title: Andre Gray

text: Gray returned to De Montfort Park in June 2010 and signed a permanent one-year contract with the club. His first goal for the club was a late equaliser in a 2–2 draw with Harrogate Town on 4 September. After two further goals that month in defeats to Guiseley and Eastwood Town, Gray's goalscoring form dried up. His form returned in late March 2011, when he scored a brace in a 4–0 drubbing of Redditch United. He scored four goals in a 7–2 thrashing of Solihull Moors on 23 April, before ending the 2010–11 season having made 35 appearances and scored 14 goals.


title: Andre Gray

text: Gray remained with Hinckley for the 2011–12 season and showed fine form, with his goalscoring exploits firing the Knitters to an FA Cup first round proper match versus Conference Premier club Tamworth on 12 November 2011. He scored the opening goal in the 2–2 draw, but couldn't find the net in the replay, resulting in a 1–0 defeat. Gray also helped Hinckley reach the second round proper of the FA Trophy, scoring a late winner against Conference Premier club Wrexham in the first round, though he was unable to find the net against Luton Town in the following round, to whom they were defeated 3–0 in a replay. His exploits garnered him attention from Championship clubs. Gray made 45 appearances and scored 23 goals during the 2011–12 season. Gray departed Hinckley in the summer of 2012, having made 85 appearances and scored 37 goals across his two spells with the club. Gray looked back on his years playing part-time with Hinckley as the point at which he regained his focus, saying "as long as I still had a job and was getting paid, it was OK. Until I started playing and realised that full-time football was the only thing I wanted to do, it kicked me into gear. Being bored all day, waiting to go training, made me really want it".


title: Andre Gray

text: On 22 March 2012, Gray signed for Conference Premier club Luton Town on loan until the end of the 2011–12 season with a view to a permanent move, having impressed the club's backroom staff with his performances against the club in the FA Trophy. Going straight into the starting lineup, he scored on his debut in a 1–1 draw with Grimsby Town on 24 March and hit a goal in each of his next matches against York City, Braintree Town and Hayes & Yeading United. This meant that Gray became the only player in Luton Town history to have scored in each of his first four matches for the club. He scored his fifth goal in a 2–0 win over champions Fleetwood Town in the last match of the season to secure Luton a fifth-place finish in the league and the last available remaining play-off spot. Gray scored the opening goal in the play-off semi-final first leg at home to Wrexham, which Luton won 3–2 on aggregate to set up a final against York City at Wembley Stadium. Luton lost the match 2–1, despite Gray scoring the opening goal after just 74 seconds. In total, he scored seven goals in 12 appearances during his loan spell.


title: Andre Gray

text: The day after the play-off final defeat, Gray signed a two-year professional contract with Luton for a fee of £30,000. Beginning the 2012–13 season in a substitute role, Gray scored his first goal of the campaign in a 4–1 win over Macclesfield Town on 1 September 2012 as he broke back into the starting lineup. Gray's performance in a 2–0 FA Cup fourth qualifying round victory over Cambridge United in late October saw him win the FA Cup Player of the Round award. On 1 December, he helped the Hatters into the third round proper of the FA Cup, scoring the opener in a 2–1 second round victory over Dorchester Town. Luton were drawn against Gray's hometown club Wolverhampton Wanderers in the third round and he played 89 minutes of the 1–0 giant killing on 5 January 2013. On 14 January, following a run of ten matches in which he scored eight goals, Gray signed a new two-and-a-half-year contract, which would keep him at Kenilworth Road until June 2015. He played 75 minutes of Luton's shock 1–0 FA Cup fourth round giant killing of Norwich City on 26 January, but the Hatters' run was stopped by Millwall in the fifth round, who ran out 3–0 victors. Gray rounded out the 2012–13 season with a run of six goals in six matches, which included two braces in the Hatters' final two matches of the season. Gray made 54 appearances and scored 20 goals in a season which saw Luton finish two places outside the play-offs.


title: Andre Gray

text: Gray was primarily used as an impact substitute during the beginning of the 2013–14 season, with new signing Mark Cullen preferred in a starting role by new Luton manager John Still. He scored his first goal of the season on 24 September 2013, the club's eleventh league match, in a 4–0 victory over Woking. He then went on a goalscoring run and reclaimed his place in the team, scoring six goals in five matches, culminating with a hat-trick in a 4–1 victory over Hyde on 12 October. A run of 11 goals in 10 matches from November through to January helped the Hatters to the top of the Conference Premier table. Gray confirmed he had no intention of leaving the club midway through the season, stating that it would be "stupid" to with the club having a realistic chance of promotion back to the Football League and he instructed his agent to reject any approaches. After scoring a further seven goals in four matches in February, Gray was named as the Conference Premier Player of the Month. In total, Gray scored 30 goals in 45 appearances during the 2013–14 season, and won the first silverware of his career, as Luton were promoted back to the Football League as Conference Premier champions. He was recognised by the club for his performances by winning the Young Player of the Season award.<ref name="Awards Night 2013/14"></ref> Gray was the leading scorer in the Conference Premier (for which he won the league's Golden Boot award) and he was also named in the Conference Premier Team of the Season. He was the subject of reported transfer interest from League One neighbours Milton Keynes Dons in May 2014, but the Dons baulked at his £300,000 price tag. Gray departed the Hatters in late June 2014, having made 111 appearances and scored 57 goals during his time at Kenilworth Road.


title: Andre Gray

text: On 27 June 2014, Gray signed a three-year deal at Championship club Brentford for an undisclosed fee and was given the number 19 shirt. After joining, he said "the fact that the manager wanted me was a big part in selling me on Brentford. They had a vision of how they wanted me to play and also they have a vision for this club. As soon as Brentford came along I knew it was a good opportunity for me". After scoring in friendlies versus Barnet and Nice in July 2014, Gray made his competitive debut for the club on the opening day of the 2014–15 season against Charlton Athletic, making the first Football League start of his career. He lasted 67 minutes of the 1–1 draw before being replaced by fellow new signing Nick Proschwitz. Gray scored his first competitive goal for the club in the following match, a 6–6 draw with Dagenham & Redbridge in the League Cup first round, which Brentford won 4–2 in a penalty shoot-out. He scored the first Football League goal of his career on the stroke of half-time in a 2–0 win over Rotherham United on 30 August.


title: Andre Gray

text: After a long goalless run, Gray regained form in November, scoring five goals in four of five successive wins and receiving the Championship Player of the Month award. He also earned a place in the Football League Team of the Week for his goalscoring performances in wins over Nottingham Forest and Millwall in mid-November. Gray's goal in a 3–2 win over Cardiff City on 20 December was the last of a run of seven goals in eight matches. A sparse goal return in the early months of 2015 saw manager Mark Warburton drop Gray to the bench in favour of Chris Long for the visit of Huddersfield Town to Griffin Park on 3 March. He quickly regained his starting berth and finished the regular season with four goals in his last 10 appearances, helping Brentford to fifth position and a matchup with Middlesbrough in the play-off semi-finals. He scored in the first leg, but a successful first full league season ended after a 5–1 aggregate defeat. Gray made 50 appearances and scored 18 goals during the 2014–15 season.


title: Andre Gray

text: Amidst three transfer bids from Hull City, Gray's two goals in his first two appearances of the 2015–16 season prompted Brentford to offer him a new, improved contract, but he left the club on 21 August 2015. Gray finished his time at Griffin Park having scored 20 goals in 52 appearances and departed for a club-record fee.


title: Andre Gray

text: On 21 August 2015, Gray joined Championship club Burnley on a three-year contract for an undisclosed fee – believed to be a club-record £6 million deal – double the previous record jointly held by George Boyd and Steven Fletcher. Gray signed on the eve of Brentford's Championship clash at Turf Moor but wasn't eligible to make his debut against his former club, having signed too late.


title: Andre Gray

text: Gray's former club Luton Town revealed their financial windfall after the striker's transfer to Burnley. A club statement read: "We are guaranteed to receive a shade over £1.1 million from the fee which will be spread over three seasons; an initial figure approaching £300,000 followed by two of just over £400,000 each".


title: Andre Gray

text: On 29 August 2015, Gray made his Burnley debut in a 2–1 away victory over Bristol City. He followed up his debut by scoring his first goal for the club in second half stoppage time to complete a 3–1 home win over Sheffield Wednesday two weeks later. Gray's goalscoring run of eight goals in eight matches during October and November helped Burnley keep pace with the league leaders. A further seven goals in nine matches from late December to early February, including a hat-trick in a 4–0 win over Bristol City increased his goalscoring tally to 15, as Burnley chased the automatic promotion positions in the Championship table. Gray scored eight goals in Burnley's remaining matches to help them reach the Championship summit, including one on the final day of the 2015–16 season as Burnley secured the Championship title after a 3–0 away win over Charlton Athletic. During this time, Gray was named Championship Player of the Year and won the Golden Boot award after finishing as Championship top scorer with 25 goals, including the two he scored in his appearances for Brentford.


title: Andre Gray

text: Gray made his Premier League debut on the opening day of the 2016–17 season in a 1–0 home defeat to Swansea City. One week later, he followed up his Premier League debut by scoring his first Premier League goal in a 2–0 home win over Liverpool. Gray scored his first Premier League hat-trick in a 4–1 victory over Sunderland on 31 December 2016 to become the first Burnley player to score a Premier League hat-trick and the first Burnley player to score a top flight hat-trick since Peter Noble in 1975. Gray finished the 2016–17 season with 36 appearances and 10 goals, helping Burnley to finish 16th in the Premier League.


title: Andre Gray

text: On 9 August 2017, Gray signed for Premier League club Watford on a five-year contract for an undisclosed club record fee, after he rejected the offer of a new contract at Burnley, having entered the final year of his contract. He made his debut for Watford three days later as a 63rd-minute substitute for Stefano Okaka in a 3–3 home draw with Liverpool and scored his first goal on 23 September in a 2–1 victory away to Swansea City. Gray finished his first season with five goals in 33 appearances, competing with Richarlison and Troy Deeney for a starting position. Gray made 34 appearances and scored nine goals in 2018–19.


title: Andre Gray

text: On 31 August 2021, Gray joined Championship club Queens Park Rangers on a season-long loan. He scored on his debut for QPR in a 3–3 draw with Reading on 11 September 2021.


title: Andre Gray

text: On 3 July 2022, Gray moved abroad for the first time in his career, signing a four-year contract with Super League Greece club Aris.


title: Andre Gray

text: Born in England, Gray is of Jamaican descent and is eligible to represent either country internationally. Gray's goalscoring record for Luton in the final months of the 2011–12 season raised the attention of the England C team and he was named in the squad for an International Challenge Trophy match against Russia U23 in June 2012. He made his debut in a 4–0 defeat, playing the full 90 minutes. He was later called into the squad to face Belgium U23 in September 2012. He came on as a half-time substitute for Stephen Brogan and scored his first international goal with the winner in a 2–1 victory. The win saw England C qualify for the semi-final of the International Challenge Trophy. He played in the semi-final on 5 February 2013 against Turkey B, which England C lost 1–0. Gray captained England C in the second half of a 6–1 friendly win over Bermuda on 5 June 2013, scoring the team's sixth goal. He appeared again in a 2–2 friendly draw with Czech Republic U21 in November 2013, starting the match and lasting 70 minutes before being replaced by Dan Fitchett. Gray played in a friendly against Jordan U23 at the King Abdullah II Stadium in Amman on 4 March 2014, starting in a 1–0 victory and was replaced by Dan Fitchett at half-time. Gray's return to the Football League in June 2014 meant that he was no longer eligible for England C. He made six appearances and scored two goals for the team.


title: Andre Gray

text: In March 2021, Gray was one of six English-born players to receive their first call-up to the Jamaica national team. On 25 March 2021, Gray made his debut for Jamaica against the United States.


title: Andre Gray

text: Gray was born in Wolverhampton, West Midlands. He was introduced to football by his grandfather and suffered heartbreak at 13-years-old when his grandfather died. Acting as a mentor and father figure for his younger half-brother Cody, Gray said "I know what my grandad wants me to do and that's look after my family. It's driving me to work harder". He is an Arsenal supporter. Gray has a four-inch scar on his left cheek having been stabbed in the face in Wolverhampton in a gang-related incident in 2011. He spoke in May 2015 of having started to grow out of the gang lifestyle around the time of the incident and credited his mother, close friends and Luton Town for turning his life around.


title: Andre Gray

text: In May 2016, Gray began a relationship with Leigh-Anne Pinnock of the pop group Little Mix. On 28 May 2020, Gray proposed to Pinnock on their four-year anniversary. They announced Pinnock's pregnancy in May 2021, and she gave birth to twins on 16 August 2021.


title: Andre Gray

text: On 23 August 2016, Gray was charged with misconduct by the FA after a series of homophobic tweets he posted on Twitter in 2012 came to light. Four days later, it was reported that the FA were also investigating another tweet posted by Gray in 2014 which included a derogatory racial term. On 23 September, Gray was suspended for four matches and fined £25,000.


title: Sichuan cuisine

text: Sichuan cuisine, alternatively romanized as Szechwan cuisine or Szechuan cuisine (, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), is a style of Chinese cuisine originating from Sichuan Province. It has bold flavours, particularly the pungency and spiciness resulting from liberal use of garlic and chili peppers, as well as the unique flavour of Sichuan pepper. Some examples are Kung Pao chicken and Yuxiang shredded pork. There are many local variations within Sichuan Province and the neighbouring Chongqing Municipality, which was part of Sichuan Province until 1997. Four sub-styles of Sichuan cuisine include Chongqing, Chengdu, Zigong and Buddhist vegetarian style.


title: Sichuan cuisine

text: UNESCO declared Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province, to be a city of gastronomy in 2011 to recognise the sophistication of its cooking.


title: Sichuan cuisine

text: Sichuan in the Middle Ages welcomed Middle Eastern crops, such as broad beans, sesame and walnuts. Since the 16th century, the list of major crops in Sichuan has even been lengthened by New World newcomers. The characteristic chili pepper came from Mexico, but probably overland from India or by river from Macau, complementing the traditional Sichuan peppercorn (). Other newcomers from the New World included maize (corn), which largely replaced millet; white potatoes introduced by Catholic missions; and sweet potatoes. The population of Sichuan was cut by perhaps three quarters in the wars from the Ming dynasty to the Qing dynasty. Settlers from the adjacent Hunan Province brought their cooking styles with them.


title: Sichuan cuisine

text: Sichuan is colloquially known as the "heavenly country" due to its abundance of food and natural resources. One ancient Chinese account declared that the "people of Sichuan uphold good flavour, and they are fond of hot and spicy taste." Most Sichuan dishes are spicy, although a typical meal includes non-spicy dishes to cool the palate. Sichuan cuisine is composed of seven basic flavours: sour, pungent, hot, sweet, bitter, aromatic and salty. Sichuan food is divided into five different types: sumptuous banquet, ordinary banquet, popularised food, household-style food and snacks. Milder versions of Sichuan dishes remain a staple of American Chinese cuisine.


title: Sichuan cuisine

text: The superior natural resources of Sichuan Province provided plenty natural resources for the development of cooking. The flow of Yangtze river (the third longest river in the world and the longest river in China) through Sichuan Province sat the fundamental food materials, spices, and water resources.


title: Sichuan cuisine

text: The complex topography of Sichuan Province, including its mountains, hills, plains, plateaus and the Sichuan Basin, has shaped its food customs with versatile and distinct ingredients.


title: Sichuan cuisine

text: Abundant rice and vegetables are produced from the fertile Sichuan Basin, whereas a wide variety of herbs, mushrooms and other fungi prosper in the highland regions. Pork is overwhelmingly the most common type of meat consumed. Beef is somewhat more common in Sichuan cuisine than it is in other Chinese cuisines, perhaps due to the prevalence of oxen in the region. Sichuan cuisine also uses various bovine and porcine organs as ingredients, such as intestine, arteries, head, tongue, skin and liver, in addition to other commonly used portions of the meat. Rabbit meat is also much more popular in Sichuan than elsewhere in China. It is estimated that the Sichuan Basin and Chongqing area are responsible for about 70 percent of China's total rabbit meat consumption. Yoghurt, which probably spread from India through Tibet in medieval times, is consumed among the Han Chinese. This is an unusual custom in other parts of the country. The salt produced from Sichuan salt springs and wells, unlike sea salt, does not contain iodine, which led to goiter problems before the 20th century.


title: Sichuan cuisine

text: Sichuan cuisine often contains food preserved through pickling, salting and drying. Preserved dishes are generally served as spicy dishes with heavy application of chili oil.


title: Sichuan cuisine

text: The most unique and important spice in Sichuan cuisine is the Sichuan pepper (). Sichuan peppercorn has an intense fragrant, citrus-like flavour and produces a "tingly-numbing" () sensation in the mouth. Other commonly used spices in Sichuan cuisine are garlic, chili peppers, ginger and star anise.


title: Sichuan cuisine

text: Sichuan hotpot, the most famous Chinese hotpot, is one of the representative dishes in Sichuan cuisine and famous for its numb and spicy taste.


title: Sichuan cuisine

text: Broad bean chili paste () is one of the most important seasonings. It is an essential component to famous dishes such as Mapo tofu and double-cooked pork slices. Sichuan cuisine is the origin of several prominent sauces/flavours widely used in modern Chinese cuisine, including:


title: Sichuan cuisine

text: Other examples of mixed flavor including spicy and hot ("Mala)," fish flavor ("Yuxiang"), hot and sour, the five spices ("Wuxiang;" 五香), ginger juice, mashed garlic, sweet and sour, spice salt ("Jiaoyan"; 椒盐), dried tangerine or orange peel ("Chenpi"; 陈皮), burnt chili, pot-stewed fowl ("Lu"; 卤味), odd flavor ("Guaiwei"; 怪味), and other recombinations of these seasonings.


title: Sichuan cuisine

text: Common preparation techniques in Sichuan cuisine include stir frying, steaming and braising, but a complete list would include more than 20 distinct techniques.


title: VRChat

text: VRChat is an online virtual world platform created by Graham Gaylor and Jesse Joudrey and operated by VRChat, Inc. The platform allows users to interact with others with user-created 3D avatars and worlds. "VRChat" is designed primarily for use with virtual reality headsets, such as the Oculus Rift and Oculus Quest series, SteamVR headsets (such as HTC Vive), and Windows Mixed Reality, but is also usable without VR in a "desktop" mode designed for either a mouse and keyboard or gamepad.


title: VRChat

text: "VRChat" was first released as a Windows application for the Oculus Rift DK1 prototype on January 16, 2014, and was later released to the Steam early access program on February 1, 2017.


title: VRChat

text: "VRChat"s gameplay is similar to that of games such as "Second Life" and "Habbo Hotel". The game is made up of thousands of connected worlds, in which they can interact with each other through virtual avatars. Avatars and worlds are created and uploaded by its users, which require technical know-how. A software development kit for Unity released alongside the game provides mechanisms for creating and uploading. Player avatars are capable of supporting lip syncing, eye tracking, and blinking, in addition to mimicking head and hand motion. Trends and variations of avatars spread through the community like memes, and avatars themselves are sold on places like booth.pm or given for free.


title: VRChat

text: "VRChat" is also capable of running in "desktop mode" without a VR headset, which is controlled using either a mouse and keyboard, or a gamepad. Some content has limitations in desktop mode, such as the inability to freely move an avatar's limbs, or perform interactions that require more than one hand.


title: VRChat

text: In 2020, a new visual programming language was introduced known as "Udon", which uses a node graph system. While still considered alpha software, it became usable on publicly-accessible worlds beginning in April 2020. A third-party compiler known as "UdonSharp" was developed to allow world scripts to be written in C#. In 2022, support for the Open Sound Control (OSC) protocol was added for more advanced interactions with external software and devices.


title: VRChat

text: Users of "VRChat" are classified into various "trust levels", based on factors such as their use of the platform. All users begin at "Visitor" rank (grey). When promoted to "New User" (blue) rank, they are given the ability to upload their own content using the VRChat SDK. This is followed by "User" (green), "Known User" (orange), "Trusted User" (purple), and friends (yellow). Users can choose to toggle communications, avatars, and avatar features based on their trust level.


title: VRChat

text: In November 2020, the service announced a subscription tier known as "VRChat Plus". On launch, it allows users to display a custom avatar image on their nameplates, increases the number of avatars they can save in their favorites from 50 to 300, grants them an "increased trust rating", and allows them to attach an in-game photo to an invite request. Other exclusive features for subscribers are also in development.


title: VRChat

text: "VRChat" has extensive support for a large number of PC-compatible VR headsets and accessories, including Oculus, and SteamVR-compatible headsets such as the HTC Vive series and Valve Index. A port of "VRChat" is also available as a native app for Oculus Quest, which supports cross-platform play with PC users; due to hardware limitations, only maps and avatars optimized within specific constraints can be accessed on the Oculus Quest version.


title: VRChat

text: Finger tracking and gesture recognition is supported on controllers such as the Index Controller and Oculus Touch, allowing users' finger movements to be reflected by their avatar, and hand poses to trigger linked animations (such as a corresponding facial expression). VRChat also supports SteamVR full-body tracking for motion capture of waist and leg motions, typically by using HTC's Vive Tracker peripherals or alternative devices (such as Kinect).


title: VRChat

text: "VRChat" popularity has been attributed to use by YouTubers and Twitch streamers. "VRChat" has spawned media such as a weekly newspaper in its forums, and talk shows and podcasts dedicated to a discussion of the game.


title: VRChat

text: After an initial wave of viral popularity upon its release, the platform saw a steady increase in concurrent users with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and direct quarantine policies. There were recorded spikes in viewership of "VRChat"-related Twitch streams in mid-2020 and September 2020. The service reported a record of over 24,000 concurrent users over the Halloween weekend (with over half using it on a VR platform), spurred by holiday events and the recent release of the Oculus Quest 2.


title: VRChat

text: On December 31, 2020, the service recorded a new record of over 40,000 concurrent users for New Year's Eve, to the point that it experienced a major outage around midnight in the Eastern Time Zone due to a security provider having mistook the surge as a denial-of-service attack.


title: VRChat

text: "VRChat" gave rise to a meme known as "Ugandan Knuckles", in which players use crude in-game models of Knuckles the Echidna from the "Sonic the Hedgehog" series while repeating the catchphrase "Do you know the way?" in a mock African accent. The players' model and mannerisms originated in a review by YouTuber Gregzilla and Forsen's Twitch stream respectively, in addition to lines from the Ugandan movie "Who Killed Captain Alex?" This has generated controversy from many sources; "Polygon"s Julia Alexander labelled it "blatantly racist" and a "problematic meme", comparing it to "Habbo Hotel" raids, and Jay Hathaway of "The Daily Dot" called it a "racist caricature". The creator of the 3D model used in the meme expressed regret for having made it, and urged players that they "do not use this to bug the users of VRChat." In response, the developers of the game published an open letter on "Medium", stating that they were developing "new systems to allow the community to better self moderate" and asking users to use the built-in muting features.


title: VRChat

text: The platform has attracted various music-oriented communities and events; dancers have leveraged full-body tracking support to give virtual performances and classes within "VRChat", including ballet, breaking, and pole dance.


title: VRChat

text: Online dance music events have also occurred on "VRChat", especially since the COVID-19 pandemic. They are organized by collectives such as Loner Online, take place within virtual nightclubs, sometimes simulcast on live streaming platforms such as Twitch. Loner's world was noted by an "NME" writer for its attention to detail in recreating an underground club experience, right down to having bathroom stalls.


title: VRChat

text: In June 2020, French electronic musician Jean-Michel Jarre presented a virtual concert experience in "VRChat", "Alone Together". On December 31, 2020, Jarre presented a second virtual concert for New Year's Eve, "Welcome to the Other Side", which was broadcast across other radio, television, and online platforms from outside of the Notre-Dame cathedral, and featured an interactive companion experience on VRChat, taking place in a world recreating its interior.


title: VRChat

text: In February 2022, a BBC News report accused the service of not providing enough safeguards to prevent minors from entering worlds that may contain adult themes and interactions.


title: VRChat

text: On July 25, 2022, VRChat announced that it would implement Easy Anti-Cheat (EAC) in order to protect against prohibited modifications to the client. The announcement specifically cited griefers using mods designed to crash other users out of VRChat sessions, as well as issues with account hijacking. The announcement led to widespread backlash from the community, citing that some users had legitimate uses for modded clients, mainly to add quality of life (QoL) features that had not yet been added to the software, including additional accessibility features (such as allowing the display of subtitles on video players in worlds). The software was subsequently review bombed on Steam, while some community members urged others to cancel their Plus subscriptions. A spokesperson stated to "Motherboard" that its introduction of features such as OSC support had "enabled our users to have an entirely new dimension of creativity, as well as the ability to build accessibility tools to fit their needs".


title: VRChat

text: In response to the criticism, VRChat announced that it had amended its development roadmap in order to prioritize the addition of a number of new accessibility and QoL features that had been highly requested by the community, with some being scheduled for shipment by the end of the following week.


title: Darrelle Revis

text: Darrelle Shavar Revis (born July 14, 1985) is an American former football cornerback who played in National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons, primarily with the New York Jets. He played college football at Pittsburgh and was selected in the first round by the Jets in the 2007 NFL Draft. In addition to his eight non-consecutive seasons with the Jets, he played one season each for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New England Patriots, and Kansas City Chiefs. Revis is widely considered one of the greatest cornerbacks of all time.


title: Darrelle Revis

text: Revis was named to seven Pro Bowls and four-time first-team All-Pros. He also won a Super Bowl title in Super Bowl XLIX with the Patriots. Due to his prowess and ability to shut down the best receiver of opposing teams, his spot on the field was nicknamed "Revis Island", which he would trademark. In 2020, Revis was named to the NFL's 2010s All-Decade Team.


title: Darrelle Revis

text: Revis attended Aliquippa High School in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania. His high school accolades included "Pittsburgh Tribune-Review" 2003 Player of the Year, "Pittsburgh Post-Gazette" 2003 WPIAL Class AA Player of the Year, and 2003 "Pittsburgh Post-Gazette" “Fabulous 22”.


title: Darrelle Revis

text: In the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Class AA State Championship football game, he led Aliquippa to a come-from-behind 32–27 win over Northern Lehigh by scoring five touchdowns, including three rushing touchdowns, a punt return, and the return of a blocked Northern Lehigh field goal attempt. He also completed a 39-yard pass, had a reception, and an interception in the game.


title: Darrelle Revis

text: In his junior and senior years of high school, Revis led Aliquippa to Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) basketball championships, leading the team in scoring both years, culminating with a 25.2 PPG average his senior season. He also had the most interceptions out of any cornerback in high school. In track & field, Revis ran on the Quips' WPIAL Class AA champion 4x100-metres relay team that placed third at the state championships.


title: Darrelle Revis

text: Revis attended the University of Pittsburgh, and played for the Pittsburgh Panthers football team. He earned first-team freshman All-America honors his 2004 freshman campaign. Revis played all 12 games, and started 11 of those 12. Revis tied for fifth on the team with 49 tackles, tied for team lead with 12 broken-up passes, and second on the team with 14 defended passes. Revis also had two interceptions. The most important of the two interceptions was against the West Virginia Mountaineers, when he intercepted a late pass that set up the Panthers' game-winning drive. Revis also had a career-high seven tackles against the Boston College Eagles. With Pitt leading 17–10, the Boston College Eagles elected to go for it late in the fourth on fourth-and-goal. The pass got to the one-yard line, but Revis hit the receiver and stopped him from getting the score.


title: Darrelle Revis

text: Revis's sophomore season in 2005 was another excellent campaign. Revis earned first-team All-Big East at cornerback. Revis led the Panthers with four interceptions and was second on the team with 13 defended passes. Revis was ranked second in the Big East with two recovered fumbles. Revis had a 79-yard punt return for a score against the Cincinnati Bearcats, and blocked a field goal against the Connecticut Huskies which was returned for the score. Revis also had an interception and totaled 119 punt return yards against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights.


title: Darrelle Revis

text: Revis's final year at Pitt, his 2006 junior campaign, was where he established himself on the national stage. He was a candidate for the Jim Thorpe Award and Bronko Nagurski Trophy at the end of the season. Revis recorded interceptions against the Virginia Cavaliers and Cincinnati, which were both taken back for touchdowns.


title: Darrelle Revis

text: During the 2006 Backyard Brawl game with rival West Virginia, Revis made a dynamic, 73-yard punt return, while breaking several tackles, and finally scoring a touchdown late in the second quarter. The key block to spring him, by Pitt wide receiver Derek Kinder, took out two Mountaineers. The play was nominated for "Best Play" at the 2007 ESPY Awards and was voted the best College Football Play of the Year.


title: Darrelle Revis

text: On January 10, 2007, Revis announced he would forgo his senior year at Pittsburgh to enter the 2007 NFL Draft. He was considered one of the top three cornerbacks available, along with Leon Hall of Michigan and Aaron Ross of Texas, and was one of 30 drafted. He received an invitation to the NFL Scouting Combine however, he chose not to attend after suffering a strained hamstring. Revis impressed scouts at Pittsburgh's Pro Day, impressing them with his 40-yard dash, a main concern scouts had prior to him completing the test. Teryl Austin, the Arizona Cardinals' defensive backs coach at the time stated, "nobody went away disappointed." Revis was touted by ESPN analyst Len Pasquarelli as having "terrific coverage techniques".


title: Darrelle Revis

text: New York Jets scout Terry Bradway was impressed by Revis' workout but was concerned by the level of competition Pittsburgh played, as Louisville's Mario Urrutia was the toughest receiver Revis faced during the season. Despite this concern, the organization was so impressed by his man and zone coverage techniques and his ability to play the run that they decided to trade up for him in the draft. Originally, New York discussed trading draft selections with the Houston Texans who had the 10th overall pick however, when the deal fell through, they traded their first, second and fifth round picks to the Carolina Panthers, moving from 25th overall to 14th overall, to select Revis.


title: Darrelle Revis

text: Revis missed the first 21 days of training camp while his agents negotiated a contract. At one point, Revis' mother was flown in from Pittsburgh to help expedite the negotiation process. On August 15, 2007, the Jets came to an agreement with Revis. The 47-page contract was worth approximately $36 million over five years according to ESPN writer John Clayton.


title: Darrelle Revis

text: Head coach Eric Mangini expected Revis to contribute immediately citing his abilities on defense and special teams. He likened Revis' talents to that of Ty Law, who was once described as a "shutdown" cornerback. Revis made his preseason debut against the New York Giants on August 25, 2007 after less than a week of practice. In his debut, he recorded five tackles and one pass defended against receiver Sinorice Moss and had one punt return for 13 yards. Revis was named the starting cornerback for the Jets at the end of the preseason, becoming the first Jets rookie cornerback to start since Ray Mickens in 1996.


title: Darrelle Revis

text: In his first game against the New England Patriots, Revis recorded 7 tackles and held Wes Welker to 6 catches for 61 yards in the 38–14 loss. He recorded the first interception of his career against the division-rival Buffalo Bills during their week 8 matchup. Revis would show great progression throughout the season, remaining as the Jets' solid starter and one of their best defensive players. Starting all 16 games, Revis ended his rookie season with 87 total tackles, one sack, one forced fumble, and 3 interceptions. Revis was only beaten for touchdowns three times during his rookie season by Braylon Edwards, Lee Evans, and Terrell Owens.


title: Darrelle Revis

text: The Jets opened the season with a match-up against the Miami Dolphins. Revis, the established starter, intercepted former Jet Chad Pennington's pass in the end zone with five seconds remaining in the game to preserve the Jets' 20–14 victory. A week later, Revis held Patriots wide receiver Randy Moss to two catches for 22 yards. Mangini praised Revis' attention to detail and perfecting the flaws of his game. The following week, the Jets faced the Arizona Cardinals with wide receivers Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin. He intercepted two Kurt Warner passes, one of which he returned 32 yards for a touchdown, the first of his NFL career.


title: Darrelle Revis

text: Despite his performance alongside All-Pro safety Kerry Rhodes, the Jets' pass defense was ranked 28th which prompted coach Eric Mangini to sign free agent All-Pro cornerback and former New York Jet Ty Law in November. Though the addition of Law was made to bolster the Jets' pass defense, the pass defense continued to struggle and would rank 29th overall by season's end in spite of Revis' positive performance. Revis' side of the field was known not to be tested as teams instead chose to attack rookie cornerback Dwight Lowery.


title: Darrelle Revis

text: For his efforts, Revis was elected to the 2009 Pro Bowl. During the Pro Bowl, Revis intercepted a pass intended for Anquan Boldin with one hand.


title: Darrelle Revis

text: Revis started off the 2009 season matched up against some of football's best wide receivers. In Week 1, he helped limit Houston Texans Pro-bowler Andre Johnson to four receptions for 35 yards. Revis then faced Tom Brady and the New England Patriots, when he matched up against another Pro-bowl receiver, Randy Moss, and limited him to four receptions and 24 yards after catching 14 passes for 141 yards the week prior. Revis also had an interception against Brady, helping the Jets defense to be the first team since 2006 to stop the Patriots from scoring a touchdown. In Week 11 Revis held Moss to limited yards although he did give up a touchdown to Moss.


title: Darrelle Revis

text: Week 5 against the Miami Dolphins was the only other blemish on Revis’ season, as he was beaten by wide receiver Ted Ginn Jr. for a 53-yard touchdown reception on "Monday Night Football", during the Jets 31–27 week 5 loss to the Dolphins.


title: Darrelle Revis

text: Former Jets head coach Rex Ryan stated on several occasions that he thinks Revis is the "best" cornerback in the NFL, and that he is also the best cornerback he's worked with, in all of his years of coaching defenses. NFL Total Access ranked him as the No. 3 cornerback in the league on a Best In The Biz list before the '09 season kicked off. Deion Sanders also said "Revis is going to be the best corner in the game for years."


title: Darrelle Revis

text: Revis ended the year winning a Pro Bowl spot, and earned major respect inside and outside the league. In Week 17 (the NFL's last regular season week), he locked up Cincinnati Bengals receiver Chad Ochocinco, preventing Ochocinco from making a single reception, in part because a win would not advance Cincinnati to a higher playoff seed, and also because Ochocinco left the game with an injured knee. The Jets won the game 37–0, their second shutout, and third 'defensive' shutout. The victory qualified the Jets for the postseason, and the two teams met up again six days later in the first round. During the Jets' 24–14 victory over the Bengals, Revis again shut down Ochocinco, limiting him to two catches for 28 yards and collecting an interception.


title: Darrelle Revis

text: In the second week of the playoffs, Revis and the Jets defeated the AFC's #2 seed San Diego Chargers, 17–14. Since the Chargers had a large variety of well acclaimed receivers, Revis was forced to cover most of them, yet San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers only threw the ball to a receiver covered by Revis three times during the entire game. Two of the three were tipped away by Revis for an incomplete pass, and the third was an interception. His interception was made diving to the ground to catch a ball that was deflected off the shoe of Chargers' wide receiver Vincent Jackson. Revis' interception changed the momentum of the game and was instrumental in the Jets' 17–14 victory. The win led the Jets to the AFC Championship game against the Indianapolis Colts, their first trip to the AFC Championship since 1998. The Jets lost 30–17, due to a lack of scoring in the second half (0 points), and poor secondary playing, with the exception of Revis himself, who only allowed 2 receptions.


title: Darrelle Revis

text: Revis missed the majority of training camp and all four of the team's preseason contests while holding out for a new contract. He was to receive approximately $1 million in the fourth year of a six-year contract. On September 5, an agreement was reached on a four-year $32 million guaranteed contract, and Revis subsequently reported to camp the next day, a week before the team's season opener.


title: Darrelle Revis

text: During the team's Week 2 matchup against the New England Patriots, after getting beaten for a deep touchdown by Randy Moss, Revis left the game with what was later revealed to be a strained hamstring. Revis would miss two weeks of the season. Revis reaggravated the hamstring following the team's matchup against the Minnesota Vikings. On October 17, 2010, Revis was activated two hours prior to kickoff against the Denver Broncos and started the game. The Jets headed into a bye week following their victory over Denver thus allowing Revis to rehab his hamstring. Revis has since declared himself to be 100 percent.


title: Darrelle Revis

text: During the 2011 AFC Wild Card Round, Revis held Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Reggie Wayne to one catch for a yard in a victory over the Colts. The Jets went on to defeat the New England Patriots in the divisional round but would lose to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Championship game. Revis finished the year with 32 tackles but did not record an interception in 13 games.


title: Darrelle Revis

text: The Jets opened their 2011 season against the Dallas Cowboys on September 11, 2011. The game was played at MetLife Stadium on "Sunday Night Football" on the ten-year anniversary of the September 11 attacks. The Jets were tied with the Cowboys 24–24 in the final minutes when Revis intercepted a Tony Romo pass intended for Dez Bryant to put the Jets in field goal range. Nick Folk converted the game-winning field goal to give the Jets the win 27–24. In Week 6, the Jets were playing the Dolphins with a 2–3 record in what some considered a must win game. Revis intercepted a pass intended for Brandon Marshall and ran it back 100 yards for a touchdown on October 17, 2011, tying the longest interception return in Jets history, first set by Aaron Glenn in 1996. Later in the same game against the Miami Dolphins, he intercepted another Matt Moore pass in the fourth quarter to preserve the Jets' victory with a score of 24–6. On Sunday, October 23, 2011, the Jets were playing the San Diego Chargers. In the fourth quarter, the Jets were down 21-17 and the Chargers had the ball in Jets territory when Darrelle Revis intercepted a pass intended for Vincent Jackson which was deflected right into the hands of Revis. Later on in the drive Mark Sanchez would complete a touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress, his 3rd of the game. The Jets would win 27–21. After 13 games, the Jets were 8-5 going on a 3-game winning streak and looking to make the playoffs for 3 straight years. But the Jets would lose their next 3 games and miss the playoffs by 1 game with a record of 8-8. After the season it came out that the Jets locker room was having problems. Revis ended the year with 52 tackles and 4 interceptions and was elected to his fourth Pro Bowl and third All-Pro team.


title: Darrelle Revis

text: Revis entered the 2012 season hinting that he may not attend training camp, with the hope of reworking his contract. Despite the uncertainty regarding his contract status, Revis attended training camp. The Jets' season opener was played against the Buffalo Bills on September 9, 2012. Revis intercepted a Ryan Fitzpatrick pass which set up a Mark Sanchez touchdown on the ensuing drive. The Jets would go on to defeat the Bills 48–28. Revis recorded five tackles in addition to the interception but was taken out of the game in the fourth quarter after teammate Bart Scott accidentally hit Revis in the head with his knee while Revis was still on the ground. Revis was diagnosed with a mild concussion and subsequently ruled out for Week 2 against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He returned the following week against the Miami Dolphins where he recovered a fumble but later left the game with an undisclosed knee injury. An MRI taken the following day revealed Revis suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and would be out for the remainder of the season. He was placed on injured reserve on October 12, 2012.


title: Darrelle Revis

text: Revis flew a private jet to travel to Tampa, Florida for an official physical. After being examined by team doctors, including head team orthopedist John Zvijac and director of sports medicine Todd Toriscelli, Revis was deemed healthy.


title: Darrelle Revis

text: The Jets gave Revis permission to visit the Buccaneers on Sunday morning after reaching an agreement with Tampa Bay on the transaction. Revis was successful in getting one of the biggest contracts in the NFL, in line with other elite players such as defensive end Mario Williams (six years, $96 million), wide receivers Calvin Johnson (eight years, $132 million) and Larry Fitzgerald (eight years, $113 million) received. Revis' 6-year deal was worth $96 million, making him the highest paid defensive back in NFL history, however there was no guaranteed money included.


title: Darrelle Revis

text: The Jets received the Buccaneers' 2013 first round pick (13th overall, used on Sheldon Richardson) and a 2014 fourth round conditional pick, which could become a third round pick.


title: Darrelle Revis

text: Revis made his debut with the Buccaneers on September 8, 2013, playing against his former team, the New York Jets. He had his first interception as a Buccaneer on September 29, against the Arizona Cardinals. On December 27, Revis was selected to his 5th Pro Bowl, his first with Tampa Bay. After the season, he was named SN Comeback Player Of The Year. During his first and only season with Tampa Bay, Revis started all 16 games with a sack, 2 interceptions, 11 passes defended, 2 forced fumbles, a fumble recovery, and 50 tackles.


title: Darrelle Revis

text: Despite Revis' outstanding season, he was not an ideal fit for Tampa Bay's defensive system. When Lovie Smith was hired to replace Greg Schiano, he brought his Tampa 2 defense with him, a zone defense that is focused on an elite middle linebacker, not a shutdown corner. Revis, being an elite man-to-man cornerback, was rumored to be on the trading block because of his large $16 million salary for the 2014 season.


title: Darrelle Revis

text: On March 12, 2014, the Bucs released Revis after several failed attempts to trade him, making him an unrestricted free agent for the first time of his career.


title: Darrelle Revis

text: On March 12, 2014, within hours of being released by the Buccaneers, Revis signed a 1-year contract worth $12 million with the New England Patriots, with the salary cap hit spread over two years. In Revis's first and only season in New England, he had 47 tackles, 2 interceptions, 14 passes defensed, and 1 forced fumble. The Patriots finished the season 12–4.


title: Darrelle Revis

text: In the against the Baltimore Ravens, Revis had 2 pass interference calls against wide receiver Steve Smith Sr. The Patriots would go on to win the game 35–31 and advance to the AFC Championship game. In the , Revis recorded an interception on Andrew Luck and the Patriots went on to defeat the Indianapolis Colts 45–7.


title: Darrelle Revis

text: This marked Revis's first trip to the Super Bowl. The Patriots faced the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX on February 1, 2015, and won 28–24. Revis tallied a sack and a tackle in the game.


title: Darrelle Revis

text: After the season, the Patriots did not pick up a $20-million option in Revis's contract to bring him back for a second year.


title: Darrelle Revis

text: The New York Jets signed Revis to a five-year, $70 million contract with $39 million guaranteed on March 10, 2015. The Jets were, however, the subject of investigation into tampering after charges were filed by the Patriots. Jets owner Woody Johnson made comments about Revis, who was still under contract with New England at the time. Johnson was fined $100,000; however, the Jets' counter-investigation into Patriots owner Robert Kraft's comments about Revis upon re-signing with New York was dismissed by the league. Revis sustained a concussion against the Houston Texans on November 22, 2015. He was named to his seventh Pro Bowl and was ranked 24th on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2016. In 14 games of 2015, Revis finished with 39 tackles, five interceptions, and nine passes defended.


title: Darrelle Revis

text: The 2016 season was one of Revis' worst outings, with opposing quarterback ratings recorded at 91.7 compared to 59.3 his previous years. He finished 2016 playing 15 games with 53 tackles, five passes defended, and one interception.


title: Darrelle Revis

text: On February 28, 2017, the Jets announced that Revis would be released at the start of free agency on March 9, 2017.


title: Darrelle Revis

text: On November 22, 2017, Revis signed a two-year, $11 million contract with the Kansas City Chiefs. On February 8, 2018, Revis was released by the Chiefs after only playing six games for the team, including the playoffs.


title: Darrelle Revis

text: On July 18, 2018, Revis announced his retirement from the NFL after 11 seasons. On July 24, the New York Jets held a mini celebration honoring Revis for his retirement. The Jets made a miniature makeshift "Revis" island for his retirement.


title: Darrelle Revis

text: Revis is the nephew of former NFL defensive tackle Sean Gilbert. Revis has a daughter and a son. On December 2012, Darrelle released his own shoe, the Nike Zoom Revis, which is available in various colors. Revis was a friend of Pittsburgh rapper Mac Miller. Revis is the cousin of New York Jets safety Jordan Whitehead.


title: Darrelle Revis

text: On February 16, 2017, Revis was involved in a street brawl in Pittsburgh around 2:40 a.m. Revis was suspected to have attacked two men, knocking them unconscious. One follower attempted to record Revis on a cell phone, prompting Revis to snatch the phone and throw it out at the street. That night, Revis was charged for aggravated assault, robbery, terroristic threats and conspiracy stemming. Revis turned himself into police the following day and was released on non-monetary bond. All charges were dismissed March 15 after a friend of Revis testified that he was responsible for knocking the two men out.


title: Nintendo Switch Sports

text: Nintendo Switch Sports is a sports simulation video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. It is the latest entry in the "Wii" series of games and the fourth game of the "Wii Sports" sub-series, as well as the first to replace the ""Wii"" title. The game was released on April 29, 2022, and received generally mixed reviews from critics. "Nintendo Switch Sports" has sold over 4.8 million copies as of June 30, 2022, making it one of the best-selling Nintendo Switch games.


title: Nintendo Switch Sports

text: "Nintendo Switch Sports" is set in a fictional multi-sport facility named "Spocco Square", which contains three sports from previous installments (tennis and bowling from "Wii Sports" and swordplay from "Wii Sports Resort"; known as "chambara" within the game), and three new sports (soccer, volleyball, and badminton). Another sport from a previous installment, golf, was announced as well and was issued in a free update on November 29, 2022.


title: Nintendo Switch Sports

text: Players utilize the Nintendo Switch's Joy-Con in a similar manner to the other "Wii Sports" games, positioning them in a manner resembling the actual sport. The gyroscope functionality embedded within the Joy-Con are used to simulate motion in-game, compared to the usage of the Wii Remote (and occasionally the Nunchuk) to simulate motion in the other games in the series.


title: Nintendo Switch Sports

text: Alongside Miis, new avatars called "Sportsmates" have been introduced, which have more detailed hair and faces as well as arms and legs. Additionally, the Leg Strap accessory introduced in "Ring" "Fit" "Adventure" is included in the physical copy of the game and is usable in Football. At launch, the leg strap only worked for Football Shootout Mode. As of the Summer update launched in July 2022, the leg strap can now be used for all Football match types.


title: Nintendo Switch Sports

text: The game has multiplayer available both locally on the same system and online. Online allows play with friends and random matchmaking.


title: Nintendo Switch Sports

text: The game was announced in a Nintendo Direct on February 9, 2022, with a release date of April 29, 2022. A free-to-play online playtest of the game to test functionality and stability was available to register on February 15, 2022, for those with a Nintendo Switch Online subscription. The playtest was available to play during specific times on February 18 to 20, 2022.


title: Nintendo Switch Sports

text: Takayuki Shimamura, who directed all of the "Wii Sports" series, returned to this title as producer, Yoshikazu Yamashita, who directed "Wii Sports" and "Wii Sports Resort", returned as director. The project started a while after the Nintendo Switch system was released. Yoshiaki Koizumi, Senior Executive Officer, Deputy General Manager of Nintendo EPD and general producer of the Nintendo Switch, called Yamashita and requested the development of a Nintendo Switch title in the "Wii Sports" series. According to Yamashita, 90% of the members of the development team were new members who weren't part of the past "Wii" series titles.


title: Nintendo Switch Sports

text: Development of post-release content has faced setbacks. In September 2022, Nintendo announced that the golf game mode, which was previously targeted for release in fall 2022, would be delayed to winter. In October 2022, an update intended to address cheating in online play was released with a bug that caused the game to crash in both online and offline modes, forcing Nintendo to stop distributing the update and take the game's servers offline until a solution could be found.


title: Nintendo Switch Sports

text: According to review aggregator Metacritic, the game received "mixed or average" reviews from critics upon release.


title: Nintendo Switch Sports

text: "Nintendo World Report" praised the minigames for being easy to pick up, but criticized the Joy-Con motion controls, saying that it had "removed a little bit of variance and nuance". "GamesRadar+" liked the new soccer mini game, writing that it was "brilliantly chaotic when another human player gets involved in local multiplayer". While enjoying the game for family-friendly entertainment, "The Guardian" disliked volleyball, stating, "the pace is slow and the movements too obvious". "VG247" felt that the motions used in each game captured the feeling of the sports, even if they were only approximations.


title: Nintendo Switch Sports

text: "Game Informer" enjoyed the gear unlock system in the game, "this simple progression system kept me engaged and eager to dive back into the action". On the other hand, "Destructoid" criticized it for being too online-centric, "all of the game’s long-term reward systems are directly linked to online play... For a game that made its money on local play, this seems like a bummer". "IGN" liked the flexibility of badminton, and called attention to its use of HD Rumble, saying that the Joy-Con gave off "precise haptic feedback that I could feel in my hand whenever the racquet connected with the birdie to make a satisfying *ting* sensation". "The Verge" disliked the simplicity of the racquet-based sports, "The games are still fun, but I wish I could have had more strategy to play them than 'swing your arm and pray'". "The Washington Post" felt that the AI partner could make it too easy on the player, writing, "My ever-flexible AI partner could work around just about anything to bail me out. I don’t think I ever really lost unless I completely whiffed on an attempt".


title: Nintendo Switch Sports

text: "Nintendo Life" wrote that the game suffered from a lack of content outside the main sports, "If you want to play one of the six sports, you're golden. If you want anything to spice it up, you're more than likely going to be left wanting. We know we were". "GameSpot" criticized the lack of single-player options, saying "It quickly began feeling repetitive... If playing Nintendo Switch Sports with others is a joyous communal experience, playing alone is a depressingly isolating one". "Polygon" felt it captured the joy of the original "Wii Sports", but noted that the motion controls felt like a step down from "Resort".


title: Nintendo Switch Sports

text: The game sold nearly 190,000 copies in its first week in Japan, topping the weekly sales chart. Similarly, the game topped the weekly sales chart in the UK, South Korea and Taiwan. In the United States, it charted at number 5 for the month of April based on physical sales alone, becoming the second best-selling new release of the month, behind "".


title: Flush toilet

text: A flush toilet (also known as a flushing toilet, water closet (WC) – see also toilet names) is a toilet that disposes of human waste (principally urine and feces) by using the force of water to "flush" it through a drainpipe to another location for treatment, either nearby or at a communal facility, thus maintaining a separation between humans and their waste. Flush toilets can be designed for sitting (in which case they are also called "Western" toilets) or for squatting, in the case of squat toilets. Most modern sewage treatment systems are also designed to process specially designed "toilet paper". The opposite of a flush toilet is a dry toilet, which uses no water for flushing.


title: Flush toilet

text: Flush toilets are a type of plumbing fixture and usually incorporate an "S", "U", "J", or "P" shaped bend called a trap that causes water to collect in the toilet bowl to hold the waste and act as a seal against noxious sewer gases. Most flush toilets are connected to a sewerage system that conveys wastewater to a sewage treatment plant; alternatively, a septic tank or composting system may be used.


title: Flush toilet

text: Associated devices are urinals, which dispose of male urine, and bidets, which use water to cleanse the anus, perineum, and genitals after using the toilet.


title: Flush toilet

text: A typical flush toilet is a fixed, vitreous ceramic bowl (also known as a pan) which is connected to a drain. After use, the bowl is emptied and cleaned by the rapid flow of water into the bowl. This flush may flow from a dedicated tank (cistern), a high-pressure water pipe controlled by a flush valve, or by manually pouring water into the bowl. Tanks and valves are normally operated by the user, by pressing a button, pushing down on a handle, pulling a lever or pulling a chain. The water is directed around the bowl by a molded flushing rim around the top of the bowl or by one or more jets, so that the entire internal surface of the bowl is rinsed with water.


title: Flush toilet

text: A typical toilet has a tank fixed above the bowl which contains a fixed volume of water, and two devices. The first device allows part of the contents of the tank (usually in the 3–6 liters; to 1 gallon range) to be discharged rapidly into the toilet bowl, causing the contents of the bowl to be swept or sucked out of the toilet and into the drain, when the user operates the flush. The second device automatically allows water to enter the tank until the water level is appropriate for a flush.


title: Flush toilet

text: The water may be discharged through a "toilet flapper valve" (not to be confused with a type of check valve), or through a siphon. A float usually commands the refilling device.


title: Flush toilet

text: Toilets without cisterns are often flushed through a simple flush valve or "Flushometer" connected directly to the water supply. These are designed to rapidly discharge a limited volume of water when the lever or button is pressed then released.


title: Flush toilet

text: A toilet does not need be connected to a water supply, but may be pour-flushed. This type of flush toilet has no cistern or permanent water supply, but is flushed by pouring in a few litres of water from a container. The flushing can use as little as 2–3 litres ( to gallon). This type of toilet is common in many Asian countries. The toilet can be connected to one or two pits, in which case it is called a "pour flush pit latrine" or a "twin pit pour flush pit latrine". It can also be connected to a septic tank.


title: Flush toilet

text: A vacuum toilet is a flush toilet that is connected to a vacuum sewer system, and removes waste by suction. They may use very little water (less than a quarter of a liter per flush) or none, (as in waterless urinals). Some flush with coloured disinfectant solution rather than with water. They may be used to separate blackwater and greywater, and process them separately (for instance, the fairly dry blackwater can be used for biogas production, or in a composting toilet).


title: Flush toilet

text: Passenger train toilets, aircraft lavatories, bus toilets, and ships with plumbing often use vacuum toilets. The lower water usage saves weight and avoids water slopping out of the toilet bowl in motion. Aboard vehicles, a portable collection chamber is used; if it is filled by positive pressure from an intermediate vacuum chamber, it need not be kept under vacuum.


title: Flush toilet

text: The flushing system provides a large flow of water into the bowl. They normally take the form of either fixed tanks of water or flush valves.


title: Flush toilet

text: Flush tanks or cisterns usually incorporate a mechanism to release water from the tank and an automatic valve to allow the cistern to be refilled automatically.


title: Flush toilet

text: This system is suitable for locations plumbed with or water pipes which cannot supply water quickly enough to flush the toilet; the tank is needed to supply a large volume of water in a short time. The tank typically collects between of water over a period of time. In modern installations the storage tank is usually mounted directly above and behind the bowl.


title: Flush toilet

text: Older installations, known as "high suite combinations", used a high-level cistern (tank), fitted above head height, activated by a pull chain connected to a flush lever on the cistern. When more modern close-coupled cistern and bowl combinations were first introduced, these were first referred to as "low suite combinations". Modern versions have a neater-looking low-level cistern with a lever that the user can reach directly, or a close-coupled cistern that is even lower down and fixed directly to the bowl. In recent decades the close coupled tank/bowl combination has become the most popular residential system, as it has been found by ceramic engineers that improved waterway design is a more effective way to enhance the bowl's flushing action than high tank mounting.


title: Flush toilet

text: Tank fill valves are found in all tank-style toilets. The valves are of two main designs: the side-float design and the concentric-float design. The side-float design has existed for over a hundred years. The concentric design has only existed since 1957 but is gradually becoming more popular than the side-float design.


title: Flush toilet

text: The side-float design uses a float on the end of a lever to control the fill valve. The float is usually shaped like a ball, so the mechanism is often called a ball-valve or a ballcock (cock in this context is an alternative term for valve; see, for example, stopcock). The float was originally made from copper sheet, but it is now usually plastic. The float is located to one side of the main valve tower or inlet at the end of a rod or arm. As the float rises, so does the float-arm. The arm connects to the fill valve that blocks the water flow into the toilet tank and shuts off the water when the float reaches a set height. This maintains a constant level in the tank.


title: Flush toilet

text: The newer concentric-float fill valve consists of a tower which is encircled by a plastic float assembly. Operation is otherwise the same as a side-float fill valve, even though the float position is somewhat different. By virtue of its more compact layout, interference between the float and other obstacles (tank insulation, flush valve, and so on) is greatly reduced, thus increasing reliability. The concentric-float fill valve is also designed to signal to users automatically when there is a leak in the tank, by making much more noise when a leak is present than the older style side-float fill valve, which tends to be nearly silent when a slow leak is present.


title: Flush toilet

text: Newer fill valves have a delayed action that will not start filling the tank/cistern until the flapper/drop valve has closed which saves some water.


title: Flush toilet

text: In tanks using a flapper-flush valve, the outlet at the bottom of the tank is covered by a buoyant (plastic or rubber) cover, or flapper, which is held in place against a fitting (the "flush valve seat") by water pressure. The user pushes a lever to flush the toilet, which lifts the flush valve from the valve seat. The valve then floats clear of the seat, allowing the tank to empty quickly into the bowl. As the water level drops, the floating flush valve descends back to the bottom of the tank and covers the outlet pipe again. This system is common in homes in North America and in continental Europe. From 2001, due to a change in regulations, this flush system has also become available in the UK, where prior to that the siphon-type flush was mandated.


title: Flush toilet

text: Dual flush versions of this design with push buttons are widely available. They have one level of water for liquid waste and a higher level for solid waste.


title: Flush toilet

text: In North America, newer toilets have a flapper-flush valve. Older toilets have a flapper-flush valve. The larger flapper-flush valve is used on toilets that use less water, such as per flush. Some have a bell inlet for a faster more effective flush.


title: Flush toilet

text: A problem with the valve type flush mechanism is that it invariably starts to leak after a couple of years use due to wear and tear of the valve, particles, etc. trapped in the valve. Quite often this leakage is barely noticeable but adds up to a considerable water wastage. In the UK it has been found that between 5 and 8% of toilets (mostly dual flush drop valves) are leaking, each one between 215 and 400 litres (50 to 90 gallons) on average per day. Whilst they save more water than they leak, regular maintenance or use of a non-leaking flush mechanism will maximise water savings.


title: Flush toilet

text: This system, invented by Albert Giblin and common in the UK, uses a storage tank similar to that used in the flapper-flush-valve system above. This flush valve system is sometimes referred to as a "valveless" system, since no valve as such is required.


title: Flush toilet

text: The siphon is formed of a vertical pipe that links the flush pipe to a domed chamber inside the cistern. A perforated disc, covered by a flexible plate or flap, is fitted inside this chamber and is joined by a rod to the flush lever.


title: Flush toilet

text: Pressing the lever raises the disc, forces water over the top of the siphon into the vertical pipe, and starts the siphonic flow. Water flows through the perforated disc past the flap until the cistern is empty, at which point air enters the siphon and the flush stops.


title: Flush toilet

text: The advantage of a siphon over the flush valve is that it has no sealing washers that can wear out and cause leaks, whereas other valve types - flapper, drop valve do leak, invariably after a couple of years of use and they have reduced water savings due to the valves not being maintained in practice. The siphon membrane will require occasional replacement.


title: Flush toilet

text: Until 1 January 2001, the use of siphon-type cisterns was mandatory in the UK but after that date the regulations additionally allowed pressure flushing cisterns and pressure flushing valves (though the latter remained forbidden in houses). Siphons can sometimes be more difficult to operate than a "flapper"-based flush valve because moving the lever requires more torque than a flapper system. This additional torque is required because a certain amount of water must be lifted up into the siphon passageway in order to initiate the siphon action in the tank. Splitting or jamming of the flexible flap covering the perforated disc can cause the cistern to go out of order.


title: Flush toilet

text: Dual-flush versions of the siphon cistern provide a shorter flush option by allowing air into the siphon to stop the siphon action before the tank is empty.


title: Flush toilet

text: The siphon system can also be combined with an air box to allow multiple siphons to be installed in a single trough cistern.


title: Flush toilet

text: Pressure-assisted toilets are sometimes found in both private (single, multiple, and lodging) installations as well as light commercial installations (such as offices). Products from several companies use to per flush.


title: Flush toilet

text: The mechanism consists of a plastic tank hidden inside the typical ceramic cistern or an exposed metal tank/cistern.


title: Flush toilet

text: When the tank fills with water, the air trapped inside compresses. When the air pressure inside the plastic tank reaches a certain level, the tank stops filling with water. A high-pressure valve located in the center of the vessel holds the air and water inside until the user flushes the toilet.


title: Flush toilet

text: During flushing, the user activates the valve via a button or lever, which releases the pressurized water into the bowl at a flow rate much higher than a conventional gravity-flow toilet. One advantage to this is lower water consumption than a gravity-flow toilet, or more effectiveness with a similar amount of water. As a result, the toilet does not clog as easily as those using non-pressurized mechanisms.


title: Flush toilet

text: However, there are some financial and safety disadvantages. These toilets are generally more expensive to purchase, and the plastic tanks need to be replaced about every 10 years. They also have a noisier flush than other models. In addition, pressure-assisted tanks have been known to explode, causing serious injuries and property damage, resulting in a massive recall beginning in 2012 of over 1.4 million toilets equipped with the tank.


title: Flush toilet

text: Some newer toilets use similar pressure-assist technology, along with a bowl and trapway designed to enhance the siphon effect; they use only per flush, or / for dual flush models. This design is also much quieter than other pressure-assist or flushometer toilets.


title: Flush toilet

text: A number of tipping bucket type cisterns have been developed. In the cistern is placed a tipping bucket with its axis aligned or perpendicular with the cistern. They have a lever which is rotated emptying the bucket which allows a variable flush. Usually the quantity of water is marked on the cistern and depending on the performance of the bowl a dual flush can be achieved e.g. 3/6, 3/4.5, 3/3, 1/2 litres, etc. A normal or delayed action refill valve is used.


title: Flush toilet

text: In 1906, William Sloan first made available his "flushometer" style toilet flush valve, incorporating his patented design. The design proved to be very popular and efficient and remains so to this day. Flushometer toilet flush valves are still often installed in commercial restrooms, and are frequently used for both toilets and urinals. Since they have no tank, they have no fill delay and can be used again immediately. They can be easily identified by their distinctive chrome pipe-work, and by the absence of a toilet tank or cistern, wherever they are employed.


title: Flush toilet

text: Some flushometer models require the user to either depress a lever or press a button, which in turn opens a flush valve allowing mains-pressure water to flow directly into the toilet bowl or urinal. Other flushometer models are electronically triggered, using an infrared sensor to initiate the flushing process. Typically, on electronically triggered models, an override button is provided in case the user wishes to manually trigger flushing earlier. Some electronically triggered models also incorporate a true mechanical manual override which can be used in the event of the failure of the electronic system. In retrofit installations, a self-contained battery-powered or hard-wired unit can be added to an existing manual flushometer to flush automatically when a user departs.


title: Flush toilet

text: Once a flushometer valve has been flushed, and after a preset interval, the flushometer mechanism closes the valve and stops the flow. The flushometer system requires no storage tank, but uses a high rate of water flow for a very short time. Thus a inch (22 mm) pipe at minimum, or preferably a 1-inch (29 mm) pipe, must be used. Water main pressures must be above . The higher water pressure employed by a flushometer valve scours the bowl more efficiently than a gravity-driven system, and fewer blockages typically occur as a result of this higher water pressure. Flushometer systems require approximately the same amount of water as a gravity system to operate (1.6 gpf).


title: Flush toilet

text: The "bowl" or "pan" of a toilet is the receptacle that receives bodily waste. A toilet bowl is most often made of a ceramic, but can sometimes be made of stainless steel or composite plastics. Toilet bowls are mounted in any one of three basic manners: above-floor mounted (pedestal), wall mounted (cantilever), or in-floor mounted (squat toilet).


title: Flush toilet

text: Within the bowl, there are three main waterway design systems: the siphoning trapped system (found primarily in North American residential installations, and in North American light commercial installations), the non-siphoning trapped system (found in most other installations), and the valve-closet system (found in trains, passenger aircraft, buses, and other such installations around the world). Older style toilets called "washout" toilets are now only found in a few locations.


title: Flush toilet

text: The siphonic toilet, also called "siphon jet" and "siphon wash", is perhaps the most popular design in North America for residential and light commercial toilet installations. All siphonic toilets incorporate an "S" shaped waterway.


title: Flush toilet

text: Standing water in the bowl acts as a barrier to sewer gas coming out of the sewer through the drain, and also as a receptacle for waste. Sewer gas is vented through a separate vent pipe attached to the sewer line. The water in the toilet bowl is connected to the drain by a drainpipe shaped like an extended "S" which curves up behind the bowl and down to the drain. The portion of the channel behind the bowl is arranged as a siphon tube, whose length is greater than the depth of the water in the bowl. The top of the curving tube limits the height of the water in the bowl before it flows down the drain. The waterways in these toilets are designed with slightly smaller diameters than a non-siphonic toilet, so that the waterway will naturally fill up with water each time it is flushed, creating the siphon action.


title: Flush toilet

text: At the top of the toilet bowl is a rim with many angled drain holes that are fed from the tank, which fill, rinse, and induce swirling in the bowl when it is flushed. Some designs use a large hole in the front of the rim to allow faster filling of the bowl. There may also be a siphon jet hole about diameter in the bottom of the toilet bowl trap.


title: Flush toilet

text: If the toilet is flushed from a tank, a large holding cistern is mounted above the toilet, containing approximately of water in modern designs. This tank is built with a large drain diameter hole at its bottom covered by a flapper valve that allows the water to rapidly leave the holding tank when the flush is activated. Alternatively, water may be supplied directly via a flush valve or "flushometer".


title: Flush toilet

text: The rapid influx of water into the bowl causes the standing water in the bowl to rise and fill the S-shaped siphon tube mounted in the back of the toilet. This starts the toilet's siphonic action. The siphon action quickly "pulls" nearly all of the water and waste in the bowl and the on-rushing tank water down the drain in about 4–7 seconds —it flushes. When most of the water has drained out of the bowl, the continuous column of water through the siphon is broken when air enters the siphon tube. The toilet then gives its characteristic gurgle as the siphonic action ceases and no more water flows out of the toilet.


title: Flush toilet

text: A "true siphonic toilet" can be easily identified by the noise it makes. If it can be heard to suck air down the drain at the end of a flush, then it is a true siphonic toilet. If not, then it is either a double trap siphonic or a non-siphonic toilet.


title: Flush toilet

text: If water is poured slowly into the bowl it simply flows over the rim of the waterway and pours slowly down the drain—thus the toilet does not flush properly.


title: Flush toilet

text: After flushing, the flapper valve in the water tank closes or the flush valve shuts; water lines and valves connected to the water supply refill the toilet tank and bowl. Then the toilet is again ready for use.


title: Flush toilet

text: Note with this flush design: With age the forward ("flush") jet connection to the upper inlet in the toilet may slowly clog and (over many years) eventually lead to poor, or no flushing action – despite the fact that the main bowl's exit pipe and the toilet's air vent are both open. A test for this is if a "normal flush" evacuation of the bowl occurs when a large amount of water is poured into the bowl at a fast rate. If test is positive, yet the normal full tank flush, in comparison, has diminished flow; or after time no flush, One should check if the flush jet is clogged – leading to the need to snake the jet tube to restart normal flush function or replace the toilet entirely.


title: Flush toilet

text: The double trap siphonic toilet is a less common type that is exceptionally quiet when flushed. A device known as an aspirator uses the flow of water in a flush to pull air from the cavity between the two traps, reducing the air pressure inside and creating a siphon which pulls water and waste from the toilet bowl. Towards the end of the flush cycle the aspirator ceases being immersed in water, thus allowing air to enter the cavity between the traps and breaking the siphon, without the noise while the final flush water fills the pan.


title: Flush toilet

text: Washdown toilets are the most common form of pedestal and cantilever toilets outside the Americas. The bowl has a large opening at the top which tapers down to a water trap at the base. It is flushed from the top by water discharged through a flushing rim or jets. The force of the water flowing into the bowl washes the waste through the trap and into the drains.


title: Flush toilet

text: Washdown bowls developed from earlier "hopper" closets, which were simple conical bowls connected to a drain. However, waste is typically excreted towards the back of the toilet, rather than the exact center, and the backs of the hoppers were prone to becoming soiled. The modern washdown bowl has a steeply sloping back and a more gently sloping or curving front, so the water trap is off-center, towards the rear of the toilet. With this "eccentric cone" design, most waste drops into the pool of water at the base of the bowl, rather than onto the surface of the toilet. Early washdown closets had a large water area at the base to minimize soiling, which required a large volume of water to clear them effectively. Modern bowls have a smaller area, which reduces the volume of water needed to flush them; however, that water area is always small compared to the water area of a typical North American siphonic bowl, and this makes the washdown bowl prone to soiling.


title: Flush toilet

text: Washout, or "Flachspüler" ("shallow flush"), toilets have a flat platform with a shallow pool of water. They are flushed by a jet of water from the back that drives waste into the trap below. From there, the water flow removes it into the sewage system. An advantage of the design is that users will not get splashed from below. Taking of stool samples is also simplified. Washout toilets have a shallow pool of water into which waste is deposited, with a trapped drain just behind this pool. Waste is cleared out from this pool of water by being swept over into the trap (usually either a P-trap or an S-trap) and then beyond into a sewer by water from the flush. Washout pans were among the first types of ceramic toilets invented and since the early 1970s are now only found in a decreasing number of localities in Europe. A washout toilet is a kind of flush toilet which was once predominantly used in Germany, Austria and France. It was patented in Britain by George Jennings in 1852 and remained the standard toilet type in Britain throughout the 19th century.


title: Flush toilet

text: Examples of this type of toilet can be found in Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, and some regions of Poland, although it is becoming less common.


title: Flush toilet

text: One disadvantage of this design is that it may require the more intense use of a toilet brush to remove bits of feces that may have left marks on the shelf. Additionally, this design presents the disadvantage of creating a strong lingering odor since the feces are not submerged in water immediately after excretion. Similar designs are found in some early toilets in the US, one particular brand being labeled the "Grand Niagara", as the flushing of the shelf created a waterfall effect into the drain chamber.


title: Flush toilet

text: In many parts of Asia, people traditionally use the toilet in a squatting position. This applies to defecation and urination by males and females. Therefore, homes and public washrooms have squat toilets, with the toilet bowl installed in the floor. This has the advantages of not needing an additional toilet seat and also being more convenient for cultures where people use water to wash their genitals instead of toilet paper. However, Western-style toilets that are mounted at sitting height and have a plastic seat have become popular as well. Many public washrooms have both squatting and sitting toilets.


title: Flush toilet

text: In Western countries, instructions have been put up in some public toilets used by people accustomed to squat toilets, on the correct use of a sitting-style toilet. This is to avoid breaking the toilet or seat if someone attempts to squat on the edges.


title: Flush toilet

text: The "Anglo-Indian" design used in India allows the same toilet to be used in the sitting or the squatting position.


title: Flush toilet

text: The valve closet has a valve or flap at the exit of the bowl, often with a watertight seal to retain a pool of water in the pan. When the toilet is flushed, the valve is opened and the water in the pan flows rapidly out of the bowl into the drains, carrying the waste with it.


title: Flush toilet

text: The earliest type of toilet, the valve closet is now rarely used for water-flush toilet systems. More complicated in design than other toilets, this design has lower reliability and is more difficult to maintain or repair. The most common use for valve closets is now in portable closets for caravans, camping, trains, and aircraft, where the flushing fluid is recycled. This design is also used in train carriages for use in areas where the waste is allowed to be simply dumped between the tracks (the flushing of such toilets is generally prohibited when the train is in a station).


title: Flush toilet

text: Simple valve closets are used on most older style Russian trains, made in Eastern Germany ( factory, design dated probably to the 1950s), employing a pan-like shutter valve at the base of the pan and discharging waste directly onto the trackbed below. Usage of this type of toilet is permitted only while the train is moving, and outside of major cities. These designs are being phased out, together with the old trains, and are being replaced with modern vacuum systems.


title: Flush toilet

text: The British singer Ian Wallace composed and performed the humorous song "Never Do It at the Station", which mentioned the old-fashioned trackbed dumping toilets which were still in use during the mid-20th century in Britain. The song first advised frugal travelers to save money by avoiding pay toilets in train stations, but also reminded polite passengers not to use the onboard "loo" while the train was stopped at a station.


title: Flush toilet

text: Since 1994, there is a significant move towards using less water for flushing toilets. This has resulted in the emergence of low flush toilet designs and local or national standards on water consumption for flushing. As an alternative some people modify an existing high flush toilet to use less water by placing a brick or water bottle into the toilet's water tank. Other modifications are often done on the water system itself (such as by using greywater), or a system that pollutes the water less, for more efficient water use.


title: Flush toilet

text: Urine diversion flush toilets, which were developed in Sweden, save water by using less water, or even no water, for the urine flush compared to about six litres for the feces flush.


title: Flush toilet

text: Pre-1994 residential and pre-1997 commercial flush toilets in the United States typically used of water per flush (gpf or lpf). The United States Congress passed the Energy Policy Act of 1992, which mandated that from 1994 common flush toilets use only . In response to the Act, manufacturers produced "low-flow" toilets, which many consumers did not like because they often required more than one flush to remove solids. People unhappy with the reduced performance of the low-flow toilets resorted to driving across the border to Canada or Mexico or buying salvaged toilets from older buildings. Manufacturers responded to consumers' complaints by improving the toilets. The improved products are generally identified as "high efficiency toilets" or HETs. HETs possess an effective flush volume of or less. They may be "single-flush" or "dual-flush". A dual-flush toilet permits selection between different amounts of water for solid or liquid waste. Some HETs are "pressure-assisted" (or power, pump, or vacuum assisted).


title: Flush toilet

text: The performance of a flush-toilet may be rated by a Maximum Performance (MaP) score. The low end of MaP scores is 250 (250 grams of simulated fecal matter). The high end of MaP scores is 1000. A toilet with a MaP score of 1000 should provide trouble-free service. It should remove all waste with a single flush; it should not plug; it should not harbor any odor; it should be easy to keep clean. The United States Environmental Protection Agency uses a MaP score of 350 as the minimum performance threshold for HETs. 1.6 gpf toilets are also sometimes referred as Ultra Low Flow (ULF).


title: Flush toilet

text: Methods used to make up for the inadequacies of low flow toilets include using thinner toilet paper, plungers, and adding extra cups of water to the bowl manually.


title: Flush toilet

text: If clogging occurs, it is usually the result of an attempt to flush unsuitable items, or as feces size often increases with age or too much toilet paper. Clogging can occur spontaneously due to limescale fouling of the drain pipe, or by overloading the stool capacity of the toilet. Stool capacity varies among toilet designs and is based on the size of the drainage pipe, the capacity of the water tank, the velocity of a flush, and the method by which the water attempts to vacate the bowl of its contents. The size and consistency of the stool is a hard-to-predict contributory factor.


title: Flush toilet

text: In some countries, clogging has become more frequent due to regulations that require the use of small-tanked low-flush toilets in attempt to conserve water. Designs which increase the velocity of flushed water or improve the travel path can improve low-flow reliability.


title: Flush toilet

text: Partial clogging is particularly insidious, as it is usually not discovered immediately, but only later by an unsuspecting user trying to flush an incompletely emptied toilet. Overflowing of the water mixed with excrement may then occur, depending on the bowl volume, tank capacity and severity of clogging. For this reason, rooms with flush toilets may be designed as wet rooms, with a second drain on the floor, and a shower head capable of reaching the whole floor area. Common means to remedy clogging include use of a toilet plunger, drain cleaner, or a plumber's snake.


title: Flush toilet

text: A "toilet plume" is the dispersal of microscopic particles as a result of flushing a toilet. Normal use of a toilet by healthy people is considered unlikely to be a major health risk. There is indirect evidence that specific pathogens such as norovirus or SARS coronavirus could potentially be spread through toilet aerosols, but as of 2015 no direct experimental studies had clearly demonstrated or refuted actual disease transmission from toilet aerosols. It has been hypothesized that dispersal of pathogens may be reduced by closing the toilet lid before flushing, and by using toilets with lower flush energy.


title: Flush toilet

text: Forms of water flushed latrines have been found to exist since the Neolithic. The oldest neolithic village in Britain, dating from circa 31st century BC, Skara Brae, Orkney, used a form of hydraulic technology for sanitation. The village's design used a stream, and connecting drainage system to wash waste away.


title: Flush toilet

text: The Mesopotamians introduced the world to clay sewer pipes around 4000 BCE, with the earliest examples found in the Temple of Bel at Nippur and at Eshnunna, utilised to remove wastewater from sites, and capture rainwater, in wells. The city of Uruk hosts the earliest known examples of brick constructed Latrines, both squat and pedestal, from 3200 BCE. Clay pipes were later used in the Hittite city of Hattusa. They had easily detachable and replaceable segments, and allowed for cleaning.


title: Flush toilet

text: Flushed toilet systems were constructed by people of the Indus Civilization at some places, and later Egyptians and the Minoan civilization did so next, while the latter developed by the second millennium BC flushable pedestal toilets, with examples excavated at Knossos and Akrotiri.


title: Flush toilet

text: Communal latrines were in use throughout the Roman Empire, feeding into either primary or secondary sewers, from the first through fifth centuries AD. A very well-preserved example are the latrines at Housesteads on Hadrian's Wall in Britain. Such toilets did not flush in the modern sense, but had a continuous stream of running water to wash away waste. With the fall of the Western Roman Empire, these communal toilet systems fell into disuse in Western Europe, though continued in the Eastern Byzantine Roman Empire, with records of toilet pipes being renewed, and sewers repaired.


title: Flush toilet

text: In the Muslim world during the Islamic Golden Age (8th–14th centuries), cities had flush toilets connected to water supply and waste disposal sewer systems. The city of Fustat in Egypt, for example, had multi-storey tenement buildings (with up to six floors) with flush toilets, which were connected to a water supply system, and flues on each floor carrying waste to underground channels.


title: Flush toilet

text: In 1596 Sir John Harington (1561–1612) published "A New Discourse of a Stale Subject, Called the Metamorphosis of Ajax", describing a forerunner to the modern flush toilet installed at his house at Kelston in Somerset. The design had a flush valve to let water out of the tank, and a wash-down design to empty the bowl. He installed one for his godmother Queen Elizabeth I at Richmond Palace.


title: Flush toilet

text: With the onset of the Industrial Revolution and related advances in technology, the flush toilet began to emerge into its modern form. A crucial advance in plumbing was the S-trap, invented by the Scottish mechanic Alexander Cumming in 1775, and still in use today. This device uses the standing water to seal the outlet of the bowl, preventing the escape of foul air from the sewer. His design had a sliding valve in the bowl outlet above the trap. Two years later, Samuel Prosser applied for a British patent for a "plunger closet".


title: Flush toilet

text: Prolific inventor Joseph Bramah began his professional career installing water closets (toilets) that were based on Alexander Cumming's patented design of 1775. He found that the current model being installed in London houses had a tendency to freeze in cold weather. In collaboration with a Mr. Allen, he improved the design by replacing the usual slide valve with a hinged flap that sealed the bottom of the bowl.


title: Flush toilet

text: He also developed a float valve system for the flush tank. Obtaining the patent for it in 1778, he began making toilets at a workshop in Denmark Street, St Giles. The design was arguably the first practical non-manual flush toilet, and production continued well into the 19th century, used mainly on boats. Thomas Bowdich, an English traveller, visited Kumasi, capital of the Ashanti Empire in 1817 and mentioned that majority of the houses in the city especially those near the king's palace included indoor toilets that were flushed with gallons of boiling water.


title: Flush toilet

text: It was only in the mid-19th century, with growing levels of urbanisation and industrial prosperity, that the flush toilet became a widely used and marketed invention. This period coincided with the dramatic growth in the sewage system, especially in London, which made the flush toilet particularly attractive for health and sanitation reasons.


title: Flush toilet

text: George Jennings established a business manufacturing water closets, salt-glaze drainage, sanitary pipes and sanitaryware at Parkstone Pottery in the 1840s, where he popularized the flush toilet to the middle class. At The Great Exhibition at Hyde Park held from 1 May to 15 October 1851, George Jennings installed his Monkey Closets in the Retiring Rooms of The Crystal Palace. These were the first public pay toilets (free ones did not appear until later), and they caused great excitement. During the exhibition, 827,280 visitors paid one penny to use them; for the penny they got a clean seat, a towel, a comb, and a shoe shine. "To spend a penny" became a euphemism, for going to the toilet.


title: Flush toilet

text: When the exhibition finished and moved to Sydenham, the toilets were to be closed down. However, Jennings persuaded the organisers to keep them open, and the toilet went on to earn over £1000 a year. He opened the first underground convenience at the Royal Exchange in 1854. He received a patent in 1852 for an improved construction of water-closet, in which the pan and trap were constructed in the same piece, and so formed that there was always a small quantity of water retained in the pan itself, in addition to that in the trap which forms the water-joint. He also improved the construction of valves, drain traps, forcing pumps and pump-barrels. By the end of the 1850s building codes suggested that most new middle-class homes in British cities were equipped with a water closet.


title: Flush toilet

text: Another pioneering manufacturer was Thomas William Twyford, who invented the single piece, ceramic flush toilet. The 1870s proved to be a defining period for the sanitary industry and the water closet; the debate between the simple water closet trap basin made entirely of earthenware and the very elaborate, complicated and expensive mechanical water closet would fall under public scrutiny and expert opinion. In 1875 the "wash-out" trap water closet was first sold, and was found as the public's preference for basin type water closets. By 1879 Twyford had devised his own type of the "wash out" trap water closet; he titled it the "National", and it became the most popular wash-out water closet.