title: Bill Simmons

text: On July 22, 2015, Simmons announced he had signed a new multi-platform deal with HBO starting in October 2015. As part of this deal, he would host a weekly talk show, "Any Given Wednesday". The show premiered on June 22, 2016. It was cancelled in November 2016. Simmons's multimedia deal with the network continued, and he announced there were plans for future projects at HBO. A documentary on André the Giant was co-produced by HBO Sports, the WWE and the Bill Simmons Media Group, with Jason Hehir directing. The documentary aired on HBO on April 10, 2018.


title: Bill Simmons

text: In late July 2018 it was revealed that HBO decided to renew Simmons's contract to remain with the network moving forward.


title: Bill Simmons

text: Simmons announced the launch of his new website, "The Ringer", on February 17, 2016. The site was to be run as part of his venture, the Bill Simmons Media Group, that was launched in the fall of 2015. The media group includes several podcasts focusing on different aspects of sports, pop culture, and technology today, and features writers on "The Ringer" website as hosts of these podcasts. The website also hired a number of staffers who formerly worked with Simmons at Grantland. "The Ringer" went live on June 1, 2016.


title: Bill Simmons

text: On May 30, 2017, Vox Media announced that it had entered into a deal to provide advertising sales and access to its publishing platform as part of a revenue sharing agreement. Simmons retained editorial control of the website. On February 5, 2020, Simmons announced that Spotify was buying "The Ringer" for approximately $200 million, with Daniel Ek describing "The Ringer" as "the new ESPN." Simmons stated that "The Ringer" will maintain content and editorial independence.


title: Bill Simmons

text: At "The Ringer", Simmons serves as CEO, writing less than during his previous endeavors. He hosts "The Bill Simmons Podcast" which regularly rotates through conversations and interviews with Hollywood personalities, professional athletes, other media pundits, old friends, and family. Regulars include his college roommate Joe House, Sal Iacono, Ryen Russillo, Chuck Klosterman, David Chang, and Simmons' father.


title: Bill Simmons

text: In June 2020, Simmons received criticism for the lack of racial diversity in "The Ringer" following email comments he made to "The New York Times", particularly that: "It's a business. This isn't Open Mic Night." Critics noted that Simmons employed his nephew as a producer and had created a podcast for his teenage daughter.


title: Bill Simmons

text: On October 1, 2005, Simmons released his first "New York Times" best-selling book, "Now I Can Die in Peace". The book is a collection of his columns, with minor changes and lengthy footnotes, leading up to the 2004 World Series victory by the Boston Red Sox. The book spent five weeks on "The New York Times" extended best-seller list.


title: Bill Simmons

text: In July 2008, Simmons announced that he would be taking 10 weeks off from writing columns for ESPN.com's Page 2 to concentrate on finishing his second book, "", which was released on October 27, 2009. The book tries to find out who really are the best players and teams of all time and the answers to some of the greatest "What ifs?" in NBA history. It debuted at the top of "The New York Times" Best Seller list for non-fiction books.


title: Bill Simmons

text: When Simmons first started his website, he wrote what he thought friends would enjoy reading because he never understood how people could be sportswriters while claiming they did not care which team won, in the name of journalistic objectivity. Since Simmons was writing on the web he figured that "in order to get people to read it, it had to be different from what people got in newspapers and magazines." He claims that he believed his job was not to get into the heads of the players, but into the heads of his readers, and to do so by updating frequently and being provocative, and get a discussion going with his readers. Simmons has stated that he "...will never write a traditional sports column."


title: Bill Simmons

text: With his column, Simmons aims to speak for, reconnect sportswriting with, and reproduce the experience for the average fan. Simmons' writing in his columns is characterized by mixing sports knowledge, references to pop culture including movies and television shows, his non-sports-related personal life, his many fantasy sports teams, video games, and references to adult video. His columns often mention trips to Las Vegas or other gambling venues with his friends, including blackjack and sports gambling.


title: Bill Simmons

text: In 2007, he was named the 12th-most influential person in online sports by the "Sports Business Journal", the highest position on the list for a non-executive.


title: Bill Simmons

text: A frequent column target for Simmons in the past has been former New York Knicks coach and general manager Isiah Thomas. This led to Thomas threatening Simmons on Stephen A. Smith's radio show in early 2006, saying that there would be "trouble" if they ever met in the street. Upon a meeting in Las Vegas, they both decided they were entertainers at heart. Simmons and Red Sox announcer Jerry Remy feuded over the presidency of Red Sox Nation. The Red Sox asked Simmons to run for the ceremonial position and he accepted. In a candidate's memo, Simmons remarked that he was a better choice than Remy because he is not a smoker. Remy criticized Simmons for about five minutes during the July 16, 2007 NESN broadcast of a Red Sox - Royals game. Simmons later removed himself from consideration and Remy was named president.


title: Bill Simmons

text: In September 2017, Simmons voiced his support for Jemele Hill, who became involved in controversy after tweeting her personal views on Donald Trump.


title: Bill Simmons

text: On April 26 2022, Simmons drew criticism from current and former NBA players over his comment stating "...fuck Jalen Green" when discussing his choices for All-Rookie first team. Simmons later clarified that the expletive was a joke and not a personal attack, and that he was simply indicating his preference for Herb Jones as a candidate for the All-Rookie team. On May 24, 2022, Simmons hosted Jalen Green as a guest on his podcast, where the two discussed the controversy and cleared the air.


title: Bill Simmons

text: Simmons has, at times, had a tense and public battle with ESPN about creative freedom and censorship. In May 2008, Simmons was embroiled in a dispute with management at ESPN.com. When asked by the editors of "Deadspin" why he had not written a new column in over two weeks, he said that he was writing less because he loved writing his column and believed that he and ESPN had come to an agreement "on creative lines, media criticism rules, the promotion of the column and everything else on ESPN.com" but within a few months all of those things changed.


title: Bill Simmons

text: A month before the feud erupted, Simmons was scheduled to interview then-senator Barack Obama for a podcast. Obama was still running against then-senator Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination at the time. ESPN nixed the interview, saying that they would only allow its reporters and columnists to interview a presidential candidate once the nomination had been finalized.


title: Bill Simmons

text: In November 2008, according to "Deadspin", Simmons had quit the "B.S. Report" due to the content being edited out of them. The controversy revolved around the entry of pornstar Christian into an ESPN fantasy basketball league. Simmons was upset that his explanation of ESPN's refusal to allow him into the league was edited out of a podcast. On November 25, 2008, Simmons returned to recording his "B.S. Report" podcast with a disclaimer, which said "The "BS Report" is a free flowing conversation that occasionally touches on mature subjects."


title: Bill Simmons

text: In late 2009, Simmons was punished by ESPN for writing tweets critical of Boston sports radio station WEEI's "The Big Show". He was suspended for two weeks from Twitter, though he was still allowed to post tweets about his ongoing book tour. ESPN again suspended him from Twitter in March 2013 after he posted tweets critical of ESPN's "First Take".


title: Bill Simmons

text: On September 24, 2014, ESPN suspended Simmons for three weeks for criticizing NFL commissioner Roger Goodell's handling of the Ray Rice domestic violence case. During his podcast, Simmons stated that Goodell was lying when he claimed that he did not know what was on the tape that showed Rice punching his fiancé in the face and knocking her out in a hotel elevator.


title: Bill Simmons

text: On May 8, 2015, ESPN president John Skipper announced that the sports media conglomerate would not be renewing Simmons's contract, which was set to expire in September 2015. On May 15, it was announced Simmons was officially done at ESPN, effective immediately.


title: Bill Simmons

text: Simmons is married to Kari Simmons (née Crichton), mentioned only as "The Sports Gal" in his columns. They have two children together, daughter Zoe Simmons (born 2005) and son Benjamin Oakley Simmons (born 2007). His father, William Simmons (born 1947), also referred to as "The Sports Dad", was the superintendent of schools in Easton, Massachusetts, for more than 15 years.


title: Bill Simmons

text: Simmons is a devoted fan of Boston's teams including the Boston Red Sox, New England Patriots, and Boston Celtics. He was a longtime fan of the Boston Bruins and the NHL, but claims that their poor management led to his completely losing interest in them until the 2008 playoffs. He also says he is a fan of English Premier League soccer team Tottenham Hotspur, and he has had playful debates on soccer with previous ESPN colleague David Hirshey, a soccer columnist and a die-hard fan of Tottenham's fierce rival Arsenal.


title: Bill Simmons

text: Simmons and his family established the Simmons Family Foundation. They made a scholarship gift to Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism to support HBCU graduates.


title: Bill Simmons

text: Simmons also has created numerous internet memes, most notably the "Ewing Theory" (though the idea was originally proposed by a reader), The Tyson Zone and the "Manning Face".


title: Joe Girardi

text: Joseph Elliott Girardi (born October 14, 1964) is an American former professional baseball player and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). Girardi played the catcher position for the Chicago Cubs, Colorado Rockies, New York Yankees, and St. Louis Cardinals during a big league playing career that spanned from 1989 to 2003. He won three World Series championships with the Yankees in the 1990s and served as the catcher for both Dwight Gooden's no-hitter and David Cone's perfect game.


title: Joe Girardi

text: Girardi became the Yankees’ in 2005. In 2006, he managed the Florida Marlins and was named the National League (NL) Manager of the Year, but was fired after just one season with the team. Girardi managed the Yankees from 2008 to 2017, winning the 2009 World Series over the Phillies. He served as an analyst for MLB Network and Fox Sports for two years before being named manager of the Philadelphia Phillies in October 2019; he was fired midway through the 2022 season.


title: Joe Girardi

text: Girardi, the fourth son of Jerry, a former blue collar worker and United States Air Force veteran, and Angela Girardi, was born in Peoria, Illinois, and grew up in East Peoria, Illinois and attended high school at the Spalding Institute.


title: Joe Girardi

text: Girardi enrolled at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, where he attended from 1983 through 1986. He played for the Northwestern Wildcats baseball team, where he was a two-time All Big Ten selection and a three-time Academic All-American. In 1984, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Cotuit Kettleers of the Cape Cod Baseball League and was named a league all-star. In 1986, he earned a bachelor of science degree in industrial engineering and was awarded the Big Ten Medal of Honor, which recognizes one male and one female student from the graduating class of each Big Ten member school for demonstrating joint athletic and academic excellence throughout their college career. He was the first freshman to be elected president of a fraternity (Alpha Tau Omega) at Northwestern.


title: Joe Girardi

text: The Chicago Cubs drafted Girardi in the fifth round of the 1986 MLB draft. He spent four seasons in the Cubs minor leagues system before making his major league debut. In 1986, Girardi batted .309 in 68 games with the Peoria Chiefs of the Midwest League. In 1989, he also played for the Águilas del Zulia in the Venezuelan Winter League.


title: Joe Girardi

text: Girardi made his Major League debut for the Cubs on April 4, 1989. During his rookie year with the Cubs, Girardi batted .248 with a home run and 14 runs batted in (RBIs) in 59 games played. In 1990, he played in 133 games, batting .270 with a home run and 38 RBIs. In 1991, he played in only 21 games, batting .191 with 6 RBIs. In 1992, he played in 91 games, batting .270 with a home run and 12 RBIs.


title: Joe Girardi

text: The Cubs left Girardi unprotected in the 1992 MLB expansion draft and the Colorado Rockies chose him. During his first year with the Rockies in 1993, he played in 86 games batting .290 with five triples, three home runs, and 31 RBIs. In 1994, he played in 93 games batting .276 with four triples, four home runs, and 34 RBIs. In 1995, he played in 125 games batting .262 with a career-high eight home runs and 55 RBIs.


title: Joe Girardi

text: After the 1995 season, the New York Yankees acquired Girardi from the Rockies in exchange for pitcher Mike DeJean. Girardi took the place of Mike Stanley.


title: Joe Girardi

text: On May 14, 1996, Girardi caught Dwight Gooden's no-hitter. Girardi played in 124 games during the 1996 season, batting .294 with two home runs and 45 RBIs. In Game 6 of the 1996 World Series against the Atlanta Braves, Girardi hit an RBI triple against Greg Maddux that helped the Yankees win that game and ultimately the World Series. When the Yankees made 25-year-old prospect Jorge Posada the backup catcher, Girardi became his mentor. The two catchers split time for the Yankees through 1999. In 1997, Girardi played in 112 games batting .264 with one home run and 50 RBIs. During the World Series-winning 1998 season, he played in 78 games batting .276 with three home runs and 31 RBIs. On July 18, 1999, Girardi caught David Cone's perfect game. During the World Series-winning 1999 season, Girardi played in 65 games batting .239 with two home runs and 27 RBIs.


title: Joe Girardi

text: In 2000, Girardi left the Yankees and returned to the Cubs, where he was named to that year's All-Star team, as an injury replacement for Mike Piazza. During the 2000 season, Girardi played in 106 games batting .278 with six home runs and 40 RBIs. In 2001, he played in 78 games batting .253 with three home runs and 25 RBIs.


title: Joe Girardi

text: On June 22, 2002, Girardi was asked to speak to the hometown crowd after the Cubs' nationally televised matchup with the St. Louis Cardinals was cancelled by Commissioner Bud Selig, after Cardinals pitcher Darryl Kile was found dead earlier that day. Taking to the field microphone behind home plate, an emotional Girardi fought back tears as he said that "due to a tragedy in the Cardinal family" there would be no game that day. He never specified what had happened, instead asking fans to be respectful of the matter as they found out about it on their own and to pray. Overall, during 2002, Girardi batted .226 with one home run and 26 RBIs in 90 games played.


title: Joe Girardi

text: On December 16, 2002, Girardi signed a one-year, $750,000 contract with the St. Louis Cardinals. He appeared in just 16 games, accumulating 23 at-bats in which he batted .130 with one RBI and a .361 on-base plus slugging percentage. Girardi retired at the end of the 2003 season.


title: Joe Girardi

text: After a spring training stint with the Yankees in 2004, Girardi retired and became a commentator for the YES Network. He hosted the youth-oriented "Yankees on Deck", received good reviews and was offered a larger role on 2005 Yankee broadcasts. But he rejected that offer, as well as an offer by Florida Marlins to become the bench coach with a guarantee to become the team's manager in 2006, although he subsequently got that job. Instead, he became the Yankees' bench coach. He managed a game during a Joe Torre suspension, a loss to the Kansas City Royals. Girardi remained the host of Kids on Deck in 2005, having shot his shows before spring training. During games, YES promoted Kids on Deck by showing Girardi sitting in the dugout during breaks in the game.


title: Joe Girardi

text: Girardi was a broadcaster for the third, fourth, and fifth games of the 2006 World Series for Fox as part of the network's pregame and postgame team, along with host Jeanne Zelasko and regular analyst Kevin Kennedy.


title: Joe Girardi

text: After fielding managerial offers for the 2007 season, Girardi instead came to terms with the YES network to return to the broadcast booth for 60-plus games as a Yankees analyst and co-host a new show on the network, "Behind The Plate", with John Flaherty, also a former Yankee catcher. Girardi also served as color commentator for the No. 2 booth (usually with Thom Brennaman) on "Major League Baseball on Fox".


title: Joe Girardi

text: After the 2005 regular season, Girardi was named the manager of the Marlins, replacing manager Jack McKeon. His first notable action as manager was to prohibit facial hair, a policy similar to that of Yankees owner George Steinbrenner.


title: Joe Girardi

text: The team had a 78–84 record with Girardi as manager, and was in wild-card contention even though the team had the lowest payroll in Major League Baseball. At $15 million, the Marlins' 2006 payroll was lower than the salaries of several MLB players. However, Girardi was nearly fired on August 6 when he got into an argument with Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria during a game. According to witnesses and video footage, the Marlins owner was heckling home plate umpire Larry Vanover. When the umpire warned Girardi about the harassment, Girardi and his bench coach Gary Tuck then turned to Loria and told him to stop. Team executives had to talk Loria out of his stated desire to fire Girardi immediately after that game.


title: Joe Girardi

text: On October 3, 2006, the Marlins announced that they had fired Girardi as manager, and replaced him with Atlanta Braves third base coach Fredi González. Girardi said only that he appreciated the opportunity to manage the club. Girardi was thought to be among the leading candidates to replace New York Yankees manager Joe Torre after they lost in the 2006 American League Division Series, but Torre remained with the team. Girardi was also a candidate for the Cubs' manager position, to succeed Dusty Baker; he interviewed for the job just days after leaving the Marlins. With his playing experience in Chicago, he was considered a front-runner for the position. However, the Cubs chose to go with veteran manager Lou Piniella. Girardi took himself out of the running for the Washington Nationals' managerial job shortly thereafter and returned to the broadcast booth for the YES Network in 2007. He said taking another managerial job would have meant a third move in as many years for his family. Despite Girardi's firing, he was rewarded for his achievements with the Marlins in 2006 with the National League Manager of the Year Award and the Sporting News Manager of the Year Award for the National League.


title: Joe Girardi

text: In June 2007 after the Baltimore Orioles fired manager Sam Perlozzo, Girardi interviewed for and was offered the position with the Orioles but turned it down.


title: Joe Girardi

text: When the Yankees' managerial position became vacant after the 2007 season, the Yankees interviewed Girardi, Tony Peña, and Don Mattingly. On October 29, 2007, Girardi was reported to be the Yankees' choice and the next day he signed a three-year contract, reportedly worth about $7.5 million. Girardi chose to wear number 27 to signify his wish to lead the Yankees to their 27th world championship. Girardi is a health enthusiast and banned sweets such as ice cream and soda in the clubhouse.


title: Joe Girardi

text: On August 2, 2008, Girardi participated in his first Old Timers' Day, the last such game played at the original Yankee Stadium. Girardi participated in the next Old Timer's Day on July 19, 2009, the first in the new Yankee Stadium, as well as every one since then. Girardi's first year as a Yankees manager was unsuccessful as the team was eliminated from postseason contention for the first time since 1993, finishing 2008 with an 89–73 record, third in the AL East.


title: Joe Girardi

text: In 2009, his second year as manager, the Yankees were a much improved team. He led the Yankees to their 40th AL pennant and their 27th World Series title (defeating the Philadelphia Phillies), his first World Series title as manager and the Yankees' first since 2000.


title: Joe Girardi

text: Before the 2010 season, Girardi changed his number to 28. Newly acquired center-fielder Curtis Granderson had worn 28, but agreed to change his number to 14.


title: Joe Girardi

text: Following the 2010 season, Girardi and the Yankees agreed to a three-year deal to keep him as the Yankees' manager.


title: Joe Girardi

text: The Yankees' 2011 season was plagued by injuries that caused disabled list stints for several key players. Despite the setbacks, Girardi managed to lead the team to the AL East title. Rob Parker of ESPN commended Girardi's performance and felt his efforts were deserving of American League Manager of the Year, but felt he would not get the award due to the Yankees high payroll and what Parker alleges is an anti-Yankee bias. The Yankees were defeated by the Detroit Tigers 3–2 in the divisional round.


title: Joe Girardi

text: On June 15, 2012, Girardi won his 500th game as a manager. The Yankees reached the playoffs and defeated the Baltimore Orioles 3–2 in the ALDS, but were swept by the Detroit Tigers in the ALCS on October 18, 2012. Girardi's 2013 season was marred by numerous player injuries and controversies, resulting in the Yankees finishing 85–77 (tied 3rd in AL East) and missing the postseason for the first time since 2008.


title: Joe Girardi

text: On October 10, 2013, Girardi signed a four-year deal worth $16 million to remain as manager of the New York Yankees.


title: Joe Girardi

text: In 2014 the Yankees finished 84–78, (second place in AL East) and did not qualify for the postseason for the second straight year. In 2015, the Yankees finished 87–75, (second place again in AL East), clinching the top wild card spot which marked the team's first playoff appearance since 2012, but they lost to the Houston Astros in the 2015 American League Wild Card Game. On May 21, 2016, Girardi managed his 1,500th game.


title: Joe Girardi

text: After missing the playoffs again in 2016, the Yankees finished 91–71 in 2017, second place in the AL East, and qualified for the postseason as the first Wild Card team in the AL. In 2017 he was successful on a higher percentage of replay challenges than any other MLB manager with 10 or more challenges, at 75.0%. The Yankees beat the Twins, 8–4, in the wild card game and advanced to the ALDS, where they played the Cleveland Indians. After falling behind 0–2, amidst a controversial decision to not challenge a potential hit-by-pitch, Girardi's Yankees rallied back to win three games in a row and faced the Houston Astros in the ALCS. The series began in Houston, and after again falling behind 0–2, the team won all three games at Yankee Stadium, but the season ended after losing Games 6 and 7 back in Houston. Afterward, Girardi's contract expired and on October 26, the Yankees announced he would not return as manager, being replaced by Aaron Boone.


title: Joe Girardi

text: On August 7, 2019, he became the United States national baseball team manager at the 2019 WBSC Premier12.


title: Joe Girardi

text: On October 24, 2019, the Philadelphia Phillies hired Girardi as their manager, replacing Gabe Kapler. In his first season with Philadelphia, Girardi's management resulted in the worst season ERA for any bullpen since 1930. The Phillies missed the playoffs by one game, also finishing behind Kapler's San Francisco Giants in the standings. In his second season with Philadelphia, the Phillies had the most blown saves by any team in MLB history. The Phillies again barely missed the playoffs, eliminated with three days left in the 2021 season. Meanwhile, the Giants won the most games in franchise history, earning Kapler the 2021 Manager of the Year Award.


title: Joe Girardi

text: On June 3, 2022, the Phillies fired Girardi after the team started the season with a 22–29 record. After firing Girardi, the Phillies won 14 of their next 16 games and went on to make the World Series.


title: Joe Girardi

text: Girardi and his wife Kim Innocenzi-Girardi live in Purchase, New York, and have three children. Girardi is of Italian descent and is a devout Christian.


title: Joe Girardi

text: While driving home after winning the 2009 World Series, Girardi stopped to help a car crash victim on a dangerous blind curve of the Cross County Parkway in Eastchester, New York. Police said Girardi put his own life at risk while trying to help the driver who had just crashed into a wall. The driver said she had no idea who Girardi was until the responding officers identified him. The next day, Girardi said, "I think the most important thing is that, obviously, there's a lot of joy in what we do, but we can't forget to be human beings when we help others out."


title: Joe Girardi

text: On October 6, 2012, during the 2012 ALDS against the Baltimore Orioles, Girardi's father Jerry Girardi died at the age of 81. He had Alzheimer's disease and spent the past several years in an assisted care facility. His mother had died from cancer while Joe was a student-athlete at Northwestern University. Joe Girardi has four siblings: John Girardi, George Girardi, Maria Girardi, and Gerald Girardi.


title: Junkers Ju 52

text: The Junkers Ju 52/3m (nicknamed "Tante Ju" ("Aunt Ju") and "Iron Annie") is a transport aircraft that was designed and manufactured by German aviation company Junkers.


title: Junkers Ju 52

text: Development of the Ju 52 commenced during 1930, headed by German aeronautical engineer Ernst Zindel. The aircraft's design incorporated a corrugated duralumin metal skin as a strengthening measure, which was very unusual at the time. The Ju 52's maiden flight was performed on 13 October 1930. It was initially designed with a single engine, however, it was produced in quantity as a trimotor. The primary early production model, the "Ju 52/3m", was principally operated as a 17-seat airliner or utility transport aircraft by various civil operators during the 1930s. Following the rise of Nazi Germany, thousands of Ju 52s were procured as a staple military transport of the nation. The "Ju 52/3mg7e" was the principal production model.


title: Junkers Ju 52

text: The Ju 52 was in production between 1931 and 1952. In a civilian role, it flew with over 12 airlines, including Swissair and Deutsche Luft Hansa, as both a passenger carrier and a freight hauler. In a military role, large numbers flew with the Luftwaffe, being deployed on virtually all fronts of the Second World War as a troop and cargo transport; it was also briefly used as a medium bomber. Additionally, the type was deployed by other nation's militaries in conflicts such as the Spanish Civil War, the Chaco War, and the Portuguese Colonial War. During the postwar era, the Ju 52 had a lengthy service life with numerous military and civilian operators; large numbers were still in use by the 1980s. Even in the 21st century, several aircraft have remained operational, typically used for purposes such as heritage aviation displays and aerial sightseeing.


title: Junkers Ju 52

text: The Ju 52 was similar to the company's previous Junkers W 33, although larger. In 1930, German aeronautical engineer Ernst Zindel and his team designed the Ju 52 at the Junkers works at Dessau. According to aviation author J. Richard Smith, the Ju 52 directly drew upon the company's First World War-era Junkers J 1 - the world's first all-metal aeroplane.


title: Junkers Ju 52

text: On 13 October 1930, the first prototype, designated "Ju 52ba", performed the type's maiden flight; it was initially powered by a single Junkers-built liquid-cooled V-12 engine, capable of generating up to 800 hp. During the aircraft's extensive trials, it was reengined with a 755 hp BMW IV water-cooled inline-6 powerplant. The second prototype, designated "Ju 52de", featured an increased wing span and was powered by the BMW IV engine at first; it was soon reengined with the 750 hp 14-cylinder twin-row air-cooled radial Armstrong Siddeley Leopard and re-designated "Ju 52di". Later on, the Ju 52di was again reengined with the 750 hp Junkers Jumo 204 air-cooled inverted inline-6, after which it was re-designated "Ju 52do". The third prototype, designated "Ju 52ce", had a strengthened structure, a modified leading edge, and was fitted with both a wheeled and float undercarriages.


title: Junkers Ju 52

text: During May 1931, one of the prototypes, designated "Ju 52cai", was written off after a crash. While these initial aircraft had been powered by a single engine, Junkers decided to develop the Ju 52 into a trimotor configuration. Accordingly, the "Ju 52/3m" ("drei motoren"—"three engines") was developed, being powered by an arrangement of three radial engines. According to Smith, the earliest known Ju 52/3m was delivered to Bolivian airline Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano during 1932. During its initial production years, airlines were the type's most common customers. By the mid-1930s, the "Ju 52/3mce" and "Ju 52/3fe", were the two primary production variants, both being powered by the BMW 132 radial engine.


title: Junkers Ju 52

text: During 1934, work commenced on a militarised model of the Ju 52/3m, designated "Ju 52/3mg3e", on behalf of the then-secret Luftwaffe. This model could function as a medium bomber, being furnished with a pair of defensive gun turrets and operated by a crew of four. Between 1934 and 1935, a total of 450 Ju 52/3mg3e aircraft were delivered to the Luftwaffe.


title: Junkers Ju 52

text: Numerous improved models would be introduced prior to and during the Second World War. The dominant production model was the "Ju 52/3mg7e", featuring advances such as an autopilot, enlarged doors to the cabin, and other general enhancements. It was configured as a pure transport aircraft, being capable of carrying up to 18 fully-equipped troops. Defensive armaments comprised a dorsal-mounted 13 mm MG 131 machine gun and a pair of sideways-mounted 7.9mm MG 15 machine guns. Successive models saw other improvements, such as revised glazing, newer engines, undercarriage strengthening, and increased take-off weight. The final wartime model to be developed, designated "Ju 52/3mg14e", featured improved armour protection for the pilot and a bolstered defensive armament.


title: Junkers Ju 52

text: From mid-1943 onwards, the Luftwaffe began to make less use of the Ju 52, interest having waned in the type. German officials were interested in procuring a successor to the type; at one stage, the Reich Air Ministry showed enthusiasm for the Junkers Ju 352, a larger transport aircraft somewhat resembling the Ju 52. Actions were taken to convert Junkers' Ju 52 production lines to instead manufacture Ju 352s; however, the conflict's end in May 1945 led to the effort being abandoned in an unfinished state. As such, German production of the Ju 52 was terminated during 1944; Smith claims that a total of 3,234 aircraft of various models were constructed during the conflict.


title: Junkers Ju 52

text: In the postwar era, manufacture of the Ju 52 resumed, albeit in foreign countries. It was constructed in France by Avions Amiot as the "Amiot AAC.1 Toucan"; it was also produced in Spain by Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA (CASA) as the "CASA 352". A handful of captured wartime aircraft were also rebuilt by Short Brothers of Northern Ireland for civilian service.


title: Junkers Ju 52

text: The Ju 52 had a low cantilever wing, the midsection of which was built into the fuselage, forming its underside. It was formed around four pairs of circular cross-section duralumin spars with a corrugated surface that provided torsional stiffening. A narrow control surface, with its outer section functioning as the aileron, and the inner section functioning as a flap, ran along the whole trailing edge of each wing panel, well separated from it. The inner flap section lowered the stalling speed and the arrangement became known as the "Doppelflügel", or "double wing". The outer sections of this operated differentially as ailerons, projecting slightly beyond the wingtips with control horns. The strutted horizontal stabilizer carried horn-balanced elevators which again projected and showed a significant gap between them and the stabilizer, which was adjustable in-flight. All stabilizer surfaces were corrugated.


title: Junkers Ju 52

text: The Ju 52 featured an unusual corrugated duralumin metal skin, which had been pioneered by Junkers during the First World War; the corrugation served to strengthen the whole structure over a smoother approach. The fuselage was of rectangular section with a domed decking, comprising a tubular steel structure that was entirely covered by the corrugated metal skin. A port-side passenger door was placed just aft of the wings; this entrance also acted as a loading hatch for freight, the lower half functioning as a platform to ease cargo movements. The cabin had a dimensional capacity of 590 cubic feet, and was lined with numerous windows stretching forward to the pilots' cockpit. The main undercarriage was fixed and divided; some aircraft had wheel fairings, others did not. A fixed tailskid, or a later tailwheel, was used. Some aircraft were fitted with floats or skis instead of the main wheels.


title: Junkers Ju 52

text: In its original configuration, designated the "Ju 52/1m", the Ju 52 was a single-engined aircraft, powered by either a BMW IV or Junkers liquid-cooled V-12 engine. However, the single-engined model was deemed to have been underpowered and, after seven prototypes had been completed, all subsequent Ju 52s were built with three radial engines as the "Ju 52/3m" ("drei motoren"—"three engines"). Originally powered by three Pratt & Whitney R-1690 Hornet radial engines, later production models mainly received 574 kW (770 hp) BMW 132 engines, a licence-built refinement of the Pratt & Whitney design. Export models were also built with 447 kW (600 hp) Pratt & Whitney R-1340 Wasp and 578 kW (775 hp) Bristol Pegasus VI engines.


title: Junkers Ju 52

text: The two wing-mounted radial engines of the Ju 52/3m had half-chord cowlings and in planform view (from above/below) appeared to be splayed outwards, being mounted at an almost perpendicular angle to the tapered wing's sweptback leading edge (in a similar fashion to the Mitsubishi G3M bomber and Short Sunderland; the angled engines on the Ju 52 were intended to make maintaining straight flight easier should an engine fail, while the others had different reasons). The three engines had either Townend ring or NACA cowlings to reduce drag from the engine cylinders, although a mixture of the two was most common (as can be seen in many of the accompanying photographs), with deeper-chord NACA cowlings on the wing engines and a narrow Townend ring on the center engine (onto which a deeper NACA cowl was more difficult to fit, due to the widening fuselage behind the engine). Production Ju 52/3m aircraft flown by Deutsche Luft Hansa before the Second World War, as well as Luftwaffe-flown Ju 52s flown during the war, usually used an air-start system to turn over their trio of radial engines, using a common compressed air supply that also operated the main wheels' brakes.


title: Junkers Ju 52

text: In a military context, the Ju 52 could carry up to 18 fully-equipped soldiers, or 12 stretchers when used as an air ambulance. Transported material was loaded and unloaded through side doors by means of a ramp. Air-dropped supplies were jettisoned through two double chutes; supply containers were dropped by parachute through the bomb-bay doors, and paratroopers jumped through the side doors. Sd.Kfz. 2 "Kettenkrafträder" (half-track motorcycles) and supply canisters for parachute troops were secured under the fuselage at the bomb bay exits and were dropped with four parachutes. A tow coupling was built into the tail-skid for use in towing freight gliders. The Ju 52 could tow up to two DFS 230 gliders.


title: Junkers Ju 52

text: In late 1931, James A. Richardson's Canadian Airways received (Werknummer 4006) "CF-ARM", the sixth-built Ju 52/1m. The aircraft, first refitted with an Armstrong Siddeley Leopard radial engine and then later with a Rolls-Royce Buzzard and nicknamed the "Flying Boxcar" in Canada, could lift about 3 tons and had a maximum weight of 7 tonnes (8 tons). It was commonly used to supply mining and other operations in remote areas with equipment that was too big and heavy for other aircraft then in use. The Ju 52/1m was able to land on wheels, skis, or floats (as were all Ju 52 variants).


title: Junkers Ju 52

text: Prior to the Nazi government's seizure of control of the Junkers company during 1935, the Ju 52/3m was produced principally as a 17-seat airliner. By 1935, 97 Ju 52s were being operated by numerous airlines; early customers included Finland's Aero O/Y, Sweden's AB Aerotransport, and Brazil's Syndicato Condor.


title: Junkers Ju 52

text: During May 1932, German flag carrier Luft Hansa took delivery of its first example of the type. The Ju 52 was heavily used by Luft Hansa, it was able to fly from Berlin to Rome in eight hours; both this route and the London-Berlin service was frequently operated by the type. According to Smith, Luft Hansa's Ju 52 fleet eventually numbered 231 Ju 52s; during the pre-war era, it was flown on various routes from Germany on routes in Europe, Asia, and South America.


title: Junkers Ju 52

text: The Colombian Air Force used three Ju 52/3mde bombers equipped as floatplanes during the Colombia-Peru War in 1932–1933. After the war, the air force acquired three other Ju 52mge as transports; the type remained in service until after the end of the Second World War.


title: Junkers Ju 52

text: Bolivia acquired four Ju 52s in the course of the Chaco War (1932–1935), mainly for medical evacuation and air supply. During the conflict, the Ju 52s alone transported more than 4,400 tons of cargo to the front.


title: Junkers Ju 52

text: In 1934, Junkers received orders to produce a bomber version of the Ju 52/3m to serve as interim equipment for the bomber units of the still-secret Luftwaffe until it could be replaced by the purpose-designed Dornier Do 11. Two bomb bays were fitted, capable of holding up to of bombs, while defensive armament consisted of two 7.92 mm MG 15 machine guns, one in an open dorsal position, and one in a retractable "dustbin" ventral position, which could be manually winched down from the fuselage to protect the aircraft from attacks from below. The bomber could be easily converted to serve in the transport role. The Dornier Do 11 was a failure, however, and the Junkers ended up being acquired in much larger numbers than at first expected, with the type being the Luftwaffe's main bomber until more modern aircraft such as the Heinkel He 111, Junkers Ju 86 and Dornier Do 17 entered into service.


title: Junkers Ju 52

text: The Ju 52 was used in military service in the Spanish Civil War against the Spanish Republic. It was one of the first aircraft to be delivered to the Nationalist faction in July 1936, with 20 Ju 52/3m g3e bombers being delivered to the Nationalist forces by Germany within a week of the start of the war. Their first use was to help airlift Franco's Army of Africa from Morocco to the Spanish mainland, bypassing a Spanish republican naval blockade. Between 20 July and the end of August 1936, Ju 52s carried out 461 transport flights, ferrying 7,350 troops together with weapons and equipment, with 5,455 more troops carried in September and a further 1,157 troops carried by the time the airlift ended early in October. According to Smith, the Ju 52 gained a formidable reputation; the type having been reportedly used in practically every major military engagement in support of Nationalist forces. In the Spanish theatre, the Ju 52 was operated both as a bomber and as a transport. In the former role, it participated in the bombing of Guernica, although it was considered obsolete as a bomber by late 1937, by which point it was in the process of being replaced by more capable bombers such as the Dornier Do 17 and Heinkel He 111. The type's final sortie in the theatre was performed on 26 March 1939. By the end of the conflict, Ju 52s had accumulated 13,000 operational hours and had performed 5,400 offensive missions and dropped over 6,000 bombs.


title: Junkers Ju 52

text: Following the end of the Spanish Civil War, no further aircraft of the bomber variants were built, though the type was again used as a bomber during the bombing of Warsaw during the invasion of Poland in September 1939. The Luftwaffe instead relied on the Ju 52 for transport roles during the Second World War, including paratroop drops.


title: Junkers Ju 52

text: During its service with Luft Hansa, the Ju 52 had proved to be an extremely reliable passenger airplane. This positive experience contributed to its adoption by the Luftwaffe as a standard aircraft model. In 1938, the 7th Air Division had five air transport groups with 250 Ju 52s. The Luftwaffe had 552 Ju 52s at the start of the Second World War. Though it was built in great numbers, the Ju 52 was technically obsolete. Between 1939 and 1944, 2,804 Ju 52s were delivered to the Luftwaffe (1939: 145; 1940: 388; 1941: 502; 1942: 503; 1943: 887; and 1944: 379). The production of Ju 52s continued until around the summer of 1944; when the war came to an end, 100 to 200 were still available.


title: Junkers Ju 52

text: Lightly armed, and with a top speed of only 265 km/h (165 mph) — half that of a contemporary Hurricane — the Ju 52 was very vulnerable to fighter attack, and an escort was always necessary when flying in a combat zone. Many Ju 52's were shot down by antiaircraft guns and fighters while transporting supplies, most notably during the desperate attempt to resupply the trapped German Sixth Army during the final stages of the Battle of Stalingrad in the winter of 1942–1943.


title: Junkers Ju 52

text: From 24 November 1942 to 31 January 1943, 488 aircraft were recorded as lost (this number included 266 Ju 52, 165 He 111, 42 Ju 86, 9 Fw 200, 5 He 177 and 1 Ju 290) and about 1,000 flight personnel.


title: Junkers Ju 52

text: The first major operation for the aircraft after the bombing of Warsaw was in Operation Weserübung, the attack on Denmark and Norway on 9 April 1940. Fifty-two Ju 52s from 1. and 8. Staffel in Kampfgeschwader 1 transported a company of "Fallschirmjäger" (paratroopers) and a battalion of infantry to the northern part of Jutland, and captured the airfield at Aalborg, vital to support the operation in southern Norway. Several hundred Ju 52s were also used to transport troops to Norway in the first days of this campaign.


title: Junkers Ju 52

text: During the Norwegian campaign, the Luftwaffe's Ju 52s performed a total of 3,018 sorties, 1830 of which had been carrying troops while the remainder transported cargo and various supplies. According to Smith, 29,280 personnel, 2,376 tons of supplies and 259,300 imp. gallons of fuel had been airlifted by Ju 52s through the campaign. Around 150 aircraft had been recorded as lost by the end of operations.


title: Junkers Ju 52

text: The seaplane version, equipped with two large floats, served during the Norwegian campaign in 1940, and later in the Mediterranean theatre. Some Ju 52's, both floatplanes and landplanes, were also used as minesweepers, known as "Minensuch" — literally, "mine-search" aircraft in German — and fitted with a diameter current-carrying degaussing ring under the airframe to create a magnetic field that triggered submerged naval mines. These aircraft were usually given an -"MS" suffix to designate them, as had been done with the similarly equipped Bv 138 MS trimotor flying boat.


title: Junkers Ju 52

text: The Ju 52 transport aircraft participated in the attack on the Netherlands on 10 May 1940. It was during this campaign that the Ju 52 performed a crucial role in carrying out the first large-scale air attack with paratroops in history during the Battle for The Hague. According to Smith, 500 Ju 52s had been made ready for the aerial assault on the Low Countries. In addition to the paratroop drops, they also directly landed in hostile territory to deploy assault troops, such as at Ypenburg Airport, on public highways around The Hague, and on the River Meuse (the latter using float-equipped aircraft).


title: Junkers Ju 52

text: During the opening days of the Netherlands campaign, many German aircraft were shot down by Dutch AA-fire; a total of 125 Ju 52s were lost and 47 damaged; author Hooton considered these losses to have been relatively costly for the Luftwaffe. Although transport operations with the Ju 52 were noticeably curtailed after the initial days of the invasion, the type continued to aerially supply forward ground troops.


title: Junkers Ju 52

text: During August 1940, Nazi German decided to base large numbers of Ju 52s at airfields in the Lyon, Lille, and Arras areas. Luftwaffe transport units were deliberately held at a state of readiness for Operation Sea Lion, the envisioned invasion of the British Isles; however, this operation was never attempted, in part due to the Luftwaffe being unable to secure aerial supremacy during the Battle of Britain.


title: Junkers Ju 52

text: The next major use of the Ju 52 was in the Balkans campaign. The type has been credited with enabling the rapid deployment of German ground forces throughout the theatre. The Ju 52 was also deployed during the Battle of Crete in late May 1941. 493 Ju 52/3m aircraft were used to transport most of the 22,750 troops flown onto Crete for the Luftwaffe's largest airborne invasion of the war. While victorious, 170 aircraft were lost along with 4,500 personnel; the high loss rate brought about the end of German paratrooper operations.


title: Junkers Ju 52

text: During the North African campaign, the Ju 52 was the mainstay reinforcement and resupply transport for the Germans, starting with 20 to 50 flights a day to Tunisia from Sicily in November 1942, building to 150 landings a day in early April as the Axis situation became more desperate. The Allied air forces developed a counter-air operation over a two-month period and implemented Operation Flax on 5 April 1943, destroying 11 Ju 52s in the air near Cap Bon and many more during bombing attacks on its Sicilian airfields, leaving only 29 flyable. That began two catastrophic weeks in which more than 140 aircraft were lost in air interceptions, culminating on 18 April with the "Palm Sunday Massacre" in which 24 Ju 52s were shot down, and another 35 staggered back to Sicily and crash-landed.


title: Junkers Ju 52

text: Hitler used a Deutsche Luft Hansa Ju 52 for campaigning in the 1932 German election, preferring flying to train travel. After he became Chancellor of Germany in 1933, Hans Baur became his personal pilot, and Hitler was provided with a personal Ju 52. Named "Immelmann II" after the First World War ace Max Immelmann, it carried the registration D-2600. As his power and importance grew, Hitler's personal air force grew to nearly 50 aircraft, based at Berlin Tempelhof Airport and made up mainly of Ju 52s, which also flew other members of his cabinet and war staff. In September 1939, at Baur's suggestion, "Immelmann II" was replaced by a four-engine Focke-Wulf Fw 200 "Condor", although "Immelman II" remained his backup aircraft for the rest of the Second World War.


title: Junkers Ju 52

text: Eurasia was a major Chinese airliner company in the 1930s and operated at least seven Ju 52/3ms. A further example, sent out as a demonstrator to Eurasia, was purchased by the Chinese Nationalist Party government and became Chiang Kai-shek's personal transport.


title: Junkers Ju 52

text: Various Junkers Ju 52s continued in military and civilian use following World War II. In 1956, the Portuguese Air Force, which was already using the Ju 52s as a transport plane, employed the type as a paratroop drop aircraft for its newly organized elite parachute forces, later known as the "Batalhão de Caçadores Páraquedistas". The paratroopers used the Ju 52 in several combat operations in Angola and other Portuguese African colonies before gradually phasing it out of service in the 1960s.


title: Junkers Ju 52

text: The Swiss Air Force also operated the Ju 52 from 1939 to 1982, when three aircraft remained in operation, probably the last and longest service in any air force. Museums hoped to obtain the aircraft, but they were not for sale. They are still in flying condition and together with a CASA 352 can be booked for sightseeing tours with Ju-Air.


title: Junkers Ju 52

text: During the 1950s, the Ju 52 was also used by the French Air Force during the First Indochina War as a bomber. The use of these Junkers was quite limited.


title: Junkers Ju 52

text: The Spanish Air Force operated the Ju 52, nicknamed "Pava", until well into the 1970s. Escuadrón 721, flying the Spanish-built versions, was employed in training parachutists from Alcantarilla Air Base near Murcia.


title: Junkers Ju 52

text: Some military Ju 52s were converted to civilian use. For example, British European Airways operated 11 ex-Luftwaffe Ju 52/3mg8e machines, taken over by the RAF, between 1946 and retirement in 1947 on intra-U.K. routes before the Douglas DC-3 was introduced to the airline. French airlines such as "Societe de Transports Aeriens" (STA) and Air France flew Toucans in the late 1940s and early 1950s.


title: Junkers Ju 52

text: In the USSR, captured Ju 52s were allocated to the Civil Air Fleet, being found particularly suitable for transporting sulphur from the Karakum Desert. Various Soviet agencies used the Ju 52 through to 1950.


title: Junkers Ju 52

text: A Ju 52 and a Douglas DC-3 were the last aircraft to take off from Berlin Tempelhof Airport before all operations ceased there on 30 October 2008.


title: Junkers Ju 52

text: Most Ju 52s were destroyed after the war, but 585 were built after 1945. In France, the machine had been manufactured during the war by the Junkers-controlled Avions Amiot company, and production continued afterwards as the Amiot AAC 1 Toucan. In Spain, "Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA" continued production as the CASA 352 and 352L. Four CASA 352s are airworthy and in regular use today.


title: Junkers Ju 52

text: In April 2022, 90 years after the first flight of the Ju 52/3m, the Swiss Junkers Flugzeugwerke AG announced the successor model of the Ju 52, the Ju 52 New Generation. The Ju 52 New Generation will be able to carry 14 passengers and will have modern RED A03 engines and modern avionics. The market launch is not expected before 2025.


title: Kim Sharma

text: Kim Sharma is an Indian actress and model who worked in the Bollywood industry. She made her acting debut in Yash Raj Film's 2000-romantic drama "Mohabbatein" where she played Sanjana.


title: Kim Sharma

text: She then appeared in advertisements for multiple companies. Aditya Chopra signed her for his second directorial-venture titled "Mohabbatein" in 2000.


title: Gord Downie

text: Gordon Edgar Downie (February 6, 1964 – October 17, 2017) was a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, musician, writer and activist. He was the singer and lyricist for the Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip, which he fronted from its formation in 1984 until his death in 2017. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential and popular artists in Canadian music history.


title: Gord Downie

text: Downie released seven solo albums, two posthumously: "Coke Machine Glow" (2001), "Battle of the Nudes" (2003), "The Grand Bounce" (2010), "And the Conquering Sun" (2014), "Secret Path" (2016), "Introduce Yerself" (2017), and "Away Is Mine" (2020). His first to hit number one was "Introduce Yerself", shortly after his death. His family and managers said future releases are planned, including solo material and unreleased work with the Hip.


title: Gord Downie

text: Gordon Downie was born in Amherstview, Ontario, and raised in Kingston, Ontario, along with his brothers Mike and Patrick, and sisters Charlyn and Paula. He was the son of Lorna (Neal) and Edgar Charles Downie, a travelling salesman, later a real estate broker and developer. In Kingston, Downie attended the downtown high school Kingston Collegiate and Vocational Institute, where other members of the Tragically Hip also attended. In high school, Downie was the frontman for a band called the Slinks performing at the KCVI Variety show and rivaling older members Rob Baker and Gord Sinclair's band the Rodents. After graduating high school, Downie attended Queen's University where he majored in film studies, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts and Science in 1986.


title: Gord Downie

text: In 1984, at age 20, Downie formed the Tragically Hip with, Rodents's members, Rob Baker and Gord Sinclair, another younger, Kingston Collegiate and Vocational Institute alumni, Johnny Fay, and saxophonist Davis Manning. In 1986, Manning left the band as guitarist-vocalist Paul Langlois joined. Originally, the band covered popular British rock songs from the 1960s. In an interview with Canadian music journalist Steve Newton, Downie noted that the Tragically Hip's early setlist was originally drawn to bands such as The Yardbirds and The Stones, a decision that was made because the Hip wished other Kingston bar bands would also play the genre. The Tragically Hip quickly became famous once MCA Records president Bruce Dickinson saw them performing at the Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto and offered them a record deal.


title: Gord Downie

text: Downie began pursuing a solo career with the release of "Coke Machine Glow" in 2001. He published his first poetry and prose collection alongside the album and under the same title.


title: Gord Downie

text: The backing musicians, credited as the Goddamned Band, consisted of indie rock band the Dinner Is Ruined, Josh Finlayson of Skydiggers and singer-songwriter Julie Doiron.


title: Gord Downie

text: He released his second solo album, "Battle of the Nudes", in 2003 before returning to the studio with the Tragically Hip. His third solo effort, "The Grand Bounce", was released in 2010. Both it and "Battle of the Nudes" are credited as Gord Downie and the Country of Miracles.


title: Gord Downie

text: In addition to his solo works, Downie collaborated with several fellow Canadian and international artists. His most famous Canadian collaborations are with Richard Terfry (better known as Buck 65), Dallas Green of City and Colour and Alexisonfire, the Sadies and Fucked Up. Terfry collaborated with Downie on the song "Whispers of the Waves" off the album "20 Odd Years". Terfry composed the track and with the help of Charles Austen, his co-writer, decided Downie's vocals would be the best fit for their song.


title: Gord Downie

text: In 2014, Downie released an album with the Sadies called "And the Conquering Sun". He commented on working with the Sadies, saying, "I enjoy getting together with those guys; it's a whole other universe. They're writing all the music and I'm writing all the lyrics and we're coming up with some neat stuff. You do it for the company but I'm genuinely shocked by the themes and things you touch based on the music you're singing to. That's really compelling to me." The album consists of ten songs.


title: Gord Downie

text: Also in 2014 Downie appeared as a guest vocalist on "The Art of Patrons", a song from Fucked Up's album "Glass Boys".


title: Gord Downie

text: On February 2, 2017, Downie joined Blue Rodeo onstage at Massey Hall for a performance of Blue Rodeo's song "Lost Together". This marked his last public appearance before his death.


title: Gord Downie

text: Downie had cameo appearances in "Men with Brooms", in which the Tragically Hip play a curling team. Downie also made a cameo appearance in the 2008 indie drama "Nothing Really Matters", directed by Jean-Marc Piché. Downie also appears in the Trailer Park Boys movie "", in which he and Alex Lifeson play a pair of police officers. More recently, he and other members of the band appeared in the episode of "Trailer Park Boys" entitled "Say Goodnight to the Bad Guys", in which he is harassed while eating a bologna sandwich at a singles dance. Downie was also featured in the sitcom "Corner Gas" in the episode "Rock On!" in which the Tragically Hip are shown as a local band practising in the main character's garage. Colin James is also featured in the episode. Downie also appeared in Michael McGowan's 2008 film, "One Week". A documentary film, "Long Time Running", about the Tragically Hip's summer 2016 cross-Canada farewell concert tour, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2017.


title: Gord Downie

text: Downie was heavily involved in environmental movements, especially issues concerning water rights. He was a board member of Lake Ontario Waterkeeper. With Lake Ontario Waterkeeper, Downie helped work on a cause to prevent a cement company from burning tires for fuel. He was also a part of the Swim Drink Fish Music club, a project that unites artists and environmentalists in a music club to raise money for Waterkeeper organizations in Canada.


title: Gord Downie

text: In February 2012 in Fort Albany, Ontario, Downie and the Tragically Hip played at the Great Moon Gathering, a yearly educational conference that takes place in various communities along Northern Ontario's James Bay coast. Its focus is on youth learning and combining Cree education with the contemporary world. The venue was small and not typical of the band. Author Joseph Boyden, who invited them, said their motivation was to "initiate a guerrilla act of love for a people who are so thoroughly underrepresented but now, somehow, overexposed for only their shortcomings. A guerrilla act of love to show the rest of the country what strength and artistry, grace and humour the Cree possess." In addition to the Tragically Hip's performance, Downie sang a song with a local band, Northern Revolution. The song "Goodnight Attawapiskat" from the album "Now for Plan A" was a result of this trip.


title: Gord Downie

text: On October 13, 2016, Downie and his brother Mike, along with the Wenjack family, announced the founding of the Gord Downie and Chanie Wenjack Fund to support reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. The fund is a part of Downie's legacy and commitment to Canada's First Peoples. Chanie Wenjack was a young indigenous boy who died trying to escape a residential school, who became the centre of Downie's "Secret Path" project. The Gord Downie and Chanie Wenjack Fund is a registered charity.


title: Gord Downie

text: At the Assembly of First Nations in Gatineau, Quebec, on December 6, 2016, National Chief Perry Bellegarde honoured Downie with an eagle feather, a symbol of the creator above, for his support of the Indigenous peoples of Canada. Bellegarde also bestowed on Downie an honorary aboriginal name, Wicapi Omani, which is Lakota for "man who walks among the stars".


title: Gord Downie

text: Downie took to Parliament Hill on July 2, 2017, to speak out for Canada's young Indigenous people, likening it to the same kind of pain young people suffered in the now defunct residential schools.


title: Gord Downie

text: In May 2016, Downie and his bandmates received honorary degrees from Queen's University. Downie was not able to attend the ceremony due to his illness which had not yet been made public.


title: Gord Downie

text: On December 22, 2016, Downie was selected as The Canadian Press's Canadian Newsmaker of the Year and was the first entertainer selected for the title. In December 2017, Downie was again named Canadian Newsmaker of the Year for the second year in a row, in recognition of the public reaction to his death.


title: Gord Downie

text: Downie, along with his Tragically Hip bandmates, was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada on June 19, 2017, for "their contribution to Canadian music and for their support of various social and environmental causes".


title: Gord Downie

text: In December 2017, Percy Hatfield, the Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) representing Windsor—Tecumseh introduced the bill "Poet Laureate of Ontario Act In Memory of Gord Downie" to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. It was passed in December 2019, establishing the Poet Laureate of Ontario.


title: Gord Downie

text: In December 2015, shortly after attending his father's funeral, Downie was diagnosed with a terminal brain tumour. The Tragically Hip announced his diagnosis on their website on May 24, 2016. Doctors at Toronto's Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre confirmed the same day that it was a glioblastoma, which had responded favourably to radiation and chemotherapy treatment but was not curable.


title: Gord Downie

text: Downie toured with the band in summer 2016 to support "Man Machine Poem", the band's 13th studio album. The tour's final concert was held at the Rogers K-Rock Centre in Kingston, Ontario, on August 20 and was broadcast and streamed live by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation on television, radio and internet. It was viewed by an estimated 11.7 million people.


title: Gord Downie

text: The tour was profiled in the 2017 documentary film "Long Time Running", directed by Jennifer Baichwal and Nicholas de Pencier. The final concert was released on DVD under the title "A National Celebration" on December 24, 2017.


title: Gord Downie

text: In September 2016, Downie announced he would release a new solo album, "Secret Path" in October. The album was accompanied by a graphic novel on which he collaborated with Jeff Lemire, and an animated television film which aired on CBC Television. He also performed a few live shows to support the album, with supporting musicians Kevin Drew, Charles Spearin, Dave Hamelin, Kevin Hearn and Josh Finlayson.


title: Gord Downie

text: At the 6th Canadian Screen Awards in 2018, Downie posthumously won two Canadian Screen Awards for the television version of "Secret Path". The program won the Donald Brittain Award for Best Political or Social Documentary Program and Best Music in a Non-Fiction Program. At the 7th Canadian Screen Awards in 2019, two additional awards were won by "Gord Downie's Secret Path in Concert", the CBC Television broadcast of Downie's 2016 Roy Thomson Hall performance of the album.


title: Gord Downie

text: In September 2017, Downie announced what would be his final solo double-album titled "Introduce Yerself"; it was released on October 27, 2017, ten days after Downie's death.


title: Gord Downie

text: At the Juno Awards of 2018, the album won the Juno Award for Adult Alternative Album of the Year, Downie and Drew won Songwriter of the Year for "A Natural", "Introduce Yerself" and "The North", and Downie won the Artist of the Year. In a tribute to Downie at the Juno Awards ceremony, Sarah Harmer, Dallas Green and Kevin Hearn performed a medley of the album's title track with the Tragically Hip song "Bobcaygeon".


title: Gord Downie

text: Downie was married to Laura Leigh Usher, herself a breast cancer survivor. They had four children. Downie and Usher separated in 2015 before Downie's cancer diagnosis. They were not divorced at the time of Downie's death and had remained close friends. Under the stage name Kaya Usher, she released her own debut album as a singer, "All This Is", in 2021 with the participation of two of their four children, and some of the tracks feature Usher performing with a guitar that had once belonged to Downie.


title: Gord Downie

text: Downie was the godson of Harry Sinden, a former hockey coach, general manager and president of the Boston Bruins.


title: Gord Downie

text: Downie died of glioblastoma, a type of brain cancer, on October 17, 2017, at the age of 53 in Toronto. The surviving members of the Tragically Hip made the news of his death public the next morning, by sharing an official statement from his family on their website:


title: Gord Downie

text: Upon hearing the news, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau released a tribute statement on his official website. Later in the day, he held a press conference at Parliament Hill at which he tearfully remembered Downie as "Our buddy Gord, who loved this country with everything he had—and not just loved it in a nebulous, 'Oh, I love Canada' way. He loved every hidden corner, every story, every aspect of this country that he celebrated his whole life." Canadian MP Tony Clement called upon the government to consider holding a state funeral for Downie, stating "I think he matters that much to Canadians." The House of Commons observed a moment of silence.


title: Gord Downie

text: Downie was widely mourned in Canada. The CBC news broadcast, The National, spent 40 of its sixty-minute broadcast discussing Gord and The Hip. Several prominent Canadians, including actors Ryan Reynolds and Seth Rogen, Toronto mayor John Tory, singers k.d. lang and Neil Young, rapper Drake, and the rock group Rush, remembered Downie on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Additionally, several National Hockey League teams and players, as well as the league itself, paid tribute to Downie through social media, owing to the high popularity of the Tragically Hip's music among Canadian professional hockey players. The Toronto Maple Leafs honoured Downie with a moment of silence before their game on October 18, during which the retired-jersey banner for Bill Barilko – whom Downie had written about in the Tragically Hip song "Fifty Mission Cap" – was lowered from the rafters of the Air Canada Centre.


title: Gord Downie

text: Residents of the Ontario village of Bobcaygeon, which Downie had written about in the song of the same name, held a candlelight vigil for him the night after his death; a large public gathering also took place at Springer Market Square in the band's hometown of Kingston.


title: Gord Downie

text: In Kingston, Mayor Bryan Paterson issued a statement, laid a wreath in Springer Market Square near City Hall, and signed a condolence banner. Kingston Transit buses displayed "GORD, WE'LL MISS YOU" on their electronic destination signs, alternately with the regular route number and name display.


title: Gord Downie

text: Canadian radio stations responded heavily to Downie's death, with early figures indicating the band's radio airplay on October 18 increased 1,500 percent compared to a normal day. Most rock radio stations dropped regular programming to shift to an all-Tragically Hip format for the day, and some further announced that they would continue the all-Hip format through the weekend until the morning of 23 October. Several stations, including CHEZ-FM in Ottawa, CFRQ-FM in Halifax, CJRQ-FM in Sudbury, CJQQ-FM in Timmins, CKEZ-FM in New Glasgow and CIKR-FM in the Tragically Hip's hometown of Kingston dropped their regular names to temporarily rebrand themselves as "Gord FM".


title: Gord Downie

text: Stations in other formats, such as contemporary hit radio, adult contemporary or country music, typically did not suspend their normal playlists, but still added some Tragically Hip songs to the day's rotation. "Ahead by a Century" was the single most-played song on Canadian radio on the day Downie's death was announced.


title: Gord Downie

text: CBC Radio preempted some of its regular programming in favour of a Downie tribute special hosted by Rich Terfry; although news of Downie's death broke just 20 minutes before airtime, CBC Radio One's entertainment magazine show "Q" dropped its planned lineup in favour of a live Downie tribute special.


title: Gord Downie

text: In the wake of Downie's death, CTV rescheduled the planned broadcast premiere of "Long Time Running", a documentary film by Jennifer Baichwal and Nicholas de Pencier about the Man Machine Poem Tour of 2016, from November 12 to October 20. CBC Television broadcast his solo Roy Thomson Hall concert of "Secret Path" on October 22.


title: Gord Downie

text: Arjun Sahgal, an oncologist with the Sunnybrook Hospital who had been involved in treating Downie after his cancer diagnosis, lauded Downie's strength and courage in continuing to tour, make music and use his fame to publicize both cancer awareness and indigenous reconciliation issues, and called Downie "a Terry Fox in the modern day".


title: Gord Downie

text: In 2018, two recordings by Downie, "The East Wind" and "At the Quinte Hotel", were released on the compilation album "The Al Purdy Songbook". A different recording of "The East Wind" appeared on "The Grand Bounce", and "At the Quinte Hotel" was previously released in video form, but never in an audio recording.


title: Gord Downie

text: In June 2020, the Tragically Hip and manager Jake Gold announced that they were undertaking an "archaeological dig" to select music and memorabilia from the band's archives for future release.


title: Gord Downie

text: In August, Downie's Twitter account was reactivated, and began posting a series of teaser photographs of handwritten song lyrics, accompanied by numbers that appeared to be a calendar countdown to the date of October 15. On September 21, it was confirmed that "Away Is Mine", an album comprising the last songs Downie recorded in his lifetime, will be released on October 16. The album is co-written with Josh Finlayson, a frequent collaborator, and is accompanied with an acoustic version of all the produced tracks. Also, a series of music videos for all the songs on the album were created by Canadian artists and released on YouTube.


title: Gord Downie

text: In October 2022, the song "Lustre Parfait" was released to streaming services as a preview of an album collecting various previously unreleased songs that Downie had recorded with Bob Rock. The album, to be titled "Lustre Parfait", is slated for release in May 2023.


title: Five-pointed star

text: A five-pointed star (☆), geometrically an equilateral concave decagon, is a common ideogram in modern culture.


title: Five-pointed star

text: Comparatively rare in classical heraldry, it was notably introduced for the flag of the United States in the Flag Act of 1777 and since has become widely used in flags.


title: Five-pointed star

text: Sopdet, the Egyptian personification of the star Sirius, is always shown with the five-pointed star hieroglyph on her head.


title: Five-pointed star

text: The star (or "mullet") is comparatively rare in medieval heraldry, but from an early time, the five-pointed star was preferred in English and Scottish heraldry (e.g. in the Dering Roll, c. 1270), while the preferred number of points in German heraldry was six.


title: Five-pointed star

text: The star in the coat of arms of the De Vere family was in legend attributed to the First Crusade, when


title: Five-pointed star

text: The de Vere star is notorious in English history, because in the Battle of Barnet in 1471, the white star of the Earl of Oxford was mistaken for the white rose of Edward IV by the Earl of Warwick, so that he erroneously attacked his own ally, losing the battle, which probably changed the outcome of the entire War of the Roses.


title: Five-pointed star

text: The Flag Act did not specify any particular arrangement, number of points, nor orientation for the stars and the arrangement. Some flag makers arranged the stars into one big star, in a circle or in rows and some replaced a state's star with its initial. One arrangement features 13 five-pointed stars arranged in a circle, with the stars arranged pointing outwards from the circle (as opposed to up), the so-called Betsy Ross flag.


title: Five-pointed star

text: The American flag shown in the painting "Surrender of Lord Cornwallis" by John Trumbull (c. 1820, depicting an event of 1781) shows twelve stars arranged along the outline of a rectangle with an additional star in the center.


title: Five-pointed star

text: The coat of arms of Valais, adopted for the Rhodanic Republic (1802), was designed with twelve five-pointed stars.


title: Five-pointed star

text: The flag of Chile, introduced in 1817, has a single five-pointed star known as "La Estrella Solitaria" (The Lone Star). The similar flag of Texas was introduced in 1839.


title: Five-pointed star

text: The star and crescent used by the Ottoman Empire was shown with an eight-pointed stars in early forms (18th century), but was changed to a five-pointed star in the official flag in 1844.


title: Five-pointed star

text: Numerous other national or regional flags adopted five-pointed star designs in the later 19th to early 20th century, including Venezuela (1859), Honduras (1866), Philippines (1898), Cuba (1902), Panama (1925), Jordan (1928) and Pakistan (1947). The Flag of Minnesota and 1901 Maine Flag both utilized the 5-pointed design.


title: Five-pointed star

text: A red star was used as the badge of XII Corps of the Union Army in the American Civil War, while VII Corps used a five-pointed star in a crescent.


title: Five-pointed star

text: The U.S. tradition of barnstars, decorative five-pointed stars attached to buildings, appears to have arisen in Pennsylvania after the Civil War, and became widespread by the 1930s.


title: Five-pointed star

text: The Swiss 1 and 2 francs coins introduced in 1874–5 showed the figure of Helvetia surrounded by 22 stars, enumerating the Swiss cantons (in 1983 changed to 23 stars to reflect the creation of the canton of Jura).


title: Five-pointed star

text: The five-pointed Red Star as a symbol of communism was adopted during the Russian Civil War of 1917–1922, but its exact origin is unclear. The red star was featured on the state emblem of the Soviet Union since 1923 and has been in use in North Korea since 1948. Another variant is a yellow (golden) star on red background, as on the state emblem of Vietnam (1945) and the People's Republic of China (1949), as well as on the flags of most Communist countries. In the 1930s, red luminescent Kremlin stars were installed on five towers of the Moscow Kremlin, replacing gilded eagles that had symbolized Imperial Russia. Since then, it is customary to install similarly looking red stars atop New Year trees in the Soviet Union, a tradition that continues to this day in Russia.


title: Five-pointed star

text: The Flag of Europe, designed in 1955 on behalf of the Council of Europe (CoE) and adopted by the European Communities in 1985 (and thus inherited as the flag of the European Union upon its creation in 1993) has a circle of twelve yellow (gold) stars on a blue (azure) field.


title: Five-pointed star

text: The use of "star" for theatrical lead performers dates to 1824, giving rise to the concept of "stardom" in the film industry. The Hollywood Walk of Fame, where famous entertainers are honored with pink terrazzo five-pointed stars along Hollywood Boulevard, was introduced in 1958.


title: Five-pointed star

text: In association football, there is a tradition of using five-pointed stars in team badges to represent victories. The first team to adopt such a star was Juventus, in 1958, to represent their tenth Italian Football Championship and Serie A title. The star was later formally adopted by some organisations as a symbol for ten titles, and the ratio of one star for ten titles has become the most common arrangement.


title: Five-pointed star

text: As a symbol or emblem, the five-pointed star, or "mullet of five points", arises from classical heraldry, and it shares none of the esoteric or occult associations given to the pentagram, or "Seal of Solomon", since at least the Renaissance period.


title: Five-pointed star

text: The two emblems are frequently associated, or identified, in contemporary conspiracy theories, especially referencing the use of five-pointed stars in the flags of the United States and European Union.


title: Chelicerata

text: The subphylum Chelicerata (from New Latin, , ) constitutes one of the major subdivisions of the phylum Arthropoda. It contains the sea spiders, horseshoe crabs, and arachnids (including harvestmen, scorpions, spiders, solifuges, ticks, and mites, among many others), as well as a number of extinct lineages, such as the eurypterids (sea scorpions) and chasmataspidids.


title: Chelicerata

text: The Chelicerata originated as marine animals in the Middle Cambrian period; the first confirmed chelicerate fossils, belonging to "Sanctacaris", date from 508 million years ago. The surviving marine species include the four species of xiphosurans (horseshoe crabs), and possibly the 1,300 species of pycnogonids (sea spiders), if the latter are indeed chelicerates. On the other hand, there are over 77,000 well-identified species of air-breathing chelicerates, and there may be about 500,000 unidentified species.


title: Chelicerata

text: Like all arthropods, chelicerates have segmented bodies with jointed limbs, all covered in a cuticle made of chitin and proteins. The chelicerate body plan consists of two tagmata, the prosoma and the opisthosoma, except that mites have lost a visible division between these sections. The chelicerae, which give the group its name, are the only appendages that appear before the mouth. In most sub-groups, they are modest pincers used to feed. However, spiders' chelicerae form fangs that most species use to inject venom into prey. The group has the open circulatory system typical of arthropods, in which a tube-like heart pumps blood through the hemocoel, which is the major body cavity. Marine chelicerates have gills, while the air-breathing forms generally have both book lungs and tracheae. In general, the ganglia of living chelicerates' central nervous systems fuse into large masses in the cephalothorax, but there are wide variations and this fusion is very limited in the Mesothelae, which are regarded as the oldest and most basal group of spiders. Most chelicerates rely on modified bristles for touch and for information about vibrations, air currents, and chemical changes in their environment. The most active hunting spiders also have very acute eyesight.


title: Chelicerata

text: Chelicerates were originally predators, but the group has diversified to use all the major feeding strategies: predation, parasitism, herbivory, scavenging and eating decaying organic matter. Although harvestmen can digest solid food, the guts of most modern chelicerates are too narrow for this, and they generally liquidize their food by grinding it with their chelicerae and pedipalps and flooding it with digestive enzymes. To conserve water, air-breathing chelicerates excrete waste as solids that are removed from their blood by Malpighian tubules, structures that also evolved independently in insects.


title: Chelicerata

text: While the marine horseshoe crabs rely on external fertilization, air-breathing chelicerates use internal but usually indirect fertilization. Many species use elaborate courtship rituals to attract mates. Most lay eggs that hatch as what look like miniature adults, but all scorpions and a few species of mites keep the eggs inside their bodies until the young emerge. In most chelicerate species the young have to fend for themselves, but in scorpions and some species of spider the females protect and feed their young.


title: Chelicerata

text: The evolutionary origins of chelicerates from the early arthropods have been debated for decades. Although there is considerable agreement about the relationships between most chelicerate sub-groups, the inclusion of the Pycnogonida in this taxon has recently been questioned (see below), and the exact position of scorpions is still controversial, though they were long considered the most basal of the arachnids.


title: Chelicerata

text: Venom has evolved three times in the chelicerates; spiders, scorpions and pseudoscorpions, or four times if the hematophagous secretions produced by ticks are included. In addition there have been undocumented descriptions of venom glands in Solifugae. Chemical defense has been found in whip scorpions, shorttailed whipscorpions, harvestmen, beetle mites and sea spiders.


title: Chelicerata

text: Although the venom of a few spider and scorpion species can be very dangerous to humans, medical researchers are investigating the use of these venoms for the treatment of disorders ranging from cancer to erectile dysfunction. The medical industry also uses the blood of horseshoe crabs as a test for the presence of contaminant bacteria. Mites can cause allergies in humans, transmit several diseases to humans and their livestock, and are serious agricultural pests.


title: Chelicerata

text: The Chelicerata are arthropods as they have: segmented bodies with jointed limbs, all covered in a cuticle made of chitin and proteins; heads that are composed of several segments that fuse during the development of the embryo; a much reduced coelom; a hemocoel through which the blood circulates, driven by a tube-like heart. Chelicerates' bodies consist of two tagmata, sets of segments that serve similar functions: the foremost one, called the prosoma or cephalothorax, and the rear tagma is called the opisthosoma or abdomen. However, in the Acari (mites and ticks) there is no visible division between these sections.


title: Chelicerata

text: The prosoma is formed in the embryo by fusion of the ocular somite (referred as "acron" in previous literatures), which carries the eyes and labrum, with six post-ocular segments (somite 1 to 6), which all have paired appendages. It was previously thought that chelicerates had lost the antennae-bearing somite 1, but later investigations reveal that it is retained and corresponds to a pair of chelicerae or chelifores, small appendages that often form pincers. somite 2 has a pair of pedipalps that in most sub-groups perform sensory functions, while the remaining four cephalothorax segments (somite 4 to 6) have pairs of legs. In basal forms the ocular somite has a pair of compound eyes on the sides and four pigment-cup ocelli ("little eyes") in the middle. The mouth is between somite 1 and 2 (chelicerae and pedipalps).


title: Chelicerata

text: The opisthosoma consists of thirteen or fewer segments, may or may not end with a telson. In some taxa such as scorpion and eurypterid the opisthosoma divided into two groups, "mesosoma" and "metasoma". The abdominal appendages of modern chelicerates are missing or heavily modified – for example in spiders the remaining appendages form spinnerets that extrude silk, while those of horseshoe crabs (Xiphosura) form gills.


title: Chelicerata

text: Like all arthropods, chelicerates' bodies and appendages are covered with a tough cuticle made mainly of chitin and chemically hardened proteins. Since this cannot stretch, the animals must molt to grow. In other words, they grow new but still soft cuticles, then cast off the old one and wait for the new one to harden. Until the new cuticle hardens the animals are defenseless and almost immobilized.


title: Chelicerata

text: Chelicerae and pedipalps are the two pairs of appendages closest to the mouth; they vary widely in form and function and the consistent difference between them is their position in the embryo and corresponding neurons: chelicerae are deutocerebral and arise from somite 1, ahead of the mouth, while pedipalps are tritocerebral and arise from somite 2, behind the mouth.


title: Chelicerata

text: The chelicerae ("claw horns") that give the sub-phylum its name normally consist of three sections, and the claw is formed by the third section and a rigid extension of the second. However, spiders' have only two sections, and the second forms a fang that folds away behind the first when not in use. The relative sizes of chelicerae vary widely: those of some fossil eurypterids and modern harvestmen form large claws that extended ahead of the body, while scorpions' are tiny pincers that are used in feeding and project only slightly in front of the head.


title: Chelicerata

text: In basal chelicerates, the pedipalps are unspecialized and subequal to the posterior pairs of walking legs. However, in sea spider and arachnids, the pedipalps are more or less specialized for sensory or prey-catching function – for example scorpions have pincers and male spiders have bulbous tips that act as syringes to inject sperm into the females' reproductive openings when mating.


title: Chelicerata

text: As in all arthropods, the chelicerate body has a very small coelom restricted to small areas round the reproductive and excretory systems. The main body cavity is a hemocoel that runs most of the length of the body and through which blood flows, driven by a tubular heart that collects blood from the rear and pumps it forward. Although arteries direct the blood to specific parts of the body, they have open ends rather than joining directly to veins, and chelicerates therefore have open circulatory systems as is typical for arthropods.


title: Chelicerata

text: These depend on individual sub-groups' environments. Modern terrestrial chelicerates generally have both book lungs, which deliver oxygen and remove waste gases via the blood, and tracheae, which do the same without using the blood as a transport system. The living horseshoe crabs are aquatic and have book gills that lie in a horizontal plane. For a long time it was assumed that the extinct eurypterids had gills, but the fossil evidence was ambiguous. However, a fossil of the long eurypterid "Onychopterella", from the Late Ordovician period, has what appear to be four pairs of vertically oriented book gills whose internal structure is very similar to that of scorpions' book lungs.


title: Chelicerata

text: The guts of most modern chelicerates are too narrow to take solid food. All scorpions and almost all spiders are predators that "pre-process" food in preoral cavities formed by the chelicerae and the bases of the pedipalps. However, one predominantly herbivore spider species is known, and many supplement their diets with nectar and pollen. Many of the Acari (ticks and mites) are blood-sucking parasites, but there are many predatory, herbivore and scavenger sub-groups. All the Acari have a retractable feeding assembly that consists of the chelicerae, pedipalps and parts of the exoskeleton, and which forms a preoral cavity for pre-processing food.


title: Chelicerata

text: Harvestmen are among the minority of living chelicerates that can take solid food, and the group includes predators, herbivores and scavengers. Horseshoe crabs are also capable of processing solid food, and use a distinctive feeding system. Claws at the tips of their legs grab small invertebrates and pass them to a food groove that runs from between the rearmost legs to the mouth, which is on the underside of the head and faces slightly backwards. The bases of the legs form toothed gnathobases that both grind the food and push it towards the mouth. This is how the earliest arthropods are thought to have fed.


title: Chelicerata

text: Horseshoe crabs convert nitrogenous wastes to ammonia and dump it via their gills, and excrete other wastes as feces via the anus. They also have nephridia ("little kidneys"), which extract other wastes for excretion as urine. Ammonia is so toxic that it must be diluted rapidly with large quantities of water. Most terrestrial chelicerates cannot afford to use so much water and therefore convert nitrogenous wastes to other chemicals, which they excrete as dry matter. Extraction is by various combinations of nephridia and Malpighian tubules. The tubules filter wastes out of the blood and dump them into the hindgut as solids, a system that has evolved independently in insects and several groups of arachnids.


title: Chelicerata

text: Chelicerate nervous systems are based on the standard arthropod model of a pair of nerve cords, each with a ganglion per segment, and a brain formed by fusion of the ganglia just behind the mouth with those ahead of it. If one assume that chelicerates lose the first segment, which bears antennae in other arthropods, chelicerate brains include only one pair of pre-oral ganglia instead of two. However, there is evidence that the first segment is indeed available and bears the cheliceres.


title: Chelicerata

text: There is a notable but variable trend towards fusion of other ganglia into the brain. The brains of horseshoe crabs include all the ganglia of the prosoma plus those of the first two opisthosomal segments, while the other opisthosomal segments retain separate pairs of ganglia. In most living arachnids, except scorpions if they are true arachnids, "all" the ganglia, including those that would normally be in the opisthosoma, are fused into a single mass in the prosoma and there are no ganglia in the opisthosoma. However, in the Mesothelae, which are regarded as the most basal living spiders, the ganglia of the opisthosoma and the rear part of the prosoma remain unfused, and in scorpions the ganglia of the cephalothorax are fused but the abdomen retains separate pairs of ganglia.


title: Chelicerata

text: As with other arthropods, chelicerates' cuticles would block out information about the outside world, except that they are penetrated by many sensors or connections from sensors to the nervous system. In fact, spiders and other arthropods have modified their cuticles into elaborate arrays of sensors. Various touch and vibration sensors, mostly bristles called setae, respond to different levels of force, from strong contact to very weak air currents. Chemical sensors provide equivalents of taste and smell, often by means of setae.


title: Chelicerata

text: Living chelicerates have both compound eyes (only in horseshoe crabs, as the compound eye in the other clades has been reduced to a cluster of no more than five pairs of ocelli), mounted on the sides of the head, plus pigment-cup ocelli ("little eyes"), mounted in the middle. These median ocelli-type eyes in chelicerates are assumed to be homologous with the crustacean nauplius eyes and the insect ocelli. The eyes of horseshoe crabs can detect movement but not form images. At the other extreme, jumping spiders have a very wide field of vision, and their main eyes are ten times as acute as those of dragonflies, able to see in both colors and UV-light.


title: Chelicerata

text: Horseshoe crabs, which are aquatic, use external fertilization, in other words the sperm and ova meet outside the parents' bodies. Their trilobite-like larvae look rather like miniature adults as they have full sets of appendages and eyes, but initially they have only two pairs of book-gills and gain three more pairs as they molt.


title: Chelicerata

text: Being air-breathing animals, the living arachnids (excluding horseshoe crabs) use internal fertilization, which is direct in some species, in other words the males' genitalia make contact with the females'. However, in most species fertilization is indirect. Male spiders use their pedipalps as syringes to "inject" sperm into the females' reproductive openings, but most arachnids produce spermatophores (packages of sperm) which the females take into their bodies. Courtship rituals are common, especially in the most powerful predators, where males risk being eaten before mating. Most arachnids lay eggs, but all scorpions and a few mites keep the eggs inside their bodies until they hatch and offspring rather like miniature adults emerge.


title: Chelicerata

text: Levels of parental care for the young range from zero to prolonged. Scorpions carry their young on their backs until the first molt, and in a few semi-social species the young remain with their mother. Some spiders care for their young, for example a wolf spider's brood cling to rough bristles on the mother's back, and females of some species respond to the "begging" behavior of their young by giving them their prey, provided it is no longer struggling, or even regurgitate food.


title: Chelicerata

text: There are large gaps in the chelicerates' fossil record because, like all arthropods, their exoskeletons are organic and hence their fossils are rare except in a few lagerstätten where conditions were exceptionally suited to preserving fairly soft tissues. The Burgess shale animals like "Sidneyia" from about have been classified as chelicerates, the latter because its appendages resemble those of the Xiphosura (horseshoe crabs). However, cladistic analyses that consider wider ranges of characteristics place neither as chelicerates. There is debate about whether "Fuxianhuia" from earlier in the Cambrian period, about , was a chelicerate. Another Cambrian fossil, "Kodymirus", was originally classified as an aglaspid but may have been a eurypterid and therefore a chelicerate. If any of these was closely related to chelicerates, there is a gap of at least 43 million years in the record between true chelicerates and their nearest not-quite chelicerate relatives.


title: Chelicerata

text: "Sanctacaris", member of the family Sanctacarididae from the Burgess Shale of Canada, represents the oldest occurrence of a confirmed chelicerate, Middle Cambrian in age. Although its chelicerate nature has been doubted for its pattern of tagmosis (how the segments are grouped, especially in the head), a restudy in 2014 confirmed its phylogenetic position as the oldest chelicerate.


title: Chelicerata

text: The eurypterids have left few good fossils and one of the earliest confirmed eurypterid, "Pentecopterus decorahensis", appears in the Middle Ordovician period , making it the oldest eurypterid.


title: Chelicerata

text: Until recently the earliest known xiphosuran fossil dated from the Late Llandovery stage of the Silurian , but in 2008 an older specimen described as "Lunataspis aurora" was reported from about in the Late Ordovician.


title: Chelicerata

text: The oldest known arachnid is the trigonotarbid "Palaeotarbus jerami", from about in the Silurian period, and had a triangular cephalothorax and segmented abdomen, as well as eight legs and a pair of pedipalps.


title: Chelicerata

text: "Attercopus fimbriunguis", from in the Devonian period, bears the earliest known silk-producing spigots, and was therefore hailed as a spider, but it lacked spinnerets and hence was not a true spider. Rather, it was likely sister group to the spiders, a clade which has been named Serikodiastida. Close relatives of the group survived through to the Cretaceous Period. Several Carboniferous spiders were members of the Mesothelae, a basal group now represented only by the Liphistiidae, and fossils suggest taxa closely related to the spiders, but which were not true members of the group were also present during this Period.


title: Chelicerata

text: The Late Silurian "Proscorpius" has been classified as a scorpion, but differed significantly from modern scorpions: it appears wholly aquatic since it had gills rather than book lungs or tracheae; its mouth was completely under its head and almost between the first pair of legs, as in the extinct eurypterids and living horseshoe crabs. Fossils of terrestrial scorpions with book lungs have been found in Early Devonian rocks from about . The oldest species of scorpion found as of 2021 is "Dolichophonus loudonensis", which lived during the Silurian, in present-day Scotland.


title: Chelicerata

text: The "traditional" view of the arthropod "family tree" shows chelicerates as less closely related to the other major living groups (crustaceans; hexapods, which includes insects; and myriapods, which includes centipedes and millipedes) than these other groups are to each other. Recent research since 2001, using both molecular phylogenetics (the application of cladistic analysis to biochemistry, especially to organisms' DNA and RNA) and detailed examination of how various arthropods' nervous systems develop in the embryos, suggests that chelicerates are most closely related to myriapods, while hexapods and crustaceans are each other's closest relatives. However, these results are derived from analyzing only living arthropods, and including extinct ones such as trilobites causes a swing back to the "traditional" view, placing trilobites as the sister-group of the Tracheata (hexapods plus myriapods) and chelicerates as least closely related to the other groups.


title: Chelicerata

text: It is generally agreed that the Chelicerata contain the classes Arachnida (spiders, scorpions, mites, etc.), Xiphosura (horseshoe crabs) and Eurypterida (sea scorpions, extinct). The extinct Chasmataspidida may be a sub-group within Eurypterida. The Pycnogonida (sea spiders) were traditionally classified as chelicerates, but some features suggest they may be representatives of the earliest arthropods from which the well-known groups such as chelicerates evolved.


title: Chelicerata

text: However, the structure of "family tree" relationships within the Chelicerata has been controversial ever since the late 19th century. An attempt in 2002 to combine analysis of RNA features of modern chelicerates and anatomical features of modern and fossil ones produced credible results for many lower-level groups, but its results for the high-level relationships between major sub-groups of chelicerates were unstable, in other words minor changes in the inputs caused significant changes in the outputs of the computer program used (POY). An analysis in 2007 using only anatomical features produced the cladogram on the right, but also noted that many uncertainties remain. In recent analyses the clade Tetrapulmonata is reliably recovered, but other ordinal relationships remain in flux.