title: FAQ

text: Since the acronym "FAQ" originated in textual media, its pronunciation varies. FAQ can be pronounced as an initialism, "F-A-Q", or as an acronym, "FAQ". Web designers often label a single list of questions as a "FAQ", such as on Google Search, while using "FAQs" to denote multiple lists of questions such as on United States Treasury sites. Use of "FAQ" to refer to a single frequently asked question, in and of itself, is less common.


title: FAQ

text: While the name may be recent, the FAQ format itself is quite old. For example, Matthew Hopkins wrote The Discovery of Witches in 1648 as a list of questions and answers, introduced as "Certain Queries answered" . Many old catechisms are in a question-and-answer (Q&A) format. Summa Theologica, written by Thomas Aquinas in the second half of the 13th century, is a series of common questions about Christianity to which he wrote a series of replies. Plato's dialogues are even older.


title: FAQ

text: The "FAQ" is an Internet textual tradition originating from the technical limitations of early mailing lists from NASA in the early 1980s. The first FAQ developed over several pre-Web years, starting from 1982 when storage was expensive. On ARPANET's SPACE mailing list, the presumption was that new users would download archived past messages through FTP. In practice this rarely happened, and the users tended to post questions to the mailing list instead of searching its archives. Repeating the "right" answers became tedious, and went against developing netiquette. A series of different measures were set up by loosely affiliated groups of computer system administrators, from regularly posted messages to netlib-like query email daemons. The acronym "FAQ" was developed between 1982 and 1985 by Eugene Miya of NASA for the SPACE mailing list.


title: FAQ

text: Posting frequency changed to monthly, and finally weekly and daily across a variety of mailing lists and newsgroups.


title: FAQ

text: The first person to post a weekly FAQ was Jef Poskanzer to the Usenet net.graphics/comp.graphics newsgroups.


title: FAQ

text: In some cases, informative documents not in the traditional FAQ style have also been described as FAQs, particularly the video game FAQ, which is often a detailed description of gameplay, including tips, secrets, and beginning-to-end guidance. Rarely are videogame FAQs in a question-and-answer format, although they may contain a short section of questions and answers.


title: FAQ

text: Over time, the accumulated FAQs across all Usenet newsgroups sparked the creation of the "*.answers" moderated newsgroups such as comp.answers, misc.answers and sci.answers for crossposting and collecting FAQ across respective comp.*, misc.*, sci.* newsgroups.


title: FAQ

text: The FAQ has become an important component of websites, either as a stand-alone page or as a website section with multiple subpages per question or topic. Embedded links to FAQ pages have become commonplace in website navigation bars, bodies, or footers. The FAQ page is an important consideration in web design, in order to achieve several goals of customer service and search engine optimization (SEO), including


title: FAQ

text: Some content providers discourage the use of FAQs in place of restructuring content under logical headings. For example, the UK Government Digital Service does not use FAQs.


title: Blondie discography

text: Here is the discography of American new wave band Blondie. Since 1976 they have released 11 studio albums, 4 live albums, 14 compilation albums, 3 remix albums, 3 EPs, and 38 singles. The band has sold an estimated 40 million albums.


title: Blondie discography

text: † "Live at CBGB's 1977" was released as a bonus DVD in the deluxe edition of Blondie 4(0) Ever, which includes "Greatest Hits Deluxe Redux" and "Ghosts of Download", the band's 10th studio album.


title: Quinolone antibiotic

text: A quinolone antibiotic is a member of a large group of broad-spectrum bacteriocidals that share a bicyclic core structure related to the substance 4-quinolone. They are used in human and veterinary medicine to treat bacterial infections, as well as in animal husbandry, specifically poultry production.


title: Quinolone antibiotic

text: Nearly all quinolone antibiotics in use are fluoroquinolones, which contain a fluorine atom in their chemical structure and are effective against both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. One example is ciprofloxacin, one of the most widely used antibiotics worldwide.


title: Quinolone antibiotic

text: Fluoroquinolones are often used for genitourinary infections and are widely used in the treatment of hospital-acquired infections associated with urinary catheters. In community-acquired infections, they are recommended only when risk factors for multidrug resistance are present or after other antibiotic regimens have failed. However, for serious acute cases of pyelonephritis or bacterial prostatitis where the person may need to be hospitalised, fluoroquinolones are recommended as first-line therapy.


title: Quinolone antibiotic

text: Due to people with sickle-cell disease being at increased risk for developing osteomyelitis from the "Salmonella", fluoroquinolones are the "drugs of choice" due to their ability to enter bone tissue without chelating it, as tetracyclines are known to do.


title: Quinolone antibiotic

text: Fluoroquinolones are featured prominently in guidelines for the treatment of hospital-acquired pneumonia.


title: Quinolone antibiotic

text: In most countries, fluoroquinolones are approved for use in children only under narrowly defined circumstances, owing in part to the observation of high rates of musculoskeletal adverse events in fluoroquinolone-treated juvenile animals. In the UK, the prescribing indications for fluoroquinolones for children are severely restricted. Only inhalant anthrax and pseudomonal infections in cystic fibrosis infections are licensed indications in the UK due to ongoing safety concerns. In a study comparing the safety and efficacy of levofloxacin to that of azithromycin or ceftriaxone in 712 children with community-acquired pneumonia, serious adverse events were experienced by 6% of those treated with levofloxacin and 4% of those treated with comparator antibiotics. Most of these were considered by the treating physician to be unrelated or doubtfully related to the study drug. Two deaths were observed in the levofloxacin group, neither of which was thought to be treatment-related. Spontaneous reports to the U.S. FDA Adverse Effects Reporting System at the time of the 20 September 2011 U.S. FDA Pediatric Drugs Advisory Committee included musculoskeletal events (39, including five cases of tendon rupture) and central nervous system events (19, including five cases of seizures) as the most common spontaneous reports between April 2005 and March 2008. An estimated 130,000 pediatric prescriptions for levofloxacin were filled on behalf of 112,000 pediatric patients during that period.


title: Quinolone antibiotic

text: Meta-analyses conclude that fluoroquinolones pose little or no additional risk to children compared to other antibiotic classes. Fluoroquinolone use in children may be appropriate when the infection is caused by multidrug-resistant bacteria, or when alternative treatment options require parenteral administration and oral therapy is preferred.


title: Quinolone antibiotic

text: While typical drug side effects reactions are mild to moderate, sometimes serious adverse effects occur.


title: Quinolone antibiotic

text: In 2008, the U.S. FDA added black box warnings on all fluoroquinolones, advising of the increased risk of tendon damage. In 2016, the FDA found that systemic use (by mouth or injection) of fluoroquinolones was associated with "disabling and potentially permanent serious side effects" involving the tendons, muscles, joints, nerves, and central nervous system, concluding that these side effects generally outweigh the benefits for people with acute sinusitis, acute bronchitis, and uncomplicated urinary tract infections when other treatment options are available. Concerns regarding low blood sugar and mental health problems were added in 2018.


title: Quinolone antibiotic

text: Quinolones are associated with a small risk of tendonitis and tendon rupture; a 2013 review found the incidence of tendon injury among those taking fluoroquinolones to be between 0.08 and 0.20%. The risk appears to be higher among people older than 60 and those also taking corticosteroids; the risk also may be higher among people who are male, have a pre-existing joint or tendon issue, have kidney disease, or are highly active. Some experts have advised avoidance of fluoroquinolones in athletes. If tendonitis occurs, it generally appears within one month, and the most common tendon injured appears to be the Achilles tendon. The cause is not well understood.


title: Quinolone antibiotic

text: Nervous-system effects include insomnia, restlessness, and rarely, seizure, convulsions, and psychosis. Other rare and serious adverse events have been observed with varying degrees of evidence for causation.


title: Quinolone antibiotic

text: Fluoroquinolones can increase the rate of rare but serious tears in the aorta by 31% compared to other antibiotics. People at increased risk include those with aortic aneurysm, hypertension, certain genetic conditions such as Marfan syndrome and Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, and the elderly. For these people, fluoroquinolones should be used only when no other treatment options are available.


title: Quinolone antibiotic

text: "Clostridium difficile" colitis may occur in connection with the use of any antibacterial drug, especially those with a broad spectrum of activity such as clindamycin, cephalosporins, and fluoroquinolones. Fluoroquinoline treatment is associated with risk that is similar to or less than that associated with broad spectrum cephalosporins. Fluoroquinoline administration may be associated with the acquisition and outgrowth of a particularly virulent "Clostridium" strain.


title: Quinolone antibiotic

text: More generally, fluoroquinolones are tolerated, with typical drug side effects being mild to moderate. Common side effects include gastrointestinal effects such as nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, as well as headache and insomnia. Postmarketing surveillance has revealed a variety of relatively rare but serious adverse effects associated with all members of the fluoroquinolone antibacterial class. Among these, tendon problems and exacerbation of the symptoms of the neurological disorder "myasthenia gravis" are the subject of "black box" warnings in the United States.


title: Quinolone antibiotic

text: A 2018 EU-wide review of fluoroquinolones concluded that they are associated with serious side effects including tendonitis, tendon rupture, arthralgia, pain in extremities, gait disturbance, neuropathies associated with paraesthesia, depression, fatigue, memory impairment, sleep disorders, and impaired hearing, vision, taste and smell. Tendon damage (especially to Achilles tendon but also other tendons) can occur within 48 hours of starting fluoroquinolone treatment but the damage may be delayed several months after stopping treatment.


title: Quinolone antibiotic

text: The overall rate of adverse events in people treated with fluoroquinolones is roughly similar to that seen in people treated with other antibiotic classes. A U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study found people treated with fluoroquinolones experienced adverse events severe enough to lead to an emergency department visit more frequently than those treated with cephalosporins or macrolides, but less frequently than those treated with penicillins, clindamycin, sulfonamides, or vancomycin.


title: Quinolone antibiotic

text: Fluoroquinolones prolong the heart's QT interval by blocking voltage-gated potassium channels. Prolongation of the QT interval can lead to "torsades de pointes", a life-threatening arrhythmia, but in practice, this appears relatively uncommon in part because the most widely prescribed fluoroquinolones (ciprofloxacin and levofloxacin) only minimally prolong the QT interval.


title: Quinolone antibiotic

text: In 2019 study by Journal of the American College of Cardiology it was discovered that fluoroquinolones could increase the risk for heart valve diseases.


title: Quinolone antibiotic

text: Events that may occur in acute overdose are rare, and include kidney failure and seizure. Susceptible groups of patients, such as children and the elderly, are at greater risk of adverse reactions during therapeutic use.


title: Quinolone antibiotic

text: The mechanisms of the toxicity of fluoroquinolones have been attributed to their interactions with different receptor complexes, such as blockade of the GABAa receptor complex within the central nervous system, leading to excitotoxic type effects and oxidative stress.


title: Quinolone antibiotic

text: Products containing multivalent cations, such as aluminium- or magnesium-containing antacids, and products containing calcium, iron, or zinc invariably result in marked reduction of oral absorption of fluoroquinolones. Other drugs that interact with fluoroquinolones include sucralfate, probenecid, cimetidine, theophylline, warfarin, antiviral agents, phenytoin, cyclosporine, rifampin, pyrazinamide, and cycloserine.


title: Quinolone antibiotic

text: Administration of quinolone antibiotics to a benzodiazepine-dependent individual can precipitate acute benzodiazepine withdrawal symptoms due to quinolones displacing benzodiazepines from their binding sites. Fluoroquinolones have varying specificity for cytochrome P450, so may have interactions with drugs cleared by those enzymes; the order from most P450-inhibitory to least, is enoxacin > ciprofloxacin > norfloxacin > ofloxacin, levofloxacin, trovafloxacin, gatifloxacin, moxifloxacin.


title: Quinolone antibiotic

text: Quinolones are not recommended in people with epilepsy, Marfan's syndrome, Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, QT prolongation, pre-existing CNS lesions, or CNS inflammation, or who have had a stroke. They are best avoided in the athlete population. Safety concerns exist for fluoroquinolone use during pregnancy, so they are contraindicated unless no other safe alternative antibiotic exists. However, one meta-analysis looking at the outcome of pregnancies involving quinolone use in the first trimester found no increased risk of malformations. They are also contraindicated in children due to the risks of damage to the musculoskeletal system. Their use in children is not absolutely contraindicated, however. For certain severe infections where other antibiotics are not an option, their use can be justified. Quinolones should also not be given to people with a known hypersensitivity to the drug class.


title: Quinolone antibiotic

text: The basic pharmacophore, or active structure, of the fluoroquinolone class is based upon the quinoline ring system. The addition of the fluorine atom at C6 distinguishes the successive-generation fluoroquinolones from the first-generation of quinolones. The addition of the C6 fluorine atom has since been demonstrated not to be required for the antibacterial activity of this class ("circa" 1997).


title: Quinolone antibiotic

text: Because the use of broad-spectrum antibiotics encourages the spread of multidrug-resistant strains and the development of "Clostridium difficile" infections, treatment guidelines often recommend minimizing the use of fluoroquinolones and other broad-spectrum antibiotics in less severe infections and in those in which risk factors for multidrug resistance are not present. It has been recommended that fluoroquinolones not be used as a first-line agent for community-acquired pneumonia, instead recommending macrolide or doxycycline as first-line agents. The Drug-Resistant "Streptococcus pneumoniae" Working Group recommends fluoroquinolones be used for the ambulatory treatment of community-acquired pneumonia only after other antibiotic classes have been tried and failed, or in cases with demonstrated drug-resistant "Streptococcus pneumoniae".


title: Quinolone antibiotic

text: Resistance to quinolones can evolve rapidly, even during a course of treatment. Numerous pathogens, including "Escherichia coli", commonly exhibit resistance. Widespread veterinary usage of quinolones, in particular in Europe, has been implicated.


title: Quinolone antibiotic

text: Fluoroquinolones had become the class of antibiotics most commonly prescribed to adults in 2002. Nearly half (42%) of these prescriptions were for conditions not approved by the U.S. FDA, such as acute bronchitis, otitis media, and acute upper respiratory tract infection, according to a study supported in part by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. In addition, they are commonly prescribed for medical conditions, such as acute respiratory illness, that are usually caused by viral infections.


title: Quinolone antibiotic

text: Three mechanisms of resistance are known. Some types of efflux pumps can act to decrease intracellular quinolone concentration. In gram-negative bacteria, plasmid-mediated resistance genes produce proteins that can bind to DNA gyrase, protecting it from the action of quinolones. Finally, mutations at key sites in DNA gyrase or topoisomerase IV can decrease their binding affinity to quinolones, decreasing the drugs' effectiveness.


title: Quinolone antibiotic

text: Quinolones are chemotherapeutic bactericidal drugs. They interfere with DNA replication by preventing bacterial DNA from unwinding and duplicating. Specifically, they inhibit the ligase activity of the type II topoisomerases, DNA gyrase and topoisomerase IV, which cut DNA to introduce supercoiling, while leaving nuclease activity unaffected. With the ligase activity disrupted, these enzymes release DNA with single- and double-strand breaks that lead to cell death. The majority of quinolones in clinical use are fluoroquinolones, which have a fluorine atom attached to the central ring system, typically at the 6-position or C-7 position. Most of them are named with the "-oxacin" suffix. First and second generation quinolones are largely active against Gram-negative bacteria, whereas third and fourth generation quinolones have increased activity against Gram-positive and anaerobic bacteria. Some quinolones containing aromatic substituents at their C-7 positions are highly active against eukaryotic type II topoisomerase.


title: Quinolone antibiotic

text: It has also been proposed that quinolone antibiotics cause oxidation of guanine nucleotides in the bacterial nucleotide pool, and that this process contributes to the cytotoxicity of these agents. The incorporation of oxidized guanine nucleotides into DNA could be bactericidal. Bacterial cytotoxicity could arise from incomplete repair of closely spaced 8-oxo-2'-deoxyguanosine in the DNA resulting in double-strand breaks.


title: Quinolone antibiotic

text: Fluoroquinolones can enter cells easily via porins, so are often used to treat intracellular pathogens such as "Legionella pneumophila" and "Mycoplasma pneumoniae". For many Gram-negative bacteria, DNA gyrase is the target, whereas topoisomerase IV is the target for many Gram-positive bacteria.


title: Quinolone antibiotic

text: Eukaryotic cells are not believed to contain DNA gyrase or topoisomerase IV. However, debate exists concerning whether the quinolones still have such an adverse effect on the DNA of healthy cells. Some compounds in this class have been shown to inhibit the synthesis of mitochondrial DNA.


title: Quinolone antibiotic

text: The basic pharmacophore, or active structure, of the fluoroquinolone class is based upon the quinoline ring system. Various substitutions made to the quinoline ring resulted in the development of numerous fluoroquinolone drugs. The addition of the fluorine atom at C-6 distinguishes the successive-generation fluoroquinolones from the first-generation quinolones, although examples are known that omit the atom while retaining antibacterial activity.


title: Quinolone antibiotic

text: Although not formally a quinolone, nalidixic acid is considered the first quinolone drug. It was introduced in 1962 for treatment of urinary tract infections (UTIs) in humans. Nalidixic acid was discovered by George Lesher and coworkers in a distillate during an attempt at chloroquine synthesis. Nalidixic acid is thus considered to be the predecessor of all members of the quinolone family, including the second, third and fourth generations commonly known as fluoroquinolones. Since the introduction of nalidixic acid, more than 10,000 analogs have been synthesized, but only a handful have found their way into clinical practice. The first generation also included other quinolone drugs, such as pipemidic acid, oxolinic acid, and cinoxacin, which were introduced in the 1970s. They proved to be only marginal improvements over nalidixic acid.


title: Quinolone antibiotic

text: These drugs were widely used as a first-line treatment for many infections, including very commons ones such as acute sinusitis, acute bronchitis, and uncomplicated UTIs. Reports of serious adverse events began emerging, and the FDA first added a black-box warning to fluoroquinolones in July 2008 for the increased risk of tendinitis and tendon rupture. In February 2011, the risk of worsening symptoms for those with myasthenia gravis was added to the warning. In August 2013, the agency required updates to the labels to describe the potential for irreversible peripheral neuropathy (serious nerve damage).


title: Quinolone antibiotic

text: In November 2015, an FDA Advisory Committee discussed the risks and benefits of fluoroquinolones for the treatment of acute bacterial sinusitis, acute bacterial exacerbation of chronic bronchitis, and uncomplicated UTIs based on new safety information. The new information focused on two or more side effects occurring at the same time and causing the potential for irreversible impairment. The advisory committee concluded that the serious risks associated with the use of fluoroquinolones for these types of uncomplicated infections generally outweighed the benefits for patients with other treatment options. The 21-member joint committee overwhelmingly recommended stronger label warnings on the containers because of rare but sometimes devastating side effects.


title: Quinolone antibiotic

text: On 12 May 2016, the FDA issued a drug safety communication advising that fluoroquinolones should be reserved for these conditions only when no other options are available due to potentially permanent, disabling side effects occurring together. The drug safety communication also announced the required labeling updates to reflect this new safety information. The FDA put out another label change in July 2017, strengthening the warnings about potentially disabling adverse effects and limiting use of these drugs to second-line treatments for acute sinusitis, acute bronchitis, and uncomplicated UTIs.


title: Quinolone antibiotic

text: The first generation of the quinolones began following introduction of the related, but structurally distinct naphthyridine-family nalidixic acid in 1962 for treatment of UTIs in humans. Nalidixic acid was discovered by George Lesher and coworkers in a chemical distillate during an attempt at synthesis of the chloroquinoline antimalarial agent, chloroquine. Naphthyridone and quinolone classes of antibiotics prevent bacterial DNA replication by inhibition of DNA unwinding events, and can be both bacteriostatic and bacteriocidal. (See Mechanism of Action later.) The majority of quinolones in clinical use belong to the second generation class of "fluoroquinolones", which have a true quinoline framework, maintain the C-3 carboxylic acid group, and add a fluorine atom to the all-carbon containing ring, typically at the C-6 or C-7 positions.


title: Quinolone antibiotic

text: Quinolones can be classified into generations based on their antibacterial spectra. The earlier-generation agents are, in general, more narrow-spectrum than the later ones, but no standard is employed to determine which drug belongs to which generation. The only universal standard applied is the grouping of the non-fluorinated drugs found within this class (quinolones) within the first-generation heading. As such, a wide variation exists within the literature dependent upon the methods employed by the authors.


title: Quinolone antibiotic

text: The first generation is rarely used. Frequently prescribed drugs are Avelox (moxifloxacin), Cipro (ciprofloxacin), Levaquin (levofloxacin), and, to some extent, their generic equivalents.


title: Quinolone antibiotic

text: Structurally related first-generation drugs, but formally not 4-quinolones, include cinoxacin, nalidixic acid, and piromidic acid, pipemidic acid


title: Quinolone antibiotic

text: A structurally related third-generation drug, but formally not a 4-quinolone, is tosufloxacin (Ozex, Tosacin).


title: Quinolone antibiotic

text: Fourth-generation fluoroquinolones act at DNA gyrase and topoisomerase IV. This dual action slows development of resistance.


title: Quinolone antibiotic

text: Two structurally related third-generation drugs, but formally not 4-quinolones, are gemifloxacin and trovafloxacin (removed from clinical use).


title: Quinolone antibiotic

text: Quinolones have been widely used in animal husbandry, and several agents have veterinary-specific applications.


title: Meet the Spartans

text: Meet the Spartans is a 2008 American parody film written and directed by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer. The film is mainly a parody of the 2006 film "300", although it also references many other films, TV shows, people and pop cultural events of the time, in a manner similar to previous films that Friedberg and Seltzer had been involved in such as "Scary Movie", "Date Movie" and "Epic Movie". The film stars Sean Maguire, Carmen Electra and Kevin Sorbo.


title: Meet the Spartans

text: "Meet the Spartans" opened at  1 in the United States. Despite receiving extremely negative reviews and appearing on several lists of the worst films ever made, it was a box-office success, grossing $84 million on a budget of $30 million.


title: Meet the Spartans

text: A Spartan elder inspects three babies. The first, an ugly, talking baby ogre ("Shrek the Third"), is abandoned to die for its deformity; while Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie adopt the second, who is Vietnamese. The third, Leonidas, is accepted as a Spartan for his already-present muscular physique and is prepared for kinghood through brutal training. An adult Leonidas is cast out into the wild, survives the harsh winter, and hunts down a gangsta penguin ("Happy Feet"). Returning a king for his inauguration wearing a penguin skin hat, Leonidas sees Margo erotically dancing and asks her to marry him, to which she responds by giving him the combination to her armor-plated chastity belt.


title: Meet the Spartans

text: Years later, Leonidas is training his son when Captain informs him that a Persian messenger has arrived. Accompanied by the Spartan politician Traitoro, the messenger presents Persian King Xerxes' demands for Sparta's submission. After growing angry with both the messenger's disrespect and finding him making out with his wife, Leonidas kicks him into a pit. Despite Traitoro's advice that the messenger's guards are now needed to convey the actual message, Leonidas kicks them in as well, along with Britney Spears and Kevin Federline, Sanjaya Malakar, Ryan Seacrest, and the "American Idol" judges Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul. Resolving to face the Persians, Leonidas visits the prophets and gives them medicines such as Neutrogena as their price for their consultation. They advise him that he should consult the Oracle for any advice. The Oracle Ugly Betty reveals that Leonidas will die should he go to war.


title: Meet the Spartans

text: After deciding while spending the night with his wife, Leonidas meets the soldiers assembled for his departure to Thermopylae, and finds that only thirteen were accepted in the army due to stringent requirements. Among them are Captain, his son Sonio, and a slightly unfit Spartan named Dilio. Once at the Hot Gates, they encounter a deformed Paris Hilton, who tells Leonidas and the Captain about a secret goat path above the Hot Gates that Xerxes could use to outflank the Spartans. When she asks to be made a Spartan soldier, Leonidas rejects her as unqualified because she cannot use a spear correctly. Leonidas and his platoon soon face off with Xerxes' messenger and his Immortals, beating them in a dance contest before driving them off a cliff. Xerxes, impressed, personally approaches Leonidas and attempts to bribe him with a trip to the Palms Hotel and Casino. Leonidas declines, and the Spartans face the Persian army in a "Yo Momma" fight, which the Spartans win, but Dilio has his eyes scratched out and wanders away.


title: Meet the Spartans

text: Deciding to betray the Spartans, Hilton tells Xerxes where the goat path is in return for various gifts and for having her deformed hump removed. Xerxes meets the twelve remaining Spartans and the war begins. Meanwhile, back in Sparta, Queen Margo has several confrontations with Traitoro, as he is the vital vote in sending more troops to assist her husband. Following her address to the council, Traitoro publicly betrays the Queen, who then battles him in a parody of "Spider-Man 3" and defeats him using a dust buster. With Traitoro's deceit exposed, the council is united with the queen.


title: Meet the Spartans

text: At the Battle of Thermopylae, the Persians introduce their secret weapons, Ghost Rider and Rocky Balboa, who kills Sonio with a decapitating uppercut. Captain avenges him with Botox poisoning before being struck down by Xerxes. Leonidas pursues Xerxes and plays "". Managing to find the "Transformer Cube", Xerxes uses it in a car to become Xerxestron and shows off his powers to access the "Leave Britney Alone!" video on YouTube. However, Xerxestron accidentally trips on his extension cord and falls on Leonidas and the surviving Spartans, killing them. The blind Dilio eventually returns to Sparta to inform Queen Margo of Leonidas's death. A year later, Dilio leads a larger Spartan force to defeat the Persians, but the blind warrior ends up going the wrong way. They end up in Malibu, where they knock Lindsay Lohan down as she is leaving rehab again.


title: Meet the Spartans

text: "Meet the Spartans" opened at number one at the US box office, grossing $18,505,530 over its opening weekend, narrowly edging out fellow newcomer "Rambo", which was briefly parodied in the credits of this film. The film dropped 60.4% in its second weekend grossing $7,336,595 expanding to 2643 theaters while ranking fourth at the box office. The film grossed $38,233,676 in United States and Canada and grossed $45,787,889 internationally, adding up to a total worldwide gross of $84,021,565.


title: Meet the Spartans

text: "Meet the Spartans" was universally panned by critics. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 2% based on 49 reviews, with an average rating of 2.40/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "A tired, unfunny, offensive waste of time, "Meet the Spartans" scrapes the bottom of the cinematic barrel." On Metacritic, the film received a score of 9 based on 11 reviews, indicating "overwhelming dislike", being the worst received film by the directors on the site. Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade C− on a scale from A+ to F.


title: Meet the Spartans

text: "Variety" called it "Lazy, lame and painfully unfunny, Meet the Spartans is yet another scrambled-genre parody." Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter wrote: "Writer-directors Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer basically reprise the tired formula from their earlier efforts, which is to throw in as many pop culture references as possible to cover up the lack of any real wit." Jeannette Catsoulis of "The New York Times" gave it a 1 out of 5 and wrote: "Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer, the team behind Meet the Spartans, prove that ridiculing other movies is much easier than making your own." Catsoulis said the various audience reactions at the screening she attended summed it up best: Eewwww! Aaarghh! Huh? Critic Garth Franklin of "Dark Horizons" called it "One of the most painfully bad comedies I've ever had to endure, and I've seen the collected works of Martin Lawrence, Tim Allen, Ice Cube AND Cedric the Entertainer."


title: Meet the Spartans

text: The Radio Times said "After enduring the torturously unfunny "Date Movie" and "Epic Movie", one could be forgiven for concluding that the art of cinematic parody was in terminal decline. This latest installment in Friedberg and Seltzer's franchise hammers a final nail into the coffin with an utterly atrocious collection of imbecilic skits... it's junk-food cinema at its worst. One cringes to think what future cultural historians will make of it… and us."


title: Meet the Spartans

text: Clark Collis of "Entertainment Weekly" gave it a mixed review, crediting the actors for their efforts but criticizing the script and the already dated jokes, giving it a grade C−.


title: Meet the Spartans

text: Most of the film's criticism consisted of not having many actual jokes and instead having an over-reliance on pop culture references. Several recurring gags were criticized for being overused, such as the ambiguous sexuality of the Spartans and throwing various celebrities down the Pit of Death.


title: Meet the Spartans

text: The film's score by Christopher Lennertz was commended by Christian Clemmensen from Filmtracks.com, who considered it one of the biggest "guilty pleasures" of 2008.


title: Meet the Spartans

text: On January 21, 2009, the film received five nominations for the 29th Golden Raspberry Awards: Worst Picture (jointly with "Disaster Movie"), Worst Supporting Actress (Electra), Worst Director, Worst Screenplay, and Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-Off, or Sequel.


title: Meet the Spartans

text: The film was released on Blu-ray Disc and DVD on June 3, 2008, in an "Unrated Pit of Death" Edition and a PG-13/theatrical release of the film. The theatrical cut does not include extras but includes widescreen and full-screen versions on one dual disc. A "ruder & cruder" version was later released in the UK on August 18.


title: Samaria

text: Samaria (; , ) is the historic and biblical name used for the central region of Palestine, bordered by Judea to the south and Galilee to the north. The first-century historian Josephus set the Mediterranean Sea as its limit to the west, and the Jordan River as its limit to the east. Its territory largely corresponds to the biblical allotments of the tribe of Ephraim and the western half of Manasseh. It includes most of the region of the ancient Kingdom of Israel, which was north of the Kingdom of Judah. The border between Samaria and Judea is set at the latitude of Ramallah.


title: Samaria

text: The name "Samaria" is derived from the ancient city of Samaria, capital of the northern Kingdom of Israel. The name Samaria likely began being used for the entire kingdom not long after the town of Samaria had become Israel's capital, but it is first documented after its conquest by Sargon II of Assyria, who turned the kingdom into the province of Samerina.


title: Samaria

text: Samaria was used to describe the northern midsection of the land in the UN Partition Plan for Palestine in 1947. It became the administrative term in 1967, when the West Bank was defined by Israeli officials as the Judea and Samaria Area, of which the entire area north of the Jerusalem District is termed as Samaria. In 1988, Jordan ceded its claim of the area to the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). In 1994, control of Areas 'A' (full civil and security control by the Palestinian Authority) and 'B' (Palestinian civil control and joint Israeli–Palestinian security control) were transferred by Israel to the Palestinian Authority. The Palestinian Authority and the international community do not recognize the term "Samaria"; in modern times, the territory is generally known as part of the West Bank.


title: Samaria

text: According to the Hebrew Bible, the Hebrew name "Shomron" () is derived from the individual (or clan) "Shemer ()", from whom King Omri (ruled 880s–870s BCE) purchased the hill on which he built his new capital city of Shomron (Samaria; ).


title: Samaria

text: The fact that the mountain was called Shomeron when Omri bought it may indicate that the correct etymology of the name is to be found more directly, in the Semitic root for "guard", hence its initial meaning would have been "watch mountain". In the earlier cuneiform inscriptions, Samaria is designated under the name of "Bet Ḥumri" ("the house of Omri"); but in those of Tiglath-Pileser III (ruled 745–727 BCE) and later it is called Samirin, after its Aramaic name, Shamerayin.


title: Samaria

text: In Nelson's Encyclopaedia (1906-1934), the Samaria region in the three centuries following the fall of the northern kingdom of Israel, i.e. during the Assyrian, Babylonian, and Persian periods, is described as a "province" that "reached from the [Mediterranean] sea to the Jordan Valley".


title: Samaria

text: The classical Roman-Jewish historian Josephus wrote: (4) Now as to the country of Samaria, it lies between Judea and Galilee; it begins at a village that is in the great plain called Ginea, and ends at the Acrabbene toparchy, and is entirely of the same nature with Judea; for both countries are made up of hills and valleys, and are moist enough for agriculture, and are very fruitful. They have abundance of trees, and are full of autumnal fruit, both that which grows wild, and that which is the effect of cultivation. They are not naturally watered by many rivers, but derive their chief moisture from rain-water, of which they have no want; and for those rivers which they have, all their waters are exceeding sweet: by reason also of the excellent grass they have, their cattle yield more milk than do those in other places; and, what is the greatest sign of excellency and of abundance, they each of them are very full of people. (5) In the limits of Samaria and Judea lies the village Anuath, which is also named Borceos. This is the northern boundary of Judea.


title: Samaria

text: During the first century, the boundary between Samaria and Judea passed eastward of Antipatris, along the deep valley which had Beth Rima (today's Beit Rima) and Beth Laban (today's Al-Lubban al-Gharbi) on its southern, Judean bank; then it passed Anuath and Borceos, identified by Charles William Wilson (1836–1905) as the ruins of ’Aina and Khirbet Berkit; and reached the Jordan Valley north of Acrabbim and Sartaba. Mount Hazor also stands at that boundary.


title: Samaria

text: To the north, the area known as the hills of Samaria is bounded by the Jezreel Valley; to the east, by the Jordan Rift Valley; to the northwest, by the Carmel Ridge; to the west, by the Sharon plain; and to the south, by the Jerusalem mountains.


title: Samaria

text: The Samarian hills are not very high, seldom reaching the height of over 800 meters. Samaria's climate is more hospitable than the climate further south.


title: Samaria

text: Over time, the region has been controlled by numerous different civilizations, including Canaanites, Israelites, Neo-Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Seleucids, Hasmoneans, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Crusaders, and Ottoman Turks.


title: Samaria

text: According to the Hebrew Bible, the Israelites captured the region known as Samaria from the Canaanites and assigned it to the Tribe of Joseph. The southern part of Samaria was then known as Mount Ephraim. After the death of King Solomon (c. 931 BC), the northern tribes, including Ephraim and Menashe, separated from the southern tribes and established the separate Kingdom of Israel. Initially its capital was Tirzah until the time of King Omri (c. 884 BC), who built the city of Samaria and made it his capital. Samaria was the capital of Israel until its fall to the Assyrians. It was condemned by the Hebrew prophets for its "ivory houses" and luxury palaces displaying pagan riches.


title: Samaria

text: In 726–722 BC, the new king of Assyria, Shalmaneser V, invaded the land and besieged the city of Samaria. After an assault of three years, the city fell and much of its population was taken into captivity and deported. Little documentation exists for the period between the fall of Samaria and the end of the Assyrian Empire. It seems likely that many returned in 715 BC due to slave revolts that Assyrian king Sargon was enduring. Tremper Longman III suggests that , implies that later Assyrian kings also returned more Israelites to Samaria.


title: Samaria

text: After the destruction of Israel, the Samaritans emerged as an ethnoreligious group in the region of Samaria, claiming descent from the Israelites. With their temple on Mount Gerizim, they continued to thrive for centuries.


title: Samaria

text: According to the Jewish version of events, when the Judean exile ended in 539 BCE and the exiles began returning home from Babylon, Samaritans found their former homeland of the north populated by other people who claimed the land as their own and Jerusalem, their former glorious capital, in ruins. The inhabitants worshiped the Pagan gods, but when the then-sparsely populated areas became infested with dangerous wild beasts, they appealed to the king of Assyria for Israelite priests to instruct them on how to worship the "God of that country." The result was a syncretistic religion, in which national groups worshiped the Israelite God, but they also served their own gods in accordance with the customs of the nations from which they had been brought.


title: Samaria

text: The Samaritans claimed that they were the true Israel who were descendants of the "Ten Lost Tribes" taken into Assyrian captivity. They had their own sacred precinct on Mount Gerizim and claimed that it was the original sanctuary. Moreover, they claimed that their version of the Pentateuch was the original and that the Jews had a falsified text produced by Ezra during the Babylonian exile. Today, most scholars believe the Samaritans were a blend of Israelites with other nationalities whom the Assyrians had resettled in the area.


title: Samaria

text: According to many scholars, archaeological excavations at Mount Gerizim indicate that a Samaritan temple was built there in the first half of the 5th century BCE. The date of the schism between Samaritans and Jews is unknown, but by the early 4th century BCE the communities seem to have had distinctive practices and communal separation. Much of the anti-Samaritan polemic in the Hebrew Bible and extra-biblical texts (such as Josephus) originate from this point and on.


title: Samaria

text: During the Hellenistic period, Samaria was largely divided between a Hellenizing faction based around the town of Samaria and a pious faction in Shechem and surrounding rural areas, led by the High Priest. Samaria was a largely autonomous state nominally dependent on the Seleucid Empire until around 113 BCE, when the Jewish Hasmonean ruler John Hyrcanus destroyed the Samaritan temple and devastated Samaria. Only a few stone remnants of the Samaritan temple exist today.


title: Samaria

text: In 6 CE, Samaria became part of the Roman province of Iudaea, following the death of King Herod the Great.


title: Samaria

text: The New Testament mentions Samaria in Luke , in the miraculous healing of the ten lepers, which took place on the border of Samaria and Galilee. John records Jesus' encounter at Jacob's Well with the woman of Sychar, in which he declares himself to be the Messiah. In it is recorded that the early community of disciples of Jesus began to be persecuted in Jerusalem and were 'scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria'. Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached and healed the sick there. In the time of Jesus, "Iudaea" of the Romans was divided into the toparchies of Judea, Samaria, Galilee and the Paralia. Samaria occupied the centre of "Iudaea" (). ("Iudaea" was later renamed "Syria Palaestina" in 135, following the Bar Kokhba revolt.) In the Talmud, Samaria is called the "land of the Cuthim".


title: Samaria

text: The Samaritan population shrunk significantly in the wake of the bloody suppression of the Samaritan Revolts (mainly in 525 CE and 555 CE) against the Byzantine Empire; conversions to Christianity under the Byzantines and later to Islam following the Muslim conquest of the Levant also reduced their numbers significantly. By the mid-Middle Ages, the Jewish writer and explorer Benjamin of Tudela estimated that only around 1,900 Samaritans remained in Palestine and Syria.


title: Samaria

text: During the Great War, Palestine was wrestled by the armies of the British Empire from the Ottoman Empire and in the aftermath of the war it was entrusted to the United Kingdom to administer as a League of Nations mandated territory Samaria was the name of one of the administrative districts of Palestine for part of this period. The 1947 UN partition plan called for the Arab state to consist of several parts, the largest of which was described as "the hill country of Samaria and Judea."


title: Samaria

text: As a result of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, most of the territory was unilaterally incorporated as Jordanian-controlled territory, and was administered as part of the West Bank (west of the Jordan river).


title: Samaria

text: The Jordanian-held West Bank was captured and has been occupied by Israel since the 1967 Six-Day War. Jordan ceded its claims in the West Bank (except for certain prerogatives in Jerusalem) to the PLO in November 1988, later confirmed by the Israel–Jordan Treaty of Peace of 1994. In the 1994 Oslo accords, the Palestinian Authority was established and given responsibility for the administration over some of the territory of West Bank (Areas 'A' and 'B').


title: Samaria

text: Samaria is one of several standard statistical districts utilized by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. "The Israeli CBS also collects statistics on the rest of the West Bank and the Gaza District. It has produced various basic statistical series on the territories, dealing with population, employment, wages, external trade, national accounts, and various other topics." The Palestinian Authority however use Nablus, Jenin, Tulkarm, Qalqilya, Salfit, Ramallah and Tubas governorates as administrative centers for the same region.


title: Samaria

text: The Shomron Regional Council is the local municipal government that administers the smaller Israeli towns (settlements) throughout the area. The council is a member of the network of regional municipalities spread throughout Israel. Elections for the head of the council are held every five years by Israel's ministry of interior, all residents over age 17 are eligible to vote. In special elections held in August 2015 Yossi Dagan was elected as head of the Shomron Regional Council.


title: Samaria

text: Israeli settlements in the West Bank are considered by some in the international community to be illegal under international law, but others including the United States and Israeli governments dispute this. In September 2016, the Town Board of the American Town of Hempstead in the State of New York, led by Councilman Bruce Blakeman entered into a partnership agreement with the Shomron Regional Council, led by Yossi Dagan, as part of an anti-Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign.


title: Samaria

text: The ancient site of Samaria-Sebaste covers the hillside overlooking the West Bank village of Sebastia on the eastern slope of the hill. Remains have been found from the Canaanite, Israelite, Hellenistic, Herodian, Roman and Byzantine era.


title: Samaria

text: Archaeological finds from Roman-era Sebaste, a site that was rebuilt and renamed by Herod the Great in 30 BC, include a colonnaded street, a temple-lined acropolis, and a lower city, where John the Baptist is believed to have been buried.


title: Samaria

text: The Harvard excavation of Samaria, which began in 1908, was headed by Egyptologist George Andrew Reisner. The findings included Hebrew, Aramaic, cuneiform and Greek inscriptions, as well as pottery remains, coins, sculpture, figurines, scarabs and seals, faience, amulets, beads and glass. The joint British-American-Hebrew University excavation continued under John Winter Crowfoot in 1931–35, during which time some of the chronology issues were resolved. The round towers lining the acropolis were found to be Hellenistic, the street of columns was dated to the 3–4th century, and 70 inscribed potsherds were dated to the early 8th century.


title: Samaria

text: In 1908–1935, remains of luxury furniture made of wood and ivory were discovered in Samaria, representing the Levant's most important collection of ivory carvings from the early first millennium BC. Despite theories of their Phoenician origin, some of the letters serving as fitter's marks are in Hebrew.


title: Samaria

text: As of 1999 three series of coins have been found that confirm Sinuballat was a governor of Samaria. Sinuballat is best known as an adversary of Nehemiah from the Book of Nehemiah where he is said to have sided with Tobiah the Ammonite and Geshem the Arabian. All three coins feature a warship on the front, likely derived from earlier Sidonian coins. The reverse side depicts the Persian King in his kandys robe facing down a lion that is standing on its hind legs.


title: Samaria

text: The Samaritans (Hebrew: Shomronim) are an ethnoreligious group named after and descended from ancient Semitic inhabitants of Samaria, since the Assyrian exile of the Israelites, according to and first-century historian Josephus. Religiously, the Samaritans are adherents of Samaritanism, an Abrahamic religion closely related to Judaism. Based on the Samaritan Torah, Samaritans claim their worship is the true religion of the ancient Israelites prior to the Babylonian exile, preserved by those who remained behind. Their temple was built at Mount Gerizim in the middle of the 5th century BCE, and was destroyed under the Hasmonean king John Hyrcanus of Judea in 110 BCE, although their descendants still worship among its ruins. The antagonism between Samaritans and Jews is important in understanding the Bible's New Testament stories of the "Samaritan woman at the well" and "Parable of the Good Samaritan". The modern Samaritans, however, see themselves as co-equals in inheritance to the Israelite lineage through Torah, as do the Jews, and are not antagonistic to Jews in modern times.


title: Nebula (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

text: Nebula is a fictional character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) media franchise, portrayed by Karen Gillan, based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. She is depicted as a blue-skinned alien warrior who is both the adoptive daughter of Thanos, who killed her blood family before raising her, and the adoptive sister of Gamora, with whom she grew to share a bitter rivalry. Although she is first introduced as the secondary antagonist of "Guardians of the Galaxy" (2014), subsequent films see her develop into an antihero and eventually a protagonist, who joins her sister as part of the Guardians of the Galaxy and becomes a member of the Avengers and then officially of the Guardians of the Galaxy. Aspects of this interpretation were later integrated into the comics version of the character.


title: Nebula (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

text: The character was met with positive reception, specifically for Gillan's performance and redemptive story arc; she has been noted for her differences from the comics, in which Nebula is almost exclusively depicted as a villain.


title: Nebula (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

text: , Nebula has appeared in five films and "The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special" (2022), as well the animated series "What If...?" (2021), as alternate versions. She will return in the upcoming film "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" (2023).


title: Nebula (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

text: The comic book version of Nebula was created by writer Roger Stern and artist John Buscema, and first appeared in "The Avengers" #257 (July 1985).


title: Nebula (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

text: Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige first mentioned "Guardians of the Galaxy" as a potential film at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con International, stating, "There are some obscure titles, too, like "Guardians of the Galaxy". I think they've been revamped recently in a fun way in the [comic] book." Feige reiterated that sentiment in a September 2011 issue of "Entertainment Weekly", saying, "There's an opportunity to do a big space epic, which "Thor" sort of hints at, in the cosmic side" of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Feige added, should the film be made, it would feature an ensemble of characters, similar to "X-Men" and "The Avengers". Feige announced that the film was in active development at the 2012 San Diego Comic-Con International during the Marvel Studios panel, with an intended release date of August 1, 2014. He said the film's titular team would consist of the characters Star-Lord, Drax the Destroyer, Gamora, Groot, and Rocket. In July 2013, director James Gunn and the film's cast flew from London to attend San Diego Comic-Con International, where it was revealed that Karen Gillan would play Nebula. Gillan had previously auditioned for Sharon Carter in "" when invited to read for the role, with Gunn declaring her test was the favorite out of the film's cast, which he described as seeing her develop "this bald cyber-jerk" out of a "pretty simple character".


title: Nebula (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

text: Nebula is one of several children forcibly adopted by Thanos. After he killed her family, she was raised alongside Gamora and trained to be a warrior. Thanos often forced them to fight and Gamora was always victorious. After every loss, Thanos would have a piece of Nebula replaced with a cybernetic part, transforming her into a cyborg.


title: Nebula (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

text: In 2014, Thanos dispatched Nebula and Gamora to assist Ronan the Accuser in obtaining the Power Stone. Ronan succeeded and betrayed Thanos, intending to destroy the planet Xandar and kill Thanos. Nebula sided with him against her father. She escaped Xandar when the Guardians of the Galaxy successfully thwarted Ronan's attack.


title: Nebula (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

text: Nebula is later captured by members of the Sovereign race as she tries to steal their powerful batteries; the Sovereign give her to the Guardians in exchange for their services defending the batteries. When the other Guardians visit the planet of Peter Quill's father, Ego, Nebula helps the Ravagers capture Rocket and Groot. She is given a ship, and goes to Ego herself to fight Gamora. After finally defeating Gamora in combat, Nebula expresses anger at her for always needing to be better than her instead of just being a loving sister. She and Gamora reconcile and ally to fight Ego, ultimately escaping the living planet as it is destroyed. Nebula then resolves to kill Thanos, and leaves with this mission in mind.


title: Nebula (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

text: Nebula's attempt to kill Thanos fails, and she is instead captured and tortured on the Sanctuary II. In 2018, Thanos brings Gamora to the ship and shows her Nebula, using her to convince Gamora to reveal the location of the Soul Stone. After Thanos leaves with Gamora, Nebula escapes and takes a ship to Titan, where she again attempts to kill Thanos, and meets with Quill, Mantis, Drax, Tony Stark, Peter Parker, and Stephen Strange. Nebula survives the Blip and is left on Titan with Stark.


title: Nebula (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

text: Nebula and Stark leave Titan in the Benatar, but the ship, having been damaged, gets stranded in space, until Carol Danvers appears to save them. After reaching the Avengers Compound on Earth, Nebula reunites with Rocket, and accompanies the surviving Avengers into space to the Garden to confront Thanos, who is killed by Thor after revealing that the Stones were destroyed, with Nebula asserting that Thanos' words were true.


title: Nebula (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

text: Nebula and Rocket, now members of the Avengers, work with Danvers on missions in space. In 2023, Nebula and the other Avengers time travel via the Quantum Realm to an alternate 2014. Nebula goes with James Rhodes to the planet Morag, where they render an alternate version of Quill unconscious and take the Power Stone. However, an alternate version of Nebula begins to malfunction due to the presence of the main Nebula, and the alternate Thanos thereby becomes aware of the presence of Nebula, and has her captured. After analyzing her memories and learning about his future victory and the Avengers' efforts to undo it, alternate Thanos sends alternate Nebula back to the present in Nebula's place. Alternate Nebula then brings alternate Thanos and his army to the main timeline, where he destroys the Compound and orders alternate Nebula to bring him the Infinity Stones. Having escaped after successfully convincing Gamora to abandon Thanos, Nebula confronts her alternate self and tries to convince her to do the same, but is forced to kill her when the latter attempts to kill Gamora in refusal. Nebula then joins the battle against alternate Thanos’ army, and attends Stark's funeral after he sacrifices himself to eliminate Thanos and his forces.


title: Nebula (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

text: Nebula joins the restored Guardians of the Galaxy, and returns with them to space, where they are accompanied by Thor. They go on several adventures and while on the planet Indigarr, they learn about various distress calls brought about by a god butcher. She and the Guardians leave respond to the calls, as Thor parts way to help his friend.


title: Nebula (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

text: In 2025, the Guardians buy Knowhere from the Collector, and Nebula helps to refurbish it following the attack it had endured.


title: Nebula (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

text: An alternate variant of Nebula from before the events of "Guardians of the Galaxy" appears in "Avengers: Endgame". In an alternate 2014, following a training session with Gamora, she and Nebula are summoned by Thanos, who orders them to assist Ronan in obtaining the Power Stone. Before they can leave, however, Nebula begins to malfunction due to the presence of Nebula from the main timeline. After capturing the "prime" Nebula, Thanos analyzes her memories and learns about his prime self's victory, and the Avengers' efforts to undo it. He then has the prime Nebula replaced with her alternate self, who is sent back to the present in the main timeline to prepare for his arrival. Alternate Nebula brings alternate Thanos and his army to 2023, whereupon he destroys the Avengers Compound and orders Nebula to bring him the Infinity Stones. While attempting to do so, Nebula is confronted by her prime self and Gamora, who try to convince her to abandon Thanos. However, she refuses, and is killed by the prime Nebula.


title: Nebula (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

text: Several alternate versions of Nebula appear in the animated series "What If...?", with Gillan reprising her role.


title: Nebula (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

text: In an alternate 2008, Nebula (marketed as Heist Nebula) is a close ally and love interest of Star-Lord T'Challa. This version does not have cybernetic body parts except for her left eye and is shown to have full-grown blonde hair. She joins with T'Challa, a reformed Thanos, and the Ravagers on a mission to steal the Embers of Genesis from the Collector, and visits Wakanda with them following the mission. She does get annoyed with Thanos' discussion with Okoye.


title: Nebula (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

text: In an alternate 2011, Nebula participates in Thor's intergalactic party on Earth, where she is seen gambling in Las Vegas with Korg. Later, when Thor requests the guests to help clean up the mess on Earth, Nebula and the guests dismiss him with Nebula claiming that she thinks she hears her father calling her. The party guests change their minds when they hear that Frigga is coming.


title: Nebula (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

text: In her debut in "Guardians of the Galaxy", Nebula is depicted as a loyal lieutenant in the employ of Ronan and Thanos. About the character, Gillan said, "She is the female villain of the film ... She is very sadistic and evil, but I like to think for a very valid reason." She also added, "I think she's a really interesting character. What I like to play around with is how jealous she is. She's Gamora's sister, and there's a lot of sibling rivalry. That's the most interesting aspect to me, because jealousy can consume you and turn you bitter, and ugly. And she's a total sadist, so that's fun too." Gillan researched the ancient Spartans, shaved off her hair, and trained for two months for the role. The character's makeup took approximately four-and-a-half hours to be applied. On the first day of filming, as Gillan and Gunn discussed on how to portray the character, Gunn suggested an impression of Marilyn Monroe, particularly in her breathy delivery which he considered "a similar voice to Clint Eastwood."


title: Nebula (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

text: In early drafts of the film, the character was planned to be killed off by Gamora, but the directors decided to bring her back in the sequel to further explore the relationship between the two. In "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2", Nebula is portrayed as a reluctant member of the Guardians.


title: Nebula (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

text: Gillan stated the film would further explore the sisterly relationship between Nebula and Gamora, including their backstory "and what happened to these two girls growing up and actually how awful it was for them and how it has ruined their relationship", adding "we're [also] going to start to see how much pain [Thanos] actually caused [Nebula]... we really start to see the emotional crack in her character". While Gillan had to shave her head for the first film, she only had to shave half of her head for the sequel, taking away the underneath part and leaving the top. Gillan's makeup took two and a half hours to apply, down from five hours for the first film.


title: Nebula (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

text: In "Avengers: Endgame", after being previously featured as an antagonist or an anti-hero, Nebula undergoes a redemption arc where she makes amends for her past actions, including an encounter with a past version of herself, with Gillan adding that she is "staring her former self in the face and it's really clear how far she's come from that angry, bitter and twisted person. She's starting to connect with other people and find some level of forgiveness." Gillan guessed that Nebula would play a prominent role in the film when she realized that "Infinity War" and "Endgame" would be adapted from "The Infinity Gauntlet", which she had previously read when she was initially cast as Nebula in "Guardians of the Galaxy" (2014). Gillan shared several scenes with Robert Downey Jr., who portrays Tony Stark, in the film's opening, and the two improvised most of their scenes together.


title: Nebula (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

text: Nebula in the Marvel Cinematic Universe ultimately evolves from a villain to a true hero and a member of the Guardians of the Galaxy, while the character in Marvel Comics is depicted almost exclusively as a villain. Another change in the film adaptation from the source material is the character's physical appearance, with the character's MCU depiction eschewing Nebula's initial depiction as an organic humanoid with curled hair to focus on her later one as a bald cyborg. She is not revealed to be related to Gamora in the comics and claimed to be the "granddaughter" of Thanos, which he denies. She also has ambitious villainous goals throughout various publications. Later comic interpretations of Nebula, such as a 2020 eponymous miniseries, would change her look to appear closer to the Marvel Cinematic Universe interpretation.


title: Nebula (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

text: In July 2021, Gillan said that for her appearance in "", director Taika Waititi brought out the "bonkers side" of Nebula through her "pure aggression". In September 2021, Gunn noted that for both Pom Klementieff's Mantis and Gillan's Nebula "their roles are both pretty huge" in the script for "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3".


title: Nebula (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

text: Jacob Stolworthy of "The Independent" felt that the character had "all the makings of being a vintage Marvel character", but was "slightly short-changed". Miles Surrey of "The Ringer", meanwhile, praised the character, saying that "Nebula's internal conflict is one of the most fascinating and compelling threads the MCU has spun over its 20-plus installments" and that the character was "starkly different from virtually everybody in the MCU" as a villain-turned-hero. Richard Newby of "The Hollywood Reporter" also praised the character's depiction, describing her as "one of the most meaningful considerations of what it means to be both Avenger and human", opining that her story is "one [of] the Marvel Cinematic Universe's best and most empowering myths".


title: Cemetery

text: A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word "cemetery" (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a burial ground and originally applied to the Roman catacombs. The term "graveyard" is often used interchangeably with cemetery, but a graveyard primarily refers to a burial ground within a churchyard.


title: Cemetery

text: The intact or cremated remains of people may be interred in a grave, commonly referred to as burial, or in a tomb, an "above-ground grave" (resembling a sarcophagus), a mausoleum, columbarium, niche, or other edifice. In Western cultures, funeral ceremonies are often observed in cemeteries. These ceremonies or rites of passage differ according to cultural practices and religious beliefs. Modern cemeteries often include crematoria, and some grounds previously used for both, continue as crematoria as a principal use long after the interment areas have been filled.


title: Cemetery

text: Taforalt cave in Morocco is possibly the oldest known cemetery in the world. It was the resting place of at least 34 Iberomaurusian individuals, the bulk of which have been dated to 15,100 to 14,000 years ago.


title: Cemetery

text: Neolithic cemeteries are sometimes referred to by the term "grave field". They are one of the chief sources of information on ancient and prehistoric cultures, and numerous archaeological cultures are defined by their burial customs, such as the


title: Cemetery

text: During the Early Middle Ages, the reopening of graves and manipulation of the corpses or artifacts contained within them was a widespread phenomenon and a common part of the life course of early medieval cemeteries across Western and Central Europe. The reopening of furnished or recent burials occurred over the broad zone of European row-grave-style furnished inhumation burial, especially from the 5th to the 8th centuries CE, which comprised the regions of today's Romania, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, the Low Countries, France, and south-eastern England.


title: Cemetery

text: From about the 7th century CE, in Europe a burial was under the control of the Church and could only take place on consecrated church ground. Practices varied, but in continental Europe, bodies were usually buried in a mass grave until they had decomposed. The bones were then exhumed and stored in ossuaries, either along the arcaded bounding walls of the cemetery or within the church under floor slabs and behind walls.


title: Cemetery

text: In most cultures those who were vastly rich, had important professions, were part of the nobility or were of any other high social status were usually buried in individual crypts inside or beneath the relevant place of worship with an indication of their name, date of death and other biographical data. In Europe, this was often accompanied by a depiction of their coat of arms.


title: Cemetery

text: Most others were buried in graveyards again divided by social status. Mourners who could afford the work of a stonemason had a headstone engraved with a name, dates of birth and death and sometimes other biographical data, and set up over the place of burial. Usually, the more writing and symbols carved on the headstone, the more expensive it was. As with most other human property such as houses and means of transport, richer families used to compete for the artistic value of their family headstone in comparison to others around it, sometimes adding a statue (such as a weeping angel) on the top of the grave.


title: Cemetery

text: Those who could not pay for a headstone at all usually had some religious symbol made from wood on the place of burial such as a Christian cross; however, this would quickly deteriorate under the rain or snow. Some families hired a blacksmith and had large crosses made from various metals put on the places of burial.


title: Cemetery

text: Starting in the early 19th century, the burial of the dead in graveyards began to be discontinued, due to rapid population growth in the early stages of the Industrial Revolution, continued outbreaks of infectious disease near graveyards and the increasingly limited space in graveyards for new interments. In many European states, burial in graveyards was eventually outlawed altogether through legislation.


title: Cemetery

text: Instead of graveyards, completely new places of burial were established away from heavily populated areas and outside of old towns and city centers. Many new cemeteries became municipally owned or were run by their own corporations, and thus independent from churches and their churchyards.


title: Cemetery

text: In some cases, skeletons were exhumed from graveyards and moved into ossuaries or catacombs. A large action of this type occurred in 18th century Paris when human remains were transferred from graveyards all over the city to the Catacombs of Paris. The bones of an estimated 6 million people are to be found there.


title: Cemetery

text: An early example of a landscape-style cemetery is Père Lachaise in Paris. This embodied the idea of state- rather than church-controlled burial, a concept that spread through the continent of Europe with the Napoleonic invasions. This could include the opening of cemeteries by private or joint stock companies. The shift to municipal cemeteries or those established by private companies was usually accompanied by the establishing of landscaped burial grounds outside the city (e.g. extramural).


title: Cemetery

text: In Britain the movement was driven by dissenters and public health concerns. The Rosary Cemetery in Norwich was opened in 1819 as a burial ground for all religious backgrounds. Similar private non-denominational cemeteries were established near industrialising towns with growing populations, such as Manchester (1821) and Liverpool (1825). Each cemetery required a separate Act of Parliament for authorisation, although the capital was raised through the formation of joint-stock companies.


title: Cemetery

text: In the first 50 years of the 19th century the population of London more than doubled from 1 million to 2.3 million. The small parish churchyards were rapidly becoming dangerously overcrowded, and decaying matter infiltrating the water supply was causing epidemics. The issue became particularly acute after the cholera epidemic of 1831, which killed 52,000 people in Britain alone, putting unprecedented pressure on the country's burial capacity. Concerns were also raised about the potential public health hazard arising from the inhalation of gases generated from human putrefaction under the then prevailing miasma theory of disease.


title: Cemetery

text: Legislative action was slow in coming, but in 1832 Parliament finally acknowledged the need for the establishment of large municipal cemeteries and encouraged their construction outside London. The same bill also closed all inner London churchyards to new deposits. The Magnificent Seven, seven large cemeteries around London, were established in the following decade, starting with Kensal Green in 1832.


title: Cemetery

text: Urban planner and author John Claudius Loudon was one of the first professional cemetery designers, and his book "On the Laying Out, Planting and Managing of Cemeteries" (1843) was very influential on designers and architects of the period. Loudon himself designed three cemeteries – Bath Abbey Cemetery, Histon Road Cemetery, Cambridge, and Southampton Old Cemetery.


title: Cemetery

text: The Metropolitan Burial Act of 1852 legislated for the establishment of the first national system of government-funded municipal cemeteries across the country, opening the way for a massive expansion of burial facilities throughout the late 19th century.


title: Cemetery

text: In the United States, rural cemeteries became recreational areas in a time before public parks, hosting events from casual picnics to hunts and carriage races.


title: Cemetery

text: There are a number of different styles of cemetery in use. Many cemeteries have areas based on different styles, reflecting the diversity of cultural practices around death and how it changes over time.


title: Cemetery

text: The urban cemetery is a burial ground located in the interior of a village, town, or city. Early urban cemeteries were churchyards, which filled quickly and exhibited a haphazard placement of burial markers as sextons tried to squeeze new burials into the remaining space. As new burying grounds were established in urban areas to compensate, burial plots were often laid out in a grid to replace the chaotic appearance of the churchyard. Urban cemeteries developed over time into a more landscaped form as part of civic development of beliefs and institutions that sought to portray the city as civilized and harmonious.


title: Cemetery

text: Urban cemeteries were more sanitary (a place to safely dispose of decomposing corpses) than they were aesthetically pleasing. Corpses were usually buried wrapped in cloth, since coffins, burial vaults, and above-ground crypts inhibited the process of decomposition. Nonetheless, urban cemeteries which were heavily used were often very unhealthy. Receiving vaults and crypts often needed to be aired before entering, as decomposing corpses used up so much oxygen that even candles could not remain lit. The sheer stench from decomposing corpses, even when buried deeply, was overpowering in areas adjacent to the urban cemetery. Decomposition of the human body releases significant pathogenic bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and viruses which can cause disease and illness, and many urban cemeteries were located without consideration for local groundwater. Modern burials in urban cemeteries also release toxic chemicals associated with embalming, such as arsenic, formaldehyde, and mercury. Coffins and burial equipment can also release significant amounts of toxic chemicals such as arsenic (used to preserve coffin wood) and formaldehyde (used in varnishes and as a sealant) and toxic metals such as copper, lead, and zinc (from coffin handles and flanges).


title: Cemetery

text: Urban cemeteries relied heavily on the fact that the soft parts of the body would decompose in about 25 years (although, in moist soil, decomposition can take up to 70 years). If room for new burials was needed, older bones could be dug up and interred elsewhere (such as in an ossuary) to make space for new interments. It was not uncommon in some places, such as England, for fresher corpses to be chopped up to aid decomposition, and for bones to be burned to create fertilizer. The re-use of graves allowed for a steady stream of income, which enabled the cemetery to remain well-maintained and in good repair. Not all urban cemeteries engaged in re-use of graves, and cultural taboos often prevented it. Many urban cemeteries have fallen into disrepair and become overgrown, as they lacked endowments to fund perpetual care. Many urban cemeteries today are thus home to wildlife, birds, and plants which cannot be found anywhere else in the urban area, and many urban cemeteries in the late 20th century touted their role as an environmental refuge.


title: Cemetery

text: Many urban cemeteries are characterized by multiple burials in the same grave. Multiple burials is a consequence of the limited size of the urban cemetery, which cannot easily expand due to adjacent building development. It was not uncommon for an urban cemetery to begin adding soil to the top of the cemetery to create new burial space.


title: Cemetery

text: A "monumental cemetery" is the traditional style of cemetery where headstones or other monuments made of marble, granite or similar materials rise vertically above the ground (typically around 50 cm but some can be over 2 metres high). Often the entire grave is covered by a slab, commonly concrete, but it can be more expensive materials such as marble or granite, and/or has its boundaries delimited by a fence which may be made of concrete, cast iron or timber. Where a number of family members are buried together (either vertically or horizontally), the slab or boundaries may encompass a number of graves.


title: Cemetery

text: Monumental cemeteries are often regarded as unsightly due to the random collection of monuments and headstones they contain. Also, as maintenance of the headstones is the responsibility of family members (in the absence of a proscribed Perpetual Care and Maintenance Fund), over time many headstones are forgotten about and decay and become damaged. For cemetery authorities, monumental cemeteries are difficult to maintain. While cemeteries often have grassed areas between graves, the layout of graves makes it difficult to use modern equipment such as ride-on lawn mowers in the cemetery. Often the maintenance of grass must be done by more labour-intensive (and therefore expensive) methods. In order to reduce the labour cost, devices such as string trimmers are increasingly used in cemetery maintenance, but such devices can damage the monuments and headstones. Cemetery authorities dislike the criticism they receive for the deteriorating condition of the headstones, arguing that they have no responsibility for the upkeep of headstones, and typically disregard their own maintenance practices as being one of the causes of that deterioration.


title: Cemetery

text: The rural cemetery or garden cemetery is a style of burial ground that uses landscaping in a park-like setting. It was conceived in 1711 by the British architect Sir Christopher Wren, who advocated the creation of landscaped burial grounds which featured well-planned walkways which gave extensive access to graves and planned plantings of trees, bushes, and flowers. Wren's idea was not immediately accepted. But by the early 1800s, existing churchyards were growing overcrowded and unhealthy, with graves stacked upon each other or emptied and reused for new burials. As a reaction to this, the first "garden" cemetery – Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris – opened in 1804. Because these cemeteries were usually on the outskirts of town (where land was plentiful and cheap), they were called "rural cemeteries", a term still used to describe them today. The concept quickly spread across Europe.


title: Cemetery

text: Garden/rural cemeteries were not necessarily outside city limits. When land within a city could be found, the cemetery was enclosed with a wall to give it a garden-like quality. These cemeteries were often not sectarian, nor co-located with a house of worship. Inspired by the English landscape garden movement, they often looked like attractive parks. The first garden/rural cemetery in the United States was Mount Auburn Cemetery near Boston, Massachusetts, founded by the Massachusetts Horticultural Society in 1831. Following the establishment of Mount Auburn, dozens of other "rural" cemeteries were established in the United States – perhaps in part because of Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story's dedication address – and there were dozens of dedication addresses, including the famous Gettysburg Address of President Abraham Lincoln.


title: Cemetery

text: The cost of building a garden/rural cemetery often meant that only the wealthy could afford burial there. Subsequently, garden/rural cemeteries often feature above-ground monuments and memorials, mausoleums, and columbaria. The excessive filling of rural/garden cemeteries with elaborate above-ground memorials, many of dubious artistic quality or taste, created a backlash which led to the development of the lawn cemetery.


title: Cemetery

text: In a review of British burial and death practises, Julie Rugg wrote that there were "four closely interlinked factors that explain the 'invention' and widespread adoption of the lawn cemetery: the deterioration of the Victorian cemetery; a self-conscious rejection of Victorian aesthetics in favour of modern alternatives; resource difficulties that, particularly after World War II, increasingly constrained what might be achieved in terms of cemetery maintenance; and growing professionalism in the field of cemetery management."


title: Cemetery

text: Typically, lawn cemeteries comprise a number of graves in a lawn setting with trees and gardens on the perimeter. Adolph Strauch introduced this style in 1855 in Cincinnati.


title: Cemetery

text: While aesthetic appeal to family members has been the primary driver for the development of lawn cemeteries, cemetery authorities initially welcomed this new style of cemetery enthusiastically, expecting easier maintenance. Selecting (or grading) the land intended for a lawn cemetery so that it is completely flat allows the use of large efficient mowers (such as ride-on mowers or lawn tractors) - the plaques (being horizontally set in the ground) lie below the level of the blades and are not damaged by the blades. Unfortunately, in practice, while families are often initially attracted to the uncluttered appearance of a lawn cemetery, the common practice of placing flowers (sometimes in vases) and increasingly other items (e.g. small toys on children's graves) re-introduces some clutter to the cemetery and makes it difficult to use the larger mowers. While cemetery authorities increasingly impose restrictions on the nature and type of objects that can be placed on lawn graves and actively remove prohibited items, grieving families are often unwilling to comply with these restrictions and become very upset if the items are removed. Another problem with lawn cemeteries involves grass over-growth over time: the grass can grow over and cover the plaque, to the distress of families who can no longer easily locate the grave. Grasses that propagate by an above-ground stolon (runner) can cover a plaque very quickly. Grasses that propagate by a below-ground rhizome tend not to cover the plaque as easily.


title: Cemetery

text: The lawn beam cemetery, a recent development, seeks to solve the problems of the lawn cemetery while retaining many of its benefits. Low (10–15 cm) raised concrete slabs (beams) are placed across the cemetery. Commemorative plaques (usually standardised in terms of size and materials similar to lawn cemeteries) stand on these beams adjacent to each grave. As in a lawn cemetery, grass grows over the graves themselves. The areas between the beams are wide enough to permit easy mowing with a larger mower. As the mower blades are set lower than the top of the beam and the mowers do not go over the beam, the blades cannot damage the plaques. Up on the beam, the plaques cannot be easily overgrown by grass, and spaces between the plaques permit families to place flowers and other objects out of reach of the mowing.


title: Cemetery

text: A "natural cemetery," "eco-cemetery," "green cemetery" or "conservation cemetery", is a new style of cemetery as an area set aside for natural burials (with or without coffins). Natural burials are motivated by a desire to be environmentally conscious with the body rapidly decomposing and becoming part of the natural environment without incurring the environmental cost of traditional burials. Certifications may be granted for various levels of green burial. Green burial certifications are issued in a tiered system reflecting level of natural burial practice. Green burial certification standards designate a cemetery as Hybrid, Natural, or Conservation Burial Grounds.


title: Cemetery

text: Many scientists have argued that natural burials would be a highly efficient use of land if designed specifically to save endangered habitats, ecosystems and species.


title: Cemetery

text: The opposite has also been proposed. Instead of letting natural burials permanently protect wild landscapes, others have argued that the rapid decomposition of a natural burial, in principle, allows for the quick re-use of grave sites in comparison with conventional burials. However, it is unclear if reusing cemetery land will be culturally acceptable to most people.


title: Cemetery

text: In keeping with the intention of "returning to nature" and the early re-use potential, natural cemeteries do not normally have conventional grave markings such as headstones. Instead, exact GPS recordings and or the placing of a tree, bush or rock often marks the location of the dead, so grieving family and friends can visit the precise location of a grave.


title: Cemetery

text: "Columbarium walls" are a common feature of many cemeteries, reflecting the increasing use of cremation rather than burial. While cremated remains can be kept at home by families in urns or scattered in some significant or attractive place, neither of these approaches allows for a long-lasting commemorative plaque to honour the dead nor provide a place for the wider circle of friends and family to come to mourn or visit. Therefore, many cemeteries now provide walls (typically of brick or rendered brick construction) with a rectangular array of niches, with each niche being big enough to accommodate a person's cremated remains. Columbarium walls are a very space-efficient use of land in a cemetery compared with burials and a niche in a columbarium wall is a much cheaper alternative to a burial plot. A small plaque (about 15 cm x 10 cm) can be affixed across the front of each niche and is generally included as part of the price of a niche. As the writing on the plaques has to be fairly small to fit on the small size of the plaque, the design of columbarium walls is constrained by the ability of visitors to read the plaques. Thus, the niches are typically placed between 1 metre to 2 metres above the ground so the plaques can be easily read by an adult. Some columbarium walls have niches going close to ground level, but these niches are usually unpopular with families as it is difficult to read the plaque without bending down very low (something older people in particular find difficult or uncomfortable to do).


title: Cemetery

text: As with graves, the niches may be assigned by the cemetery authorities or families may choose from the unoccupied niches available. It is usually possible to purchase (or pay a deposit) to reserve the use of adjacent niches for other family members. The use of adjacent niches (vertically or horizontally) usually permits a larger plaque spanning all the niches involved, which provides more space for the writing. As with graves, there may be separate columbarium walls for different religions or for war veterans. As with lawn cemeteries, the original expectation was that people would prefer the uncluttered simplicity of a wall of plaques, but the practice of leaving flowers is very entrenched. Mourners leave flowers (and other objects) on top of columbarium walls or at the base, as close as they can to the plaque of their family member. In some cases, it is possible to squeeze a piece of wire or string under the plaque allowing a flower or small posy to be placed on the plaque itself or clips are glued onto the plaque for that purpose. Newer designs of columbarium walls take this desire to leave flowers into account by incorporating a metal clip or loop beside each plaque, typically designed to hold a single flower stem or a small posy. As the flowers decay, they simply fall to the ground and do not create a significant maintenance problem.


title: Cemetery

text: While uncommon today, family (or private) cemeteries were a matter of practicality during the settlement of America. If a municipal or religious cemetery had not been established, settlers would seek out a small plot of land, often in wooded areas bordering their fields, to begin a family plot. Sometimes, several families would arrange to bury their dead together. While some of these sites later grew into true cemeteries, many were forgotten after a family moved away or died out.


title: Cemetery

text: Today, it is not unheard of to discover groupings of tombstones, ranging from a few to a dozen or more, on undeveloped land. As late 20th-century suburban sprawl pressured the pace of development in formerly rural areas, it became increasingly common for larger exurban properties to be encumbered by "religious easements", which are legal requirements for the property owner to permit periodic maintenance of small burial plots located on the property but technically not owned with it. Often, cemeteries are relocated to accommodate building. However, if the cemetery is not relocated, descendants of people buried there may visit the cemetery.


title: Cemetery

text: There is also the practice of families with large estates choosing to create private cemeteries in the form of burial sites, monuments, crypts, or mausoleums on their property; the mausoleum at Fallingwater is an example of this practice. Burial of a body at a site may protect the location from redevelopment, with such estates often being placed in the care of a trust or foundation. In the United States, state regulations have made it increasingly difficult, if not impossible, to start private cemeteries; many require a plan to care for the site in perpetuity. Private cemeteries are nearly always forbidden on incorporated residential zones.


title: Cemetery

text: All of the Saudis in Al Baha are Muslims, and this is reflected in their cemetery and funeral customs. "The southern tribal hinterland of Baha – home to especially the Al-Ghamdi and Al-Zahrani tribes – has been renowned for centuries for their tribal cemeteries that are now slowly vanishing", according to the "Asharq Al-Awsat" newspaper: "One old villager explained how tribal cemeteries came about. 'People used to die in large numbers and very rapidly one after the other because of diseases. So the villagers would dig graves close by burying members of the same family in one area. That was how the family and tribal burial grounds came about... If the family ran out of space, they would open old graves where family members had been buried before and add more people to them.


title: Cemetery

text: This process is known as "khashf". During famines and outbreaks of epidemics huge numbers of people would die and many tribes faced difficulties in digging new graves because of the difficult weather. In the past, some Arab winters lasted for more than six months and would be accompanied with much rain and fog, impeding movement. But due to tribal rivalries many families would guard their cemeteries and put restrictions on who was buried in them. Across Baha, burial grounds have been constructed in different ways. Some cemeteries consist of underground vaults or concrete burial chambers with the capacity of holding many bodies simultaneously. Such vaults include windows for people to peer through and are usually decorated ornately with text, drawings, and patterns. At least one resident believes that the graves unique in the region because many are not oriented toward Mecca, and therefore must pre-date Islam.


title: Cemetery

text: Graves are terraced in Yagoto Cemetery, which is an urban cemetery situated in a hilly area in Nagoya, Japan, effectively creating stone walls blanketing hillsides.


title: Cemetery

text: The Cross Bones is a burial ground for prostitutes in London. The Neptune Memorial Reef is an underwater columbarium near Key Biscayne.


title: Cemetery

text: In the 2000s and 2010s, it has become increasingly common for cemeteries and funeral homes to offer online services. There are also stand-alone online "cemeteries" such as Find a Grave, Canadian Headstones, Interment.net, and the World Wide Cemetery.


title: Cemetery

text: In Western countries, and many others, visitors to graves commonly leave cut flowers, especially during major holidays and on birthdays or relevant anniversaries. Cemeteries usually dispose of these flowers after a few weeks in order to keep the space maintained. Some companies offer perpetual flower services, to ensure a grave is always decorated with fresh flowers. Flowers may often be planted on the grave as well, usually immediately in front of the gravestone. For this purpose roses are highly common.


title: Cemetery

text: Visitors to loved ones interred in Jewish cemeteries often leave a small stone on the top of the headstone. There are prayers said at the gravesite, and the stone is left on the visitor's departure. It is done as a show of respect; as a general rule, flowers are not placed at Jewish graves. Flowers are fleeting; the symbology inherent in the use of a stone is to show that the love, honor, memories, and soul of the loved one are eternal. This practice is seen in the closing scene of the film "Schindler's List", although in that case it is not on a Jewish grave.


title: Cemetery

text: War graves will commonly have small timber remembrance crosses left with a red poppy attached to its centre. These will often have messages written on the cross. More formal visits will often leave a poppy wreath. Jewish war graves are sometimes marked by a timber Star of David.


title: Cemetery

text: Placing burning grave candles on the cemetery to commemorate the dead is a very common tradition in Catholic nations, for example, Poland. It is mostly practised on All Souls' Day. The traditional grave candles are called "znicz" in Polish. A similar practice of grave candles is also used in Eastern Orthodox Christian nations, as well as the Lutheran Christian Nordic countries.


title: Cemetery

text: In the American South, graves of children are often decorated with emblems of childhood. These include favorite toys, balloons, seasonal decorations, religious figurines, and more.


title: Cemetery

text: Traditionally cemetery management only involves the allocation of land for burial, the digging and filling of graves, and the maintenance of the grounds and landscaping. The construction and maintenance of headstones and other grave monuments are usually the responsibilities of surviving families and friends. However, increasingly, many people regard the resultant collection of individual headstones, concrete slabs and fences (some of which may be decayed or damaged) to be aesthetically unappealing, leading to new cemetery developments either standardising the shape or design of headstones or plaques, sometimes by providing a standard shaped marker as part of the service provided by the cemetery.


title: Cemetery

text: Cemetery authorities normally employ a full-time staff of caretakers to dig graves. The term "gravedigger" is still used in casual speech, though many cemeteries have adopted the term "caretaker", since their duties often involve maintenance of the cemetery grounds and facilities. The employment of skilled personnel for the preparation of graves is done not only to ensure the grave is dug in the correct location and at the correct depth, but also to relieve families from having to dig the grave for a recently dead relative, and as a matter of public safety, in order to prevent inexperienced visitors from injuring themselves, to ensure unused graves are properly covered, and to avoid legal liability that would result from an injury related to an improperly dug or uncovered grave. Preparation of the grave is usually done before the mourners arrive for the burial. The cemetery caretakers fill the grave after the burial, generally after the mourners have departed. Mechanical equipment, such as backhoes, are used to reduce labour cost of digging and filling, but some hand shovelling may still be required.


title: Cemetery

text: In the United Kingdom the minimum depth from the surface to the highest lid is 36 inches (91.4 cm). There must be 6 inches (15.2 cm) between each coffin, which on average is 15 inches (38.1 cm) high. If the soil is free-draining and porous, only 24 inches (61 cm) of soil on top is required. Coffins may be interred at lesser depths or even above ground as long as they are encased in a concrete chamber. Before 1977, double graves were dug to 8 feet (243.8 cm) and singles to 6 feet (182.9 cm). As a single grave is now dug to 54 inches (137.2 cm), old cemeteries contain many areas where new single graves can be dug on "old ground". This is considered a valid method of resource management and provides income to keep older cemeteries viable, thus forestalling the need for permanent closure, which would result in a reduction of their work force.


title: Cemetery

text: The key is a zental element of Christianity. Keys of death and hell as a metaphor and synonym for these often stands the cemetery key. - "Christ says: I was dead, and behold, I am alive from eternity to eternity, and have the keys of death and hell." (Revelation 1:18). Peter is given privilege to allow different groups to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. He gets three keys that he uses. (Acts 2:37, 38; 8:14-17; 10:44-48) Today it is also integrated in many games as the "graveyard key holder".


title: Cemetery

text: Usually there is a legal requirement to maintain records regarding the burials (or interment of ashes) within a cemetery. These "burial registers" usually contain (at a minimum) the name of the person buried, the date of burial and the location of the burial plots within the cemetery, although some contain far more detail. The Arlington National Cemetery, one of the United States' largest military cemeteries, has a registry, "The ANC Explorer", which contains details such as photographs of the front and back of the tombstones. Burial registers are an important resource for genealogy.