title: Phoebus cartel

text: In 1951, Monopolies and Restrictive Practices Commission in the United Kingdom issued a report to Parliament and noted that: "As regards life standards, before the Phoebus Agreement and to this day the general service filament lamp was and is designed to have, on average, a minimum life of 1,000 hours. It has often been alleged—though not in evidence to us—that the Phoebus organisation artificially made the life of a lamp short with the object of increasing the number of lamps sold. As we have explained in Chapter 9, there can be no absolutely right life for the many varying circumstances to be found among the consumers in any given country, so that any standard life must always represent a compromise between conflicting factors. B.S.I, has always adopted a single life standard for general service filament lamps, and the representatives of both B.S.I, and B.E.A., as well as most lamp manufacturers, have told us in evidence that they regard 1,000 hours as the best compromise possible at the present time, nor has an evidence been offered to us to the contrary. Accordingly we must dismiss as misconceived the allegation referred to above."


title: Phoebus cartel

text: In "Gravity's Rainbow" (1973), Thomas Pynchon wrote about "Byron the Bulb", an anthropomorphic eternal lightbulb who fights against the Phoebus Cartel. Pynchon's story has been credited with bringing the Phoebus Cartel to the public eye.


title: Osamu Dazai (Bungo Stray Dogs)

text: Osamu Dazai was created by writer Kafka Asagiri and illustrator Sango Harukawa. His look and personality were designed to contrast with the young lead, Atsushi's, while his name is the same as that of the late author Osamu Dazai. His backstory was also influenced by the real life Dazai as the author was captivated by a picture of him and two other writers. In the animated version of the series the character is voiced by Mamoru Miyano in Japanese and Kaiji Tang in English.


title: Osamu Dazai (Bungo Stray Dogs)

text: The fictional Osamu Dazai has been popular in Japan often appearing in polls and winning awards from different magazines. Critical reception to his portrayal in the anime and manga has been mostly positive due to his interactions with his partners Aeman Ali, Doppo Kunikida and Chuuya Nakahara, his personality and his character traits. Nevertheless, the character's frequent attempts to commit suicide were criticized for being too dark to be humorous.


title: Osamu Dazai (Bungo Stray Dogs)

text: Asagiri created the fictional character to contrast with the protagonist Atsushi Nakajima. His main traits are his slender figure, humorous personality, and his persistent attempts to commit suicide. Harukawa covered Dazai's body in bandages alongside other items when conceptualizing his design, meant to represent his obsession with suicide. Asagiri was surprised by Harukawa's designs for the protagonists. Another contrast between the main characters was the idea of balancing their colors so Dazai's black hair contrasted with Atsushi's white hair.


title: Osamu Dazai (Bungo Stray Dogs)

text: In writing Dazai's backstory for the light novels, Asagiri was inspired by a picture that had the real artists Dazai, Ango Sakaguchi and Sakunosuke Oda. The seemingly natural state the trio had inspired Asagiri to write "Osamu Dazai and the Dark Era". Another aspect of the trio that inspired the fiction was how the real Dazai reacted to Oda's death. The real Dazai was also a fan of Ryūnosuke Akutagawa's works, but in fiction this was reversed in terms of the relationship between the two characters with the same name. Asagiri decided to keep this reason up to the reader.


title: Osamu Dazai (Bungo Stray Dogs)

text: When first reading the manga, anime director Yasuomi Umetsu was impressed by the relationship Dazai had with his students Atsushi, and Ryunosuke Akutagawa. This gave the staff ideas for making the symbolic sequences in the opening and closing video scenes of the anime series where the three characters are featured. The staff noted Dazai had a mentor-like relationship with Atsushi and Akutagawa which led to scenes where he is seen trying to pat their heads. For the film "" Asagiri suggested that Studio Bones change Dazai's hairstyle. Despite this redesign, and Dazai having associated with the main villain, Asagiri said they are not the main focus of the film; that is on Atsushi, Kyoka Izumi and Akutagawa. Furthermore, Asagiri conceived the idea of the story starting with Dazai's death and how he would be revived across the story. He wondered, however, what the cause of death should have been. Another idea for Dazai's characterization in the film was not to change it but focus on how he treats other people.


title: Osamu Dazai (Bungo Stray Dogs)

text: Voice actor Mamoru Miyano found the younger Dazai more challenging to voice. Because of his darker personality, with little care for others, Miyano had to use a duller tone of voice. This stage of Dazai's character made a deep impression on him. Miyano also noted that Dazai managed to become a better person thanks to his friendship with Odasaku and Ango. In retrospect, Miyano felt that Dazai's darker period gave him a further understanding of his character as he changed across the story. Since being hired to be the English voice actor for Osamu Dazai, Kaiji Tang looked forward to working on "Bungo Stray Dogs", having previously watched the series. Tang was delighted to voice Dazai for the English dub, attracted by his comical attitude.


title: Osamu Dazai (Bungo Stray Dogs)

text: A member of the Armed Detective Agency who takes Atsushi under his wing, Dazai is known for being a "suicide maniac" because of his wish to commit suicide and die comfortably one day, preferably with a beautiful woman. Under his carefree and relaxed demeanor, however, Dazai is extremely cunning, intelligent, skilled and brutal, once being a feared executive for the Port Mafia. His ability, , lets him completely nullify any supernatural ability by touch. Dazai takes a liking to Atsushi as his underling starts working for the Agency, believing him to be superior to some of the mafia's men. When allowing himself to be kidnapped by the Port Mafia, Dazai tells his former underling Ryūnosuke Akutagawa that Atsushi is superior to him, angering Akutagawa. However, the relationship turns into an alliance between the Agency and the mafia to face a group known as the Guild. During the fight, Dazai joins forces with his former mafia ally, Chuuya Nakahara, to face members of the Guild.


title: Osamu Dazai (Bungo Stray Dogs)

text: After the Guild's defeat, Dazai meets Fyodor Dostoyevsky, the leader of the Rats in the House of the Dead who has one of his allies wound the leaders of the Agency and Port Mafia to generate chaos between each group to see who will get the cure. Afterwards, Dazai is shot by one of Dostoyevsky's underlings, and ends up in the hospital. On recovering, Dazai has the Agency's members track Dostoyevsky's underling who has the key to the cure while he and members from the Guild manage to locate Dostoyevsky and have him arrested. However, Dostoyevsky's men threaten the Agency again and Dazai is imprisoned. Despite his imprisonment, Dazai requests help from Ango to give orders to the Agency to fight against Dostoyevsky's Decay of the Angel members and the government.


title: Osamu Dazai (Bungo Stray Dogs)

text: The light novels follow Dazai's backstory. "Osamu Dazai's Entrance Exam" plot describes how Dazai joined the Detective Agency and met his future partners. At the age of 20, he joined the Armed Detective Company on the recommendation of Chief Taneda of the Ministry of Internal Affair's Special Ability Department, and—as a newbie—was entrusted by Fukuzawa Yukichi to Doppo Kunikida. Shortly afterwards, they were both assigned to work on the Serial Disappearance of Yokohama's Visitors Case, which Kunikida decided would be Dazai's entrance exam. "Osamu Dazai and the Dark Era" involves his relationship with hitman Oda Sakunosuke four years before the events of the manga when he was working for the mafia, culminating with Oda encouraging Dazai to leave the group and find a new way of living which does not involve committing murder. "Dazai, Chuuya, Fifteen Years Old" follows Dazai's life as a member of the Port Mafia. Dazai, under the watchful eye of Ōgai Mori, receives his first mission to investigate a ghost. He and Chuuya Nakahara used to be partners during his days in the Mafia, and together—after they had decimated an enemy organization in one night—they became notorious and dubbed the "Criminal Underworld's Worst Enemy", earning the title .


title: Osamu Dazai (Bungo Stray Dogs)

text: The character is also present in the light novel "BEAST: White Akutagawa, Black Atsushi", in an alternate version of his world, still working for Port Mafia alongside Atsushi and Kyoka Izumi. He also appears in the light novel "Bungo Stray Dogs: 55 Minutes" where the Agency is given the job of finding a thief.


title: Osamu Dazai (Bungo Stray Dogs)

text: Dazai appears in the 2018 film "" as a member of the Detective Agency. At the request of Ango Sakaguchi, the Armed Detective Agency investigates Tatsuhiko Shibusawa, a self-described "collector", tied to an incident involving multiple suicides. Dazai allies himself with Shibusawa to counter his plans, and is stabbed and left to die. Chuya manages to save Dazai, thanks to the latter's planning and prediction of Shibusawa's betrayal. The manga adaptation of the film also includes Dazai. Dazai is present in the gag series "Wan!" where he is depicted in a super deformed form.


title: Osamu Dazai (Bungo Stray Dogs)

text: In the mobile phone game "Bungo Stray Dogs: Tales of the Lost", Dazai appears as a playable character. He is also a guest character in "Yume 100". In the series' play, Dazai was played by Hideya Tawada.


title: Osamu Dazai (Bungo Stray Dogs)

text: After his introduction the site "Manga.Tokyo" welcomed Dazai commenting on his appealing interactions with Doppo Kunikida. "The Fandom Post" agreed with "Manga.Tokyo" with respect to his interactions with Kunikida, while also acknowledging his character comes across as intelligent despite his childish personality. His interactions with Atsushi also received positive responses. Though not satisfied with his introduction, The Fandom Post regarded Dazai as a "fun character" as well as "probably the strongest part of the series thus far. Both "Anime News Network" and "Anime UK News" were more critical because of the black comedy of his frequent suicide attempts, something that referenced the real life Dazai. The reviewer also hinted his bandages might imply there are more failed attempts at suicide in his past. Nevertheless, his personality and interactions with others were noted to have made the story amusing despite its dark tone. Dazai's attempt to kill himself again, but with a woman working for Port Mafia, was also thought to be a reference to the real Dazaiwhich might come across as offensive. "Reel Run Down" enjoyed Dazai to the point of finding him one of the most enjoyable characters in the entire series because of his cheerful personality, which is given further depth when the second season explores his dark past.


title: Osamu Dazai (Bungo Stray Dogs)

text: Writers commented on Dazai's past persona from the light novels and its animated adaptation. "Manga.Tokyo" highly praised the relationship between Dazai and Odasaku since it shows the impact Odasaku had on the Dazai's characterization and growth as a person which contrasted with his regular personality, while "UK Anime Network" felt it made the cast look more rounded in the general due to the multiple use literal characters based on real life. Dazai's debut in the anime's third season earned praise from "Manga.Tokyo" for once again exploring his teenage years where his relationship with Chuuya Nakahara is revealed in the form of flashback episodes. The site noted that the debut explores the relationship between Dazai and Mori and how Mori sees himself in Dazai. "Anime News Network" noted how dark this incarnation of Dazai is as he does not appear to care for other people and instead ponders the idea of killing himself in contrast to his cheerful persona from the regular series. Nevertheless, the site liked his dynamic with Chuuya with the "Fandom Post" echoing similar comments especially during the Guild arc as the duo can still fighter together despite their distanced relationships.


title: Osamu Dazai (Bungo Stray Dogs)

text: Besides his regular appearances, "Fandom post" enjoyed the panicking Dazai from the series' spin-off "Bungo Stray Dogs Wan" due to how nervous he acts when realizing that one of the he went too harsh with his prank on Kunikida. Similarly, "Anime News Network" enjoyed Dazai's alternate actions in "Wan," such as him being a kindergarten teacher, as enjoyable takes on the series. In a review of "Bungo Stray Dogs: Dead Apple", the site pointed out that Dazai was one of only two characters who understood Shibusawa Tatsuhiko. "Anime News Network" felt that his role in the film teaming up with Shibusawa Tatsuhiko and Fyodor to be too difficult to complete based on mthe multiple stakes..


title: Osamu Dazai (Bungo Stray Dogs)

text: Dazai's actors were also well received by the media. "Manga.Tokyo" enjoyed Mamoru Miyano's performance as Dazai's voice actor ever since his introduction. "The Fandom Post" said with Mamoru Miyano's "acting range helping his versatile characterization immensely." Dazai was also voted as the second best Miyano character in a poll from "AnimeAnime". In another review the site again enjoyed Miyano's performance as he changed his vocal tone to characterize Dazai's personality in the past. "UK Anime News" further complimented Miyano saying fits the "eccentric personality of Dazai extremely well" "Reel Run Down" found Kaiji Tang's work as Dazai enjoyable due to the joy he brings to the role.


title: Osamu Dazai (Bungo Stray Dogs)

text: The character has been highly popular in Japan. In 2017, Dazai was voted as the fifth best male character in "Newtype" magazine for his role in the anime series. In the 2017–2018 "Newtype" Anime Awards, Dazai took third place for his role in the film. In another poll, he took second place. He also had a cameo in the anime film "Eureka Seven: Hi-Evolution". In a 2017 Otaku Hit Ranking poll, Dazai took tenth place in the category: Which one of these 2D characters do you think has been the most popular this year? In a "Newtype" poll, Dazai was voted the fourteenth-most-popular male anime character from the 2010s. Rebecca Silverman referred to Dazai as her favorite character from 2016 despite first appearing in multiple suicide jokes, she felt he shows depths that portray him as a more mature person who influences Atsushi and Akutagawa to become stronger people. In a Charapedia poll from 2016, Dazai was voted the most sexually appealing character in anime by female voters while he took the second place behind Rem from "" in the aggregate poll. In an Anime!Anime! poll, Dazai and Chuya were voted as one of the best anime rivals turned into allies.


title: New York's 19th congressional district

text: New York's 19th congressional district is located in New York's Catskills and mid-Hudson Valley regions. It lies partially in the northernmost region of the New York metropolitan area and mostly south of Albany. This district is currently represented by Democrat Pat Ryan.


title: New York's 19th congressional district

text: After redistricting in 2012, the 19th district comprises all of Columbia, Delaware, Greene, Otsego, Schoharie, Sullivan, and Ulster Counties; and parts of Broome, Dutchess, Montgomery, and Rensselaer Counties. The district borders Vermont, Massachusetts, and Connecticut to the east; and Pennsylvania to the southwest. Democratic President Barack Obama won the new district by 6.2% in 2012, while Republican Donald Trump won the district by 6.8% in 2016.


title: New York's 19th congressional district

text: Incumbent Representative Nan Hayworth opted to follow most of her constituents into the new 18th district, but she was defeated by Democrat Sean Patrick Maloney, a former advisor to President Bill Clinton. Most of the old 19th district is now part of the 18th district. Meanwhile, incumbent 20th district representative Chris Gibson ran for re-election in the new 19th district and won. On January 5, 2015, per his pledge when first elected not to serve more than four terms, Gibson announced that he would not run for re-election in 2016.


title: New York's 19th congressional district

text: In 2016, Democrat Zephyr Teachout was defeated by Republican John Faso in the election. In 2018, Faso was defeated after only one term by Democrat Antonio Delgado. In 2022, Delgado resigned to become Lieutenant Governor, leaving the seat vacant. Democrat Pat Ryan won the special election to complete Delgado's term on August 23, 2022. Ryan ran in the 18th district in the November general election due to redistricting, while Democrat Josh Riley, who won the Democratic primary, lost to Republican Marc Molinaro in the 19th district in the November general election.


title: New York's 19th congressional district

text: Various New York districts have been numbered "19" over the years, including areas in New York City and various parts of upstate New York. The 19th District was a Manhattan-based district until 1980. It then was the Bronx-Westchester seat now numbered the 17th District. The present 19th District was the 21st District prior to the 1990s, and prior to that was the 25th District. From 2003 to 2013, the 19th was composed of parts of Dutchess, Orange, Rockland, and Westchester Counties, in addition to the entirety of Putnam County. Much of this district is now the 18th district, while the current 19th is essentially a merger of the former 20th district and 22nd district. The 2020 redistricting saw the district expand to include the entirety of Broome, Tioga, Chenango, Delaware, Greene, Sullivan, and Columbia Counties, while partially including Ulster and Otsego County.


title: New York's 19th congressional district

text: Note that in New York State electoral politics there are numerous minor parties at various points on the political spectrum. Certain parties will endorse either the Republican or Democratic candidate for every office, hence the state electoral results contain both the party votes, and the final candidate votes (Listed as "Recap").


title: Stanley Praimnath

text: Stanley Praimnath (born October 27, 1956) is a survivor of the attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. He worked as an executive for Fuji Bank on the 81st floor of the South Tower (WTC 2), the second tower struck that day. He was one of only 18 survivors from within or above the impact zone of United Airlines Flight 175.


title: Stanley Praimnath

text: When American Airlines Flight 11 struck the North Tower, Praimnath started to evacuate from his 81st floor office in the South Tower, but he returned when the security guards of the building said the South Tower was secure, and workers should return to their offices.<ref name="9/11 Tribute Museum"></ref> Whilst making a phone call from his office, he looked out the south side of the building and spotted United Airlines Flight 175 flying towards him. Praimnath froze up as the aircraft approached, unable to decide what to do, but at the last moment he dove under his desk just as the plane crashed into the building. The left wing sliced through his office and became lodged in a door from him.


title: Stanley Praimnath

text: Praimnath was bruised and exhausted, and covered in debris after the crash, which left him stuck and unable to escape on his own.


title: Stanley Praimnath

text: While Praimnath called for help, Euro Brokers executive Brian Clark, from the 84th floor, and a group of his coworkers were debating in the stairwell whether to descend through the impact zone using the stairwell, which they had been told was impassable, or to climb to the roof. Clark heard Praimnath's cries for help, and made his way to him by using his flashlight and following his voice. As Clark was on his way to find Praimnath, he looked back towards his coworkers and saw they had decided to climb up the stairs instead of going down. Because of the decision to ascend the stairs, all of Clark's coworkers were killed, except for one, Ron DiFrancesco, who reversed course.


title: Stanley Praimnath

text: Once Clark had found Praimnath, the two men made their way to the stairwell, which Clark had already been told was blocked further down. However, Clark and Praimnath wanted to see for themselves if the stairs were really impassable. They descended the stairs, and while there was debris in some spots, the two men were able to get through it and continue down the stairs and out of the building. They were two of only eighteen survivors from at or above the impact zone in the South Tower. After the two men had made it outside and walked two blocks away from the South Tower, they stopped and looked back at the building they had just exited, and Praimnath said to Clark, "You know, I think that building can come down." Clark was in the midst of replying, "Those are steel structures, there's no way—", when he was cut off by the South Tower starting to collapse.<ref name="9/11StoryClark"></ref>


title: Stanley Praimnath

text: As the dust cloud from the collapsing South Tower approached them, they ran south and entered 42 Broadway as the wave caught up to them. Inside that lobby they exchanged business cards. Clark made his way home to New Jersey; Praimnath went to the hospital for his injuries. Later on that evening, after midnight, when Praimnath had finally gotten home from the hospital, he called Clark to find out what had happened to him. The two men, who had never met before 9/11, remain friends and have appeared on numerous shows and documentaries telling their story.


title: Stanley Praimnath

text: Praimnath's and others' stories were told on the 2006 BBC docudrama "". His story was also chronicled in the documentaries "United by 9/11" (2006) and "."


title: Steve Kirsch

text: Steven Todd Kirsch is an American entrepreneur. He has started several companies and was one of two people who independently invented the optical mouse. Kirsch has been both a philanthropic supporter of medical research, and a promoter of misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines.


title: Steve Kirsch

text: Kirsch received a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science in electrical engineering and computer science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1980.


title: Steve Kirsch

text: In 1980, Kirsch and Richard F. Lyon independently invented the first versions of the optical mouse. Kirsch has started several companies. In 1993, he founded the search engine Infoseek, which in 1999 was sold to the Walt Disney Co. He co-founded Frame Technology Corp., bought by Adobe in 1995. In 2002 he was CEO of Propel Software.


title: Steve Kirsch

text: In September 2011, he started OneID to create a user-centric Internet-scale digital identity system using public key cryptography to replace usernames and passwords with a digital identity compatible with the NSTIC goals.


title: Steve Kirsch

text: Sometime before March 2021, Kirsch started M10, which markets blockchains for banks, but the board asked him to step down in the summer of 2021 amid controversy generated by his statements on COVID treatments and vaccines.


title: Steve Kirsch

text: In April 2020, Kirsch founded the COVID-19 Early Treatment Fund (CETF) to fund research into off-label treatments for COVID-19 among drugs already having FDA approval for other diseases, donating $1 million himself and also fundraising from others. He recruited what "MIT Technology Review" called "a powerhouse board" of scientific advisors including Robert Siliciano and management by Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors. By October 2021 the fund had made grants totaling $4.5 million to various researchers.


title: Steve Kirsch

text: The fund found a "promising candidate" for further study in fluvoxamine, according to "MIT Technology Review". After funding a successful small trial which ended in November 2020, CETF provided further funding for a Phase 3 trial, which as of October 2021 was analyzing data. Kirsch, frustrated that CETF's scientific advisory board was not willing to promote use of the drug based on results of a small preliminary study, wrote a post on Medium titled "The Fast, Easy, Safe, Simple, Low-Cost Solution to COVID That Works 100% of the Time That Nobody Wants to Talk About". Medium removed his access to the site, citing misinformation concerns. Kirsch also refused to accept the outcome of a CETF-funded study on hydroxychloroquine, which had found the drug ineffective; he eventually warred with CETF's scientific advisory board over CETF's treatment of both drugs to the extent that in May 2021 all 12 members resigned.


title: Steve Kirsch

text: In May 2021, Kirsch posted an article online claiming that COVID-19 vaccines affect fertility, while also underplaying the vaccines' ability to prevent illness and death, both statements criticized by fact checkers as being inaccurate and misleading. In September 2021, speaking at an FDA meeting and identifying himself as CETF's executive director, Kirsch claimed that the vaccines "kill twice as many as they save"; the FDA responded that Kirsch had misinterpreted data and that there was no evidence his statement was true. Reuters assessed the claim as false.


title: Steve Kirsch

text: In October 2021, Kirsch founded the anti-vaccine group Vaccine Safety Research Foundation (VSRF), which created ads depicting deaths the group attributed to vaccines. Foundation advisors include Robert Malone, Peter McCullough, and Stephanie Seneff. Soon after, Kirsch appeared with Malone on the Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying podcast, which according to "MIT Technical Review" "introduced Kirsch to followers of the 'intellectual dark web and allowed him to access a "large and receptive audience to his claims about a fluvoxamine conspiracy".


title: Steve Kirsch

text: Kirsch and his wife, Michele, fund a charitable foundation, which by 2007 had given $75 million to different causes. Kirsch also was a noted contributor to Democratic Party related funds. In 2007, his personal fortune was estimated at $230 million; that same year he was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer and funded research into experimental treatments for it, eventually refocusing the family foundation on medical research. As of 1998 the couple lived in Los Altos and had two children.


title: Eggheads (TV series)

text: Eggheads is a British quiz show produced by 12 Yard. It was first broadcast in November 2003 chaired by Dermot Murnaghan. In 2008, Jeremy Vine became joint chair, and subsequently sole chair. The show has inspired three spinoff series: "Are You an Egghead?" (2008), "Revenge of the Egghead" (2014) and "Make Me an Egghead" (2016). There have also been episodes of the regular series featuring teams of celebrities in their own short series, with their own rolling prize fund.


title: Eggheads (TV series)

text: The show began in 2003 with Dermot Murnaghan as the presenter. From 2008, Jeremy Vine presented when Murnaghan was hosting the spinoff series. After the spin-off show finished, Murnaghan and Vine continued to host the series on a rotational basis, with Murnaghan typically hosting the first half of each series and Vine taking over for the second half. From series 16 Vine became the sole presenter.


title: Eggheads (TV series)

text: The series originally broadcast on BBC One at lunchtime beginning in November 2003, and later moved to a primetime slot on BBC Two from 2005 to 2020.


title: Eggheads (TV series)

text: On 12 March 2021, after a year's hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic, it was announced on Jeremy Vine's titular Channel 5 programme that the quiz show would be moving to Channel 5 with Vine and the most recent Eggheads returning. The new season premiered on 4 October 2021, and alongside a studio change, only four Eggheads and four contestants now played at a time with a reduction to three one-on-one rounds to accommodate advert breaks (due to Channel 5's status as a commercial broadcaster). Due to social distancing restrictions, the desks were lengthened and perspex screens were added. The first challengers, playing for charity, were Jay's Virtual Quiz, who had become a fundraising hit on social media during the pandemic. An additional Egghead was featured on the opening credits and competed from week two.


title: Eggheads (TV series)

text: In each episode, a team of five quiz and game show champions (the "Eggheads") is challenged by a team of five contestants for prize money. If the challengers lose, then £1,000 is added to the prize money fund until the Eggheads are beaten, when the prize will revert to £1,000. The most prize money that has been won is £75,000, in 2007.


title: Eggheads (TV series)

text: Some teams have been reduced to one contestant for the final round, but have still beaten five Eggheads. Occasionally, one remaining Egghead will beat five challengers. Only once have the Eggheads lost four games in succession and only four times has a team of all five challengers won the final round. Since 2021, it has been four Eggheads against four challengers, instead of the previous five.


title: Eggheads (TV series)

text: The show is played in five rounds. The first four 'one-on-one' 'elimination' rounds each focus on one subject category (of nine) while the final 'conferring' round tests general knowledge. In the first four rounds, the challengers choose a member of their own team to play, and an Egghead against whom they wish to compete. The players for that round then leave the studio to go into the "Question Room". The challenger is given the choice of going first or second. Both players are asked in turn three multiple-choice questions. If there is no winner, the round goes into sudden death with no choices given for answers. Since the show moved to Channel 5, there have only been four players per team, and thus only three 'one-on-one' rounds.


title: Eggheads (TV series)

text: The player who wins each round earns a place in the final round, while losing players are eliminated from the game.


title: Eggheads (TV series)

text: The final general knowledge round is then played between non-eliminated Eggheads and challengers with a similar question format to the previous rounds, with the exception that if more than one remains on a team they may confer. If the challengers win they take the prize money; if the Eggheads win, the prize money is increased by £1,000 for the next quiz.


title: Eggheads (TV series)

text: Music and Film & Television were introduced in Autumn 2008 through a split of the Entertainment category. Subjects can appear in any order, although at least one of Sport, Music or Film & Television will appear in every episode. Despite the splitting of the Entertainment category, Music and Film & Television can appear in the same episode, sometimes consecutively.


title: Eggheads (TV series)

text: In the first eight series, the team consisted of only five Eggheads who each appeared in every episode and did not rotate. At the end of 2008, a sixth Egghead was added and appearances rotated. From series 15, five of eight possible Eggheads appear each episode, and later in 2016, two brand-new Eggheads (one male and one female) joined the panel after a spin-off series entitled "Make Me an Egghead". Currently, there are 8 Eggheads (6 male and 2 female): Kevin Ashman, Chris Hughes, Barry Simmons, Pat Gibson, Steve Cooke, Olav Bjortomt, Lisa Thiel and Beth Webster and they currently appear on Channel 5.


title: Eggheads (TV series)

text: This chart displays when each presenter and Egghead was active. The black bars denote the start of each series.


title: Eggheads (TV series)

text: The highest amount any team has won to beat the Eggheads is £75,000 in 2007 (Series 8, Episode 14) by a team of Oxford Brookes University students, "Beer Today, Gone Tomorrow".


title: Eggheads (TV series)

text: On 20 October 2008, a spin-off called "Are You an Egghead?" debuted on BBC Two. The first series was won by Barry Simmons and ran from 20 October to 2 December 2008 while the second series was won by Pat Gibson and ran from 12 October to 23 November 2009.


title: Eggheads (TV series)

text: On 24 February 2014, a new spin-off series of "Eggheads" was launched called "Revenge of the Egghead". It was presented by Jeremy Vine and saw the return of CJ de Mooi, who left "Eggheads" in 2012. In each episode, de Mooi faced a team of five contestants hoping to win thousands of pounds. The series ran for a 6-week period, between 24 February and 4 April 2014. Lisa Thiel appeared on the show as part of a winning team before becoming an Egghead herself shortly afterwards.


title: Eggheads (TV series)

text: Each contestant, in turn, is asked a general knowledge question. If their answer is right, £200 is added to the prize fund but if their answer is wrong and de Mooi knows their answer is wrong, he presses a red button in front of him to answer the same question. If he gets it wrong and the contestant gets it right, an additional £100 is added to the prize fund. If he gets it right, the contestant is asked a multiple-choice question by de Mooi. If they get it right, gameplay continues as normal but if they get it wrong, they lose one of their two lives. If a contestant loses both of their lives, they are out of the game. When time runs out, the surviving players move on to the final round, along with the total number of lives remaining for all players, for a chance to win an equal share of the prize fund.


title: Eggheads (TV series)

text: The final round starts out with de Mooi answering ten general knowledge questions. The number of questions he gets right becomes the target that the team has to beat. The team can confer on every question. Every wrong answer means that the team loses one of their lives and if they lose all of their lives, they leave with nothing but if they beat the target, they win an equal share of the prize fund.


title: Eggheads (TV series)

text: A 25-part spin-off series ran from 22 August to 23 September 2016, with the search for two new members for the Eggheads line-up: one male, one female. The series was won by Steve Cooke and Beth Webster.


title: Michael Smiley

text: Michael Smiley (born 1963) is a Northern Irish comedian and actor. He is perhaps best known for his roles in the films "Kill List" (2011) and "The Lobster" (2015).


title: Michael Smiley

text: Smiley was born in 1963 in Belfast and grew up in Holywood with an older brother and sister. He was raised Catholic.


title: Michael Smiley

text: He moved to London with his first wife in 1983. He began doing stand-up in 1993, after accepting a bet at an open-mic night. He had worked as a cycle courier, like his character in "Spaced," and as an acid house DJ.


title: Michael Smiley

text: He became well known for his role as Tyres O'Flaherty, the bicycle riding raver, in two episodes of the Channel 4 sitcom "Spaced", and for his appearances at the Edinburgh Fringe and the Melbourne Comedy Festival. He played Mac, a former member of the British Army's Parachute Regiment in the 2008 horror film "Outpost" and as a zombie in "Shaun of the Dead".


title: Michael Smiley

text: In 2003, he guest starred in the "Doctor Who" audio drama "Creatures of Beauty". In 2004 he appeared in season 2, episode 4 of "Hustle" as Max the forger. He also was a small character in episode 2 "The Model" of "15 Storeys High".


title: Michael Smiley

text: He has appeared in all three series of "The Maltby Collection" on Radio 4 as Des Wainwright, an eccentric security guard who keeps repeating himself and reminding people he was in the SAS. He plays the part of Benny "Deadhead" Silver in the BBC drama series "Luther". In 2010, he had a major role in the film "Burke & Hare" alongside his "Spaced" co-stars Simon Pegg and Jessica Hynes.


title: Michael Smiley

text: In 2011, he starred in British horror film "Kill List". The film received critical acclaim, and earned him the "Best Supporting Actor" Award at the 2011 British Independent Film Awards.


title: Michael Smiley

text: In 2013, he has appeared in an episode of BBC One's "Ripper Street" as George Lusk, and the critically acclaimed Channel 4 shows "Utopia" as Detective Reynolds and "Black Mirror" as Baxter. He also starred in "A Field in England" as the main antagonist, the alchemist O'Neill. He also played Roddy in "Father Figure". In November 2013 he appeared in the third episode of the BBC Two Mitchell and Webb comedy "Ambassadors" as Mr Jackson. In 2014, he played Micky Murray in BBC Four's "The Life of Rock with Brian Pern".


title: Michael Smiley

text: To coincide with the opening stages of the Giro d'Italia in May 2014, "Michael Smiley: Something to Ride Home About" was a travelog programme for BBC Northern Ireland, directed by George Kane, featuring Smiley cycling around Northern Ireland and meeting local people. A second series was commissioned for 2015.


title: Michael Smiley

text: In 2013, Smiley also starred in the Netflix show "Black Mirror" as Baxter in “White Bear”. He also had a major role in British crime seri"es Luther (TV series)" acting as “Deadhead” Benny Silver from 2010 until 2019.


title: Michael Smiley

text: In 2019, Smiley co-starred with Elijah Wood and Martin Donovan in the film "Come to Daddy" directed by Ant Timpson.


title: Michael Smiley

text: In 2020, he starred in "Dead Still", a six-part Irish-Canadian television drama series, alongside Eileen O'Higgins & Kerr Logan. It premiered on May 18, 2020 on Acorn TV and May 15, 2020 Citytv. The series is a co-production between Ireland's Deadpan Pictures and Canada's Shaftesbury Films and is written by John Morton, and directed by Imogen Murphy and Craig David Wallace.


title: Michael Smiley

text: In 2021, Smiley appeared in the lead role in The Toll, a Welsh black comedy film later released in the USA with the title Tollbooth.


title: Michael Smiley

text: Smiley has been married twice and has four children: two with his first wife and childhood sweetheart Merilees, and two with his second wife, journalist/broadcaster Miranda Sawyer. He resides near Brockwell Park in Herne Hill, London.


title: Tom Jones (1963 film)

text: Tom Jones is a 1963 British comedy film, an adaptation of Henry Fielding's classic 1749 novel "The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling", starring Albert Finney as the titular hero. It was one of the most critically acclaimed and popular comedies of its time, and won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture. The film was produced and directed by Tony Richardson and the screenplay was adapted by playwright John Osborne.


title: Tom Jones (1963 film)

text: A period piece set in 18th-century Somerset and London, "Tom Jones" was a success both critically and at the box office. At the 36th Academy Awards, it was nominated for ten Oscars, winning four: Best Picture, Best Director for Richardson, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Original Score. It also won two Golden Globe Awards, including Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, and three BAFTA Awards, including Best Film and Best British Film.


title: Tom Jones (1963 film)

text: The film begins with a silent film sequence, with intertitles, during which Squire Allworthy returns to his estate after a lengthy stay in London and discovers a baby in his bed. Thinking that one of his maids, Jenny Jones, and his barber, Mr. Partridge, conceived the illegitimate baby out of lust, the squire banishes them. He names the infant Tom Jones and chooses to raise him as if he were his own son; Tom grows up loving him like a father.


title: Tom Jones (1963 film)

text: Tom becomes a lively young man whose good looks and kind heart make him very popular with girls and women. He truly loves only the gentle Sophie Western (Sophia, "Sophy", in the novel), daughter of a neighbour, who returns his love. Tom is stigmatized as a "bastard" and cannot wed a young lady of her class. Sophie, too, must hide her feelings while her aunt and her father, Squire Western, try to coerce her to marry someone they think more suitable, the nephew of Squire Allworthy.


title: Tom Jones (1963 film)

text: This young man is Mr. Blifil, the son of Squire Allworthy's widowed sister Bridget. Although of legitimate birth and appropriate class, he is an ill-natured prig with plenty of hypocritical 'virtue.' When Bridget dies unexpectedly, Blifil intercepts a letter, which his mother intended for his uncle's eyes only. The letter's contents are not revealed until late in the film. But after his mother's funeral, Blifil and his two tutors, Mr. Thwackum and Mr. Square (who also tutored Tom), join forces to convince the squire that Tom is a villain. Allworthy gives Tom a substantial cash legacy (500 pounds, worth over $125,000 in 2021) and sorrowfully sends him out into the world to seek his fortune.


title: Tom Jones (1963 film)

text: In his odyssey on the roads, Tom is knocked unconscious while defending the good name of his beloved Sophie and robbed of his legacy. He also flees from a jealous Irishman who falsely accuses him of having an affair with his wife, Sophie's cousin; engages in deadly sword fights, rescues a Mrs. Waters from a British Army officer, and later beds her. Before that occurs, Tom and Mrs. Waters have a celebrated scene in which they wordlessly and voraciously consume a hearty meal while gazing lustfully at each other. Later, Tom meets Partridge, his alleged biological father, and engages him as a servant.


title: Tom Jones (1963 film)

text: Meanwhile, Sophie runs away from home soon after Tom is banished, in order to escape the attentions of the loathed Blifil. After narrowly missing each other at the Upton Inn, Tom and Sophie arrive separately in London. There, Tom attracts the attention of Lady Bellaston, a noblewoman over 40 years of age who is attracted to the "pretty boy". She is rich, beautiful, and completely amoral. She invites Tom to a masked ball at Vauxhall Gardens and seduces him. Tom goes to her bed willingly and is generously rewarded for his services with a suit of fine clothes.


title: Tom Jones (1963 film)

text: Lady Bellaston tries to force Sophia into marriage to a lord by having her raped by him so that she can have Jones to herself. Sophia is saved when her father bursts in.


title: Tom Jones (1963 film)

text: Hoping to disentangle himself from the affair with Lady Bellaston, Tom writes to her proposing marriage, knowing she will reject the proposal and him. She does, but she also shows the proposal letter to Sophia, who writes to Tom breaking off all contact with him.


title: Tom Jones (1963 film)

text: Tom visits Sophia's cousin, Mrs. Fitzpatrick, to ask her to speak on his behalf to Sophia. Mr. Fitzpatrick sees him leaving and, assuming his earlier suspicions of an affair between Tom and Mrs. Fitzpatrick were correct, engages him in a duel. The sword fight ends in the wounding of Mr. Fitzpatrick and the crowd thinks Tom was robbing him. Tom ends up at Tyburn Gaol, sentenced to hang for robbery and murder.


title: Tom Jones (1963 film)

text: Partridge runs into Mrs. Waters and recognises her as the former Jenny Jones, Tom's alleged mother. He tells her that the man she 'met' is her alleged son and that he is awaiting execution. Squire Allworthy is troubled to hear that Tom has apparently been involved in incest. However, Mrs. Waters visits Mr. Allworthy and tells him the truth: Tom is not Jenny Jones's child, but his sister Bridget's illegitimate son and thus Allworthy's nephew. Allworthy also learns of the mysterious letter that was supposed to reveal this. Since Blifil knew of the letter, concealed it, and tried to destroy his half-brother, Allworthy disinherits him.


title: Tom Jones (1963 film)

text: Allworthy also learns that Mr. Fitzpatrick has recovered and withdrawn the charge against Tom. Allworthy uses this knowledge to get Tom a pardon, but it arrives too late: Tom has been conveyed to the gallows; the noose is around his neck. Squire Western, who has been apprised of Tom's new status as Allworthy's only heir, cuts him down as he begins to hang and takes him to Sophie.


title: Tom Jones (1963 film)

text: Tom has permission to court Sophie, and all ends well with Tom embracing Sophie with both Squire Western's and his uncle's blessings. Squire Western predicts a child will be born "tomorrow and ninemonth".


title: Tom Jones (1963 film)

text: While the British production company Bryanston Films was hesitating over whether to make the film in colour, it went bankrupt. United Artists stepped in to finance the film and make it a colour production.


title: Tom Jones (1963 film)

text: Overall the production faced challenges of disasters, near-disasters and squabbles caused by films being shot on location in the spotty English weather. The film has an unusual comic style: The opening sequence has subtitles and brisk action in the manner of a silent film. Later in the film, characters sometimes break the fourth wall, often by looking directly into the camera and addressing the audience. In one scene the character of Tom Jones suddenly appears to notice the camera and covers the lens with his hat. Another unusual feature is an unseen narrator, voiced by Micheál Mac Liammóir. His mock-serious commentaries between certain scenes deplore the action of several characters as well as the weaknesses in human character, and he provides a poetic denouement for the film.


title: Tom Jones (1963 film)

text: Despite its success, director Tony Richardson said that he was dissatisfied with the final product. In his autobiography, Richardson wrote that he "felt the movie to be incomplete and botched in much of its execution. I am not knocking that kind of success – everyone should have it – but whenever someone gushes to me about "Tom Jones", I always cringe a little inside."


title: Tom Jones (1963 film)

text: John Osborne, in adapting the screenplay from Henry Fielding's novel "The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling" (1749), truncated and removed notable episodes and characters from the book.


title: Tom Jones (1963 film)

text: He ends the film with the narrator's quoting from a portion of John Dryden's poetic translation of Horace's Ode: "To Maecenas:"


title: Tom Jones (1963 film)

text: "Happy the man, and happy he alone,<br>He who can call today his own: He who, secure within, can say, Tomorrow do thy worst, for I have lived today."


title: Tom Jones (1963 film)

text: Castle Street in Bridgwater, Somerset was used as a location in several scenes. Cinematographer Walter Lassally has said that he thought the location unit got on very well together under the circumstances and that the experience was satisfying. He thought Richardson rather lost his way in post-production, endlessly fixing what was not really broken.


title: Tom Jones (1963 film)

text: The film was reissued in 1989 by The Samuel Goldwyn Company. For this release, Richardson trimmed the film by seven minutes. It is available through the Criterion Collection, paired with the original version.


title: Tom Jones (1963 film)

text: "Time" magazine's review stated "The film is a way-out, walleyed, wonderful exercise in cinema. It is also a social satire written in blood with a broadaxe. It is bawdy as the British were bawdy when a wench had to wear five petticoats to barricade her virtue".


title: Tom Jones (1963 film)

text: Rich Gold of "Variety" wrote "Though "Tom Jones" is a period piece and very different it has the same lustiness and boisterous content with which to project the star. It should breeze its way cheerfully through the box office figures. It has sex, Eastmancolor, some prime performers and plenty of action. Tony Richardson has directed John Osborne's screenplay with verve, though, occasionally, he falls back on camera tricks and editing which are disconcerting".


title: Tom Jones (1963 film)

text: On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 80% based on retrospective reviews from 41 critics, with an average rating of 7.5/10. The site's consensus states: "A frantic, irreverent adaptation of the novel, bolstered by Albert Finney's courageous performance and arresting visuals." On Metacritic, it has a score of 77 out of 100, based on reviews from 15 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews. Ray Austin, stunt Coordinator and Master of horse excelled, he also doubled Albert Finney and others throughout the film and played Ruffian number one uncredited".


title: Tom Jones (1963 film)

text: The film was financially successful on its initial release in 1963. It came third for the year in British box-office receipts, and was the fourth most popular in the United States. Produced on a budget of $1 million, it earned over $17 million in theater rentals from the United States and Canada, and another $4 million in markets other than the UK and U.S. Finney received 10% of the film's earnings.


title: Tom Jones (1963 film)

text: Ilya Lopert accepted the Academy Award for Best Picture on behalf of the producers. After his death, the Oscar was given by his estate to Albert Finney.


title: Tom Jones (1963 film)

text: "Tom Jones" is the only film in the history of the Academy Awards in which three actresses were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Margaret Rutherford won the category for her role in "The V.I.P.s".


title: Tom Jones (1963 film)

text: The film's five acting nominations and no wins matched the record set for nominations by "Peyton Place" in 1957. It was the last film to match this record.


title: Xianbei

text: The Xianbei (; ) were a Proto-Mongolic ancient nomadic people that once resided in the eastern Eurasian steppes in what is today Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Northeastern China. They originated from the Donghu people who splintered into the Wuhuan and Xianbei when they were defeated by the Xiongnu at the end of the third century BC. The Xianbei were largely subordinate to larger nomadic powers and the Han dynasty until they gained prominence in 87 AD by killing the Xiongnu chanyu Youliu. However unlike the Xiongnu, the Xianbei political structure lacked the organization to pose a concerted challenge to the Chinese for most of their time as a nomadic people.


title: Xianbei

text: After suffering several defeats by the end of the Three Kingdoms period, the Xianbei migrated south and settled in close proximity to Han society and submitted as vassals, being granted the titles of dukes. As the Xianbei Murong, Tuoba, and Duan tribes were one of the Five Barbarians who were vassals of the Western Jin and Eastern Jin dynasties, they took part in the Uprising of the Five Barbarians as allies of the Eastern Jin against the other four barbarians, the Xiongnu, Jie, Di and Qiang.


title: Xianbei

text: The Xianbei were at one point all defeated and conquered by the Di-led Former Qin dynasty before it fell apart not long after its defeat in the Battle of Fei River by the Eastern Jin. The Xianbei later founded their own dynasties and reunited northern China under the Northern Wei dynasty. These states opposed and promoted sinicization at one point or another but trended towards the latter and had merged with the general Chinese population by the Tang dynasty. The Northern Wei also arranged for ethnic Han elites to marry daughters of the Tuoba imperial clan in the 480s. More than fifty percent of Tuoba Xianbei princesses of the Northern Wei were married to southern Han men from the imperial families and aristocrats from southern China of the Southern dynasties who defected and moved north to join the Northern Wei.


title: Xianbei

text: Paul Pelliot tentatively reconstructs the Later Han Chinese pronunciation of 鮮卑 as */serbi/, from *Särpi, after noting that Chinese scribes used 鮮 to transcribe Middle Persian sēr (lion) and 卑 to transcribe foreign syllable /pi/; for instance, Sanskrit गोपी "gopī" "milkmaid, cowherdess" became Middle Chinese 瞿卑 ("ɡɨo-piᴇ") (> Mand. "qúbēi").


title: Xianbei

text: On the one hand, *Särpi may be linked to Mongolic root "*ser" ~"*sir" which means "crest, bristle, sticking out, projecting, etc." (cf. Khalkha сэрвэн "serven"), possibly referring to the Xianbei's horses (semantically analogous with the Turkic ethnonym "Yabaqu" < "Yapağu" 'matted hair or wool', later 'a matted-haired animal, i.e. a colt') On the other hand, Book of Later Han and Book of Wei stated that: before becoming an ethnonym, Xianbei had been a toponym, referring to the Great Xianbei mountains (大鮮卑山), which is now identified as the Greater Khingan range ().


title: Xianbei

text: Shimunek (2018) reconstructs *"serbi" for Xiānbēi and *"širwi" for 室韋 Shìwéi < MC "*ɕiɪt̚-ɦʉi". This same root might be the origin of ethnonym Sibe.


title: Xianbei

text: Warring States period's Chinese literature contains early mentions of Xianbei, as in the poem "The Great Summons" () in the anthology Verses of Chu and the chapter "Discourses of Jin 8" in Discourses of the States.


title: Xianbei

text: When the Donghu "Eastern Barbarians" were defeated by Modu Chanyu around 208 BC, the Donghu splintered into the Xianbei and Wuhuan. According to the "Book of the Later Han", "the language and culture of the Xianbei are the same as the Wuhuan".


title: Xianbei

text: The first significant contact the Xianbei had with the Han dynasty was in 41 and 45, when they joined the Wuhuan and Xiongnu in raiding Han territory.


title: Xianbei

text: In 49, the governor Ji Tong convinced the Xianbei chieftain Pianhe to turn on the Xiongnu with rewards for each Xiongnu head they collected. In 54, Yuchouben and Mantou of the Xianbei paid tribute to Emperor Guangwu of Han.


title: Xianbei

text: In 58, the Xianbei chieftain Pianhe attacked and killed Xinzhiben, a Wuhuan leader causing trouble in Yuyang Commandery.


title: Xianbei

text: In 87, the Xianbei attacked the Xiongnu chanyu Youliu and killed him. They flayed him and his followers and took the skins back as trophies.


title: Xianbei

text: After the downfall of the Xiongnu, the Xianbei established their confederation in Mongolia starting from AD 93.


title: Xianbei

text: In 109, the Wuhuan and Xianbei attacked Wuyuan Commandery and defeated local Han forces. The Southern Xiongnu chanyu Wanshishizhudi rebelled against the Han and attacked the Emissary Geng Chong but failed to oust him. Han forces under Geng Kui retaliated and defeated a force of 3,000 Xiongnu but could not take the Southern Xiongnu capital due to disease among the horses of their Xianbei allies.


title: Xianbei

text: The Xianbei under Qizhijian raided Han territory four times from 121 to 138. . In 145, the Xianbei raided Dai Commandery.


title: Xianbei

text: Around 155, the northern Xiongnu were "crushed and subjugated" by the Xianbei. Their chief, known by the Chinese as Tanshihuai, then advanced upon and defeated the Wusun of the Ili region by 166. Under Tanshihuai, the Xianbei extended their territory from the Ussuri to the Caspian Sea. He divided the Xianbei empire into three sections, each ruled by twenty clans. Tanshihuai then formed an alliance with the southern Xiongnu to attack Shaanxi and Gansu. Han dynasty successfully repulsed their attacks in 158, 177. The Xianbei might have also attacked Wa (Japan) with some success.


title: Xianbei

text: In 177 AD, Xia Yu, Tian Yan and the Tute Chanyu led a force of 30,000 against the Xianbei. They were defeated and returned with only a quarter of their original forces.


title: Xianbei

text: A memorial made that year records that the Xianbei had taken all the lands previously held by the Xiongnu and their warriors numbered 100,000. Han deserters who sought refuge in their lands served as their advisers and refined metals as well as wrought iron came into their possession. Their weapons were sharper and their horses faster than those of the Xiongnu. Another memorial submitted in 185 states that the Xianbei were making raids on Han settlements nearly every year.


title: Xianbei

text: The loose Xianbei confederacy lacked the organization of the Xiongnu but was highly aggressive until the death of their khan Tanshihuai in 182. Tanshihuai's son Helian lacked his father's abilities and was killed in a raid on Beidi in 186. Helian's brother Kuitou succeeded him, but when Helian's son Qianman came of age, he challenged his uncle to succession, destroying the last vestiges of unity among the Xianbei. By 190, the Xianbei had split into three groups with Kuitou ruling in Inner Mongolia, Kebineng in northern Shanxi, and Suli and Mijia in northern Liaodong. In 205, Kuitou's brothers Budugen and Fuluohan succeeded him. After Cao Cao defeated the Wuhuan at the Battle of White Wolf Mountain in 207, Budugen and Fuluohan paid tribute to him. In 218, Fuluohan met with the Wuhuan chieftain Nengchendi to form an alliance, but Nengchendi double crossed him and called in another Xianbei khan, Kebineng, who killed Fuluohan. Budugen went to the court of Cao Wei in 224 to ask for assistance against Kebineng, but he eventually betrayed them and allied with Kebineng in 233. Kebineng killed Budugen soon afterwards.


title: Xianbei

text: Kebineng was from a minor Xianbei tribe. He rose to power west of Dai Commandery by taking in a number of Chinese refugees, who helped him drill his soldiers and make weapons. After the defeat of the Wuhuan in 207, he also sent tribute to Cao Cao, and even provided assistance against the rebel Tian Yin. In 218 he allied himself to the Wuhuan rebel Nengchendi but they were heavily defeated and forced back across the frontier by Cao Zhang. In 220, he acknowledged Cao Pi as emperor of Cao Wei. Eventually, he turned on the Wei for frustrating his advances on another Xianbei khan, Sui. Kebineng conducted raids on Cao Wei before he was killed in 235, after which his confederacy disintegrated.


title: Xianbei

text: Many of the Xianbei tribes migrated south and settled on the borders of the Wei-Jin dynasties. In 258 Tuoba Liwei's people settled in Yanmen Commandery. The Yuwen tribe settled between the Luan River and Liucheng. The Murong and Duan tribes became vassals of the Sima clan. An offshoot of the Murong tribe moved west into northern Qinghai and mixed with the native Qiang people, becoming Tuyuhun.


title: Xianbei

text: The third century saw both the fragmentation of the Xianbei in 235 and the branching out of the various Xianbei tribes.


title: Xianbei

text: The Xianbei tribes Tuoba, Murong and Duan submitted to the Western Jin dynasty as vassals, the Tuoba were made Dukes of Dai (Sixteen Kingdoms), the Murong were made Dukes of Liaodong, and the Duan were made Dukes of Liaoxi. The three Xianbei tribes fought on the Western Jin side against the other four barbarians in the Uprising of the Five Barbarians after a Xiongnu and Jie led slave revolt toppled Western Jin rule in northern China. Mass number of Chinese officers, soldiers and civilians fled south to join the Eastern Jin or north to join the Xianbei duchies which remained in direct communication with the Eastern Jin in southern China, receiving orders.


title: Xianbei

text: The Xianbei later establish six significant empires of their own such as the Former Yan (281–370), Western Yan (384–394), Later Yan (384–407), Southern Yan (398–410), Western Qin (385–430) and Southern Liang (397–414). The Xianbei were all conquered by the Di Former Qin empire in northern China before its defeat at the Battle of Fei River and subsequent collapse.


title: Xianbei

text: Most of them were unified by the Tuoba Xianbei, who established the Northern Wei (386–535), which was the first of the Northern Dynasties (386–581) founded by the Xianbei.


title: Xianbei

text: Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei established a policy of systematic sinicization that was continued by his successors. Xianbei traditions were largely abandoned. The royal family took the sinicization a step further by changing their family name to Yuan. Marriages to Han elite families were encouraged.


title: Xianbei

text: The Northern Wei started to arrange for Han Chinese elites to marry daughters of the Xianbei Tuoba royal family in the 480s. More than fifty percent of Tuoba Xianbei princesses of the Northern Wei were married to southern Han Chinese men from the imperial families and aristocrats from southern China of the Southern dynasties who defected and moved north to join the Northern Wei. Some Han Chinese exiled royalty fled from southern China and defected to the Xianbei. Several daughters of the Xianbei Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei were married to Han Chinese elites, the Liu Song royal Liu Hui (刘辉), married Princess Lanling (蘭陵公主) of the Northern Wei, Princess Huayang (華陽公主) to Sima Fei (司馬朏), a descendant of Jin dynasty (266–420) royalty, Princess Jinan (濟南公主) to Lu Daoqian (盧道虔), Princess Nanyang (南阳长公主) to Xiao Baoyin (萧宝夤), a member of Southern Qi royalty. Emperor Xiaozhuang of Northern Wei's sister the Shouyang Princess was wedded to The Liang dynasty ruler Emperor Wu of Liang's son Xiao Zong 蕭綜.


title: Xianbei

text: When the Eastern Jin dynasty ended, Northern Wei received the Han Chinese Jin prince Sima Chuzhi (司馬楚之) as a refugee. A Northern Wei Princess married Sima Chuzhi, giving birth to Sima Jinlong. Northern Liang Xiongnu King Juqu Mujian's daughter married Sima Jinlong.


title: Xianbei

text: In 534, the Northern Wei split into an Eastern Wei (534–550) and a Western Wei (535–556) after an uprising in the steppes of North China inhabited by Xianbei and other nomadic peoples. The former evolved into the Northern Qi (550-577), and the latter into the Northern Zhou (557-581), while the Southern Dynasties were pushed to the south of the Yangtze River. In 581, the Prime Minister of Northern Zhou, Yang Jian, founded the Sui dynasty (581–618). His son, the future Emperor Yang of Sui, absorbed the Chen dynasty (557–589), the last kingdom of the Southern Dynasties, thereby unifying much of China. After the Sui came to an end amidst peasant rebellions and renegade troops, his cousin, Li Yuan, founded the Tang dynasty (618–907). Sui and Tang dynasties were founded by Han generals who also served the Northern Wei dynasty. Through these political establishments, the Xianbei who entered China were largely merged with the Chinese, examples such as the wife of Emperor Gaozu of Tang, Duchess Dou and Emperor Taizong of Tang's wife, Empress Zhangsun, both have Xianbei ancestries, while those who remained behind in the northern grassland emerged as later powers to rule over China as Mongol Yuan dynasty and Manchu Qing dynasty.


title: Xianbei

text: In the West, the Xianbei kingdom of Tuyuhun remained independent until it was defeated by the Tibetan Empire in 670. After the fall of the kingdom, the Xianbei people underwent a diaspora over a vast territory that stretched from the northwest into central and eastern parts of China. Murong Nuohebo led the Tuyuhun people eastward into central China, where they settled in modern Yinchuan, Ningxia.


title: Xianbei

text: Art of the Xianbei portrayed their nomadic lifestyle and consisted primarily of metalwork and figurines. The style and subjects of Xianbei art were influenced by a variety of influences, and ultimately, the Xianbei were known for emphasizing unique nomadic motifs in artistic advancements such as leaf headdresses, crouching and geometricized animals depictions, animal pendant necklaces, and metal openwork.


title: Xianbei

text: The leaf headdresses were very characteristic of Xianbei culture, and they are found especially in Murong Xianbei tombs. Their corresponding ornamental style also links the Xianbei to Bactria. These gold hat ornaments represented trees and antlers and, in Chinese, they are referred to as buyao ("step sway") since the thin metal leaves move when the wearer moves. Sun Guoping first uncovered this type of artifact, and defined three main styles: "Blossoming Tree" (huashu), which is mounted on the front of a cap near the forehead and has one or more branches with hanging leaves that are circle or droplet shaped, "Blossoming Top" (dinghua), which is worn on top of the head and resembles a tree or animal with many leaf pendants, and the rare "Blossoming Vine" (huaman), which consists of "gold strips interwoven with wires with leaves." Leaf headdresses were made with hammered gold and decorated by punching out designs and hanging the leaf pendants with wire. The exact origin, use, and wear of these headdresses is still being investigated and determined. However, headdresses similar to those later also existed and were worn by women in the courts.


title: Xianbei

text: Another key form of Xianbei art is animal iconography, which was implemented primarily in metalwork. The Xianbei stylistically portrayed crouching animals in geometricized, abstracted, repeated forms, and distinguished their culture and art by depicting animal predation and same-animal combat. Typically, sheep, deer, and horses were illustrated. The artifacts, usually plaques or pendants, were made from metal, and the backgrounds were decorated with openwork or mountainous landscapes, which harks back to the Xianbei nomadic lifestyle. With repeated animal imagery, an openwork background, and a rectangular frame, the included image of the three deer plaque is a paradigm of the Xianbei art style. Concave plaque backings imply that plaques were made using lost-wax casting, or raised designs were impressed on the back of hammered metal sheets.


title: Xianbei

text: The nomadic traditions of the Xianbei inspired them to portray horses in their artwork. The horse played a large role in the existence of the Xianbei as a nomadic people, and in one tomb, a horse skull lay atop Xianbei bells, buckles, ornaments, a saddle, and one gilded bronze stirrup. The Xianbei not only created art for their horses, but they also made art to depict horses. Another recurring motif was the winged horse. It has been suggested by archaeologist Su Bai that this symbol was a "heavenly beast in the shape of a horse" because of its prominence in Xianbei mythology. This symbol is thought to have guided an early Xianbei southern migration, and is a recurring image in many Xianbei art forms.


title: Xianbei

text: Xianbei figurines help to portray the people of the society by representing pastimes, depicting specialized clothing, and implying various beliefs. Most figurines have been recovered from Xianbei tombs, so they are primarily military and musical figures meant to serve the deceased in afterlife processions and guard the tomb. Furthermore, the figurine clothing specifies the according social statuses: higher-ranking Xianbei wore long-sleeved robes with a straight neck shirt underneath, while lower-ranking Xianbei wore trousers and belted tunics.


title: Xianbei

text: Xianbei Buddhist influences were derived from interactions with Han culture. The Han bureaucrats initially helped the Xianbei run their state, but eventually the Xianbei became Sinophiles and promoted Buddhism. The beginning of this conversion is evidenced by the Buddha imagery that emerges in Xianbei art. For instance, the included Buddha imprinted leaf headdress perfectly represents the Xianbei conversion and Buddhist synthesis since it combines both the traditional nomadic Xianbei leaf headdress with the new imagery of Buddha. This Xianbei religious conversion continued to develop in the Northern Wei dynasty, and ultimately led to the creation of the Yungang Grottoes.


title: Xianbei

text: The Xianbei are thought to have spoken Mongolic or para-Mongolic languages, with early and substantial Turkic influences; as Claus Schönig asserts:


title: Xianbei

text: According to Sinologist Penglin Wang, some Xianbei had mixed west Eurasian-featured traits such as blue eyes, blonde hair and white skin due to absorbing some Indo-European elements. The Xianbei were described as white on several occasions. The "Book of Jin" states that in the state of Cao Wei, Xianbei immigrants were known as the white tribe. The ruling Murong clan of Former Yan were referred to by their Former Qin adversaries as white slaves. According to Fan Wenlang et al. the Murong people were considered "white" by the Chinese due to the complexion of their skin color. In the Jin dynasty, Xianbei Murong women were sold off to many Han Chinese bureaucrat and aristocrats and they were also given to their servants and concubines. The mother of Emperor Ming of Jin, Lady Xun, was a lowly concubine possibly of Xianbei stock. During a confrontation between Emperor Ming and a rebel force in 324, his enemies were confused by his appearance, and thought he was a Xianbei due to his yellow beard. Emperor Ming's yellowish hair could have been inherited from his mother, who was either Xianbei or Jie. During the Tang dynasty, the poet Zhang Ji described the Xianbei entering Luoyang as "yellow-headed". During the Song dynasty, the poet and painter Su Shi was inspired by a painting of a Xianbei riding a horse and wrote a poem describing an elderly Xianbei with reddish hair and blue eyes.


title: Xianbei

text: There was undoubtedly some range of variation within their population. Yellow hair in Chinese sources could have meant brown rather than blonde and described other people such as the Jie rather than the Xianbei. Historian Edward H. Schafer believes many of the Xianbei were blondes, but others such as Charles Holcombe think it is "likely that the bulk of the Xianbei were not visibly very different in appearance from the general population of northeastern Asia." Chinese anthropologist Zhu Hong and Zhang Quan-chao studied Xianbei crania from several sites of Inner Mongolia and noticed that anthropological features of studied Xianbei crania show that the racial type is closely related to the modern East-Asians, and some physical characteristics of those skulls are closer to modern Mongols, Manchu and Han Chinese.


title: Xianbei

text: A genetic study published in "The FEBS Journal" in October 2006 examined the mtDNA of Twenty one Tuoba Xianbei buried at the Qilang Mountain Cemetery in Inner Mongolia, China. The Twenty one samples of mtDNA extracted belonged to haplogroups O (9 samples), D (7 samples), C (5 samples), B (2 samples) and A. These haplogroups are characteristic of Northeast Asians. Among modern populations they were found to be most closely related to the Oroqen people.


title: Xianbei

text: A genetic study published in the Russian Journal of Genetics in April 2014 examined the mtDNA of seventeen Tuoba Xianbei buried at the Shangdu Dongdajing cemetery in Inner Mongolia, China. The seventeen samples of mtDNA extracted belonged to haplogroups D4 (four samples), D5 (three samples), C (five samples), A (three samples), G and B.


title: Xianbei

text: A genetic study published in the "American Journal of Physical Anthropology" in November 2007 examined of 17 individuals buried at a Murong Xianbei cemetery in Lamadong, Liaoning, China ca. 300 AD. They were determined to be carriers of the maternal haplogroups J1b1, D (three samples), F1a (three samples), M, B, B5b, C (three samples) and G2a. These haplogroups are common among East Asians and some Siberians. The maternal haplogroups of the Murong Xianbei were noticeably different from those of the Huns and Tuoba Xianbei.


title: Xianbei

text: A genetic study published in the "American Journal of Physical Anthropology" in August 2018 noted that the paternal haplogroup C2b1a1b has been detected among the Xianbei and the Rouran, and was probably an important lineage among the Donghu people.


title: Xianbei

text: Most Xianbei clans adopted Chinese family names during Northern Wei Dynasty. In particular, many were sinicized under Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei.


title: Xianbei

text: The Northern Wei's Eight Noble Xianbei surnames 八大贵族 were the Buliugu 步六孤, Helai 賀賴, Dugu 獨孤, Helou 賀樓, Huniu 忽忸, Qiumu 丘穆, Gexi 紇奚, and Yuchi 尉遲.


title: Xianbei

text: The "Monguor" (Tu) people in modern China may have descended from the Xianbei who were led by Tuyuhun Khan to migrate westward and establish the Tuyuhun Kingdom (284–670) in the third century and Western Xia (1038–1227) through the thirteenth century. Today they are primarily distributed in Qinghai and Gansu Province, and speak a Mongolic language.


title: Xianbei

text: The Xibe or "Xibo" people also believe they are descendants of the Xianbei, with considerable controversies that have attributed their origins to the Jurchens, the Elunchun, and the Xianbei.


title: Xianbei

text: Xianbei descendants among the Korean population carry surnames such as Mo 모 (shortened from Murong), Seok Sŏk Sek 석 (shortened from Wushilan 烏石蘭, Won Wŏn 원 (the adopted Chinese surname of the Tuoba), Dokgo 독고 (from Dugu).


title: Bop It

text: Bop It toys are a line of audio games. By following a series of commands issued through voice recordings produced by a speaker by the toy, which has multiple inputs including pressable buttons, pull handles, twisting cranks, spinnable wheels, flickable switches – the player progresses and the pace of the game increases.


title: Bop It

text: Based on concepts originally patented by Dan Klitsner, "Bop It" was licensed to Hasbro and further developed there by a number of designers including Bob Welch. With newer versions, additional inputs have been added or altered such that units like the 2010 "Bop-It! Bounce" shares no inputs in common with the original 1996 "Bop It" (see below).


title: Bop It

text: Bop It has been identified as some of the more popular children's games on the market, and toy and game development researchers have pointed to the natural interactions between player and toy, and the ability of players to use the toy to revert computer gaming processes back into those that resemble object play. Other studies have shown that it is the "Bop It"'s ability to mimic engagement in social behavior that has led to its commercial successes. Bop It has been released in many foreign languages since its re-release in 2008. With all models by KID Group, the team have managed to find voice actors to record the voice for the most popular languages in the world such as French, German, Italian, Latin American Spanish, European Spanish, Danish and Portuguese. There was also a Japanese version released. When the manufacturer accesses the hidden diagnostic test mode the English voice announces what version of Bop It the country is linked to. So if it is a Latin American Spanish Bop It from 2016, the English voice will say "Latin America 3".


title: Bop It

text: Since 2008, the voice of Bop It has been Buddy Rubino. Rubino has voiced all the modern Bop It games which include: Bop It!, Bop It! XT, Bop It! Smash, Bop It! Tetris, Bop It! Micro (original recordings from Bop It!), Bop It! New Moves and Bop It! Maker. He says in an interview with The Guardian that "he never heard of Bop It so when he knew that he booked the audition, he researched what the game was." He also said that he enjoyed recording the remarks on which the game says when you lose. He also voiced a few mobile apps for Hasbro and some video games. Bop It has sold over 30 million units worldwide.


title: Bop It

text: In 1996, the instructions to a handheld voice game called "Bop It" were copyrighted. This game was the first of what was later to become a series of "Bop It" games relying on the same set of basic patents. The original game, called simply "Bop It", features three inputs — "Bop it!" (a depressible button), "Twist it!" (a twistable lever) and "Pull it!" (a pullable handle) — and three game modes: Solo Bop, Vox Bop and Beat Bop. Gameplay is predicated upon a player's efforts to match the commands issued by the "Bop It" in a timely manner by performing the task that is commanded. Thus if the "Bop It" is to call out "Bop it!", the player must quickly depress the "Bop It!" button. If the "Bop It" is to call out "Twist it!", the player must quickly turn the "Twist it!" crank. If the "Bop It" is to call out "Pull it!", the player must quickly pull the "Pull It!" handle. Players' scores are announced at the end of gameplay with a cypher in which different tones represent different point values and the maximum possible score is 100. In 2000, a second edition model was made which can score up to 200. In the 2000 release at the end sequence, each "Pull It!" whistle denotes 100 points, each ratchet denotes 10, and each drum denotes 1 point. If the player reaches 200 points, the game will just play the victory song. This style of score-reporting would later recur in later "Bop It" models, and the "Zing It" spin off ("see below"). The same cypher values were used for all subsequent "Bop It" cyphers. This device requires 3 AA batteries.


title: Bop It

text: In 1998, Hasbro copyrighted its instructions for the "Bop It Extreme," describing the underlying patents as "pending." This game included the additional commands "Flick it!" (a green zigzag lever) and "Spin it!" (a red wheel) along with the original three from "Bop It". The game featured 4 game modes (Vox Bop, Beat Bop, Vox Bop Solo and Beat Bop Solo), and the maximum score (reported via cypher) was increased to 250. As with the earlier "Bop It" model, special victory songs were unlocked upon completion. Thus, achieving a score of 100 or greater rewards the player with an additional victory song after the announcement of the score. On reaching 150 inputs, a different special victory celebration plays, and achievement of the maximum score would trigger a yet different special victory ending. This device requires 3 AA batteries.


title: Bop It

text: Partially reliant on the original "Bop It"'s 2000 patent, the "Bop It Extreme 2" also relied on the newly issued 2001 patent describing the layout changes that had been adopted for use in the "Bop It Extreme". With its instructions copyrighted in 2002, the layout of Hasbro's "Bop It Extreme 2" was shown to be altered from that of "Bop It Extreme". The shapes of several inputs were also altered. Volume controls were added, and the method of score reporting was changed to using plain English. In addition to the four modes featured in "Bop It Extreme", a "One on One" mode was added. "Bop It Extreme 2" was awarded "Electronic Game of the Year 2005" in the UK. This device requires 3 AA batteries.


title: Bop It

text: "Bop It Extreme 2" was made in black, white, and pink variants. The Bop it Extreme 2 like the Bop it Extreme has a maximum score of 250. Hasbro also released a German-speaking version with the name "Simon Challenge".


title: Bop It

text: As described in its instruction manual (copyright 2004), Hasbro's Bratz-themed "Bop It" game uses a layout like that of the earlier (3-input) "Bop It" format. The maximum score in "Bratz Bop It" had the same scoring as the original "Bop It" re-release with a victory song playing after the score cypher for scores of over 100 points. "Bratz Bop It" requires 3 AAA batteries to operate.


title: Bop It

text: In 2005, Hasbro copyrighted the instructions to "Bop It Blast", describing it as covered under the original (3-input) "Bop It" patent and referencing other patents that were pending. The game was also developed by Tiger Electronics. This member of the series again increased the maximum score to a total of 500, and for the first time allowed different high scores for different modes rather than having one high score for all modes collectively. Minor vocal additions were implemented such as the announcement of the player's score at notable landmarks (each 100 points scored). In addition to the six modes from "Bop It Extreme 2", a "Light Bop" mode was added. The game also had an optional female voice. The game can allow the player to select a male, female, or both voices calling the commands. The same victory song from the original "Bop It" was used to report the 500 highest score. The sound effects and backing beats from this version were used for the current release of Bop It's. This device requires 3 AA batteries to operate.


title: Bop It

text: In 2006, Hasbro copyrighted the instructions to "Bop It Download", describing it as covered under the 5-input Bop It patent and referencing other patents that are pending. Tiger Electronics also developed the game. This member of the Bop It line has three game modes - Solo, Pass It and One-on-One and has 15 levels of difficulty. The maximum score is 1000 and this Bop It lets the player download a program on a Windows computer to download new content. The software was discontinued a few years later when Bop It Download was discontinued by Hasbro. The 'level up' sound was taken from this Bop It to be re-used in newer Bop It models such as the Bop It! and the Bop It! XT.


title: Bop It

text: In 2008, Hasbro secured the copyrights to the instructions for "Bop It!". At the 2009 New York Toy Fair and at the London Toy Fair, Hasbro allowed attendees to try out "Bop It!". "Bop It!" has a new optional input "Shout It", which requires a player to shout into the microphone. The "Bop It!" has three difficulty levels: "Novice", using only voice commands, "Expert", using a random mix of voice and sound commands, and "Master", calling out voice, sound, and color commands. If the player scores 100 points in either of the less difficult modes, the next most difficult mode is unlocked. Players that achieve a score of 100 points in "Master" mode are considered to have beaten the game. Hasbro also added a multi-player game called "Party" where all the "Bop It" commands are replaced with body parts like "foot", "hip", and "arm". "Bop It!" requires 3 AAA batteries to operate and when the game turns off it will say "I'm going to sleep". All future Bop It's made by KID Group feature this sound.


title: Bop It

text: After securing the copyrights to the instructions in 2009, Hasbro made announcements regarding the newest member of the "Bop It" game line, entitled "Bop-It! Bounce" during the 2010 Hasbro Toy Fair. The toy was also developed by Big Monster Toys. This toy features a ball and a small hand-held trampoline. There are six games that may be played on "Bop It! Bounce" including three games that emphasize the speed or number of bounces and three games that emphasize the player's ability to control the height of the bounces.


title: Bop It

text: In 2010, the instructions for the "Bop It! XT" were copyrighted. The "Bop It! XT" is the fourth edition of "Bop It Extreme" with the same commands but adding a new command, "Shake It". Also, "Spin It" is now orange. The game was demonstrated at the London Toy Fair and was released in 2011. The "Bop It! XT" is based on the gameplay of the "Bop It!" and returns the "One on One" mode and adds the new Pro level. In order to beat "Bop-It! XT", the player is given a set of three commands to remember and must perform them in order with a mix of voice, sound and color commands 100 times.


title: Bop It

text: In 2012, Hasbro introduced "Bop-It! Smash" at the New York Toy Fair. "Bop-It! Smash" features color-changing lights in a central area called "The Zone". Players score by "smashing" two Bop-It! buttons together when a zone light is either green or blue. Bop-It! Smash has 3 various game modes: Solo, Pass It and Multi-player.


title: Bop It

text: In Solo mode, the player scores five points for smashing a blue light and one point for smashing the green. If the player smashes the amber light, the voice will say "Yow!" (followed by a negative comment such as: "Try harder!") and a game life will be deducted. After 4 rounds, the level is completed and a Bonus Round will begin. The player can get 5 or more bonus points. The highest number of bonus points a player can score in the bonus round is 105 and the player can break the programming and score over 1000 with the voice not being able to announce the score at the end of the game. After the level 5 bonus round, the bonus round becomes twice as fast from level 6-10 making the game harder to score points. During a level (except bonus rounds) the player can earn a life back if they smash another blue light after smashing an amber. In the Pass It mode, the player has three attempts to try and smash a green or a blue. If they smash an orange light 3 times, then the game is over. In the Multi-player mode, up to 6 players can play. The winner is the last one surviving after all other players have lost all their lives. The current World Record for a full solo game is 1070 and has been the World Record since May 2015. This is achieved by scoring mostly 95, 90, 85 and 80 bonus points on the bonus rounds and getting all blue lights in each level.


title: Bop It

text: In early 2013, the Tetris Company signed a deal with Hasbro to make Tetris themed games with their brands. Later in 2013, Hasbro launched Jenga and Bop It themed versions of Tetris. It features a "Marathon" mode and additional modes based around different gameplay styles (Blast, Double Drop and Shuffle). A special Silver edition was also released in late 2013 only in the United States. In the Marathon mode, the player can take advantage of the bonus rounds to score over 800 points. The highest Marathon score ever achieved is 866 and is the current world record for a full Marathon. The highest number of bonus points is 80 but it can only be done in 2 different bonus round patterns.


title: Bop It

text: In 2013, Hasbro released a game called "Bop It! Beats" which first appeared on Amazon in December 2013. "Bop It! Beats" has five game modes - Classic, Classic Party, DJ, DJ Party and Remix and has three difficulty levels – Rookie, Expert and Lights Only. It also has five actions - Bop It, Spin It, Scratch It, Reverse, Repeat and Flip It. In the Classic mode, there are 4 rounds and each of the two has a different set of songs that the game switches between. In the second and fourth round, there are two songs that Hasbro chose to use in the game. The highest score in Classic is 263 and the highest score in the DJ mode is 147 if played in the Expert level in the DJ Party mode. The game also has a Remix mode on which you can play any action sound effect you want on the turntable of the game. This particular Bop It has a glitch on which if the player reaches a 6 command pattern in the DJ Expert and Lights Only mode, the game will make the player fail. However, this glitch does not happen in a foreign-language version like the Spanish or the French versions.


title: Bop It

text: The "Bop It! Micro Series" is a version of Bop It released in 2014 by Hasbro. It uses the three basic commands Bop It, Twist It and Pull It and it has two game modes - Solo and Pass It. The game also has three volume levels. The highest score in the "Bop It! Micro" is 100 and as the player scores closer to 100 the pitch of the gameplay will speed up. As Hasbro released it as a series of games - several character themed version of the Micro Bop It followed which include - Bop It R2D2, Bop It BB8, Bop It Groot and Bop It Minion. In addition to these characters, Hasbro have released a Bop It Olaf and a Bop It Chewbacca in 2019.


title: Bop It

text: On June 23, 2020, Hasbro announced a new bop it Yoda (The Child) based on the mandalorian tv show. It had a release date of October 2, 2020. It was a Wal-Mart exclusive. On October 1, 2021, the Marvel Spider-Man Bop It was released. On June 29, 2022, a video on YouTube by Lucky Penny Shop was released, along with an article from another sourced about a Bop It shaped like Darth Vader with the voice of Emperor Palpatine calling the commands. The game was released on September 23, 2022 as a Walmart exclusive.


title: Bop It

text: In 2015, Hasbro copyrighted the instructions to a new model of Bop It to be released in 2016 called Bop It! New Moves (a.k.a. Bop It Refresh or the Bop It 2016). In January 2016, a YouTube channel called KidToyTesters released a video of a working prototype of the game. In February 2016 at the New York Toy Fair, Hasbro demonstrated Bop It New Moves. The game was released worldwide in June 2016. The game has 3 main actions – Bop It, Twist It and Pull It and 10 actions that use a motion sensor. These actions include – Whip It, Drink It, Selfie It, Comb It, Answer It, Saw It, Hammer It, Cradle It, Sing It and Golf It. The game has six modes – Action, Action Pass It, Classic, Classic Pass It, Beat Bop and Beat Bop Pass It. The Action mode has a maximum score of 200 points and the Classic and Beat Bop mode has a maximum score of 100 points. The game is the first and only Bop It to have a motion detector that detects when to change the batteries. It will remind the player with a sad pitch changing voice saying "My batteries are running low." when the batteries need changing.


title: Bop It

text: In 2017, Hasbro released the follow up to the Bop It! New Moves called "Bop It! Maker". The game was first demonstrated at New York Toy Fair in 2017 and was released in July 2017. The "Bop It! Maker" has 10 slots available on where the player can record their custom moves for the game. The game has four new actions - Bop It, Roll It, Shout It and Squeeze It. The game has three modes - Solo, Party and Basic. In the Solo mode, the game uses the four moves and all the recorded moves. In the Party mode, the game plays like Solo but instead the "Pass It" command is issued. In the Basic mode, the voice says "Bop It to Start!" and plays a little faster than the Solo mode. Each mode can score up to 100 points.


title: Bop It

text: In July 2000, the first patent for "Bop It" was issued. This patent covers all subsequent "Bop It" models, and was cited in the instructions for the re-release of the original "Bop It" (instructions copyrighted in 2000). The newer version of the original toy increased its maximum score to 200. In addition to the score-report cypher, the 2000 model made use of a special victory song that would play after the score if the player achieved a score of 100 points or greater. The use of victory songs associated with in-game point-plateaus would recur in later model "Bop It" games such as "Bop It Extreme" and "Bratz Bop It". The Bop It 2002 version requires 3 AAA batteries whilst the Bop It 2000 version requires 3 AA batteries.


title: Bop It

text: In 2019, Hasbro released a new version of Bop It called the Bop It Classic. The game was released in the US in July 2019 with a worldwide release expected in the Autumn of 2019. The game has four modes - Solo, Pass It, Beat Bop Solo and Beat Bop Pass It and has three actions - Bop It, Twist It and Pull It. The game's programming is based on the Bop It Micro but it game unit is bigger than the Micro and looks like a Bop It from 2009. The recording of "Beat Bop" was taken from the 2016 Bop It whilst all the other voices were from the Bop It! Micro Series. Each game mode has a maximum score of 100 points.


title: Bop It

text: Mini versions of several "Bop It" models have also been released throughout the duration of the series to be used as keychain carabiners and pens. Mini versions have been released for "Bop It 1996" and "2002", "Bop It Extreme", "Bop It Extreme 2", "Bop It!", and "Bop It! XT".


title: Bop It

text: "Vox Bop" is a multi-player game that serves as the primary game mode for the "Bop It" toy. A voice recording in the game machine calls out the commands randomly with a musical beat that increases in speed as the game progresses. The player must match the series of commands exactly and then the voice will call out "Pass It!" and the "Bop It" is passed to the next player. As the player passes the game to the next player, the game will play a short melody and then the intro beat will play again before the next command. A player is "out" of the game if the player performs the wrong action or if the player hesitates. This mode is also known as "Vox Bop Pass It" in "Bop It Extreme 2", and then simply "Pass It" in "Bop It Download", "Bop It XT", and "Bop It!".


title: Bop It

text: "Vox Bop One on One" is available on "Bop It Extreme 2", "Bop It Blast", "Bop It Download", and "Bop It! XT", though in "Download" and "XT" it is simply "One on One". In this multi-player game, two players each take hold of the "Bop It" with the yellow player holding the "Twist It!" crank and the "Pull It!" knob, and the green player holding the "Flick It!" lever and the "Spin It!" wheel. The unit calls out a series of commands and each player is responsible for only his or her assigned inputs. When the unit finally calls "Bop It!" both players must try to hit the "Bop It!" button on the side bearing their color first. The unit will announce which player was faster by which colored side of the button was depressed first. The winning player earns a point. If either player misses a call he is "out" of the game. The final winner is the player who gets to five points first and does not miss any commands.


title: Bop It

text: The "Beat Bop" mode follows a similar format as the "Vox Bop (with voice commands)" mode (above) and the rules are roughly equivalent. The game mode is called “Lights Only” in Bop It Beats. The difference in "Beat Bop" mode is that the game uses sounds as commands instead of words. Thus:


title: Bop It

text: "Solo Bop" is the single-player mode for the original "Bop It". This game is substantially similar to "Vox Bop (with voice commands)", except the "Pass It!" command is never issued. Instead, when the player misses a command, the game ends and the score is reported. This mode is also known as "Vox Bop Solo" in "Bop It Extreme" and "Bop It Extreme 2", and simply "Solo" in "Bop It!" and Bop It XT!.


title: Bop It

text: "Beat Bop Solo" is only available for "Bop It Extreme" and "Bop It Extreme 2". This game is substantially similar to the "Beat Bop (with musical commands)" mode, except that the "Pass It!" command is never issued. Instead, when the player misses a command, the game ends and the score is reported.


title: Bop It

text: The "Light Bop" mode is featured in "Bop It Blast" and "Bop It Download". The player must respond when the light and the command match together.


title: Bop It

text: In the Master level on "Bop It!" and "Bop It! XT", color commands are issued. Color commands are also issued in the "Pro" mode on Bop It XT.


title: Bop It

text: In 2009, EA Games released "Hasbro Family Game Night 2", a sequel to the earlier-released collection of Hasbro boardgames and toys, "Hasbro Family Game Night". "Hasbro Family Game Night 2" was released for the Nintendo Wii and the Nintendo DS and both versions featured "Bop It" as a playable simulation.


title: Bop It

text: In 2011, EA Games released an app for the iPod Touch, iPhone and iPad. This app features several game modes, commands from the handheld games, X-Move bonuses and newer commands like "Brush It!", "Crank It!", "Squeeze It!", and "Poke It!".


title: Bop It

text: "Zing It" is a yo-yo-style audio game that, like "Bop It", issues commands with which the player must comply. Like the original "Bop It", three commands may be issued: "Bop it!", requiring the player to press the depress-able purple button, "Zing it!", requiring the player to throw the yo-yo downward and jerk it back up to the hand again, and "Loop it!", requiring the player to perform the "round the world" yo-yo trick. "Zing It" features three modes: "Vox Bop" (as with "Bop It" products), "Beat Bop" (as with "Bop It" products), and "Vox Bop Challenge", where the game will test mental pelmanism by issuing rapid strings of commands which must be subsequently performed in the correct order. As with "Bop It" and "Bop It Extreme", "Zing It" announces the score by musical cypher. Like the two "Bop It Extreme" games, "Zing It" has a maximum score of 250 and is announced by a horn, followed by a crowd clapping.


title: Bop It

text: With its instructions copyrighted in 1999, the "Top It" is a kendama-style audio game developed by Parker Bros. (under Hasbro) that also issues commands which a player must respond to with the appropriate action. Commands include "Top it!" (requiring the player to catch the ball in the red top cup), "Flop it!" (requiring the player to catch the ball in one of the purple side cups), and "Flip it!" (requiring the player to catch the ball in the purple side cup on the other side). The command structure has slightly fewer variations than any other Hasbro game, since the "Flip it!" command can only be issued if the "Flop it!" command directly precedes it.


title: Bop It

text: The Torx is an audio game developed by Big Monster Toys under Hasbro that was released in 2000. The game has two twistable circles and two bendable arms that can bend in different angles 90 degrees. The game has four modes - Follow My Command, Find My Shape, Torx Says and Pass Torx. In Follow my Command, the game plays like a Bop It but the commands can get more complex. First the voice will say "Twist me" but then it can command the player to "Twist me again" or to "Twist me back". If it says "Bend me" it can command the player to "Bend me back", "Bend the same side" or "Bend the other side". Every 15 points, the game will announce "Torx Challenge" and give the player a sequence of commands to memorize. The challenge mode is similar to the one in Top It and Zing It and the player must start the sequence after Torx says "Ready, go!". In Find My Shape, the game unit will tell the player how close they are to the shape that Torx wants to be. It will give out directions like "Cooler", "Hotter" and when the player is near Torx will say "On fire!" and a sound effect will play if they find the shape. If the player is not near the correct shape, Torx will say "Ice cold!", "Warm" or "Warmer". In Torx Says, the game will produce 2 different tones. With a normal pitched Torx unit, if the player hears an F note, they must follow the command. If they hear a B flat note they must not follow the command. The game is over if the player beats the game or fails to respond or hesitate. In game four, the game will player like Game 1 but instead after a certain sequence of commands, the player will hear "Pass Torx". The maximum score in each game mode is 240.


title: Bop It

text: "Groove It" is an audio game made by Hasbro whose instructions have been copyrighted in 2003. With similar game play to the "Bop It" games, "Groove It" employs photodetection technology to determine the player's hand position. As with "Bop It" games, "Groove It" issues voice commands, however in this case the commands are: "the scratch", "the slide", and "the zoom". The game is more tolerant of errors than the "Bop It" games, allowing as many as three missed commands in some modes. The game requires a score of 250 to win, has a maximum score of 300, and employs a ranking system. As the game progresses, it issues eight new moves: "the chop", "the zip", "the flow", "the car wash", "the rock 'n' roll", "the kung fu", "the swirl" and "the hip hop".


title: Joyce Brothers

text: Joyce Diane Brothers (October 20, 1927 – May 13, 2013) was an American psychologist, television personality, advice columnist, and writer.