appears to parallel Maslow's theory of a need hierarchy. However, Herzberg added a new dimension to this theory by proposing a two-factor model of motivation, based on the notion that the presence of one set of job characteristics or incentives leads to worker "satisfaction" at work, while another and separate set of job characteristics leads to "dissatisfaction" at work. Thus, satisfaction and dissatisfaction are not on a continuum with one increasing as the other diminishes, but are independent phenomena. This theory suggests that to improve job attitudes and productivity, administrators must recognize and attend to both sets of characteristics and not assume that an increase in satisfaction leads to decrease in dissatisfaction.


title: Two-factor theory

text: The two-factor theory developed from data collected by Herzberg from interviews with 203 engineers and accountants in the Pittsburgh area, chosen because of their professions' growing importance in the business world. Regarding the collection process:


title: Two-factor theory

text: From analyzing these interviews, he found that job characteristics related to what an individual "does" — that is, to the nature of the work one performs — apparently have the capacity to gratify such needs as achievement, competency, status, personal worth, and self-realization, thus making him happy and satisfied. However, the "absence" of such gratifying job characteristics does not appear to lead to unhappiness and dissatisfaction. Instead, dissatisfaction results from unfavorable assessments of such job-related factors as company policies, supervision, technical problems, salary, interpersonal relations on the job, and working conditions. Thus, if management wishes to increase satisfaction on the job, it should be concerned with the nature of the work itself — the opportunities it presents for gaining status, assuming responsibility, and for achieving self-realization. If, on the other hand, management wishes to reduce dissatisfaction, then it must focus on the workplace environment — policies, procedures, supervision, and working conditions. If management is equally concerned with both, then managers must give attention to both sets of job factors.


title: Two-factor theory

text: According to Herzberg, the absence of hygiene factors causes dissatisfaction among employees in the workplace. However, their presence does not ensure satisfaction entirely. There are several ways that this can be done but some of the most important ways to decrease dissatisfaction would be to pay reasonable wages, ensure employees job security, and to create a positive culture in the workplace. Herzberg considered the following hygiene factors from highest to lowest importance: company policy, supervision, employee's relationship with their boss, work conditions, salary, and relationships with peers. Eliminating dissatisfaction is only one half of the task of the two factor theory. The other half would be to increase satisfaction in the workplace. This can be done by improving on motivating factors. Motivation factors are needed to motivate an employee to higher performance. Herzberg also further classified our actions and how and why we do them, for example, if you perform a work related action because you "have" to then that is classed as "movement", but if you perform a work related action because you "want" to then that is classed as "motivation". Herzberg thought it was important to eliminate job dissatisfaction before going onto creating conditions for job satisfaction because it would work against each other. Satisfaction of the employees can have multiple positive effects for the organization. For example, when the employees share their knowledge, they satisfy their social needs and gain cohesion within the group. Also, sharing knowledge helps others to create new knowledge, which also can reinforce the motivating factors. By sharing knowledge, the employees feel satisfied and with the new knowledge it can increase the organizations innovation activities.


title: Two-factor theory

text: Unlike Maslow, who offered little data to support his ideas, Herzberg and others have presented considerable empirical evidence to confirm the motivation-hygiene theory, although their work has been criticized on methodological grounds.


title: Two-factor theory

text: Herzberg's theory concentrates on the importance of internal job factors as motivating forces for employees. He designed it to increase job enrichment for employees. Herzberg wanted to create the opportunity for employees to take part in planning, performing, and evaluating their work. He suggested to do this by:


title: Two-factor theory

text: In 1968 Herzberg stated that his two-factor theory study had already been replicated 16 times in a wide variety of populations including some in Communist countries, and corroborated with studies using different procedures that agreed with his original findings regarding intrinsic employee motivation making it one of the most widely replicated studies on job attitudes.


title: Two-factor theory

text: One such replication was done by George Hines and published in December 1973 in the Journal of Applied Psychology. Hines tested Herzberg's two-factor motivation theory in New Zealand, using ratings of 12 job factors and overall job satisfaction obtained from 218 middle managers and 196 salaried employees. Contrary to dichotomous motivator-hygiene predictions, supervision and interpersonal relationships were ranked highly by those with high job satisfaction, and there was strong agreement between satisfied managers and salaried employees in the relative importance of job factors. Findings are interpreted in terms of social and employment conditions in New Zealand.


title: Two-factor theory

text: While the Motivator-Hygiene concept is still well regarded, satisfaction and dissatisfaction are generally no longer considered to exist on separate scales. The separation of satisfaction and dissatisfaction has been shown to be an artifact of the critical incident technique (CIT) used by Herzberg to record events. Furthermore, it has been noted the theory does not allow for individual differences, such as particular personality traits, which would affect individuals' unique responses to motivating or hygiene factors.


title: Two-factor theory

text: A number of behavioral scientists have pointed to inadequacies in the need for hierarchy and motivation-hygiene theories. The most basic is the criticism that both of these theories contain the relatively explicit assumption that happy and satisfied workers produce more, even though this might not be the case. For example, if playing a better game of golf is the means chosen to satisfy one's need for recognition, then one will find ways to play and think about golf more often, perhaps resulting in a lower output on the job due to a lower amount of focus.. However, despite the effect on output, employees' job satisfaction (for example, measured by Herzberg's theory) is important for retention, which is critical in professions that experience shortages.


title: Two-factor theory

text: Another problem however is that these and other statistical theories are concerned with explaining "average" behavior, despite considerable differences between individuals that may impact one's motivational factors. For instance, in their pursuit of status a person might take a balanced view and strive to pursue several behavioral paths in an effort to achieve a combination of personal status objectives.


title: Two-factor theory

text: In other words, an individual's expectation or estimated probability that a given behavior will bring a valued outcome determines their choice of means and the effort they will devote to these means. In effect, this diagram of expectancy depicts an employee asking themselves the question posed by one investigator, ""How much payoff is there for me toward attaining a personal goal while expending so much effort toward the achievement of an assigned organizational objective?"" The expectancy theory by Victor Vroom also provides a framework for motivation based on expectations.


title: Two-factor theory

text: This approach to the study and understanding of motivation would appear to have certain conceptual advantages over other theories: First, unlike Maslow's and Herzberg's theories, it is capable of handling individual differences. Second, its focus is toward the present and the future, in contrast to drive theory, which emphasizes past learning. Third, it specifically correlates behavior to a goal and thus eliminates the problem of assumed relationships, such as between motivation and performance. Fourth, it relates motivation to ability: Performance = Motivation*Ability.


title: Two-factor theory

text: That said, a study by the Gallup Organization, as detailed in the book "First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do" by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman, appears to provide strong support for Herzberg's division of satisfaction and dissatisfaction onto two separate scales. In this book, the authors discuss how the study identified twelve questions that provide a framework for determining high-performing individuals and organizations. These twelve questions align squarely with Herzberg's motivation factors, while hygiene factors were determined to have little effect on motivating high performance.


title: Greggs

text: Greggs plc is a British bakery chain. It specialises in savoury products such as bakes, sausage rolls, sandwiches and sweet items including doughnuts and vanilla slices. It is headquartered in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange, and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. Originally a high street chain, it has since entered the convenience and drive-thru markets, this achieved mainly through its partnership with EG Group.


title: Greggs

text: Greggs was founded by John Gregg as a Tyneside bakery in 1939. It opened its first shop in Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne in 1951. When Gregg died in 1964, the bakery was taken over by his son, Ian, with his brother Colin also contributing. Major expansion began soon after, including the acquisitions of other bakeries such as Glasgow-based Rutherglen in 1972, Leeds-based Thurston's in 1974, Broomfields the Bakers, London, Bowketts the Bakers in Kent, Tooks the Bakers (East Anglia) and Price's (Manchester) in 1976.


title: Greggs

text: In 1994, the company acquired the Bakers Oven chain of bakers' shops from Allied Bakeries. In 1999, Greggs rebranded its one hundred Braggs shops as Greggs of the Midlands, and its Leeds-based Thurston chain as Greggs of Yorkshire.


title: Greggs

text: In 2008, Greggs rebranded its 165 Bakers Oven shops as Greggs so they could benefit from its national advertising campaign. The company opened its 1,500th premises, in York, in 2011.


title: Greggs

text: In 2013, Greggs replaced its CEO Ken McMeikan with Punch Taverns CEO Roger Whiteside. McMeikan left the firm for Brake Bros.


title: Greggs

text: In 2013, Greggs began to transition out of the bakery market, reasoning that it couldn't compete with supermarkets on that front. Instead, the company switched to focusing solely on "food on the go" after discovering that 80% of its business was in that market. Many of its stores now open earlier and close later, in order to target those going to and coming back from work, expanding its breakfast menu, and discontinuing the sale of bread and scones in many of its stores.


title: Greggs

text: In 2014, the company requested help from Google when an image of the Greggs logo, altered to include a parodic fake slogan referring to the firm's customers as "scum", was presented in Google search results as the actual company logo – falling afoul of imperfections in the "Google algorithm". The firm's lighthearted social media response, which included a tweet sent to Google's official Twitter account offering doughnuts in exchange for fixing the problem, was noted as a "lesson in Twitter crisis management".


title: Greggs

text: In 2016, Greggs moved their head office from Jesmond, Newcastle upon Tyne to Quorum Business Park, Longbenton, North Tyneside. The same year, Colin Greggs was accused of preying upon children partly using his philanthropic role within the company, and convicted in March 2017 on nine counts of indecent assault and imprisoned until at least 2030.


title: Greggs

text: In 2022, Greggs opened its largest location in a Primark store in Birmingham. A queue formed outside the shop 30 minutes before the grand opening, with some people running under the barriers as they were opened. A collaborative clothing range, "Greggs X Primark", was also released.


title: Greggs

text: In response to the ongoing disruption, Greggs was forced to close all stores on 24 March 2020, furloughing most of its employees. On 24 April 2020, it was decided Greggs were carrying out a controlled trial of 20 stores in Newcastle with regard to safety measures taken in response to COVID-19. This was later called off; due to the amount of press coverage it was deemed dangerous and trials were carried out behind closed doors at undisclosed locations throughout the UK.


title: Greggs

text: After a successful trial Greggs announced it was opening 800 shops around 15 June 2020, with all the new measures in place which include perspex screens, social distancing markers and door staff. The company has also said reduced trading hours and a reduced menu will be in place until further notice. Greggs opened all shops with the new measures near the end of July 2020. Some food items were reintroduced to the menu in September 2020. In November 2020, the company announced it would be cutting 820 jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic that affected the company's sales.


title: Greggs

text: In 2019, the chain had over 2,000 outlets, nine regional bakeries that make products local to the area, like Scotch Pie in Scotland, and also employed 22,000 staff. Some items are only sold in particular regions. The company also sells some of its products – such as bakes, melts and pasties – through the supermarket chain Iceland.


title: Greggs

text: In October 2016, Greggs announced that it would be launching a delivery service on a trial basis, with plans to implement it nationwide if the trial proved to be successful. The initial trial was held in Cobalt Business Park in North Tyneside, and the next trial phase encompassed the city's other 29 Greggs stores.


title: Greggs

text: In June 2017, Greggs opened their first Drive-through, at Irlam Gateway Service Station in Salford. Three further outlets have since opened in Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Blackburn and Newcastle. Greggs are trialing certain drive-thru stores being open 24 hours a day.


title: Greggs

text: In September 2011, Greggs opened its first Greggs Moment, a 104-seater coffee shop, in its home town of Newcastle on Northumberland Street. This store was then followed by one in the nearby MetroCentre in August 2012, with five outlets in operation by February 2013. In August 2013, the company announced that it would discontinue its attempt to enter the coffee market, and instead focus on selling coffee from its existing stores.


title: Greggs

text: Greggs also has a small number of outlet shops in Northern and Central England and one in Wales, selling unsold stock, mis-shapes and factory rejects at a discounted price, under the name Greggs Outlet. They were started in 1972 in Arthur's Hill, Newcastle under the name of the Greggs ‘Seconds’ shop.


title: Greggs

text: The company's best selling product is the sausage roll, selling more than two million units weekly. Greggs sell sausage rolls freshly baked in-store individually, or in a pre-baked cold pack of four.


title: Greggs

text: Greggs launched a vegan sausage roll in January 2019, made with vegan Quorn. Greggs have a partnership with the Quorn company. Following the release of the vegan sausage roll Greggs had very strong core growth throughout the UK, "paving the way for other fast food chains to add a vegan option to their menus." In January 2020 it was announced that the chain would give 25,000 employees a bonus of up to £300 each (totalling £7m) after the vegan sausage roll boosted sales and profits.


title: Greggs

text: Greggs offer a variety of breakfast items which are served until 11 am. Bacon rolls and porridge were introduced to their stores in 2010 alongside continental items including croissants and pains au chocolat.


title: Greggs

text: Greggs regularly introduces seasonal menus which include new product lines. In 2015, they began offering chicken curry soup and peri peri chicken flatbread as part of an autumn line.


title: Greggs

text: This line offers a variety of pasta dishes, sandwiches, salads and soups and includes both meat-free products and products containing meat. The range also includes low fat snacks such as yoghurt pots and pots of fruit, and light drinks such as lemonade and fruit juices.


title: Greggs

text: The first gluten free products were launched with the autumn/winter menu in 2016 and included a range of cakes, brownies and crispy rolls. Their Halloween product line includes fairy buns, cakes, biscuits, lattices and gingerbread kits.


title: Greggs

text: Their Christmas menu includes bakes, rolls, soups, toasties, baguettes, biscuits, muffins, buns and mince pies.


title: Greggs

text: Greggs produce a variety of sandwiches which are all freshly prepared in-store every day and available to purchase hot or cold.


title: Greggs

text: Greggs' soups are part of the company's healthy eating menu. The soups are seasonal, the different types served throughout the year including chicken curry soup, spiced beef and rice soup, and cream of tomato soup. In Channel 4's "Tricks Of The Restaurant Trade", it was discovered that Greggs' cream of tomato soup contained much more sugar than was disclosed in its nutritional information.


title: Greggs

text: While a 300g portion was said to contain 5.7g of sugar, that amount of soup was found to contain 25.4g when tested: almost five times the amount declared on the package. In response, Greggs said that they would "review the methodology used to determine nutritional data and would reformulate the recipe if required".


title: Greggs

text: Greggs previously sold a macaroni pie, which was a water crust pastry case filled with macaroni pasta and a cream cheese sauce. It was announced in June 2015 that the company would be discontinuing the pie from its Scottish menu as Greggs was looking to "refresh" the pastries they offered.


title: Greggs

text: The news of the removal of the pie angered many customers in Scotland, and campaigns soon began calling for Greggs to keep the pie. A huge campaign started on social media with Scots pleading with Greggs to #savethepie. A petition was started which gained nearly 2,000 supporters, and the topic of the discontinuing of the pie was discussed in the Scottish Parliament.


title: Greggs

text: In November 2015, Greggs decided to discontinue selling bread, with the company stating that the products were not selling as well as their sandwiches and other products. The company also mentioned that bread was still being sold in a few stores and that they were now focusing on "food on the go" products as customer habits were changing. The traditional north east loaf, the Stottie, is still sold in many branches in the north east of England.


title: Greggs

text: In September 2016, in response to rising obesity levels in the United Kingdom, Greggs introduced a range of sourdough pasties which are under four hundred calories. The Balanced Choice Bakes are in Greggs' healthy Balanced Choice range.


title: Greggs

text: In July 2002, American actress and model Milla Jovovich, a fan of the store and its pasties, said that she would be willing to become the "face of Greggs" in a new marketing campaign if the firm approached her. However, no such approach was made.


title: Greggs

text: In March 2012, Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne proposed to simplify the taxing of takeaway food. In the United Kingdom, most food intended to be cooked and eaten at home is zero rated, meaning that businesses do not have to charge their customers the standard VAT on those products.


title: Greggs

text: With the pasty tax, any food besides freshly baked bread which is sold while above room temperature would be subject to the 20% VAT charge with no exception for intended serving temperature. Chairman of the company, Derek Netherton warned that such a tax would lead to "further unemployment, high street closures and reduced investment". Greggs participated in a campaign to reverse this decision, which became known as the "pasty tax" or "Pasty Gate".


title: Greggs

text: An eight part documentary series, called "Greggs: More Than Meats The Pie", which goes behind the scenes of the bakery and all its areas, was broadcast on Sky1 and Sky1 HD in April 2013. Sky revealed the documentary programme's first episode was Sky1's number one original show in April, with a final total of 1.27 million viewers.


title: Nina Arianda

text: Nina Arianda Matijcio (born September 18, 1984) is an American actress. She won the 2012 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her performance as Vanda Jordan in "Venus in Fur," and she was nominated for the 2011 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for portraying Billie Dawn in "Born Yesterday". She stars in Amazon Studios legal series "Goliath" and starred in the biographical film "Stan & Ollie" (2018) as Stan Laurel's wife Ida.


title: Nina Arianda

text: Arianda was born on September 18, 1984 in Manhattan, New York. Her parents were born in Germany to Ukrainian families. She grew up in Clifton, New Jersey, and Heidelberg, Germany. She earned a Bachelor of Arts at Eugene Lang College The New School for Liberal Arts and a Master of Fine Arts at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts Graduate Acting Program in 2009.


title: Nina Arianda

text: Arianda made her Broadway debut in April 2011 in the lead role of Billie Dawn in the Broadway production of "Born Yesterday", with James Belushi and Robert Sean Leonard. She appeared Off-Broadway as Vanda Jourdain in the comedy-drama play "Venus in Fur" in 2010. The play then transferred to the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre on Broadway in early November 2011, and her performance received critical acclaim.


title: Nina Arianda

text: She starred in the Manhattan Theatre Club's production of "Tales From Red Vienna" in 2014. She has appeared in several films including "Win Win", "Tower Heist", "Midnight in Paris", "Rob the Mob", and "The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby". She was cast in January 2015 for "Hannibal" season 3 as Molly, the wife of Will Graham (played by her former Broadway co-star Hugh Dancy).


title: Nina Arianda

text: Arianda starred in "Fool for Love" at the Williamstown Theatre Festival in July 2014 with Sam Rockwell, directed by Daniel Aukin. Arianda and Rockwell reprised their roles on Broadway at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre in 2015. Arianda played Agnes Stark in the film "Florence Foster Jenkins" (2016) and appeared in the film "Stan & Ollie" (2018) as Ida Kitaeva, the wife of comedian Stan Laurel.


title: Nina Arianda

text: Arianda co-stars in the series "Goliath", first released in 2016, as well as in the third and fourth seasons of "Billions".


title: Karaite Judaism

text: Karaite Judaism () or Karaism (, sometimes spelt Karaitism (; "Yahadut Qara'it"); also spelt Qaraite Judaism, Qaraism or Qaraitism) is a Jewish religious movement characterized by the recognition of the written Torah alone as its supreme authority in "halakha" (Jewish religious law) and theology. Karaites believe that all of the divine commandments which were handed down to Moses by God were recorded in the written Torah without any additional Oral Law or explanation. Unlike mainstream Rabbinic Judaism, which considers the Oral Torah, codified in the Talmud and subsequent works, to be authoritative interpretations of the Torah, Karaite Jews do not believe that the written collections of the oral tradition in the Midrash or the Talmud are binding.


title: Karaite Judaism

text: When they read the Torah, Karaites strive to adhere to the plain or most obvious meaning ("peshat") of the text; this is not necessarily the literal meaning of the text, instead, it is the meaning of the text that would have been naturally understood by the ancient Hebrews when the books of the Torah were first written - without the use of the Oral Torah. By contrast, Rabbinic Judaism relies on the legal rulings of the Sanhedrin as they are codified in the Midrash, Talmud, and other sources to indicate the authentic meaning of the Torah. Karaite Judaism holds every interpretation of the Torah to the same scrutiny regardless of its source, and teaches that it is the personal responsibility of every individual Jew to study the Torah, and ultimately decide personally its correct meaning. Karaites may consider arguments made in the Talmud and other works without exalting them above other viewpoints.


title: Karaite Judaism

text: According to Mordecai ben Nissan, the ancestors of the Karaites were a group called "Benei Ṣedeq" during the Second Temple period. Historians have argued over whether Karaism has a direct connection to the Sadducees dating back to the end of the Second Temple period (70 CE) or whether Karaism represents a novel emergence of similar views. Karaites have always maintained that while there are some similarities to the Sadducees due to the rejection of rabbinical authority and the Oral Law, there are major differences.


title: Karaite Judaism

text: According to Rabbi Abraham ibn Daud, in his "Sefer ha-Qabbalah", the Karaite movement crystallized in Baghdad in the Gaonic period ("circa" 7th–9th centuries) under the Abbasid Caliphate in what is now Iraq. This is the view universally accepted among Rabbinic Jews. However, some Arab scholars claim that Karaites were already living in Egypt in the first half of the seventh century, based on a legal document that the Karaite community in Egypt had in its possession until the end of the 19th century, in which the first Islamic governor ordered the leaders of the Rabbinite community against interfering with Karaite practices or the way they celebrate their holidays. It was said to have been stamped by the palm of Amr ibn al-ʿĀṣ as-Sahmī, the first Islamic governor of Egypt (d. 664), and was reportedly dated 20 AH (641 CE).


title: Karaite Judaism

text: At one time, Karaites made up a significant proportion of the Jewish population. In the 21st century, some 30,000–50,000 are thought to reside in Israel, with smaller communities in Turkey, Europe and the United States. Another estimate holds that, of the 50,000 worldwide, more than 40,000 descend from those who made aliyah from Egypt and Iraq to Israel. The largest Karaite community today resides in the Israeli city of Ashdod.


title: Karaite Judaism

text: Arguments among Jewish sects regarding the validity of the Oral Law date back to Hellenistic period, the 2nd and 1st centuries BCE. Accordingly, some scholars trace the origin of Karaism to those who rejected the Talmudic tradition as an innovation. Judah Halevi, an 11th-century Jewish philosopher and rabbi, wrote a defense for Rabbinic Judaism entitled "Kuzari", placing the origins of Karaism in the first and second centuries BCE, during the reign of Alexander Jannaeus ("King Jannai"), king of Judaea from 103 to 76 BCE:


title: Karaite Judaism

text: Abraham Geiger, a 19th-century German scholar who founded Reform Judaism, posited a connection between the Karaites and a remnant of the Sadducees, the 1st-century Jewish sect that followed the Hebrew Bible literally and rejected the Pharisees' notion of an Oral Torah even before it was written. Geiger's view is based on comparison between Karaite and Sadducee "halakha": for example, a minority in Karaite Judaism do not believe in a resurrection of the dead or afterlife, a position also held by the Sadducees. The British theologian John Gill (1767) noted,


title: Karaite Judaism

text: Gill also traces the Karaite sect to the split between the schools of Hillel the Elder and Shammai in 30 BCE.


title: Karaite Judaism

text: American scholar Bernard Revel rejects many of Geiger's proofs in his 1913 published dissertation, "The Karaite Halakah". Revel also points to the many correlations between Karaite halakha and theology and the interpretations of Philo of Alexandria, the 1st-century philosopher and Jewish scholar. He also notes the writings of a 10th-century Karaite who refers to Philo's works, showing that the Karaites made use of Philo's writings in the development of their movement. Later Medieval Karaite commentators did not view Philo in a favorable light. These attitudes show a friction between later Karaite theology and possible connections to Philo's philosophy, which could serve as either a rejection of their origins, rejection of theological positions no longer accepted, or that Philo's philosophy was not entirely used in the founding of the Karaites (although some influences remain possible).


title: Karaite Judaism

text: Early 20th-century scholars Oesterley and Box suggested that Karaism formed in a reaction to the rise of Islam. The new religion recognized Judaism as a fellow monotheistic faith, but claimed that it detracted from its belief by deferring to rabbinical authority.


title: Karaite Judaism

text: Anan ben David (, c. 715 – 795 or 811?) is widely considered to be a major founder of the Karaite movement. His followers were called Ananites; they did not believe the rabbinical oral law was divinely inspired.


title: Karaite Judaism

text: According to a 12th-century Rabbinic account, in approximately 760, Shelomoh ben Ḥisdai II, the Exilarch in Babylon died, and two brothers among his nearest kin, ʻAnan ben David (whose name according to the Rabbinical account was ʻAnan ben Shafaṭ, but was called "ben David" due to his Davidic lineage) and Ḥananyah were next in order of succession. Eventually, Ḥananyah was elected by the rabbis of the Babylonian Jewish colleges (the Geonim) and by the notables of the chief Jewish congregations, and the choice was confirmed by the Caliph of Baghdad.


title: Karaite Judaism

text: A schism may have occurred, with ʻAnan ben David being proclaimed exilarch by his followers. However, not all scholars agree that this event occurred. Leon Nemoy notes, "Natronai, scarcely ninety years after ‘Anan's secession, tells us nothing about his aristocratic (Davidic) descent or about the contest for the office of exilarch which allegedly served as the immediate cause of his apostasy." Nemoy later notes that Natronai — a devout Rabbanite — lived where ʻAnan's activities took place, and that the Karaite sage Jacob Qirqisani never mentioned ʻAnan's purported lineage or candidacy for Exilarch.


title: Karaite Judaism

text: ʻAnan's allowing his followers to proclaim him as Exilarch was considered treason by the Muslim government. He was sentenced to death, but his life was saved by his fellow prisoner, Abu Hanifa, the founder of the madhhab or school of fiqh (Muslim jurisprudence) known as the Hanafi. Ultimately he and his followers were permitted to migrate to Palestine. They erected a synagogue in Jerusalem that continued to be maintained until the time of the Crusades. From this center, the sect diffused thinly over Syria, spread into Egypt, and ultimately reached Southeast Europe.


title: Karaite Judaism

text: Ben David challenged the Rabbinical establishment. Some scholars believe that his followers may have absorbed Jewish Babylonian sects such as the Isunians (followers of Abū ʻĪsā al-Iṣfahānī), Yudghanites, and the remnants of the pre-Talmudic Sadducees and Boethusians. Later, sects such as the Ukbarites emerged separately from the Ananites.


title: Karaite Judaism

text: However, the Isunians, Yudghanites, Ukabarites, and Mishawites all held views that did not accord with those of either the Ananites or the Karaites. Abū ʻĪsā al-Iṣfahānī, who was an illiterate tailor, claimed to be a prophet, prohibited divorce, claimed that all months should have thirty days, believed in Jesus and Muhammad as prophets, and told his followers that they must study the New Testament and the Qur’an. Yudghan was a follower of Abū ʻĪsā al-Iṣfahānī and claimed to be a prophet and the Messiah, saying that the observance of Shabbat and Holy Days was no longer obligatory. Isma‘il al-‘Ukbari believed he was the prophet Elijah, and hated ʻAnan. Mishawayh al-‘Ukbari, who was a disciple of Isma‘il al-‘Ukbari and the founder of the Mishawites, taught his followers to use a purely solar calendar of 364 days and 30-day months, insisting that all the Holy Days and fast days should always occur on fixed days in the week, rather than on fixed days of the months. He further said that Shabbat should be kept from sunrise on Saturday to sunrise on Sunday. Most Ananites and Karaites rejected such beliefs.


title: Karaite Judaism

text: ʻAnan developed his movement's core tenets. His "Sefer HaMiṣwot" ("The Book of the Commandments") was published about 770. He adopted many principles and opinions of other anti-rabbinic forms of Judaism that had previously existed. He took much from the old Sadducees and Essenes, whose remnants still survived, and whose writings—or at least writings ascribed to them—were still in circulation. Thus, for example, these older sects prohibited the burning of any lights and the leaving of one's dwelling on the Sabbath. Unlike the Sadducees, ʻAnan and the Qumran sectaries allowed persons to leave their house, but prohibited leaving one's town or camp. ʻAnan said that one should not leave one's house for frivolous things, but only to go to prayer or to study scripture. The Sadducees required the observation of the new moon to establish the dates of festivals and always held the Shavuot festival on a Sunday.


title: Karaite Judaism

text: In the "Golden Age of Karaism" (900–1100) a large number of Karaite works were produced in all parts of the Muslim world, the most notable being a work penned by Jacob Qirqisani, entitled "Kitāb al-Anwār wal-Marāqib" ("Code of Karaite Law"), which provides valuable information concerning the development of Karaism and throws light also on many questions in Rabbinic Judaism. Karaite Jews were able to obtain autonomy from Rabbinic Judaism in the Muslim world and establish their own institutions. Karaites in the Muslim world also obtained high social positions such as tax collectors, doctors, and clerks, and even received special positions in the Egyptian courts. Karaite scholars were among the most conspicuous practitioners in the philosophical school known as Jewish Kalam.


title: Karaite Judaism

text: According to historian Salo Wittmayer Baron, at one time the number of Jews affiliating with Karaism was as much as 10 percent of world Jewry, and debates between Rabbinist and Karaite leaders were not uncommon.


title: Karaite Judaism

text: Among the staunchest critics of Karaite thought and practice at this time was Saadia Gaon, whose writings brought about a permanent split between some Karaite and Rabbinic communities.


title: Karaite Judaism

text: Egypt had long been a bastion for Karaites and their teachings. According to David ben Solomon ibn Abi Zimra, in one day in Egypt, a great congregation of Karaites became Rabbinical Jews during the time of the Nagid Rabbi Abraham Maimonides, who, in his words, "was not reluctant to receive them."


title: Karaite Judaism

text: During the 19th century, Russian authorities began to differentiate Karaite Jews from Rabbanite Jews, freeing them from various oppressive laws that affected Rabbinic Jews. In the 1830s the Tsarist governor of the Taurida Governorate, Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov, told the Karaite leaders that, even though the Russian Empire liked the idea that the Karaites did not accept the Talmud, they were still Jews and responsible for the crucifixion of Jesus and thus subject to the laws. The leaders, hearing that, devised a ruse by which they could be freed of the oppressive laws and told him that the Karaites had already settled in the Crimea before the death of Jesus. The Tsarist government then said that, if they could prove it, they would be free of the oppressive laws.