Datasets:
TopAI-1
/
WebText-5

Dataset card Data Studio Files
xet
 Community
text
stringlengths
0
473k
[SOURCE: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Bostrom] | [TOKENS: 3107]
Contents Nick Bostrom Nick Bostrom (/หˆbษ’strษ™m/ BOST-rษ™m; Swedish: Niklas Bostrรถm [หˆnษชฬŒkหlas หˆbรปหstrล“m]; born 10 March 1973) is a philosopher known for his work on existential risk, the anthropic principle, human enhancement ethics, whole brain emulation, superintelligence risks, and the reversal test. He was the founding director of the later defunct Future of Humanity Institute at the University of Oxford and has become Principal Researcher at the Macrostrategy Research Initiative. Bostrom is the author of Anthropic Bias: Observation Selection Effects in Science and Philosophy (2002), Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies (2014) and Deep Utopia: Life and Meaning in a Solved World (2024). Bostrom believes that advances in artificial intelligence (AI) may lead to superintelligence, which he defines as "any intellect that greatly exceeds the cognitive performance of humans in virtually all domains of interest". He views this as a major source of opportunities and existential risks. Early life and education Born as Niklas Bostrรถm in 1973 in Helsingborg, Sweden, he disliked school at a young age and spent his last year of high school learning from home. He was interested in a wide variety of academic areas, including anthropology, art, literature, and science. He received a B.A. degree from the University of Gothenburg in 1994. He then earned an M.A. degree in philosophy and physics from Stockholm University and an MSc degree in computational neuroscience from King's College London in 1996. During his time at Stockholm University, he researched the relationship between language and reality by studying the analytic philosopher W. V. Quine. He also did some turns on London's stand-up comedy circuit. In 2000, he was awarded a PhD degree in philosophy from the London School of Economics under the supervision of Colin Howson and Craig Callender. His thesis was titled Observational selection effects and probability. He held a teaching position at Yale University from 2000 to 2002, and was a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Oxford from 2002 to 2005. Research and writing Bostrom's research concerns the future of humanity and long-term outcomes. He discusses existential risk, which he defines as one in which an "adverse outcome would either annihilate Earth-originating intelligent life or permanently and drastically curtail its potential". Bostrom is mostly concerned about anthropogenic risks, which are risks arising from human activities, particularly from new technologies such as advanced artificial intelligence, molecular nanotechnology, or synthetic biology. In 2005, Bostrom founded the Future of Humanity Institute which, until its shutdown in 2024, researched the far future of human civilization. He is also an adviser to the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk. In the 2008 essay collection, Global Catastrophic Risks, editors Bostrom and Milan M. ฤ†irkoviฤ‡ characterize the relationship between existential risk and the broader class of global catastrophic risks, and link existential risk to observer selection effects and the Fermi paradox. In a paper called "The Vulnerable World Hypothesis", Bostrom suggests that there may be some technologies that destroy human civilization by default[a] when discovered. Bostrom proposes a framework for classifying and dealing with these vulnerabilities. He also gives counterfactual thought experiments of how such vulnerabilities could have historically occurred, e.g. if nuclear weapons had been easier to develop or had ignited the atmosphere (as Edward Teller had feared). Bostrom supports the substrate independence principle, the idea that consciousness can emerge on various types of physical substrates, not only in "carbon-based biological neural networks" like the human brain. He considers that "sentience is a matter of degree" and that digital minds can in theory be engineered to have a much higher rate and intensity of subjective experience than humans, using less resources. Such highly sentient machines, which he calls "super-beneficiaries", would be extremely efficient at achieving happiness. He recommends finding "paths that will enable digital minds and biological minds to coexist, in a mutually beneficial way where all of these different forms can flourish and thrive". Bostrom has published numerous articles on anthropic reasoning, as well as the book Anthropic Bias: Observation Selection Effects in Science and Philosophy. In the book, he criticizes previous formulations of the anthropic principle, including those of Brandon Carter, John Leslie, John Barrow, and Frank Tipler. Bostrom believes that the mishandling of indexical information is a common flaw in many areas of inquiry (including cosmology, philosophy, evolution theory, game theory, and quantum physics). He argues that an anthropic theory is needed to deal with these. He introduces the self-sampling assumption (SSA) and analyzes the self-indication assumption (SIA), shows how they lead to different conclusions in a number of cases, and identifies how each is affected by paradoxes or counterintuitive implications in certain thought experiments. He argues against SIA and proposes refining SSA into the strong self-sampling assumption (SSSA), which replaces "observers" in the SSA definition with "observer-moments". In later work, he proposed with Milan M. ฤ†irkoviฤ‡ and Anders Sandberg the phenomenon of anthropic shadow, an observation selection effect that prevents observers from observing certain kinds of catastrophes in their recent geological and evolutionary past. They suggest that events that lie in the anthropic shadow are likely to be underestimated unless statistical corrections are made. Bostrom's simulation argument posits that at least one of the following statements is very likely to be true: Bostrom is favorably disposed toward "human enhancement", or "self-improvement and human perfectibility through the ethical application of science", as well as a critic of bio-conservative views. In 1998, Bostrom co-founded (with David Pearce) the World Transhumanist Association (which has since changed its name to Humanity+). In 2004, he co-founded (with James Hughes) the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies, although he is no longer involved with either of these organisations. In 2005, Bostrom published the short story "The Fable of the Dragon-Tyrant" in the Journal of Medical Ethics. A shorter version was published in 2012 in Philosophy Now. The fable personifies death as a dragon that demands a tribute of thousands of people every day. The story explores how status quo bias and learned helplessness can prevent people from taking action to defeat aging even when the means to do so are at their disposal. YouTuber CGP Grey created an animated version of the story. With philosopher Toby Ord, he proposed the reversal test in 2006. Given humans' irrational status quo bias, how can one distinguish between valid criticisms of proposed changes in a human trait and criticisms merely motivated by resistance to change? The reversal test attempts to do this by asking whether it would be a good thing if the trait was altered in the opposite direction. Bostrom's work also considers potential dysgenic effects in human populations but he thinks genetic engineering can provide a solution and that "In any case, the time-scale for human natural genetic evolution seems much too grand for such developments to have any significant effect before other developments will have made the issue moot". Bostrom has suggested that technology policy aimed at reducing existential risk should seek to influence the order in which various technological capabilities are attained, proposing the principle of differential technological development. This principle states that we ought to retard the development of dangerous technologies, particularly ones that raise the level of existential risk, and accelerate the development of beneficial technologies, particularly those that protect against the existential risks posed by nature or by other technologies. In 2011, Bostrom founded the Oxford Martin Program on the Impacts of Future Technology. Bostrom's theory of the unilateralist's curse has been cited as a reason for the scientific community to avoid controversial dangerous research such as reanimating pathogens. In 2014, Bostrom published Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies, which became a New York Times Best Seller. The book argues that superintelligence is possible and explores different types of superintelligences, their cognition, the associated risks. He also presents technical and strategic considerations on how to make it safe. Bostrom explores multiple possible paths to superintelligence, including whole brain emulation and human intelligence enhancement, but focuses on artificial general intelligence, explaining that electronic devices have many advantages over biological brains. Bostrom draws a distinction between final goals and instrumental goals. A final goal is what an agent tries to achieve for its own intrinsic value. Instrumental goals are just intermediary steps towards final goals. Bostrom contends there are instrumental goals that will be shared by most sufficiently intelligent agents because they are generally useful to achieve any objective (e.g. preserving the agent's own existence or current goals, acquiring resources, improving its cognition...), this is the concept of instrumental convergence. On the other side, he writes that virtually any level of intelligence can in theory be combined with virtually any final goal (even absurd final goals, e.g. making paperclips), a concept he calls the orthogonality thesis. He argues that an AI with the ability to improve itself might initiate an intelligence explosion, resulting (potentially rapidly) in a superintelligence. Such a superintelligence could have vastly superior capabilities, notably in strategizing, social manipulation, hacking or economic productivity. With such capabilities, a superintelligence could outwit humans and take over the world, establishing a singleton (which is "a world order in which there is at the global level a single decision-making agency"[b]) and optimizing the world according to its final goals. Bostrom argues that giving simplistic final goals to a superintelligence could be catastrophic: Suppose we give an A.I. the goal to make humans smile. When the A.I. is weak, it performs useful or amusing actions that cause its user to smile. When the A.I. becomes superintelligent, it realizes that there is a more effective way to achieve this goal: take control of the world and stick electrodes into the facial muscles of humans to cause constant, beaming grins. Bostrom explores several pathways to reduce the existential risk from AI. He emphasizes the importance of international collaboration, notably to reduce race to the bottom and AI arms race dynamics. He suggests potential techniques to help control AI, including containment, stunting AI capabilities or knowledge, narrowing the operating context (e.g. to question-answering), or "tripwires" (diagnostic mechanisms that can lead to a shutdown). But Bostrom contends that "we should not be confident in our ability to keep a superintelligent genie locked up in its bottle forever. Sooner or later, it will out". He thus suggests that in order to be safe for humanity, superintelligence must be aligned with morality or human values so that it is "fundamentally on our side". Potential AI normativity frameworks include Yudkowsky's coherent extrapolated volition (human values improved via extrapolation), moral rightness (doing what is morally right), and moral permissibility (following humanity's coherent extrapolated volition except when it's morally impermissible). Bostrom warns that an existential catastrophe can also occur from AI being misused by humans for destructive purposes, or from humans failing to take into account the potential moral status of digital minds. Despite these risks, he says that machine superintelligence seems involved at some point in "all the plausible paths to a really great future". The book became a New York Times Best Seller and received positive feedback from personalities such as Stephen Hawking, Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Peter Singer and Derek Parfit. It was praised for offering clear and compelling arguments on a neglected yet important topic. It was sometimes criticized for spreading pessimism about the potential of AI, or for focusing on longterm and speculative risks. Some skeptics such as Daniel Dennett or Oren Etzioni contended that superintelligence is too far away for the risk to be significant. Yann LeCun considers that there is no existential risk, asserting that superintelligent AI will have no desire for self-preservation and that experts can be trusted to make it safe. Raffi Khatchadourian wrote that Bostrom's book on superintelligence "is not intended as a treatise of deep originality; Bostrom's contribution is to impose the rigors of analytic philosophy on a messy corpus of ideas that emerged at the margins of academic thought." In his 2024 book, Deep Utopia: Life and Meaning in a Solved World, Bostrom explores the concept of an ideal life, if humanity transitions successfully into a post-superintelligence world. Bostrom notes that the question is "not how interesting a future is to look at, but how good it is to live in." He outlines some technologies that he considers physically possible in theory and available at technological maturity, such as cognitive enhancement, reversal of aging, arbitrary sensory inputs (taste, sound...), or the precise control of motivation, mood, well-being and personality. According to him, not only machines would be better than humans at working, but they would also undermine the purpose of many leisure activities, providing extreme welfare while challenging the quest for meaning. Public engagement Bostrom has provided policy advice and consulted for many governments and organizations. He gave evidence to the House of Lords, Select Committee on Digital Skills. He is an advisory board member for the Machine Intelligence Research Institute, Future of Life Institute, and an external advisor for the Cambridge Centre for the Study of Existential Risk. In January 2023, Bostrom issued an apology for a 1996 listserv email he sent as a postgrad where he had stated that he thought "Blacks are more stupid than whites", and where he also used the word "niggers" in a description of how he thought this statement might be perceived by others. The apology, posted on his website, stated that "the invocation of a racial slur was repulsive" and that he "completely repudiate[d] this disgusting email". The email has been described as "racist" in several news sources. According to Andrew Anthony of The Guardian, "The apology did little to placate Bostromโ€™s critics, not least because he conspicuously failed to withdraw his central contention regarding race and intelligence, and seemed to make a partial defence of eugenics." Shortly afterward, Oxford University condemned the language used in the email and started an investigation. The investigation concluded on 10 August 2023: "[W]e do not consider you to be a racist or that you hold racist views, and we consider that the apology you posted in January 2023 was sincere." Personal life Bostrom met his wife Susan in 2002. As of 2015, she lived in Montreal and Bostrom in Oxford. They have one son. Selected works See also Notes References External links
========================================
[SOURCE: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northeast_China_Plain] | [TOKENS: 601]
Contents Northeast China Plain The Northeast China Plain (simplified Chinese: ไธœๅŒ—ๅนณๅŽŸ; traditional Chinese: ๆฑๅŒ—ๅนณๅŽŸ; pinyin: Dลngbฤ›i Pรญngyuรกn), also known as Songliao Plain, Manchurian Plain, or Northeast Plain, is located in Northeast China. It lies between the Greater and Lesser Khingan and Changbai mountains, ending at the coast at Liaodong Bay in the Bohai Sea. Covering 350,000 km2, it is China's largest plain, with an elevation of lower than 200 meters, and less than 100 meters to the southwest. The Songhua, Nen, and Liao Rivers run through the plain. The Northeast Plain includes Songnen Plain in the north, Liaohe Plain in the south, and Sanjiang Plain in the northeast. The Songnen Plain was formed by the Songhua and alluvial soils from the Nen. The Liaohe Plain, located in the hilly areas near Changchun, was created by the separation of watersheds of the Songhua and Liao, which are collectively known as the Liaohe Plain. The Sanjiang Plain, at the confluence of the Songhua, Amur, and Ussuri Rivers, was originally a swamp known as the "Great Northern Wilderness", becoming a food-producing area after reclamation. The original wetland area of the Sanjiang Plain has been greatly reduced. History The Northeast Plain was inhabited by Sushen ethnic groups since the Zhou Dynastic period, up to and including the Jurchen people, who were semi-nomadic. Large scale Han migration occurred during the Qing dynasty, in a process called Chuang Guandong, intensifying during the reign of Guangxu Emperor in the late 19th century, and bringing with them large scale agriculture. Agriculture It is suitable for mechanized farming, with thick and fertile soil and extensive amounts of arable land. The plain is a major Chernozem-producing region of the world. Huge areas are planted with wheat, corn, soybeans, rice, sugar beets, sunflowers, sorghum, and flax. The landscape is rich in resources such as iron ore, coal, and oil. After 1949, land reclamation began on the plain and state farms were established. There are very few trees on this landscape that have not been planted, typically poplars in long rows along roads, or on either side of the train tracks. There are not many fences on the landscape, no long running fences, though there are many wooden or stone fences adjacent to the houses. There is also much wetland, vast marshes, and many areas that are subject to flooding. References External links 45ยฐ00โ€ฒN 125ยฐ00โ€ฒE๏ปฟ / ๏ปฟ45.000ยฐN 125.000ยฐE๏ปฟ / 45.000; 125.000
========================================
[SOURCE: https://www.mako.co.il/food-restaurants/street-food-critics/Article-475759b63d26c91027.htm] | [TOKENS: 6563]
ื”ื‘ื•ื›ืจื™ ื‘ื’ื‘ืขืชื™ื™ื: ืžืฉืคื—ืชื™, ื˜ืขื™ื ื•ื”ื’ื•ืŸืžืกืขื“ื•ื ืช ื‘ื•ื›ืจื™ืช ืžืฉืคื—ืชื™ืช ืžื’ื™ืฉื” ืกืžืกื” ืงืจื™ืกืคื™ืช, ืืฉืคืœืื• ืžื“ื•ื™ืง ื•ืงื‘ื‘ ืขืกื™ืกื™ ื‘ืžื—ื™ืจื™ื ืฉืคื•ื™ื™ื, ื•ืžื–ื›ื™ืจื” ืฉืจื•ื‘ ื”ื–ืžืŸ ื™ื•ืชืจ ื›ื™ืฃ ืœื”ื ื™ื— ืœื˜ืจื ื“ื™ื. ื›ืœ ื–ื” ืงื•ืจื” ื‘ืื–ื•ืจ ื›ื™ื›ืจ ื ื— ื‘ื’ื‘ืขืชื™ื™ื, ื•ืืคื™ืœื• ื‘ืœื™ ื—ืฉื‘ื•ืŸ ืื™ื ืกื˜ื’ืจืื ื™ืฆืŸ ืœื ื’ืจmako ืื•ื›ืœืคื•ืจืกื: 17.02.26, 08:00ืื•ืฉืคืœื•. ื”ื‘ื•ื›ืจื™ ื‘ื’ื‘ืขืชื™ื™ื | ืฆื™ืœื•ื: ื ื™ืฆืŸ ืœื ื’ืจ, mako ืื•ื›ืœื”ืงื™ืฉื•ืจ ื”ื•ืขืชืงื–ื” ื›ื ืจืื” ื”ื™ื” ืจืง ืขื ื™ื™ืŸ ืฉืœ ื–ืžืŸ: ืื—ืจื™ ืืฉืช ื”ื—ื™ืœ ื”ื˜ืจื™ืคื•ืœื™ื˜ืื™ืช ื•ื“ื“ื” ื”ื’ืจื•ื–ื™ื ื™ืช, ื’ื‘ืขืชื™ื™ื ืžืืžืฆืช ืœืœื‘ื” ื’ื ืืช ื‘ื•ื›ืจื”. ื‘ืฆืžื•ื“ ืœืฉื ื™ืฆืœ ื‘ื’ื‘ืขืชื™ื™ื ื•ืœืกื ื™ืฃ ืงืคื” ืกื ื˜ืจืœ (ื•ืœื ืžืื•ื“ ืจื—ื•ืง ืžืกื‘ื™ื— ืขื•ื‘ื“ ื”ืžื™ืชื•ืœื•ื’ื™ ื•ืžื“ื“ื”), ื ืคืชื—ื” ืœืคื ื™ ื›ื—ืฆื™ ืฉื ื” ืžืกืขื“ืช "ื”ื‘ื•ื›ืจื™ ื‘ื’ื‘ืขืชื™ื™ื" - ืขืกืง ืžืฉืคื—ืชื™ ืฉืžืคืขื™ืœื™ื ื‘ื ื™ ื”ื–ื•ื’ ืžืื™ื” ื•ืžื•ืจืื“ ืคื ื—ืกื•ื‘. ืžืื™ื” ื‘ืคืจื•ื ื˜, ืžื•ืจืื“ ื‘ืžื˜ื‘ื— ื•ื”ื’ื™ืกื” ืžื›ื™ื ื” ืืช ื”ืกืœื˜ื™ื.ื”ื‘ื•ื›ืจื™ ื‘ื’ื‘ืขืชื™ื™ื | ืฆื™ืœื•ื: ื ื™ืฆืŸ ืœื ื’ืจ, mako ืื•ื›ืœื”ืžืงื•ื ืขืฆืžื• ืฆื ื•ืข ื•ืชื›ืœื™ืชื™ ืขื ืžืงื•ืžื•ืช ื™ืฉื™ื‘ื” ื‘ืจื—ื‘ื” ื”ื—ื™ืฆื•ื ื™ืช ืื• ื‘ืคื ื™ื, ื•ื”ืชืคืจื™ื˜ ื“ื™ ืงื˜ืŸ: ืงื˜ื’ื•ืจื™ื™ืช ืขืœ ื”ืืฉ ืฉื›ื•ืœืœืช ืงื‘ื‘ ื‘ื•ื›ืจื™, ืคืจื’ื™ื•ืช, ื—ื–ื” ืขื•ืฃ ื•ืฉื•ื•ืืจืžื” ื”ื•ื“ื• (ืขืœ ื”ืคืœื ืฆ'ื”) ื•ืืคืฉืจ ืœืื›ื•ืœ ื‘ืคื™ืชื”/ื‘ื’ื˜/ืฆืœื—ืช; ืžืืคื™ื ื‘ื•ื›ืจื™ื™ื ืฉื ืืคื™ื ื‘ืžื”ืœืš ื›ืœ ื”ื™ื•ื ื•ืฆ'ื™ื‘ื•ืงืจื™ ื‘ืฉืจ ืžื˜ื•ื’ืŸ; ื•ื‘ื’ื–ืจืช ื”ืกื™ืจื™ื ืื•ืฉืคืœื• ื•ื‘ืื—ืฉ. ื ื—ืžื“ ืฉื“ื•ืื’ื™ื ืœืืจื•ื—ืช ืฆื”ืจื™ื™ื ืœืžื™ ืฉืื™ื ื ืžืขื•ื ื™ื™ื ื™ื ื‘ืžื ื•ืช ื”ืžื˜ื‘ื— ื”ื‘ื•ื›ืจื™, ืื‘ืœ ืื ื—ื ื• ื”ืชืžืงื“ื ื• ื‘ื”ืŸ.ื”ื‘ื•ื›ืจื™ ื‘ื’ื‘ืขืชื™ื™ื. ื”ื’ื•ืŸ, ื˜ืขื™ื ื•ื™ื“ื™ื“ื•ืชื™ | ืฆื™ืœื•ื: ื ื™ืฆืŸ ืœื ื’ืจ, mako ืื•ื›ืœืจืืฉื•ื ื” ื ื“ื’ืžื” ื”ืกืžืกื” (14 ืฉืงืœื™ื) ื”ืฆืžื—ื•ื ื™ืช ื”ื™ื—ื™ื“ื” ืฉืžื•ืฆืขืช ื‘ืžืงื•ื, ื‘ืžื™ืœื•ื™ ื“ืœืขืช ื•ื‘ืฆืœ, ืœืฆื“ ืžื˜ื‘ืœ ืขื’ื‘ื ื™ื™ื” ืžื’ื•ืจืจืช. ื”ื‘ืฆืง ืฉืœื” ืงืฆืช ื™ื•ืชืจ ื“ืง ืžื–ื” ืฉืœ ืื—ืจื•ืช, ืžื” ืฉื”ื•ืคืš ืื•ืชื• ืœื™ื•ืชืจ ืงืจื™ืกืคื™. ืœืžืจื•ืช ืฉืื™ื ื• ืขื‘ื”, ื”ื‘ืฆืง ืขื•ื˜ืฃ ื”ื™ื˜ื‘ ืืช ืžื™ืœื•ื™ ื”ื“ืœืขืช, ืฉืžืชื•ื‘ืœ ื”ื™ื˜ื‘ ื•ื‘ืฉื™ืœื•ื‘ ื”ืขื’ื‘ื ื™ื•ืช ื”ืžืจื•ืกืงื•ืช ื–ื” ื›ื™ืกื•ืŸ ื˜ื•ื‘ ื•ื˜ืขื™ื ืฉืžืชื—ืกืœ ืžื”ืจ.ืกืžืกื” ื“ืœืขืช. ืžืฉื”ื• ืœืฆืžื—ื•ื ื™ื | ืฆื™ืœื•ื: ื ื™ืฆืŸ ืœื ื’ืจ, mako ืื•ื›ืœืคืจืกื•ืžืชืื—ืจื™ื• ื”ื’ื™ืขื” ืฆืœื—ืช ืžืื•ื“ ื ื“ื™ื‘ื” ืฉืœ ืืฉืคืœืื• (50 ืฉืงืœื™ื). ืฉืžื—ื ื• ืœื’ืœื•ืช ืฉื‘ืžืกืขื“ื•ื ืช ื”ื‘ื•ื›ืจื™ืช ืžื’ื™ืฉื™ื ื‘ื™ืฆื•ืข ืžืฆื•ื™ืŸ ืœืžื ื” ื”ืื”ื•ื‘ื” ื•ื”ืžื•ื›ืจืช: ืื•ืจื– ืฉืžื ื•ื ื™ ื›ืžืชื‘ืงืฉ, ื ืชื—ื™ ื‘ืฉืจ (ืฉื™ืœื•ื‘ ืฉืœ ื‘ืฉืจ ื—ื–ื” ื•ื‘ืฉืจ ืฆืœืขื•ืช) ืขืกื™ืกื™ื™ื ื•ืจื›ื™ื, ืจืฆื•ืขื•ืช ื’ื–ืจ ืžืชืงืชืงื•ืช ื•ื˜ืขืžื™ื ื˜ื•ื‘ื™ื ืฉืœ ื–ืจืขื™ ื›ืžื•ืŸ ืฉืคื•ื–ืจื• ื‘ื“ื™ื•ืง ื‘ืžื™ื ื•ืŸ ื”ืžืชืื™ื. ื”ื”ืขืจื” ื”ื™ื—ื™ื“ื” ื”ื™ื ืฉื ื™ืชืŸ ืœื”ื•ืกื™ืฃ ืขื•ื“ ืงืฆืช ืคืœืคืœ ืฉื—ื•ืจ. ื‘ืžืงื•ืžื•, ืคื™ื ืงื• ืื•ืชื ื• ื‘ืคืœืคืœ ื—ืจื™ืฃ ืžื˜ื•ื’ืŸ ืฉื ืชืŸ ืงื•ื ื˜ืจื” ืœืฉื•ืžื ื™ื•ืช ื•ื”ืžืชืงืชืงื•ืช. ืื’ื‘, ืžื” ืฉื ื—ืžื“ ื”ื•ื ืฉื’ื ืืคืฉืจ ืœื‘ืงืฉ ืจืง ื—ืฆื™ ืžื ื”. ื–ื” ืื•ืžื ื ืœื ืžืฆื•ื™ืŸ ื‘ืชืคืจื™ื˜, ืื‘ืœ ื‘ื–ืžืŸ ื”ื‘ื™ืงื•ืจ ื”ืืคืฉืจื•ืช ื”ื•ืฆืขื” ืœืกื•ืขื“ื™ื ืื—ืจื™ื ืฉื”ืชืœื‘ื˜ื•.ืงื‘ื‘ ื‘ื•ื›ืจื™. ื•ืืคืฉืจ ื’ื ื‘ืคื™ืชื” ืื ืจื•ืฆื™ื | ืฆื™ืœื•ื: ื ื™ืฆืŸ ืœื ื’ืจ, mako ืื•ื›ืœืขื™ืงืจื™ืช ื ื•ืกืคืช ื”ื™ื™ืชื” ืงื‘ื‘ ื‘ื•ื›ืจื™ ื‘ืฆืœื—ืช (59 ืฉืงืœื™ื) ืฉืžื’ื™ืข ืขื ืชื•ืกืคืช ืฆ'ื™ืคืก ืื• ืื•ืจื– ืœื‘ืŸ ืœื‘ื—ื™ืจื”, ื•ืกืœื˜ื™ื. ื”ืงื‘ื‘ ื™ื•ืจื“ ืžื”ืฉื™ืคื•ื“ ืืœ ื”ืฆืœื—ืช, ืžืชื›ืกื” ื‘ื‘ืฆืœ ื—ื™, ืžืชื‘ืฉื ื‘ื”ืชื–ืช ื—ื•ืžืฅ ื•ื ื–ืœืœ ื‘ื›ื™ืฃ. ื”ื•ื ืื•ืžื ื ืขืกื™ืกื™, ืขืฉื™ืจ ืžืื•ื“ ื•ื˜ืขื™ื, ืื‘ืœ ื™ื›ื•ืœ ืœื™ื”ื ื•ืช ืžืžืจืงื ืžืขื˜ ื™ื•ืชืจ ืื•ื•ืจื™ืจื™. ืœืฆื“ื• ื‘ื—ืจื ื• ื‘ืชื•ืกืคืช ืฆ'ื™ืคืก, ืฉื”ื’ื™ืข ื‘ืื™ื—ื•ืจ ืœืฉื•ืœื—ืŸ (ื•ืœื›ืŸ ืื™ื ื• ืžืฆื•ืœื) ื›ื™ ื ื—ืชืš ื•ื˜ื•ื’ืŸ ืจืง ืœืื—ืจ ื”ื”ื–ืžื ื”. ืฆ'ื™ืคืก ื‘ื™ืชื™ ื˜ืขื™ื ืฉืจื•ืื™ื ืขืœื™ื• ืืช ื—ื™ืชื•ืš ื”ืกื›ื™ืŸ, ืคืœื—ื™ื ื–ื”ื•ื‘ื™ื ืงืฆืช ืคืจื™ื›ื™ื ื•ืงืฆืช ืจื›ื™ื ืฉื”ื•ืœื›ื™ื ืžืฆื•ื™ืŸ ืขื ื”ืงื‘ื‘. ื‘ืขื•ื“ ืกืœื˜ ื”ื™ืจืงื•ืช ื”ืงืฆื•ืฆื™ื ื”ื™ื” ืงืฆืช ืขื™ื™ืฃ, ื”ื›ืจื•ื‘ ื”ื›ื‘ื•ืฉ ื”ื™ื” ืคืฉื•ื˜ ืžืขื•ืœื”: ื“ืง, ื—ืžืฆืžืฅ, ื˜ืจื™.ืžื ื˜ื• ื‘ืกื™ืจ ืื™ื“ื•ื™, ืžืืคื™ ืกืžืกื” ื—ืžื™ื ืžื”ืชื ื•ืจ. ื”ื‘ื•ื›ืจื™ ื‘ื’ื‘ืขืชื™ื™ื | ืฆื™ืœื•ื: ื ื™ืฆืŸ ืœื ื’ืจ, mako ืื•ื›ืœืคืจืกื•ืžืชืžื ื˜ื• ื‘ืฉืจ ื•ื‘ืฆืœ, ืจืกืง ืขื’ื‘ื ื™ื•ืช ื•ื—ื•ืžืฅ ื›ืžื•ื‘ืŸ | ืฆื™ืœื•ื: ื ื™ืฆืŸ ืœื ื’ืจ, mako ืื•ื›ืœืœืžืจื•ืช ืชื—ื•ืฉืช ืกื™ืคื•ืง ื•ืฉื•ื‘ืข, ืจื’ืข ืœืคื ื™ ืฉื”ืฆืžื“ื ื• ืืช ื”ืื™ื™ืคื•ืŸ ืขืœ ืžืกื•ืคื•ืŸ ื”ืกืœื™ืงื”, ื”ื‘ื—ื ื• ื‘ืกื™ืจ ื”ืื™ื“ื•ื™ ืฉื™ืฆื ืžื”ืžื˜ื‘ื— ืืœ ื”ืขืžื“ื”. ืœื ื”ืชืืคืงื ื• ื•ื”ื–ืžื ื• ื’ื ืžื ื˜ื• (8 ืฉืงืœื™ื) ื‘ื•ื“ื“, ืจืง ืœื˜ืขื•ื ื‘ืฉื‘ื™ืœ ืœืžืœื ืืช ื”ื—ื•ื‘ื” ื”ืขื™ืชื•ื ืื™ืช. ื‘ืฆืง ื“ืงื™ืง, ืžื™ืœื•ื™ ื‘ืฉืจ ื•ื‘ืฆืœ, ืขื’ื‘ื ื™ื•ืช ืžืจื•ืกืงื•ืช ื•ืฉืคืจื™ืฅ ืฉืœ ื—ื•ืžืฅ ืฉืžืฉืœื™ื ืืช ื›ืœ ื”ืกื™ืคื•ืจ ื”ื–ื” ืœื‘ื™ืก ื˜ืขื™ื ื•ื›ื™ืคื™. ืฆืœื—ืช ืฉืœ ืฉื™ืฉื” ื›ืืœื• ืขื•ืœื” 45 ืฉืงืœื™ื, ืžื—ื™ืจ ื ื— ืžืื•ื“, ื‘ื•ื•ื“ืื™ ื‘ื”ืฉื•ื•ืื” ืœืžื—ื™ืจื™ ื›ื™ืกื•ื ื™ื ืชืœ ืื‘ื™ื‘ื™ื™ื ืžื™ื•ื—ืฆื ื™ื.ื‘ืขืœืช ื”ื‘ื™ืช ื”ื—ื™ื ื ื™ืช, ืžืื™ื” ืคื ื—ืกื•ื‘ | ืฆื™ืœื•ื: ื ื™ืฆืŸ ืœื ื’ืจ, mako ืื•ื›ืœื‘ืฉื•ืจื” ื”ืชื—ืชื•ื ื”, ืžื“ื•ื‘ืจ ื‘ืžืกืขื“ื•ื ืช ืฉื‘ื–ืžืŸ ื”ืคืขื™ืœื•ืช ื”ืงืฆืจ ืฉืœื” ื›ื‘ืจ ืฆื‘ืจื” ืงื”ืœ ืœืงื•ื—ื•ืช ื—ื•ื–ืจื™ื ืฉืขื•ืฆืจื™ื ืืฆืœื” ืœืฆื”ืจื™ื™ื ืื• ืœื•ืงื—ื™ื ืงื•ืคืกืื•ืช ื”ื‘ื™ืชื”. ื”ืฉื™ืจื•ืช ื—ื ื•ืงืฉื•ื‘, ื”ืื•ื›ืœ ื˜ืขื™ื, ื”ืžื—ื™ืจื™ื ื ื•ื—ื™ื ื•ืœืฆื“ ื‘ืจื™ ื”ืื•ื›ืœ ื•ื”ื™ื™ืŸ ื”ื”ื•ืœื›ื™ื ื•ืžืชืจื‘ื™ื ื‘ื’ื‘ืขืชื™ื™ื, ืจืื•ื™ ืžืื•ื“ ืฉื™ื™ืคืชื— ื’ื ืžืงื•ื ื›ื–ื”, ืจื—ื•ืง ืฉื ื•ืช ืื•ืจ ืžืœื”ื™ื•ืช ื˜ืจื ื“ื™ ื•ืืคื™ืœื• ืœื ืžื—ื–ื™ืง ื‘ื—ืฉื‘ื•ืŸ ืื™ื ืกื˜ื’ืจื. ืขื›ืฉื™ื• ืจืง ืœื”ื•ืกื™ืฃ ืขื•ื“ ืงืฆืช ืื•ืคืฆื™ื•ืช ืฆืžื—ื•ื ื™ื•ืช.ื”ื‘ื•ื›ืจื™ ื‘ื’ื‘ืขืชื™ื™ื. ืกื™ืจืงื™ืŸ 11, ื’ื‘ืขืชื™ื™ื. ืจืืฉื•ืŸ-ื—ืžื™ืฉื™ 10:00-20:00, ืฉื™ืฉื™ 08:00-15:00. ื˜ืœืคื•ืŸ: 03-9068310. ื›ืฉืจืžืฆืืชื ื˜ืขื•ืช ืœืฉื•ืŸ? ื”ื‘ื•ื›ืจื™ ื‘ื’ื‘ืขืชื™ื™ื: ืžืฉืคื—ืชื™, ื˜ืขื™ื ื•ื”ื’ื•ืŸ ืžืกืขื“ื•ื ืช ื‘ื•ื›ืจื™ืช ืžืฉืคื—ืชื™ืช ืžื’ื™ืฉื” ืกืžืกื” ืงืจื™ืกืคื™ืช, ืืฉืคืœืื• ืžื“ื•ื™ืง ื•ืงื‘ื‘ ืขืกื™ืกื™ ื‘ืžื—ื™ืจื™ื ืฉืคื•ื™ื™ื, ื•ืžื–ื›ื™ืจื” ืฉืจื•ื‘ ื”ื–ืžืŸ ื™ื•ืชืจ ื›ื™ืฃ ืœื”ื ื™ื— ืœื˜ืจื ื“ื™ื. ื›ืœ ื–ื” ืงื•ืจื” ื‘ืื–ื•ืจ ื›ื™ื›ืจ ื ื— ื‘ื’ื‘ืขืชื™ื™ื, ื•ืืคื™ืœื• ื‘ืœื™ ื—ืฉื‘ื•ืŸ ืื™ื ืกื˜ื’ืจื ื–ื” ื›ื ืจืื” ื”ื™ื” ืจืง ืขื ื™ื™ืŸ ืฉืœ ื–ืžืŸ: ืื—ืจื™ ืืฉืช ื”ื—ื™ืœ ื”ื˜ืจื™ืคื•ืœื™ื˜ืื™ืช ื•ื“ื“ื” ื”ื’ืจื•ื–ื™ื ื™ืช, ื’ื‘ืขืชื™ื™ื ืžืืžืฆืช ืœืœื‘ื” ื’ื ืืช ื‘ื•ื›ืจื”. ื‘ืฆืžื•ื“ ืœืฉื ื™ืฆืœ ื‘ื’ื‘ืขืชื™ื™ื ื•ืœืกื ื™ืฃ ืงืคื” ืกื ื˜ืจืœ (ื•ืœื ืžืื•ื“ ืจื—ื•ืง ืžืกื‘ื™ื— ืขื•ื‘ื“ ื”ืžื™ืชื•ืœื•ื’ื™ ื•ืžื“ื“ื”), ื ืคืชื—ื” ืœืคื ื™ ื›ื—ืฆื™ ืฉื ื” ืžืกืขื“ืช "ื”ื‘ื•ื›ืจื™ ื‘ื’ื‘ืขืชื™ื™ื" - ืขืกืง ืžืฉืคื—ืชื™ ืฉืžืคืขื™ืœื™ื ื‘ื ื™ ื”ื–ื•ื’ ืžืื™ื” ื•ืžื•ืจืื“ ืคื ื—ืกื•ื‘. ืžืื™ื” ื‘ืคืจื•ื ื˜, ืžื•ืจืื“ ื‘ืžื˜ื‘ื— ื•ื”ื’ื™ืกื” ืžื›ื™ื ื” ืืช ื”ืกืœื˜ื™ื. ื”ืžืงื•ื ืขืฆืžื• ืฆื ื•ืข ื•ืชื›ืœื™ืชื™ ืขื ืžืงื•ืžื•ืช ื™ืฉื™ื‘ื” ื‘ืจื—ื‘ื” ื”ื—ื™ืฆื•ื ื™ืช ืื• ื‘ืคื ื™ื, ื•ื”ืชืคืจื™ื˜ ื“ื™ ืงื˜ืŸ: ืงื˜ื’ื•ืจื™ื™ืช ืขืœ ื”ืืฉ ืฉื›ื•ืœืœืช ืงื‘ื‘ ื‘ื•ื›ืจื™, ืคืจื’ื™ื•ืช, ื—ื–ื” ืขื•ืฃ ื•ืฉื•ื•ืืจืžื” ื”ื•ื“ื• (ืขืœ ื”ืคืœื ืฆ'ื”) ื•ืืคืฉืจ ืœืื›ื•ืœ ื‘ืคื™ืชื”/ื‘ื’ื˜/ืฆืœื—ืช; ืžืืคื™ื ื‘ื•ื›ืจื™ื™ื ืฉื ืืคื™ื ื‘ืžื”ืœืš ื›ืœ ื”ื™ื•ื ื•ืฆ'ื™ื‘ื•ืงืจื™ ื‘ืฉืจ ืžื˜ื•ื’ืŸ; ื•ื‘ื’ื–ืจืช ื”ืกื™ืจื™ื ืื•ืฉืคืœื• ื•ื‘ืื—ืฉ. ื ื—ืžื“ ืฉื“ื•ืื’ื™ื ืœืืจื•ื—ืช ืฆื”ืจื™ื™ื ืœืžื™ ืฉืื™ื ื ืžืขื•ื ื™ื™ื ื™ื ื‘ืžื ื•ืช ื”ืžื˜ื‘ื— ื”ื‘ื•ื›ืจื™, ืื‘ืœ ืื ื—ื ื• ื”ืชืžืงื“ื ื• ื‘ื”ืŸ. ืจืืฉื•ื ื” ื ื“ื’ืžื” ื”ืกืžืกื” (14 ืฉืงืœื™ื) ื”ืฆืžื—ื•ื ื™ืช ื”ื™ื—ื™ื“ื” ืฉืžื•ืฆืขืช ื‘ืžืงื•ื, ื‘ืžื™ืœื•ื™ ื“ืœืขืช ื•ื‘ืฆืœ, ืœืฆื“ ืžื˜ื‘ืœ ืขื’ื‘ื ื™ื™ื” ืžื’ื•ืจืจืช. ื”ื‘ืฆืง ืฉืœื” ืงืฆืช ื™ื•ืชืจ ื“ืง ืžื–ื” ืฉืœ ืื—ืจื•ืช, ืžื” ืฉื”ื•ืคืš ืื•ืชื• ืœื™ื•ืชืจ ืงืจื™ืกืคื™. ืœืžืจื•ืช ืฉืื™ื ื• ืขื‘ื”, ื”ื‘ืฆืง ืขื•ื˜ืฃ ื”ื™ื˜ื‘ ืืช ืžื™ืœื•ื™ ื”ื“ืœืขืช, ืฉืžืชื•ื‘ืœ ื”ื™ื˜ื‘ ื•ื‘ืฉื™ืœื•ื‘ ื”ืขื’ื‘ื ื™ื•ืช ื”ืžืจื•ืกืงื•ืช ื–ื” ื›ื™ืกื•ืŸ ื˜ื•ื‘ ื•ื˜ืขื™ื ืฉืžืชื—ืกืœ ืžื”ืจ. ืื—ืจื™ื• ื”ื’ื™ืขื” ืฆืœื—ืช ืžืื•ื“ ื ื“ื™ื‘ื” ืฉืœ ืืฉืคืœืื• (50 ืฉืงืœื™ื). ืฉืžื—ื ื• ืœื’ืœื•ืช ืฉื‘ืžืกืขื“ื•ื ืช ื”ื‘ื•ื›ืจื™ืช ืžื’ื™ืฉื™ื ื‘ื™ืฆื•ืข ืžืฆื•ื™ืŸ ืœืžื ื” ื”ืื”ื•ื‘ื” ื•ื”ืžื•ื›ืจืช: ืื•ืจื– ืฉืžื ื•ื ื™ ื›ืžืชื‘ืงืฉ, ื ืชื—ื™ ื‘ืฉืจ (ืฉื™ืœื•ื‘ ืฉืœ ื‘ืฉืจ ื—ื–ื” ื•ื‘ืฉืจ ืฆืœืขื•ืช) ืขืกื™ืกื™ื™ื ื•ืจื›ื™ื, ืจืฆื•ืขื•ืช ื’ื–ืจ ืžืชืงืชืงื•ืช ื•ื˜ืขืžื™ื ื˜ื•ื‘ื™ื ืฉืœ ื–ืจืขื™ ื›ืžื•ืŸ ืฉืคื•ื–ืจื• ื‘ื“ื™ื•ืง ื‘ืžื™ื ื•ืŸ ื”ืžืชืื™ื. ื”ื”ืขืจื” ื”ื™ื—ื™ื“ื” ื”ื™ื ืฉื ื™ืชืŸ ืœื”ื•ืกื™ืฃ ืขื•ื“ ืงืฆืช ืคืœืคืœ ืฉื—ื•ืจ. ื‘ืžืงื•ืžื•, ืคื™ื ืงื• ืื•ืชื ื• ื‘ืคืœืคืœ ื—ืจื™ืฃ ืžื˜ื•ื’ืŸ ืฉื ืชืŸ ืงื•ื ื˜ืจื” ืœืฉื•ืžื ื™ื•ืช ื•ื”ืžืชืงืชืงื•ืช. ืื’ื‘, ืžื” ืฉื ื—ืžื“ ื”ื•ื ืฉื’ื ืืคืฉืจ ืœื‘ืงืฉ ืจืง ื—ืฆื™ ืžื ื”. ื–ื” ืื•ืžื ื ืœื ืžืฆื•ื™ืŸ ื‘ืชืคืจื™ื˜, ืื‘ืœ ื‘ื–ืžืŸ ื”ื‘ื™ืงื•ืจ ื”ืืคืฉืจื•ืช ื”ื•ืฆืขื” ืœืกื•ืขื“ื™ื ืื—ืจื™ื ืฉื”ืชืœื‘ื˜ื•. ืขื™ืงืจื™ืช ื ื•ืกืคืช ื”ื™ื™ืชื” ืงื‘ื‘ ื‘ื•ื›ืจื™ ื‘ืฆืœื—ืช (59 ืฉืงืœื™ื) ืฉืžื’ื™ืข ืขื ืชื•ืกืคืช ืฆ'ื™ืคืก ืื• ืื•ืจื– ืœื‘ืŸ ืœื‘ื—ื™ืจื”, ื•ืกืœื˜ื™ื. ื”ืงื‘ื‘ ื™ื•ืจื“ ืžื”ืฉื™ืคื•ื“ ืืœ ื”ืฆืœื—ืช, ืžืชื›ืกื” ื‘ื‘ืฆืœ ื—ื™, ืžืชื‘ืฉื ื‘ื”ืชื–ืช ื—ื•ืžืฅ ื•ื ื–ืœืœ ื‘ื›ื™ืฃ. ื”ื•ื ืื•ืžื ื ืขืกื™ืกื™, ืขืฉื™ืจ ืžืื•ื“ ื•ื˜ืขื™ื, ืื‘ืœ ื™ื›ื•ืœ ืœื™ื”ื ื•ืช ืžืžืจืงื ืžืขื˜ ื™ื•ืชืจ ืื•ื•ืจื™ืจื™. ืœืฆื“ื• ื‘ื—ืจื ื• ื‘ืชื•ืกืคืช ืฆ'ื™ืคืก, ืฉื”ื’ื™ืข ื‘ืื™ื—ื•ืจ ืœืฉื•ืœื—ืŸ (ื•ืœื›ืŸ ืื™ื ื• ืžืฆื•ืœื) ื›ื™ ื ื—ืชืš ื•ื˜ื•ื’ืŸ ืจืง ืœืื—ืจ ื”ื”ื–ืžื ื”. ืฆ'ื™ืคืก ื‘ื™ืชื™ ื˜ืขื™ื ืฉืจื•ืื™ื ืขืœื™ื• ืืช ื—ื™ืชื•ืš ื”ืกื›ื™ืŸ, ืคืœื—ื™ื ื–ื”ื•ื‘ื™ื ืงืฆืช ืคืจื™ื›ื™ื ื•ืงืฆืช ืจื›ื™ื ืฉื”ื•ืœื›ื™ื ืžืฆื•ื™ืŸ ืขื ื”ืงื‘ื‘. ื‘ืขื•ื“ ืกืœื˜ ื”ื™ืจืงื•ืช ื”ืงืฆื•ืฆื™ื ื”ื™ื” ืงืฆืช ืขื™ื™ืฃ, ื”ื›ืจื•ื‘ ื”ื›ื‘ื•ืฉ ื”ื™ื” ืคืฉื•ื˜ ืžืขื•ืœื”: ื“ืง, ื—ืžืฆืžืฅ, ื˜ืจื™. ืœืžืจื•ืช ืชื—ื•ืฉืช ืกื™ืคื•ืง ื•ืฉื•ื‘ืข, ืจื’ืข ืœืคื ื™ ืฉื”ืฆืžื“ื ื• ืืช ื”ืื™ื™ืคื•ืŸ ืขืœ ืžืกื•ืคื•ืŸ ื”ืกืœื™ืงื”, ื”ื‘ื—ื ื• ื‘ืกื™ืจ ื”ืื™ื“ื•ื™ ืฉื™ืฆื ืžื”ืžื˜ื‘ื— ืืœ ื”ืขืžื“ื”. ืœื ื”ืชืืคืงื ื• ื•ื”ื–ืžื ื• ื’ื ืžื ื˜ื• (8 ืฉืงืœื™ื) ื‘ื•ื“ื“, ืจืง ืœื˜ืขื•ื ื‘ืฉื‘ื™ืœ ืœืžืœื ืืช ื”ื—ื•ื‘ื” ื”ืขื™ืชื•ื ืื™ืช. ื‘ืฆืง ื“ืงื™ืง, ืžื™ืœื•ื™ ื‘ืฉืจ ื•ื‘ืฆืœ, ืขื’ื‘ื ื™ื•ืช ืžืจื•ืกืงื•ืช ื•ืฉืคืจื™ืฅ ืฉืœ ื—ื•ืžืฅ ืฉืžืฉืœื™ื ืืช ื›ืœ ื”ืกื™ืคื•ืจ ื”ื–ื” ืœื‘ื™ืก ื˜ืขื™ื ื•ื›ื™ืคื™. ืฆืœื—ืช ืฉืœ ืฉื™ืฉื” ื›ืืœื• ืขื•ืœื” 45 ืฉืงืœื™ื, ืžื—ื™ืจ ื ื— ืžืื•ื“, ื‘ื•ื•ื“ืื™ ื‘ื”ืฉื•ื•ืื” ืœืžื—ื™ืจื™ ื›ื™ืกื•ื ื™ื ืชืœ ืื‘ื™ื‘ื™ื™ื ืžื™ื•ื—ืฆื ื™ื. ื‘ืฉื•ืจื” ื”ืชื—ืชื•ื ื”, ืžื“ื•ื‘ืจ ื‘ืžืกืขื“ื•ื ืช ืฉื‘ื–ืžืŸ ื”ืคืขื™ืœื•ืช ื”ืงืฆืจ ืฉืœื” ื›ื‘ืจ ืฆื‘ืจื” ืงื”ืœ ืœืงื•ื—ื•ืช ื—ื•ื–ืจื™ื ืฉืขื•ืฆืจื™ื ืืฆืœื” ืœืฆื”ืจื™ื™ื ืื• ืœื•ืงื—ื™ื ืงื•ืคืกืื•ืช ื”ื‘ื™ืชื”. ื”ืฉื™ืจื•ืช ื—ื ื•ืงืฉื•ื‘, ื”ืื•ื›ืœ ื˜ืขื™ื, ื”ืžื—ื™ืจื™ื ื ื•ื—ื™ื ื•ืœืฆื“ ื‘ืจื™ ื”ืื•ื›ืœ ื•ื”ื™ื™ืŸ ื”ื”ื•ืœื›ื™ื ื•ืžืชืจื‘ื™ื ื‘ื’ื‘ืขืชื™ื™ื, ืจืื•ื™ ืžืื•ื“ ืฉื™ื™ืคืชื— ื’ื ืžืงื•ื ื›ื–ื”, ืจื—ื•ืง ืฉื ื•ืช ืื•ืจ ืžืœื”ื™ื•ืช ื˜ืจื ื“ื™ ื•ืืคื™ืœื• ืœื ืžื—ื–ื™ืง ื‘ื—ืฉื‘ื•ืŸ ืื™ื ืกื˜ื’ืจื. ืขื›ืฉื™ื• ืจืง ืœื”ื•ืกื™ืฃ ืขื•ื“ ืงืฆืช ืื•ืคืฆื™ื•ืช ืฆืžื—ื•ื ื™ื•ืช. ื”ื‘ื•ื›ืจื™ ื‘ื’ื‘ืขืชื™ื™ื. ืกื™ืจืงื™ืŸ 11, ื’ื‘ืขืชื™ื™ื. ืจืืฉื•ืŸ-ื—ืžื™ืฉื™ 10:00-20:00, ืฉื™ืฉื™ 08:00-15:00. ื˜ืœืคื•ืŸ: 03-9068310. ื›ืฉืจ
========================================
[SOURCE: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gravitational_microlensing_by_black_hole_-_cropped.jpg] | [TOKENS: 114]
File:Gravitational microlensing by black hole - cropped.jpg Summary Licensing http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.enCC0Creative Commons Zero, Public Domain Dedicationfalsefalse File history Click on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. File usage The following page uses this file: Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used to create or digitize it. If the file has been modified from its original state, some details may not fully reflect the modified file.
========================================
[SOURCE: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pumbedita_Academy] | [TOKENS: 857]
Contents Pumbedita Academy The Pumbedita Academy or Pumbedita Yeshiva (Hebrew: ื™ืฉื™ื‘ืช ืคื•ืžื‘ื“ื™ืชื; sometimes Pumbeditha, Pumpedita, Pumbedisa) was a Talmudic academy in Pumbedita, an unidentified location in modern Iraq, during the Amoraic and Geonic eras. It was founded by Judah bar Ezekiel around 260 CE and, with the Sura Academy founded in 225 by Abba Arika, retained dominant influence for about 800 years. History After Abba Arikha and Samuel of Nehardea died at the end of the first generation of the Amoraim, along with the designation of Rav Huna as dean Sura, Judah bar Ezekiel went to the city of Pumbedita and had established a new yeshiva there. The yeshiva of Pumbedita, founded approximately in 260 CE, continued the tradition of Nehardea and became synomymous with his teaching. The Pumbedita Academy was active for about 800 years over the course of the eras of the Amoraim, Savoraim, and Geonim up until the days of Hai Gaon. At the time, the academies of Pumbedita and Sura became the most influential and dominant yeshivas of the Jewish communities' world, and all Torah decrees and other religious rulings were issued from these Yeshivas to all the Jewish diaspora. Pumbedita Academy served as a field of growth to the greatest Jewish sages for generations to come, among them: Rabbah bar Nahmani ("Rabbah"), Rav Yosef b. Hiyya, Abaye and Amora sage Rava, Savora sages Rabbah Jose and Simuna, and Geonim Rab Rabbah Gaon and Paltoi ben Abbaye Gaon, as well as Sherira Gaon and his son, Hai Gaon. Pumbedita Academy was at its peak during the third and fourth generation of the Amoraim. During the days of the Amora sage Rava, Pumbedita Academy moved to Mahuza (ืžื—ื•ื–ื, modern al-Mada'in), but after his death, it returned to Pumbedita. The academy declined after Rava's death in 353 and many rabbis from Pumbedita founded academies in other cities in Babylonia. Later, with the sealing of the Talmud by Ravina II Sura, the era of the Savoraim (499-589) began, in which most part of that period, proper studying on a regular basis no longer took place in Sura, only in Pumbedita. During the era of the Geonim, the two Talmudic academies were correspondingly active as well. One of Pumbedita's Gaons and dean of the Academy, Hai Gaon (approximately in years 988-990), moved the academy to Baghdad because the number of Jews making a living from agriculture was growing smaller and they were migrating to the big cities, mainly to Baghdad (apart from the phenomenon of Jewish emigration out of Babylonia). However, the academy's name remained "Pumbedita Academy" despite its relocation. The last period of Pumbedita Academy growth took place during the days of Sherira Gaon and his son, Hai Gaon. Thousands of letters with halachic issues attached were received at Pumbedita, addressed to the heads of the Academy from all around the Jewish diaspora. The Geonim of the Academy worked hard to respond to their questions. Along with Hai Gaon's death (c. 1038), the era of the Geonim ended. Hezekiah Gaon and Bostanai were appointed deans of Pumbedita Academy, the only men to be simultaneously a Gaon and Exilarch. Twenty years later, Hezekiah Gaon, by some accounts, was tortured to death by the Muslim Buyid dynasty and Pumbedita Academy closed. List of Pumbedita academy's deans Source: See also References Sources External links
========================================
[SOURCE: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elon_Musk#cite_ref-shower_57-2] | [TOKENS: 10515]
Contents Elon Musk Elon Reeve Musk (/หˆiหlษ’n/ EE-lon; born June 28, 1971) is a businessman and entrepreneur known for his leadership of Tesla, SpaceX, Twitter, and xAI. Musk has been the wealthiest person in the world since 2025; as of February 2026,[update] Forbes estimates his net worth to be around US$852 billion. Born into a wealthy family in Pretoria, South Africa, Musk emigrated in 1989 to Canada; he has Canadian citizenship since his mother was born there. He received bachelor's degrees in 1997 from the University of Pennsylvania before moving to California to pursue business ventures. In 1995, Musk co-founded the software company Zip2. Following its sale in 1999, he co-founded X.com, an online payment company that later merged to form PayPal, which was acquired by eBay in 2002. Musk also became an American citizen in 2002. In 2002, Musk founded the space technology company SpaceX, becoming its CEO and chief engineer; the company has since led innovations in reusable rockets and commercial spaceflight. Musk joined the automaker Tesla as an early investor in 2004 and became its CEO and product architect in 2008; it has since become a leader in electric vehicles. In 2015, he co-founded OpenAI to advance artificial intelligence (AI) research, but later left; growing discontent with the organization's direction and their leadership in the AI boom in the 2020s led him to establish xAI, which became a subsidiary of SpaceX in 2026. In 2022, he acquired the social network Twitter, implementing significant changes, and rebranding it as X in 2023. His other businesses include the neurotechnology company Neuralink, which he co-founded in 2016, and the tunneling company the Boring Company, which he founded in 2017. In November 2025, a Tesla pay package worth $1 trillion for Musk was approved, which he is to receive over 10 years if he meets specific goals. Musk was the largest donor in the 2024 U.S. presidential election, where he supported Donald Trump. After Trump was inaugurated as president in early 2025, Musk served as Senior Advisor to the President and as the de facto head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). After a public feud with Trump, Musk left the Trump administration and returned to managing his companies. Musk is a supporter of global far-right figures, causes, and political parties. His political activities, views, and statements have made him a polarizing figure. Musk has been criticized for COVID-19 misinformation, promoting conspiracy theories, and affirming antisemitic, racist, and transphobic comments. His acquisition of Twitter was controversial due to a subsequent increase in hate speech and the spread of misinformation on the service, following his pledge to decrease censorship. His role in the second Trump administration attracted public backlash, particularly in response to DOGE. The emails he sent to Jeffrey Epstein are included in the Epstein files, which were published between 2025โ€“26 and became a topic of worldwide debate. Early life Elon Reeve Musk was born on June 28, 1971, in Pretoria, South Africa's administrative capital. He is of British and Pennsylvania Dutch ancestry. His mother, Maye (nรฉe Haldeman), is a model and dietitian born in Saskatchewan, Canada, and raised in South Africa. Musk therefore holds both South African and Canadian citizenship from birth. His father, Errol Musk, is a South African electromechanical engineer, pilot, sailor, consultant, emerald dealer, and property developer, who partly owned a rental lodge at Timbavati Private Nature Reserve. His maternal grandfather, Joshua N. Haldeman, who died in a plane crash when Elon was a toddler, was an American-born Canadian chiropractor, aviator and political activist in the technocracy movement who moved to South Africa in 1950. Elon has a younger brother, Kimbal, a younger sister, Tosca, and four paternal half-siblings. Musk was baptized as a child in the Anglican Church of Southern Africa. Despite both Elon and Errol previously stating that Errol was a part owner of a Zambian emerald mine, in 2023, Errol recounted that the deal he made was to receive "a portion of the emeralds produced at three small mines". Errol was elected to the Pretoria City Council as a representative of the anti-apartheid Progressive Party and has said that his children shared their father's dislike of apartheid. After his parents divorced in 1979, Elon, aged around 9, chose to live with his father because Errol Musk had an Encyclopรฆdia Britannica and a computer. Elon later regretted his decision and became estranged from his father. Elon has recounted trips to a wilderness school that he described as a "paramilitary Lord of the Flies" where "bullying was a virtue" and children were encouraged to fight over rations. In one incident, after an altercation with a fellow pupil, Elon was thrown down concrete steps and beaten severely, leading to him being hospitalized for his injuries. Elon described his father berating him after he was discharged from the hospital. Errol denied berating Elon and claimed, "The [other] boy had just lost his father to suicide, and Elon had called him stupid. Elon had a tendency to call people stupid. How could I possibly blame that child?" Elon was an enthusiastic reader of books, and had attributed his success in part to having read The Lord of the Rings, the Foundation series, and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. At age ten, he developed an interest in computing and video games, teaching himself how to program from the VIC-20 user manual. At age twelve, Elon sold his BASIC-based game Blastar to PC and Office Technology magazine for approximately $500 (equivalent to $1,600 in 2025). Musk attended Waterkloof House Preparatory School, Bryanston High School, and then Pretoria Boys High School, where he graduated. Musk was a decent but unexceptional student, earning a 61/100 in Afrikaans and a B on his senior math certification. Musk applied for a Canadian passport through his Canadian-born mother to avoid South Africa's mandatory military service, which would have forced him to participate in the apartheid regime, as well as to ease his path to immigration to the United States. While waiting for his application to be processed, he attended the University of Pretoria for five months. Musk arrived in Canada in June 1989, connected with a second cousin in Saskatchewan, and worked odd jobs, including at a farm and a lumber mill. In 1990, he entered Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario. Two years later, he transferred to the University of Pennsylvania, where he studied until 1995. Although Musk has said that he earned his degrees in 1995, the University of Pennsylvania did not award them until 1997 โ€“ a Bachelor of Arts in physics and a Bachelor of Science in economics from the university's Wharton School. He reportedly hosted large, ticketed house parties to help pay for tuition, and wrote a business plan for an electronic book-scanning service similar to Google Books. In 1994, Musk held two internships in Silicon Valley: one at energy storage startup Pinnacle Research Institute, which investigated electrolytic supercapacitors for energy storage, and another at Palo Altoโ€“based startup Rocket Science Games. In 1995, he was accepted to a graduate program in materials science at Stanford University, but did not enroll. Musk decided to join the Internet boom of the 1990s, applying for a job at Netscape, to which he reportedly never received a response. The Washington Post reported that Musk lacked legal authorization to remain and work in the United States after failing to enroll at Stanford. In response, Musk said he was allowed to work at that time and that his student visa transitioned to an H1-B. According to numerous former business associates and shareholders, Musk said he was on a student visa at the time. Business career In 1995, Musk, his brother Kimbal, and Greg Kouri founded the web software company Zip2 with funding from a group of angel investors. They housed the venture at a small rented office in Palo Alto. Replying to Rolling Stone, Musk denounced the notion that they started their company with funds borrowed from Errol Musk, but in a tweet, he recognized that his father contributed 10% of a later funding round. The company developed and marketed an Internet city guide for the newspaper publishing industry, with maps, directions, and yellow pages. According to Musk, "The website was up during the day and I was coding it at night, seven days a week, all the time." To impress investors, Musk built a large plastic structure around a standard computer to create the impression that Zip2 was powered by a small supercomputer. The Musk brothers obtained contracts with The New York Times and the Chicago Tribune, and persuaded the board of directors to abandon plans for a merger with CitySearch. Musk's attempts to become CEO were thwarted by the board. Compaq acquired Zip2 for $307 million in cash in February 1999 (equivalent to $590,000,000 in 2025), and Musk received $22 million (equivalent to $43,000,000 in 2025) for his 7-percent share. In 1999, Musk co-founded X.com, an online financial services and e-mail payment company. The startup was one of the first federally insured online banks, and, in its initial months of operation, over 200,000 customers joined the service. The company's investors regarded Musk as inexperienced and replaced him with Intuit CEO Bill Harris by the end of the year. The following year, X.com merged with online bank Confinity to avoid competition. Founded by Max Levchin and Peter Thiel, Confinity had its own money-transfer service, PayPal, which was more popular than X.com's service. Within the merged company, Musk returned as CEO. Musk's preference for Microsoft software over Unix created a rift in the company and caused Thiel to resign. Due to resulting technological issues and lack of a cohesive business model, the board ousted Musk and replaced him with Thiel in 2000.[b] Under Thiel, the company focused on the PayPal service and was renamed PayPal in 2001. In 2002, PayPal was acquired by eBay for $1.5 billion (equivalent to $2,700,000,000 in 2025) in stock, of which Muskโ€”the largest shareholder with 11.72% of sharesโ€”received $175.8 million (equivalent to $320,000,000 in 2025). In 2017, Musk purchased the domain X.com from PayPal for an undisclosed amount, stating that it had sentimental value. In 2001, Musk became involved with the nonprofit Mars Society and discussed funding plans to place a growth-chamber for plants on Mars. Seeking a way to launch the greenhouse payloads into space, Musk made two unsuccessful trips to Moscow to purchase intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) from Russian companies NPO Lavochkin and Kosmotras. Musk instead decided to start a company to build affordable rockets. With $100 million of his early fortune, (equivalent to $180,000,000 in 2025) Musk founded SpaceX in May 2002 and became the company's CEO and Chief Engineer. SpaceX attempted its first launch of the Falcon 1 rocket in 2006. Although the rocket failed to reach Earth orbit, it was awarded a Commercial Orbital Transportation Services program contract from NASA, then led by Mike Griffin. After two more failed attempts that nearly caused Musk to go bankrupt, SpaceX succeeded in launching the Falcon 1 into orbit in 2008. Later that year, SpaceX received a $1.6 billion NASA contract (equivalent to $2,400,000,000 in 2025) for Falcon 9-launched Dragon spacecraft flights to the International Space Station (ISS), replacing the Space Shuttle after its 2011 retirement. In 2012, the Dragon vehicle docked with the ISS, a first for a commercial spacecraft. Working towards its goal of reusable rockets, in 2015 SpaceX successfully landed the first stage of a Falcon 9 on a land platform. Later landings were achieved on autonomous spaceport drone ships, an ocean-based recovery platform. In 2018, SpaceX launched the Falcon Heavy; the inaugural mission carried Musk's personal Tesla Roadster as a dummy payload. Since 2019, SpaceX has been developing Starship, a reusable, super heavy-lift launch vehicle intended to replace the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy. In 2020, SpaceX launched its first crewed flight, the Demo-2, becoming the first private company to place astronauts into orbit and dock a crewed spacecraft with the ISS. In 2024, NASA awarded SpaceX an $843 million (equivalent to $865,000,000 in 2025) contract to build a spacecraft that NASA will use to deorbit the ISS at the end of its lifespan. In 2015, SpaceX began development of the Starlink constellation of low Earth orbit satellites to provide satellite Internet access. After the launch of prototype satellites in 2018, the first large constellation was deployed in May 2019. As of May 2025[update], over 7,600 Starlink satellites are operational, comprising 65% of all operational Earth satellites. The total cost of the decade-long project to design, build, and deploy the constellation was estimated by SpaceX in 2020 to be $10 billion (equivalent to $12,000,000,000 in 2025).[c] During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Musk provided free Starlink service to Ukraine, permitting Internet access and communication at a yearly cost to SpaceX of $400 million (equivalent to $440,000,000 in 2025). However, Musk refused to block Russian state media on Starlink. In 2023, Musk denied Ukraine's request to activate Starlink over Crimea to aid an attack against the Russian navy, citing fears of a nuclear response. Tesla, Inc., originally Tesla Motors, was incorporated in July 2003 by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning. Both men played active roles in the company's early development prior to Musk's involvement. Musk led the Series A round of investment in February 2004; he invested $6.35 million (equivalent to $11,000,000 in 2025), became the majority shareholder, and joined Tesla's board of directors as chairman. Musk took an active role within the company and oversaw Roadster product design, but was not deeply involved in day-to-day business operations. Following a series of escalating conflicts in 2007 and the 2008 financial crisis, Eberhard was ousted from the firm.[page needed] Musk assumed leadership of the company as CEO and product architect in 2008. A 2009 lawsuit settlement with Eberhard designated Musk as a Tesla co-founder, along with Tarpenning and two others. Tesla began delivery of the Roadster, an electric sports car, in 2008. With sales of about 2,500 vehicles, it was the first mass production all-electric car to use lithium-ion battery cells. Under Musk, Tesla has since launched several well-selling electric vehicles, including the four-door sedan Model S (2012), the crossover Model X (2015), the mass-market sedan Model 3 (2017), the crossover Model Y (2020), and the pickup truck Cybertruck (2023). In May 2020, Musk resigned as chairman of the board as part of the settlement of a lawsuit from the SEC over him tweeting that funding had been "secured" for potentially taking Tesla private. The company has also constructed multiple lithium-ion battery and electric vehicle factories, called Gigafactories. Since its initial public offering in 2010, Tesla stock has risen significantly; it became the most valuable carmaker in summer 2020, and it entered the S&P 500 later that year. In October 2021, it reached a market capitalization of $1 trillion (equivalent to $1,200,000,000,000 in 2025), the sixth company in U.S. history to do so. Musk provided the initial concept and financial capital for SolarCity, which his cousins Lyndon and Peter Rive founded in 2006. By 2013, SolarCity was the second largest provider of solar power systems in the United States. In 2014, Musk promoted the idea of SolarCity building an advanced production facility in Buffalo, New York, triple the size of the largest solar plant in the United States. Construction of the factory started in 2014 and was completed in 2017. It operated as a joint venture with Panasonic until early 2020. Tesla acquired SolarCity for $2 billion in 2016 (equivalent to $2,700,000,000 in 2025) and merged it with its battery unit to create Tesla Energy. The deal's announcement resulted in a more than 10% drop in Tesla's stock price; at the time, SolarCity was facing liquidity issues. Multiple shareholder groups filed a lawsuit against Musk and Tesla's directors, stating that the purchase of SolarCity was done solely to benefit Musk and came at the expense of Tesla and its shareholders. Tesla directors settled the lawsuit in January 2020, leaving Musk the sole remaining defendant. Two years later, the court ruled in Musk's favor. In 2016, Musk co-founded Neuralink, a neurotechnology startup, with an investment of $100 million. Neuralink aims to integrate the human brain with artificial intelligence (AI) by creating devices that are embedded in the brain. Such technology could enhance memory or allow the devices to communicate with software. The company also hopes to develop devices to treat neurological conditions like spinal cord injuries. In 2022, Neuralink announced that clinical trials would begin by the end of the year. In September 2023, the Food and Drug Administration approved Neuralink to initiate six-year human trials. Neuralink has conducted animal testing on macaques at the University of California, Davis. In 2021, the company released a video in which a macaque played the video game Pong via a Neuralink implant. The company's animal trialsโ€”which have caused the deaths of some monkeysโ€”have led to claims of animal cruelty. The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine has alleged that Neuralink violated the Animal Welfare Act. Employees have complained that pressure from Musk to accelerate development has led to botched experiments and unnecessary animal deaths. In 2022, a federal probe was launched into possible animal welfare violations by Neuralink.[needs update] In 2017, Musk founded the Boring Company to construct tunnels; he also revealed plans for specialized, underground, high-occupancy vehicles that could travel up to 150 miles per hour (240 km/h) and thus circumvent above-ground traffic in major cities. Early in 2017, the company began discussions with regulatory bodies and initiated construction of a 30-foot (9.1 m) wide, 50-foot (15 m) long, and 15-foot (4.6 m) deep "test trench" on the premises of SpaceX's offices, as that required no permits. The Los Angeles tunnel, less than two miles (3.2 km) in length, debuted to journalists in 2018. It used Tesla Model Xs and was reported to be a rough ride while traveling at suboptimal speeds. Two tunnel projects announced in 2018, in Chicago and West Los Angeles, have been canceled. A tunnel beneath the Las Vegas Convention Center was completed in early 2021. Local officials have approved further expansions of the tunnel system. April 14, 2022 In early 2017, Musk expressed interest in buying Twitter and had questioned the platform's commitment to freedom of speech. By 2022, Musk had reached 9.2% stake in the company, making him the largest shareholder.[d] Musk later agreed to a deal that would appoint him to Twitter's board of directors and prohibit him from acquiring more than 14.9% of the company. Days later, Musk made a $43 billion offer to buy Twitter. By the end of April Musk had successfully concluded his bid for approximately $44 billion. This included approximately $12.5 billion in loans and $21 billion in equity financing. Having backtracked on his initial decision, Musk bought the company on October 27, 2022. Immediately after the acquisition, Musk fired several top Twitter executives including CEO Parag Agrawal; Musk became the CEO instead. Under Elon Musk, Twitter instituted monthly subscriptions for a "blue check", and laid off a significant portion of the company's staff. Musk lessened content moderation and hate speech also increased on the platform after his takeover. In late 2022, Musk released internal documents relating to Twitter's moderation of Hunter Biden's laptop controversy in the lead-up to the 2020 presidential election. Musk also promised to step down as CEO after a Twitter poll, and five months later, Musk stepped down as CEO and transitioned his role to executive chairman and chief technology officer (CTO). Despite Musk stepping down as CEO, X continues to struggle with challenges such as viral misinformation, hate speech, and antisemitism controversies. Musk has been accused of trying to silence some of his critics such as Twitch streamer Asmongold, who criticized him during one of his streams. Musk has been accused of removing their accounts' blue checkmarks, which hinders visibility and is considered a form of shadow banning, or suspending their accounts without justification. Other activities In August 2013, Musk announced plans for a version of a vactrain, and assigned engineers from SpaceX and Tesla to design a transport system between Greater Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area, at an estimated cost of $6 billion. Later that year, Musk unveiled the concept, dubbed the Hyperloop, intended to make travel cheaper than any other mode of transport for such long distances. In December 2015, Musk co-founded OpenAI, a not-for-profit artificial intelligence (AI) research company aiming to develop artificial general intelligence, intended to be safe and beneficial to humanity. Musk pledged $1 billion of funding to the company, and initially gave $50 million. In 2018, Musk left the OpenAI board. Since 2018, OpenAI has made significant advances in machine learning. In July 2023, Musk launched the artificial intelligence company xAI, which aims to develop a generative AI program that competes with existing offerings like OpenAI's ChatGPT. Musk obtained funding from investors in SpaceX and Tesla, and xAI hired engineers from Google and OpenAI. December 16, 2022 Musk uses a private jet owned by Falcon Landing LLC, a SpaceX-linked company, and acquired a second jet in August 2020. His heavy use of the jets and the consequent fossil fuel usage have received criticism. Musk's flight usage is tracked on social media through ElonJet. In December 2022, Musk banned the ElonJet account on Twitter, and made temporary bans on the accounts of journalists that posted stories regarding the incident, including Donie O'Sullivan, Keith Olbermann, and journalists from The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, and The Intercept. In October 2025, Musk's company xAI launched Grokipedia, an AI-generated online encyclopedia that he promoted as an alternative to Wikipedia. Articles on Grokipedia are generated and reviewed by xAI's Grok chatbot. Media coverage and academic analysis described Grokipedia as frequently reusing Wikipedia content but framing contested political and social topics in line with Musk's own views and right-wing narratives. A study by Cornell University researchers and NBC News stated that Grokipedia cites sources that are blacklisted or considered "generally unreliable" on Wikipedia, for example, the conspiracy site Infowars and the neo-Nazi forum Stormfront. Wired, The Guardian and Time criticized Grokipedia for factual errors and for presenting Musk himself in unusually positive terms while downplaying controversies. Politics Musk is an outlier among business leaders who typically avoid partisan political advocacy. Musk was a registered independent voter when he lived in California. Historically, he has donated to both Democrats and Republicans, many of whom serve in states in which he has a vested interest. Since 2022, his political contributions have mostly supported Republicans, with his first vote for a Republican going to Mayra Flores in the 2022 Texas's 34th congressional district special election. In 2024, he started supporting international far-right political parties, activists, and causes, and has shared misinformation and numerous conspiracy theories. Since 2024, his views have been generally described as right-wing. Musk supported Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012, Hillary Clinton in 2016, Joe Biden in 2020, and Donald Trump in 2024. In the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Musk endorsed candidate Andrew Yang and expressed support for Yang's proposed universal basic income, and endorsed Kanye West's 2020 presidential campaign. In 2021, Musk publicly expressed opposition to the Build Back Better Act, a $3.5 trillion legislative package endorsed by Joe Biden that ultimately failed to pass due to unanimous opposition from congressional Republicans and several Democrats. In 2022, gave over $50 million to Citizens for Sanity, a conservative political action committee. In 2023, he supported Republican Ron DeSantis for the 2024 U.S. presidential election, giving $10 million to his campaign, and hosted DeSantis's campaign announcement on a Twitter Spaces event. From June 2023 to January 2024, Musk hosted a bipartisan set of X Spaces with Republican and Democratic candidates, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Vivek Ramaswamy, and Dean Phillips. In October 2025, former vice-president Kamala Harris commented that it was a mistake from the Democratic side to not invite Musk to a White House electric vehicle event organized in August 2021 and featuring executives from General Motors, Ford and Stellantis, despite Tesla being "the major American manufacturer of extraordinary innovation in this space." Fortune remarked that this was a nod to United Auto Workers and organized labor. Harris said presidents should put aside political loyalties when it came to recognizing innovation, and guessed that the non-invitation impacted Musk's perspective. Fortune noted that, at the time, Musk said, "Yeah, seems odd that Tesla wasn't invited." A month later, he criticized Biden as "not the friendliest administration." Jacob Silverman, author of the book Gilded Rage: Elon Musk and the Radicalization of Silicon Valley, said that the tech industry represented by Musk, Thiel, Andreessen and other capitalists, actually flourished under Biden, but the tech leaders chose Trump for their common ground on cultural issues. By early 2024, Musk had become a vocal and financial supporter of Donald Trump. In July 2024, minutes after the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, Musk endorsed him for president saying; "I fully endorse President Trump and hope for his rapid recovery." During the presidential campaign, Musk joined Trump on stage at a campaign rally, and during the campaign promoted conspiracy theories and falsehoods about Democrats, election fraud and immigration, in support of Trump. Musk was the largest individual donor of the 2024 election. In 2025, Musk contributed $19 million to the Wisconsin Supreme Court race, hoping to influence the state's future redistricting efforts and its regulations governing car manufacturers and dealers. In 2023, Musk said he shunned the World Economic Forum because it was boring. The organization commented that they had not invited him since 2015. He has participated in Dialog, dubbed "Tech Bilderberg" and organized by Peter Thiel and Auren Hoffman, though. Musk's international political actions and comments have come under increasing scrutiny and criticism, especially from the governments and leaders of France, Germany, Norway, Spain and the United Kingdom, particularly due to his position in the U.S. government as well as ownership of X. An NBC News analysis found he had boosted far-right political movements to cut immigration and curtail regulation of business in at least 18 countries on six continents since 2023. During his speech after the second inauguration of Donald Trump, Musk twice made a gesture interpreted by many as a Nazi or a fascist Roman salute.[e] He thumped his right hand over his heart, fingers spread wide, and then extended his right arm out, emphatically, at an upward angle, palm down and fingers together. He then repeated the gesture to the crowd behind him. As he finished the gestures, he said to the crowd, "My heart goes out to you. It is thanks to you that the future of civilization is assured." It was widely condemned as an intentional Nazi salute in Germany, where making such gestures is illegal. The Anti-Defamation League said it was not a Nazi salute, but other Jewish organizations disagreed and condemned the salute. American public opinion was divided on partisan lines as to whether it was a fascist salute. Musk dismissed the accusations of Nazi sympathies, deriding them as "dirty tricks" and a "tired" attack. Neo-Nazi and white supremacist groups celebrated it as a Nazi salute. Multiple European political parties demanded that Musk be banned from entering their countries. The concept of DOGE emerged in a discussion between Musk and Donald Trump, and in August 2024, Trump committed to giving Musk an advisory role, with Musk accepting the offer. In November and December 2024, Musk suggested that the organization could help to cut the U.S. federal budget, consolidate the number of federal agencies, and eliminate the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and that its final stage would be "deleting itself". In January 2025, the organization was created by executive order, and Musk was designated a "special government employee". Musk led the organization and was a senior advisor to the president, although his official role is not clear. In sworn statement during a lawsuit, the director of the White House Office of Administration stated that Musk "is not an employee of the U.S. DOGE Service or U.S. DOGE Service Temporary Organization", "is not the U.S. DOGE Service administrator", and has "no actual or formal authority to make government decisions himself". Trump said two days later that he had put Musk in charge of DOGE. A federal judge has ruled that Musk acted as the de facto leader of DOGE. Musk's role in the second Trump administration, particularly in response to DOGE, has attracted public backlash. He was criticized for his treatment of federal government employees, including his influence over the mass layoffs of the federal workforce. He has prioritized secrecy within the organization and has accused others of violating privacy laws. A Senate report alleged that Musk could avoid up to $2 billion in legal liability as a result of DOGE's actions. In May 2025, Bill Gates accused Musk of "killing the world's poorest children" through his cuts to USAID, which modeling by Boston University estimated had resulted in 300,000 deaths by this time, most of them of children. By November 2025, the estimated death toll had increased to 400,000 children and 200,000 adults. Musk announced on May 28, 2025, that he would depart from the Trump administration as planned when the special government employee's 130 day deadline expired, with a White House official confirming that Musk's offboarding from the Trump administration was already underway. His departure was officially confirmed during a joint Oval Office press conference with Trump on May 30, 2025. @realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public. June 5, 2025 After leaving office, Musk criticized the Trump administration's Big Beautiful Bill, calling it a "disgusting abomination" due to its provisions increasing the deficit. A feud began between Musk and Trump, with its most notable event being Musk alleging Trump had ties to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein on X (formerly Twitter) on June 5, 2025. Trump responded on Truth Social stating that Musk went "CRAZY" after the "EV Mandate" was purportedly taken away and threatened to cut Musk's government contracts. Musk then called for a third Trump impeachment. The next day, Trump stated that he did not wish to reconcile with Musk, and added that Musk would face "very serious consequences" if he funds Democratic candidates. On June 11, Musk publicly apologized for the tweets against Trump, saying they "went too far". Views November 6, 2022 Rejecting the conservative label, Musk has described himself as a political moderate, even as his views have become more right-wing over time. His views have been characterized as libertarian and far-right, and after his involvement in European politics, they have received criticism from world leaders such as Emmanuel Macron and Olaf Scholz. Within the context of American politics, Musk supported Democratic candidates up until 2022, at which point he voted for a Republican for the first time. He has stated support for universal basic income, gun rights, freedom of speech, a tax on carbon emissions, and H-1B visas. Musk has expressed concern about issues such as artificial intelligence (AI) and climate change, and has been a critic of wealth tax, short-selling, and government subsidies. An immigrant himself, Musk has been accused of being anti-immigration, and regularly blames immigration policies for illegal immigration. He is also a pronatalist who believes population decline is the biggest threat to civilization, and identifies as a cultural Christian. Musk has long been an advocate for space colonization, especially the colonization of Mars. He has repeatedly pushed for humanity colonizing Mars, in order to become an interplanetary species and lower the risks of human extinction. Musk has promoted conspiracy theories and made controversial statements that have led to accusations of racism, sexism, antisemitism, transphobia, disseminating disinformation, and support of white pride. While describing himself as a "pro-Semite", his comments regarding George Soros and Jewish communities have been condemned by the Anti-Defamation League and the Biden White House. Musk was criticized during the COVID-19 pandemic for making unfounded epidemiological claims, defying COVID-19 lockdowns restrictions, and supporting the Canada convoy protest against vaccine mandates. He has amplified false claims of white genocide in South Africa. Musk has been critical of Israel's actions in the Gaza Strip during the Gaza war, praised China's economic and climate goals, suggested that Taiwan and China should resolve cross-strait relations, and was described as having a close relationship with the Chinese government. In Europe, Musk expressed support for Ukraine in 2022 during the Russian invasion, recommended referendums and peace deals on the annexed Russia-occupied territories, and supported the far-right Alternative for Germany political party in 2024. Regarding British politics, Musk blamed the 2024 UK riots on mass migration and open borders, criticized Prime Minister Keir Starmer for what he described as a "two-tier" policing system, and was subsequently attacked as being responsible for spreading misinformation and amplifying the far-right. He has also voiced his support for far-right activist Tommy Robinson and pledged electoral support for Reform UK. In February 2026, Musk described Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sรกnchez as a "tyrant" following Sรกnchez's proposal to prohibit minors under the age of 16 from accessing social media platforms. Legal affairs In 2018, Musk was sued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a tweet stating that funding had been secured for potentially taking Tesla private.[f] The securities fraud lawsuit characterized the tweet as false, misleading, and damaging to investors, and sought to bar Musk from serving as CEO of publicly traded companies. Two days later, Musk settled with the SEC, without admitting or denying the SEC's allegations. As a result, Musk and Tesla were fined $20 million each, and Musk was forced to step down for three years as Tesla chairman but was able to remain as CEO. Shareholders filed a lawsuit over the tweet, and in February 2023, a jury found Musk and Tesla not liable. Musk has stated in interviews that he does not regret posting the tweet that triggered the SEC investigation. In 2019, Musk stated in a tweet that Tesla would build half a million cars that year. The SEC reacted by asking a court to hold him in contempt for violating the terms of the 2018 settlement agreement. A joint agreement between Musk and the SEC eventually clarified the previous agreement details, including a list of topics about which Musk needed preclearance. In 2020, a judge blocked a lawsuit that claimed a tweet by Musk regarding Tesla stock price ("too high imo") violated the agreement. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)-released records showed that the SEC concluded Musk had subsequently violated the agreement twice by tweeting regarding "Tesla's solar roof production volumes and its stock price". In October 2023, the SEC sued Musk over his refusal to testify a third time in an investigation into whether he violated federal law by purchasing Twitter stock in 2022. In February 2024, Judge Laurel Beeler ruled that Musk must testify again. In January 2025, the SEC filed a lawsuit against Musk for securities violations related to his purchase of Twitter. In January 2024, Delaware judge Kathaleen McCormick ruled in a 2018 lawsuit that Musk's $55 billion pay package from Tesla be rescinded. McCormick called the compensation granted by the company's board "an unfathomable sum" that was unfair to shareholders. The Delaware Supreme Court overturned McCormick's decision in December 2025, restoring Musk's compensation package and awarding $1 in nominal damages. Personal life Musk became a U.S. citizen in 2002. From the early 2000s until late 2020, Musk resided in California, where both Tesla and SpaceX were founded. He then relocated to Cameron County, Texas, saying that California had become "complacent" about its economic success. While hosting Saturday Night Live in 2021, Musk stated that he has Asperger syndrome (an outdated term for autism spectrum disorder). When asked about his experience growing up with Asperger's syndrome in a TED2022 conference in Vancouver, Musk stated that "the social cues were not intuitive ... I would just tend to take things very literally ... but then that turned out to be wrong โ€” [people were not] simply saying exactly what they mean, there's all sorts of other things that are meant, and [it] took me a while to figure that out." Musk suffers from back pain and has undergone several spine-related surgeries, including a disc replacement. In 2000, he contracted a severe case of malaria while on vacation in South Africa. Musk has stated he uses doctor-prescribed ketamine for occasional depression and that he doses "a small amount once every other week or something like that"; since January 2024, some media outlets have reported that he takes ketamine, marijuana, LSD, ecstasy, mushrooms, cocaine and other drugs. Musk at first refused to comment on his alleged drug use, before responding that he had not tested positive for drugs, and that if drugs somehow improved his productivity, "I would definitely take them!". The New York Times' investigations revealed Musk's overuse of ketamine and numerous other drugs, as well as strained family relationships and concerns from close associates who have become troubled by his public behavior as he became more involved in political activities and government work. According to The Washington Post, President Trump described Musk as "a big-time drug addict". Through his own label Emo G Records, Musk released a rap track, "RIP Harambe", on SoundCloud in March 2019. The following year, he released an EDM track, "Don't Doubt Ur Vibe", featuring his own lyrics and vocals. Musk plays video games, which he stated has a "'restoring effect' that helps his 'mental calibration'". Some games he plays include Quake, Diablo IV, Elden Ring, and Polytopia. Musk once claimed to be one of the world's top video game players but has since admitted to "account boosting", or cheating by hiring outside services to achieve top player rankings. Musk has justified the boosting by claiming that all top accounts do it so he has to as well to remain competitive. In 2024 and 2025, Musk criticized the video game Assassin's Creed Shadows and its creator Ubisoft for "woke" content. Musk posted to X that "DEI kills art" and specified the inclusion of the historical figure Yasuke in the Assassin's Creed game as offensive; he also called the game "terrible". Ubisoft responded by saying that Musk's comments were "just feeding hatred" and that they were focused on producing a game not pushing politics. Musk has fathered at least 14 children, one of whom died as an infant. The Wall Street Journal reported in 2025 that sources close to Musk suggest that the "true number of Musk's children is much higher than publicly known". He had six children with his first wife, Canadian author Justine Wilson, whom he met while attending Queen's University in Ontario, Canada; they married in 2000. In 2002, their first child Nevada Musk died of sudden infant death syndrome at the age of 10 weeks. After his death, the couple used in vitro fertilization (IVF) to continue their family; they had twins in 2004, followed by triplets in 2006. The couple divorced in 2008 and have shared custody of their children. The elder twin he had with Wilson came out as a trans woman and, in 2022, officially changed her name to Vivian Jenna Wilson, adopting her mother's surname because she no longer wished to be associated with Musk. Musk began dating English actress Talulah Riley in 2008. They married two years later at Dornoch Cathedral in Scotland. In 2012, the couple divorced, then remarried the following year. After briefly filing for divorce in 2014, Musk finalized a second divorce from Riley in 2016. Musk then dated the American actress Amber Heard for several months in 2017; he had reportedly been "pursuing" her since 2012. In 2018, Musk and Canadian musician Grimes confirmed they were dating. Grimes and Musk have three children, born in 2020, 2021, and 2022.[g] Musk and Grimes originally gave their eldest child the name "X ร† A-12", which would have violated California regulations as it contained characters that are not in the modern English alphabet; the names registered on the birth certificate are "X" as a first name, "ร† A-Xii" as a middle name, and "Musk" as a last name. They received criticism for choosing a name perceived to be impractical and difficult to pronounce; Musk has said the intended pronunciation is "X Ash A Twelve". Their second child was born via surrogacy. Despite the pregnancy, Musk confirmed reports that the couple were "semi-separated" in September 2021; in an interview with Time in December 2021, he said he was single. In October 2023, Grimes sued Musk over parental rights and custody of X ร† A-Xii. Elon Musk has taken X ร† A-Xii to multiple official events in Washington, D.C. during Trump's second term in office. Also in July 2022, The Wall Street Journal reported that Musk allegedly had an affair with Nicole Shanahan, the wife of Google co-founder Sergey Brin, in 2021, leading to their divorce the following year. Musk denied the report. Musk also had a relationship with Australian actress Natasha Bassett, who has been described as "an occasional girlfriend". In October 2024, The New York Times reported Musk bought a Texas compound for his children and their mothers, though Musk denied having done so. Musk also has four children with Shivon Zilis, director of operations and special projects at Neuralink: twins born via IVF in 2021, a child born in 2024 via surrogacy and a child born in 2025.[h] On February 14, 2025, Ashley St. Clair, an influencer and author, posted on X claiming to have given birth to Musk's son Romulus five months earlier, which media outlets reported as Musk's supposed thirteenth child.[i] On February 22, 2025, it was reported that St Clair had filed for sole custody of her five-month-old son and for Musk to be recognised as the child's father. On March 31, 2025, Musk wrote that, while he was unsure if he was the father of St. Clair's child, he had paid St. Clair $2.5 million and would continue paying her $500,000 per year.[j] Later reporting from the Wall Street Journal indicated that $1 million of these payments to St. Clair were structured as a loan. In 2014, Musk and Ghislaine Maxwell appeared together in a photograph taken at an Academy Awards after-party, which Musk later described as a "photobomb". The January 2026 Epstein files contain emails between Musk and Epstein from 2012 to 2013, after Epstein's first conviction. Emails released on January 30, 2026, indicated that Epstein invited Musk to visit his private island on multiple occasions. The correspondence showed that while Epstein repeatedly encouraged Musk to attend, Musk did not visit the island. In one instance, Musk discussed the possibility of attending a party with his then-wife Talulah Riley and asked which day would be the "wildest party"; according to the emails, the visit did not take place after Epstein later cancelled the plans.[k] On Christmas day in 2012, Musk emailed Epstein asking "Do you have any parties planned? Iโ€™ve been working to the edge of sanity this year and so, once my kids head home after Christmas, I really want to hit the party scene in St Barts or elsewhere and let loose. The invitation is much appreciated, but a peaceful island experience is the opposite of what Iโ€™m looking for". Epstein replied that the "ratio on my island" might make Musk's wife uncomfortable to which Musk responded, "Ratio is not a problem for Talulah". On September 11, 2013, Epstein sent an email asking Musk if he had any plans for coming to New York for the opening of the United Nations General Assembly where many "interesting people" would be coming to his house to which Musk responded that "Flying to NY to see UN diplomats do nothing would be an unwise use of time". Epstein responded by stating "Do you think i am retarded. Just kidding, there is no one over 25 and all very cute." Musk has denied any close relationship with Epstein and described him as a "creep" who attempted to ingratiate himself with influential people. When Musk was asked in 2019 if he introduced Epstein to Mark Zuckerberg, Musk responded: "I donโ€™t recall introducing Epstein to anyone, as I donโ€™t know the guy well enough to do so." The released emails nonetheless showed cordial exchanges on a range of topics, including Musk's inquiry about parties on the island. The correspondence also indicated that Musk suggested hosting Epstein at SpaceX, while Epstein separately discussed plans to tour SpaceX and bring "the girls", though there is no evidence that such a visit occurred. Musk has described the release of the files a "distraction", later accusing the second Trump administration of suppressing them to protect powerful individuals, including Trump himself.[l] Wealth Elon Musk is the wealthiest person in the world, with an estimated net worth of US$690 billion as of January 2026, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, and $852 billion according to Forbes, primarily from his ownership stakes in SpaceX and Tesla. Having been first listed on the Forbes Billionaires List in 2012, around 75% of Musk's wealth was derived from Tesla stock in November 2020, although he describes himself as "cash poor". According to Forbes, he became the first person in the world to achieve a net worth of $300 billion in 2021; $400 billion in December 2024; $500 billion in October 2025; $600 billion in mid-December 2025; $700 billion later that month; and $800 billion in February 2026. In November 2025, a Tesla pay package worth potentially $1 trillion for Musk was approved, which he is to receive over 10 years if he meets specific goals. Public image Although his ventures have been highly influential within their separate industries starting in the 2000s, Musk only became a public figure in the early 2010s. He has been described as an eccentric who makes spontaneous and impactful decisions, while also often making controversial statements, contrary to other billionaires who prefer reclusiveness to protect their businesses. Musk's actions and his expressed views have made him a polarizing figure. Biographer Ashlee Vance described people's opinions of Musk as polarized due to his "part philosopher, part troll" persona on Twitter. He has drawn denouncement for using his platform to mock the self-selection of personal pronouns, while also receiving praise for bringing international attention to matters like British survivors of grooming gangs. Musk has been described as an American oligarch due to his extensive influence over public discourse, social media, industry, politics, and government policy. After Trump's re-election, Musk's influence and actions during the transition period and the second presidency of Donald Trump led some to call him "President Musk", the "actual president-elect", "shadow president" or "co-president". Awards for his contributions to the development of the Falcon rockets include the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics George Low Transportation Award in 2008, the Fรฉdรฉration Aรฉronautique Internationale Gold Space Medal in 2010, and the Royal Aeronautical Society Gold Medal in 2012. In 2015, he received an honorary doctorate in engineering and technology from Yale University and an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Honorary Membership. Musk was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 2018.[m] In 2022, Musk was elected to the National Academy of Engineering. Time has listed Musk as one of the most influential people in the world in 2010, 2013, 2018, and 2021. Musk was selected as Time's "Person of the Year" for 2021. Then Time editor-in-chief Edward Felsenthal wrote that, "Person of the Year is a marker of influence, and few individuals have had more influence than Musk on life on Earth, and potentially life off Earth too." Notes References Works cited Further reading External links
========================================
[SOURCE: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-139-64377-1] | [TOKENS: 380]
Contents Book sources This page allows users to search multiple sources for a book given a 10- or 13-digit International Standard Book Number. Spaces and dashes in the ISBN do not matter. This page links to catalogs of libraries, booksellers, and other book sources where you will be able to search for the book by its International Standard Book Number (ISBN). Online text Google Books and other retail sources below may be helpful if you want to verify citations in Wikipedia articles, because they often let you search an online version of the book for specific words or phrases, or you can browse through the book (although for copyright reasons the entire book is usually not available). At the Open Library (part of the Internet Archive) you can borrow and read entire books online. Online databases Subscription eBook databases Libraries Alabama Alaska California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Missouri Nebraska New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Washington state Wisconsin Bookselling and swapping Find your book on a site that compiles results from other online sites: These sites allow you to search the catalogs of many individual booksellers: Non-English book sources If the book you are looking for is in a language other than English, you might find it helpful to look at the equivalent pages on other Wikipedias, linked below โ€“ they are more likely to have sources appropriate for that language. Find other editions The WorldCat xISBN tool for finding other editions is no longer available. However, there is often a "view all editions" link on the results page from an ISBN search. Google books often lists other editions of a book and related books under the "about this book" link. You can convert between 10 and 13 digit ISBNs with these tools: Find on Wikipedia See also Get free access to research! Research tools and services Outreach Get involved
========================================
[SOURCE: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extraterrestrial_life#cite_ref-AM6166_62-0] | [TOKENS: 11349]
Contents Extraterrestrial life Extraterrestrial life, or alien life (colloquially aliens), is life that originates from another world rather than on Earth. No extraterrestrial life has yet been scientifically or conclusively detected. Such life might range from simple forms such as prokaryotes to intelligent beings, possibly bringing forth civilizations that might be far more, or far less, advanced than humans. The Drake equation speculates about the existence of sapient life elsewhere in the universe. The science of extraterrestrial life is known as astrobiology. Speculation about inhabited worlds beyond Earth dates back to antiquity. Early Christian writers, including Augustine, discussed ideas from thinkers like Democritus and Epicurus about countless worlds in the vast universe. Pre-modern writers typically assumed extraterrestrial "worlds" were inhabited by living beings. William Vorilong, in the 15th century, acknowledged the possibility Jesus could have visited extraterrestrial worlds to redeem their inhabitants.: 26 In 1440, Nicholas of Cusa suggested Earth is a "brilliant star"; he theorized that all celestial bodies, even the Sun, could host life. Descartes wrote that there were no means to prove the stars were not inhabited by "intelligent creatures", but their existence was a matter of speculation.: 67 In comparison to the life-abundant Earth, the vast majority of intrasolar and extrasolar planets and moons have harsh surface conditions and disparate atmospheric chemistry, or lack an atmosphere. However, there are many extreme and chemically harsh ecosystems on Earth that do support forms of life and are often hypothesized to be the origin of life on Earth. Examples include life surrounding hydrothermal vents, acidic hot springs, and volcanic lakes, as well as halophiles and the deep biosphere. Since the mid-20th century, researchers have searched for extraterrestrial life and intelligence. Solar system studies focus on Venus, Mars, Europa, and Titan, while exoplanet discoveries now total 6,022 confirmed planets in 4,490 systems as of October 2025. Depending on the category of search, methods range from analysis of telescope and specimen data to radios used to detect and transmit interstellar communication. Interstellar travel remains largely hypothetical, with only the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 probes confirmed to have entered the interstellar medium. The concept of extraterrestrial life, especially intelligent life, has greatly influenced culture and fiction. A key debate centers on contacting extraterrestrial intelligence: some advocate active attempts, while others warn it could be risky, given human history of exploiting other societies. Context Initially, after the Big Bang, the universe was too hot to allow life. It is estimated that the temperature of the universe was around 10 billion Kelvin at the one-second mark. Roughly 15 million years later, it cooled to temperate levels, though the elements of organic life were yet nonexistent. The only freely available elements at that point were hydrogen and helium. Carbon and oxygen (and later, water) would not appear until 50 million years later, created through stellar fusion. At that point, the difficulty for life to appear was not the temperature, but the scarcity of free heavy elements. Planetary systems emerged, and the first organic compounds may have formed in the protoplanetary disk of dust grains that would eventually create rocky planets like Earth. Although Earth was in a molten state after its birth and may have burned any organics that fell on it, it would have been more receptive once it cooled down. Once the right conditions on Earth were met, life started by a chemical process known as abiogenesis. Alternatively, life may have formed less frequently, then spreadโ€”by meteoroids, for exampleโ€”between habitable planets in a process called panspermia. During most of its stellar evolution, stars combine hydrogen nuclei to make helium nuclei by stellar fusion, and the comparatively lighter weight of helium allows the star to release the extra energy. The process continues until the star uses all of its available fuel, with the speed of consumption being related to the size of the star. During its last stages, stars start combining helium nuclei to form carbon nuclei. The larger stars can further combine carbon nuclei to create oxygen and silicon, oxygen into neon and sulfur, and so on until iron. Ultimately, the star blows much of its content back into the stellar medium, where it would join clouds that would eventually become new generations of stars and planets. Many of those materials are the raw components of life on Earth. As this process takes place in all the universe, said materials are ubiquitous in the cosmos and not a rarity from the Solar System. Earth is a planet in the Solar System, a planetary system formed by a star at the center, the Sun, and the objects that orbit it: other planets, moons, asteroids, and comets. The sun is part of the Milky Way, a galaxy. The Milky Way is part of the Local Group, a galaxy group that is in turn part of the Laniakea Supercluster. The universe is composed of all similar structures in existence. The immense distances between celestial objects are a difficulty for studying extraterrestrial life. So far, humans have only set foot on the Moon and sent robotic probes to other planets and moons in the Solar System. Although probes can withstand conditions that may be lethal to humans, the distances cause time delays: the New Horizons took nine years after launch to reach Pluto. No probe has ever reached extrasolar planetary systems. The Voyager 2 left the Solar System at a speed of 50,000 kilometers per hour; if it headed towards the Alpha Centauri system, the closest one to Earth at 4.4 light years, it would reach it in 100,000 years. Under current technology, such systems can only be studied by telescopes, which have limitations. It is estimated that dark matter has a larger amount of combined matter than stars and gas clouds, but as it plays no role in the stellar evolution of stars and planets, it is usually not taken into account by astrobiology. There is an area around a star, the circumstellar habitable zone or "Goldilocks zone", wherein water may be at the right temperature to exist in liquid form at a planetary surface. This area is neither too close to the star, where water would become steam, nor too far away, where water would be frozen as ice. However, although useful as an approximation, planetary habitability is complex and defined by several factors. Being in the habitable zone is not enough for a planet to be habitable, not even to actually have such liquid water. Venus is located in the solar system's habitable zone, but does not have liquid water because of the conditions of its atmosphere. Jovian planets or gas giants are not considered habitable even if they orbit close enough to their stars as hot Jupiters, due to crushing atmospheric pressures. The actual distances for the habitable zones vary according to the type of star, and even the solar activity of each specific star influences the local habitability. The type of star also defines the time the habitable zone will exist, as its presence and limits will change along with the star's stellar evolution. The Big Bang occurred 13.8 billion years ago, the Solar System was formed 4.6 billion years ago, and the first hominids appeared 6 million years ago. Life on other planets may have started, evolved, given birth to extraterrestrial intelligences, and perhaps even faced a planetary extinction event millions or billions of years ago. When considered from a cosmic perspective, the brief times of existence of Earth's species may suggest that extraterrestrial life may be equally fleeting under such a scale. During a period of about 7 million years, from about 10 to 17 million years after the Big Bang, the background temperature was between 373 and 273 K (100 and 0 ยฐC; 212 and 32 ยฐF), allowing the possibility of liquid water if any planets existed. Avi Loeb (2014) speculated that primitive life might in principle have appeared during this window, which he called "the Habitable Epoch of the Early Universe". Life on Earth is quite ubiquitous across the planet and has adapted over time to almost all the available environments in it, extremophiles and the deep biosphere thrive at even the most hostile ones. As a result, it is inferred that life in other celestial bodies may be equally adaptive. However, the origin of life is unrelated to its ease of adaptation and may have stricter requirements. A celestial body may not have any life on it, even if it were habitable. Likelihood of existence Life in the cosmos beyond Earth has been observed. The hypothesis of ubiquitous extraterrestrial life relies on three main ideas. The first one, the size of the universe, allows for plenty of planets to have a similar habitability to Earth, and the age of the universe gives enough time for a long process analog to the history of Earth to happen there. The second is that the substances that make life, such as carbon and water, are ubiquitous in the universe. The third is that the physical laws are universal, which means that the forces that would facilitate or prevent the existence of life would be the same ones as on Earth. According to this argument, made by scientists such as Carl Sagan and Stephen Hawking, it would be improbable for life not to exist somewhere else other than Earth. This argument is embodied in the Copernican principle, which states that Earth does not occupy a unique position in the Universe, and the mediocrity principle, which states that there is nothing special about life on Earth. Other authors consider instead that life in the cosmos, or at least multicellular life, may actually be rare. The Rare Earth hypothesis maintains that life on Earth is possible because of a series of factors that range from the location in the galaxy and the configuration of the Solar System to local characteristics of the planet, and that it is unlikely that another planet simultaneously meets all such requirements. The proponents of this hypothesis consider that very little evidence suggests the existence of extraterrestrial life and that, at this point, it is just a desired result and not a reasonable scientific explanation for any gathered data. In 1961, astronomer and astrophysicist Frank Drake devised the Drake equation as a way to stimulate scientific dialogue at a meeting on the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI). The Drake equation is a probabilistic argument used to estimate the number of active, communicative extraterrestrial civilizations in the Milky Way galaxy. The Drake equation is:: xix where: and Drake's proposed estimates are as follows, but numbers on the right side of the equation are agreed as speculative and open to substitution: 10,000 = 5 โ‹… 0.5 โ‹… 2 โ‹… 1 โ‹… 0.2 โ‹… 1 โ‹… 10,000 {\displaystyle 10{,}000=5\cdot 0.5\cdot 2\cdot 1\cdot 0.2\cdot 1\cdot 10{,}000} [better source needed] The Drake equation has proved controversial since, although it is written as a math equation, none of its values were known at the time. Although some values may eventually be measured, others are based on social sciences and are not knowable by their very nature. This does not allow one to make noteworthy conclusions from the equation. Based on observations from the Hubble Space Telescope, there are nearly 2 trillion galaxies in the observable universe. It is estimated that at least ten percent of all Sun-like stars have a system of planets. In other words, there are 6.25ร—1018 stars with planets orbiting them in the observable universe. Even if it is assumed that only one out of a billion of these stars has planets supporting life, there would be some 6.25 billion life-supporting planetary systems in the observable universe. A 2013 study based on results from the Kepler spacecraft estimated that the Milky Way contains at least as many planets as it does stars, resulting in 100โ€“400 billion exoplanets. The Nebular hypothesis that explains the formation of the Solar System and other planetary systems would suggest that those can have several configurations, and not all of them may have rocky planets within the habitable zone. The apparent contradiction between high estimates of the probability of the existence of extraterrestrial civilisations and the lack of evidence for such civilisations is known as the Fermi paradox. Dennis W. Sciama claimed that life's existence in the universe depends on various fundamental constants. Zhi-Wei Wang and Samuel L. Braunstein suggest that a random universe capable of supporting life is likely to be just barely able to do so, giving a potential explanation to the Fermi paradox. Biochemical basis If extraterrestrial life exists, it could range from simple microorganisms and multicellular organisms similar to animals or plants, to complex alien intelligences akin to humans. When scientists talk about extraterrestrial life, they consider all those types. Although it is possible that extraterrestrial life may have other configurations, scientists use the hierarchy of lifeforms from Earth for simplicity, as it is the only one known to exist. The first basic requirement for life is an environment with non-equilibrium thermodynamics, which means that the thermodynamic equilibrium must be broken by a source of energy. The traditional sources of energy in the cosmos are the stars, such as for life on Earth, which depends on the energy of the sun. However, there are other alternative energy sources, such as volcanoes, plate tectonics, and hydrothermal vents. There are ecosystems on Earth in deep areas of the ocean that do not receive sunlight, and take energy from black smokers instead. Magnetic fields and radioactivity have also been proposed as sources of energy, although they would be less efficient ones. Life on Earth requires water in a liquid state as a solvent in which biochemical reactions take place. It is highly unlikely that an abiogenesis process can start within a gaseous or solid medium: the atom speeds, either too fast or too slow, make it difficult for specific ones to meet and start chemical reactions. A liquid medium also allows the transport of nutrients and substances required for metabolism. Sufficient quantities of carbon and other elements, along with water, might enable the formation of living organisms on terrestrial planets with a chemical make-up and temperature range similar to that of Earth. Life based on ammonia rather than water has been suggested as an alternative, though this solvent appears less suitable than water. It is also conceivable that there are forms of life whose solvent is a liquid hydrocarbon, such as methane, ethane or propane. Another unknown aspect of potential extraterrestrial life would be the chemical elements that would compose it. Life on Earth is largely composed of carbon, but there could be other hypothetical types of biochemistry. A replacement for carbon would need to be able to create complex molecules, store information required for evolution, and be freely available in the medium. To create DNA, RNA, or a close analog, such an element should be able to bind its atoms with many others, creating complex and stable molecules. It should be able to create at least three covalent bonds: two for making long strings and at least a third to add new links and allow for diverse information. Only nine elements meet this requirement: boron, nitrogen, phosphorus, arsenic, antimony (three bonds), carbon, silicon, germanium and tin (four bonds). As for abundance, carbon, nitrogen, and silicon are the most abundant ones in the universe, far more than the others. On Earth's crust the most abundant of those elements is silicon, in the Hydrosphere it is carbon and in the atmosphere, it is carbon and nitrogen. Silicon, however, has disadvantages over carbon. The molecules formed with silicon atoms are less stable, and more vulnerable to acids, oxygen, and light. An ecosystem of silicon-based lifeforms would require very low temperatures, high atmospheric pressure, an atmosphere devoid of oxygen, and a solvent other than water. The low temperatures required would add an extra problem, the difficulty to kickstart a process of abiogenesis to create life in the first place. Norman Horowitz, head of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory bioscience section for the Mariner and Viking missions from 1965 to 1976 considered that the great versatility of the carbon atom makes it the element most likely to provide solutions, even exotic solutions, to the problems of survival of life on other planets. However, he also considered that the conditions found on Mars were incompatible with carbon based life. Even if extraterrestrial life is based on carbon and uses water as a solvent, like Earth life, it may still have a radically different biochemistry. Life is generally considered to be a product of natural selection. It has been proposed that to undergo natural selection a living entity must have the capacity to replicate itself, the capacity to avoid damage/decay, and the capacity to acquire and process resources in support of the first two capacities. Life on Earth may have started with an RNA world and later evolved to its current form, where some of the RNA tasks were transferred to DNA and proteins. Extraterrestrial life may still be stuck using RNA, or evolve into other configurations. It is unclear if our biochemistry is the most efficient one that could be generated, or which elements would follow a similar pattern. However, it is likely that, even if cells had a different composition to those from Earth, they would still have a cell membrane. Life on Earth jumped from prokaryotes to eukaryotes and from unicellular organisms to multicellular organisms through evolution. So far no alternative process to achieve such a result has been conceived, even if hypothetical. Evolution requires life to be divided into individual organisms, and no alternative organisation has been satisfactorily proposed either. At the basic level, membranes define the limit of a cell, between it and its environment, while remaining partially open to exchange energy and resources with it. The evolution from simple cells to eukaryotes, and from them to multicellular lifeforms, is not guaranteed. The Cambrian explosion took place thousands of millions of years after the origin of life, and its causes are not fully known yet. On the other hand, the jump to multicellularity took place several times, which suggests that it could be a case of convergent evolution, and so likely to take place on other planets as well. Palaeontologist Simon Conway Morris considers that convergent evolution would lead to kingdoms similar to our plants and animals, and that many features are likely to develop in alien animals as well, such as bilateral symmetry, limbs, digestive systems and heads with sensory organs. Scientists from the University of Oxford analysed it from the perspective of evolutionary theory and wrote in a study in the International Journal of Astrobiology that aliens may be similar to humans. The planetary context would also have an influence: a planet with higher gravity would have smaller animals, and other types of stars can lead to non-green photosynthesizers. The amount of energy available would also affect biodiversity, as an ecosystem sustained by black smokers or hydrothermal vents would have less energy available than those sustained by a star's light and heat, and so its lifeforms would not grow beyond a certain complexity. There is also research in assessing the capacity of life for developing intelligence. It has been suggested that this capacity arises with the number of potential niches a planet contains, and that the complexity of life itself is reflected in the information density of planetary environments, which in turn can be computed from its niches. It is common knowledge that the conditions on other planets in the solar system, in addition to the many galaxies outside of the Milky Way galaxy, are very harsh and seem to be too extreme to harbor any life. The environmental conditions on these planets can have intense UV radiation paired with extreme temperatures, lack of water, and much more that can lead to conditions that don't seem to favor the creation or maintenance of extraterrestrial life. However, there has been much historical evidence that some of the earliest and most basic forms of life on Earth originated in some extreme environments that seem unlikely to have harbored life at least at one point in Earth's history. Fossil evidence as well as many historical theories backed up by years of research and studies have marked environments like hydrothermal vents or acidic hot springs as some of the first places that life could have originated on Earth. These environments can be considered extreme when compared to the typical ecosystems that the majority of life on Earth now inhabit, as hydrothermal vents are scorching hot due to the magma escaping from the Earth's mantle and meeting the much colder oceanic water. Even in today's world, there can be a diverse population of bacteria found inhabiting the area surrounding these hydrothermal vents which can suggest that some form of life can be supported even in the harshest of environments like the other planets in the solar system. The aspects of these harsh environments that make them ideal for the origin of life on Earth, as well as the possibility of creation of life on other planets, is the chemical reactions forming spontaneously. For example, the hydrothermal vents found on the ocean floor are known to support many chemosynthetic processes which allow organisms to utilize energy through reduced chemical compounds that fix carbon. In return, these reactions will allow for organisms to live in relatively low oxygenated environments while maintaining enough energy to support themselves. The early Earth environment was reducing and therefore, these carbon fixing compounds were necessary for the survival and possible origin of life on Earth. With the little amount of information that scientists have found regarding the atmosphere on other planets in the Milky Way galaxy and beyond, the atmospheres are most likely reducing or with very low oxygen levels, especially when compared with Earth's atmosphere. If there were the necessary elements and ions on these planets, the same carbon fixing, reduced chemical compounds occurring around hydrothermal vents could also occur on these planets' surfaces and possibly result in the origin of extraterrestrial life. Planetary habitability in the Solar System The Solar System has a wide variety of planets, dwarf planets, and moons, and each one is studied for its potential to host life. Each one has its own specific conditions that may benefit or harm life. So far, the only lifeforms found are those from Earth. No extraterrestrial intelligence other than humans exists or has ever existed within the Solar System. Astrobiologist Mary Voytek points out that it would be unlikely to find large ecosystems, as they would have already been detected by now. The inner Solar System is likely devoid of life. However, Venus is still of interest to astrobiologists, as it is a terrestrial planet that was likely similar to Earth in its early stages and developed in a different way. There is a greenhouse effect, the surface is the hottest in the Solar System, sulfuric acid clouds, all surface liquid water is lost, and it has a thick carbon-dioxide atmosphere with huge pressure. Comparing both helps to understand the precise differences that lead to beneficial or harmful conditions for life. And despite the conditions against life on Venus, there are suspicions that microbial life-forms may still survive in high-altitude clouds. Mars is a cold and almost airless desert, inhospitable to life. However, recent studies revealed that water on Mars used to be quite abundant, forming rivers, lakes, and perhaps even oceans. Mars may have been habitable back then, and life on Mars may have been possible. But when the planetary core ceased to generate a magnetic field, solar winds removed the atmosphere and the planet became vulnerable to solar radiation. Ancient life-forms may still have left fossilised remains, and microbes may still survive deep underground. As mentioned, the gas giants and ice giants are unlikely to contain life. The most distant solar system bodies, found in the Kuiper Belt and outwards, are locked in permanent deep-freeze, but cannot be ruled out completely. Although the giant planets themselves are highly unlikely to have life, there is much hope to find it on moons orbiting these planets. Europa, from the Jovian system, has a subsurface ocean below a thick layer of ice. Ganymede and Callisto also have subsurface oceans, but life is less likely in them because water is sandwiched between layers of solid ice. Europa would have contact between the ocean and the rocky surface, which helps the chemical reactions. It may be difficult to dig so deep in order to study those oceans, though. Enceladus, a tiny moon of Saturn with another subsurface ocean, may not need to be dug, as it releases water to space in eruption columns. The space probe Cassini flew inside one of these, but could not make a full study because NASA did not expect this phenomenon and did not equip the probe to study ocean water. Still, Cassini detected complex organic molecules, salts, evidence of hydrothermal activity, hydrogen, and methane. Titan is the only celestial body in the Solar System besides Earth that has liquid bodies on the surface. It has rivers, lakes, and rain of hydrocarbons, methane, and ethane, and even a cycle similar to Earth's water cycle. This special context encourages speculations about lifeforms with different biochemistry, but the cold temperatures would make such chemistry take place at a very slow pace. Water is rock-solid on the surface, but Titan does have a subsurface water ocean like several other moons. However, it is of such a great depth that it would be very difficult to access it for study. Scientific search The science that searches and studies life in the universe, both on Earth and elsewhere, is called astrobiology. With the study of Earth's life, the only known form of life, astrobiology seeks to study how life starts and evolves and the requirements for its continuous existence. This helps to determine what to look for when searching for life in other celestial bodies. This is a complex area of study, and uses the combined perspectives of several scientific disciplines, such as astronomy, biology, chemistry, geology, oceanography, and atmospheric sciences. The scientific search for extraterrestrial life is being carried out both directly and indirectly. As of September 2017[update], 3,667 exoplanets in 2,747 systems have been identified, and other planets and moons in the Solar System hold the potential for hosting primitive life such as microorganisms. As of 8 February 2021, an updated status of studies considering the possible detection of lifeforms on Venus (via phosphine) and Mars (via methane) was reported. Scientists search for biosignatures within the Solar System by studying planetary surfaces and examining meteorites. Some claim to have identified evidence that microbial life has existed on Mars. In 1996, a controversial report stated that structures resembling nanobacteria were discovered in a meteorite, ALH84001, formed of rock ejected from Mars. Although all the unusual properties of the meteorite were eventually explained as the result of inorganic processes, the controversy over its discovery laid the groundwork for the development of astrobiology. An experiment on the two Viking Mars landers reported gas emissions from heated Martian soil samples that some scientists argue are consistent with the presence of living microorganisms. Lack of corroborating evidence from other experiments on the same samples suggests that a non-biological reaction is a more likely hypothesis. In February 2005 NASA scientists reported they may have found some evidence of extraterrestrial life on Mars. The two scientists, Carol Stoker and Larry Lemke of NASA's Ames Research Center, based their claim on methane signatures found in Mars's atmosphere resembling the methane production of some forms of primitive life on Earth, as well as on their own study of primitive life near the Rio Tinto river in Spain. NASA officials soon distanced NASA from the scientists' claims, and Stoker herself backed off from her initial assertions. In November 2011, NASA launched the Mars Science Laboratory that landed the Curiosity rover on Mars. It is designed to assess the past and present habitability on Mars using a variety of scientific instruments. The rover landed on Mars at Gale Crater in August 2012. A group of scientists at Cornell University started a catalog of microorganisms, with the way each one reacts to sunlight. The goal is to help with the search for similar organisms in exoplanets, as the starlight reflected by planets rich in such organisms would have a specific spectrum, unlike that of starlight reflected from lifeless planets. If Earth was studied from afar with this system, it would reveal a shade of green, as a result of the abundance of plants with photosynthesis. In August 2011, NASA studied meteorites found on Antarctica, finding adenine, guanine, hypoxanthine, and xanthine. Adenine and guanine are components of DNA, and the others are used in other biological processes. The studies ruled out pollution of the meteorites on Earth, as those components would not be freely available the way they were found in the samples. This discovery suggests that several organic molecules that serve as building blocks of life may be generated within asteroids and comets. In October 2011, scientists reported that cosmic dust contains complex organic compounds ("amorphous organic solids with a mixed aromatic-aliphatic structure") that could be created naturally, and rapidly, by stars. It is still unclear if those compounds played a role in the creation of life on Earth, but Sun Kwok, of the University of Hong Kong, thinks so. "If this is the case, life on Earth may have had an easier time getting started as these organics can serve as basic ingredients for life." In August 2012, and in a world first, astronomers at Copenhagen University reported the detection of a specific sugar molecule, glycolaldehyde, in a distant star system. The molecule was found around the protostellar binary IRAS 16293-2422, which is located 400 light years from Earth. Glycolaldehyde is needed to form ribonucleic acid, or RNA, which is similar in function to DNA. This finding suggests that complex organic molecules may form in stellar systems prior to the formation of planets, eventually arriving on young planets early in their formation. In December 2023, astronomers reported the first time discovery, in the plumes of Enceladus, moon of the planet Saturn, of hydrogen cyanide, a possible chemical essential for life as we know it, as well as other organic molecules, some of which are yet to be better identified and understood. According to the researchers, "these [newly discovered] compounds could potentially support extant microbial communities or drive complex organic synthesis leading to the origin of life." Although most searches are focused on the biology of extraterrestrial life, an extraterrestrial intelligence capable enough to develop a civilization may be detectable by other means as well. Technology may generate technosignatures, effects on the native planet that may not be caused by natural causes. There are three main types of techno-signatures considered: interstellar communications, effects on the atmosphere, and planetary-sized structures such as Dyson spheres. Organizations such as the SETI Institute search the cosmos for potential forms of communication. They started with radio waves, and now search for laser pulses as well. The challenge for this search is that there are natural sources of such signals as well, such as gamma-ray bursts and supernovae, and the difference between a natural signal and an artificial one would be in its specific patterns. Astronomers intend to use artificial intelligence for this, as it can manage large amounts of data and is devoid of biases and preconceptions. Besides, even if there is an advanced extraterrestrial civilization, there is no guarantee that it is transmitting radio communications in the direction of Earth. The length of time required for a signal to travel across space means that a potential answer may arrive decades or centuries after the initial message. The atmosphere of Earth is rich in nitrogen dioxide as a result of air pollution, which can be detectable. The natural abundance of carbon, which is also relatively reactive, makes it likely to be a basic component of the development of a potential extraterrestrial technological civilization, as it is on Earth. Fossil fuels may likely be generated and used on such worlds as well. The abundance of chlorofluorocarbons in the atmosphere can also be a clear technosignature, considering their role in ozone depletion. Light pollution may be another technosignature, as multiple lights on the night side of a rocky planet can be a sign of advanced technological development. However, modern telescopes are not strong enough to study exoplanets with the required level of detail to perceive it. The Kardashev scale proposes that a civilization may eventually start consuming energy directly from its local star. This would require giant structures built next to it, called Dyson spheres. Those speculative structures would cause an excess infrared radiation, that telescopes may notice. The infrared radiation is typical of young stars, surrounded by dusty protoplanetary disks that will eventually form planets. An older star such as the Sun would have no natural reason to have excess infrared radiation. The presence of heavy elements in a star's light-spectrum is another potential biosignature; such elements would (in theory) be found if the star were being used as an incinerator/repository for nuclear waste products. Some astronomers search for extrasolar planets that may be conducive to life, narrowing the search to terrestrial planets within the habitable zones of their stars. Since 1992, over four thousand exoplanets have been discovered (6,128 planets in 4,584 planetary systems including 1,017 multiple planetary systems as of 30 October 2025). The extrasolar planets so far discovered range in size from that of terrestrial planets similar to Earth's size to that of gas giants larger than Jupiter. The number of observed exoplanets is expected to increase greatly in the coming years.[better source needed] The Kepler space telescope has also detected a few thousand candidate planets, of which about 11% may be false positives. There is at least one planet on average per star. About 1 in 5 Sun-like stars[a] have an "Earth-sized"[b] planet in the habitable zone,[c] with the nearest expected to be within 12 light-years distance from Earth. Assuming 200 billion stars in the Milky Way,[d] that would be 11 billion potentially habitable Earth-sized planets in the Milky Way, rising to 40 billion if red dwarfs are included. The rogue planets in the Milky Way possibly number in the trillions. The nearest known exoplanet is Proxima Centauri b, located 4.2 light-years (1.3 pc) from Earth in the southern constellation of Centaurus. As of March 2014[update], the least massive exoplanet known is PSR B1257+12 A, which is about twice the mass of the Moon. The most massive planet listed on the NASA Exoplanet Archive is DENIS-P J082303.1โˆ’491201 b, about 29 times the mass of Jupiter, although according to most definitions of a planet, it is too massive to be a planet and may be a brown dwarf instead. Almost all of the planets detected so far are within the Milky Way, but there have also been a few possible detections of extragalactic planets. The study of planetary habitability also considers a wide range of other factors in determining the suitability of a planet for hosting life. One sign that a planet probably already contains life is the presence of an atmosphere with significant amounts of oxygen, since that gas is highly reactive and generally would not last long without constant replenishment. This replenishment occurs on Earth through photosynthetic organisms. One way to analyse the atmosphere of an exoplanet is through spectrography when it transits its star, though this might only be feasible with dim stars like white dwarfs. History and cultural impact The modern concept of extraterrestrial life is based on assumptions that were not commonplace during the early days of astronomy. The first explanations for the celestial objects seen in the night sky were based on mythology. Scholars from Ancient Greece were the first to consider that the universe is inherently understandable and rejected explanations based on supernatural incomprehensible forces, such as the myth of the Sun being pulled across the sky in the chariot of Apollo. They had not developed the scientific method yet and based their ideas on pure thought and speculation, but they developed precursor ideas to it, such as that explanations had to be discarded if they contradict observable facts. The discussions of those Greek scholars established many of the pillars that would eventually lead to the idea of extraterrestrial life, such as Earth being round and not flat. The cosmos was first structured in a geocentric model that considered that the sun and all other celestial bodies revolve around Earth. However, they did not consider them as worlds. In Greek understanding, the world was composed by both Earth and the celestial objects with noticeable movements. Anaximander thought that the cosmos was made from apeiron, a substance that created the world, and that the world would eventually return to the cosmos. Eventually two groups emerged, the atomists that thought that matter at both Earth and the cosmos was equally made of small atoms of the classical elements (earth, water, fire and air), and the Aristotelians who thought that those elements were exclusive of Earth and that the cosmos was made of a fifth one, the aether. Atomist Epicurus thought that the processes that created the world, its animals and plants should have created other worlds elsewhere, along with their own animals and plants. Aristotle thought instead that all the earth element naturally fell towards the center of the universe, and that would make it impossible for other planets to exist elsewhere. Under that reasoning, Earth was not only in the center, it was also the only planet in the universe. Cosmic pluralism, the plurality of worlds, or simply pluralism, describes the philosophical belief in numerous "worlds" in addition to Earth, which might harbor extraterrestrial life. The earliest recorded assertion of extraterrestrial human life is found in ancient scriptures of Jainism. There are multiple "worlds" mentioned in Jain scriptures that support human life. These include, among others, Bharat Kshetra, Mahavideh Kshetra, Airavat Kshetra, and Hari kshetra. Medieval Muslim writers like Fakhr al-Din al-Razi and Muhammad al-Baqir supported cosmic pluralism on the basis of the Qur'an. Chaucer's poem The House of Fame engaged in medieval thought experiments that postulated the plurality of worlds. However, those ideas about other worlds were different from the current knowledge about the structure of the universe, and did not postulate the existence of planetary systems other than the Solar System. When those authors talk about other worlds, they talk about places located at the center of their own systems, and with their own stellar vaults and cosmos surrounding them. The Greek ideas and the disputes between atomists and Aristotelians outlived the fall of the Greek empire. The Great Library of Alexandria compiled information about it, part of which was translated by Islamic scholars and thus survived the end of the Library. Baghdad combined the knowledge of the Greeks, the Indians, the Chinese and its own scholars, and the knowledge expanded through the Byzantine Empire. From there it eventually returned to Europe by the time of the Middle Ages. However, as the Greek atomist doctrine held that the world was created by random movements of atoms, with no need for a creator deity, it became associated with atheism, and the dispute intertwined with religious ones. Still, the Church did not react to those topics in a homogeneous way, and there were stricter and more permissive views within the church itself. The first known mention of the term 'panspermia' was in the writings of the 5th-century BC Greek philosopher Anaxagoras. He proposed the idea that life exists everywhere. By the time of the late Middle Ages there were many known inaccuracies in the geocentric model, but it was kept in use because naked eye observations provided limited data. Nicolaus Copernicus started the Copernican Revolution by proposing that the planets revolve around the sun rather than Earth. His proposal had little acceptance at first because, as he kept the assumption that orbits were perfect circles, his model led to as many inaccuracies as the geocentric one. Tycho Brahe improved the available data with naked-eye observatories, which worked with highly complex sextants and quadrants. Tycho could not make sense of his observations, but Johannes Kepler did: orbits were not perfect circles, but ellipses. This knowledge benefited the Copernican model, which worked now almost perfectly. The invention of the telescope a short time later, perfected by Galileo Galilei, clarified the final doubts, and the paradigm shift was completed. Under this new understanding, the notion of extraterrestrial life became feasible: if Earth is but just a planet orbiting around a star, there may be planets similar to Earth elsewhere. The astronomical study of distant bodies also proved that physical laws are the same elsewhere in the universe as on Earth, with nothing making the planet truly special. The new ideas were met with resistance from the Catholic church. Galileo was tried for the heliocentric model, which was considered heretical, and forced to recant it. The best-known early-modern proponent of ideas of extraterrestrial life was the Italian philosopher Giordano Bruno, who argued in the 16th century for an infinite universe in which every star is surrounded by its own planetary system. Bruno wrote that other worlds "have no less virtue nor a nature different to that of our earth" and, like Earth, "contain animals and inhabitants". Bruno's belief in the plurality of worlds was one of the charges leveled against him by the Venetian Holy Inquisition, which tried and executed him. The heliocentric model was further strengthened by the postulation of the theory of gravity by Sir Isaac Newton. This theory provided the mathematics that explains the motions of all things in the universe, including planetary orbits. By this point, the geocentric model was definitely discarded. By this time, the use of the scientific method had become a standard, and new discoveries were expected to provide evidence and rigorous mathematical explanations. Science also took a deeper interest in the mechanics of natural phenomena, trying to explain not just the way nature works but also the reasons for working that way. There was very little actual discussion about extraterrestrial life before this point, as the Aristotelian ideas remained influential while geocentrism was still accepted. When it was finally proved wrong, it not only meant that Earth was not the center of the universe, but also that the lights seen in the sky were not just lights, but physical objects. The notion that life may exist in them as well soon became an ongoing topic of discussion, although one with no practical ways to investigate. The possibility of extraterrestrials remained a widespread speculation as scientific discovery accelerated. William Herschel, the discoverer of Uranus, was one of many 18thโ€“19th-century astronomers who believed that the Solar System is populated by alien life. Other scholars of the period who championed "cosmic pluralism" included Immanuel Kant and Benjamin Franklin. At the height of the Enlightenment, even the Sun and Moon were considered candidates for extraterrestrial inhabitants. Speculation about life on Mars increased in the late 19th century, following telescopic observation of apparent Martian canals โ€“ which soon, however, turned out to be optical illusions. Despite this, in 1895, American astronomer Percival Lowell published his book Mars, followed by Mars and its Canals in 1906, proposing that the canals were the work of a long-gone civilisation. Spectroscopic analysis of Mars's atmosphere began in earnest in 1894, when U.S. astronomer William Wallace Campbell showed that neither water nor oxygen was present in the Martian atmosphere. By 1909 better telescopes and the best perihelic opposition of Mars since 1877 conclusively put an end to the canal hypothesis. As a consequence of the belief in the spontaneous generation there was little thought about the conditions of each celestial body: it was simply assumed that life would thrive anywhere. This theory was disproved by Louis Pasteur in the 19th century. Popular belief in thriving alien civilisations elsewhere in the solar system still remained strong until Mariner 4 and Mariner 9 provided close images of Mars, which debunked forever the idea of the existence of Martians and decreased the previous expectations of finding alien life in general. The end of the spontaneous generation belief forced investigation into the origin of life. Although abiogenesis is the more accepted theory, a number of authors reclaimed the term "panspermia" and proposed that life was brought to Earth from elsewhere. Some of those authors are Jรถns Jacob Berzelius (1834), Kelvin (1871), Hermann von Helmholtz (1879) and, somewhat later, by Svante Arrhenius (1903). The science fiction genre, although not so named during the time, developed during the late 19th century. The expansion of the genre of extraterrestrials in fiction influenced the popular perception over the real-life topic, making people eager to jump to conclusions about the discovery of aliens. Science marched at a slower pace, some discoveries fueled expectations and others dashed excessive hopes. For example, with the advent of telescopes, most structures seen on the Moon or Mars were immediately attributed to Selenites or Martians, and later ones (such as more powerful telescopes) revealed that all such discoveries were natural features. A famous case is the Cydonia region of Mars, first imaged by the Viking 1 orbiter. The low-resolution photos showed a rock formation that resembled a human face, but later spacecraft took photos in higher detail that showed that there was nothing special about the site. The search and study of extraterrestrial life became a science of its own, astrobiology. Also known as exobiology, this discipline is studied by the NASA, the ESA, the INAF, and others. Astrobiology studies life from Earth as well, but with a cosmic perspective. For example, abiogenesis is of interest to astrobiology, not because of the origin of life on Earth, but for the chances of a similar process taking place in other celestial bodies. Many aspects of life, from its definition to its chemistry, are analyzed as either likely to be similar in all forms of life across the cosmos or only native to Earth. Astrobiology, however, remains constrained by the current lack of extraterrestrial life-forms to study, as all life on Earth comes from the same ancestor, and it is hard to infer general characteristics from a group with a single example to analyse. The 20th century came with great technological advances, speculations about future hypothetical technologies, and an increased basic knowledge of science by the general population thanks to science divulgation through the mass media. The public interest in extraterrestrial life and the lack of discoveries by mainstream science led to the emergence of pseudosciences that provided affirmative, if questionable, answers to the existence of aliens. Ufology claims that many unidentified flying objects (UFOs) would be spaceships from alien species, and ancient astronauts hypothesis claim that aliens would have visited Earth in antiquity and prehistoric times but people would have failed to understand it by then. Most UFOs or UFO sightings can be readily explained as sightings of Earth-based aircraft (including top-secret aircraft), known astronomical objects or weather phenomenons, or as hoaxes. Looking beyond the pseudosciences, Lewis White Beck strove to elevate the level of public discourse on the topic of extraterrestrial life by tracing the evolution of philosophical thought over the centuries from ancient times into the modern era. His review of the contributions made by Lucretius, Plutarch, Aristotle, Copernicus, Immanuel Kant, John Wilkins, Charles Darwin and Karl Marx demonstrated that even in modern times, humanity could be profoundly influenced in its search for extraterrestrial life by subtle and comforting archetypal ideas which are largely derived from firmly held religious, philosophical and existential belief systems. On a positive note, however, Beck further argued that even if the search for extraterrestrial life proves to be unsuccessful, the endeavor itself could have beneficial consequences by assisting humanity in its attempt to actualize superior ways of living here on Earth. By the 21st century, it was accepted that multicellular life in the Solar System can only exist on Earth, but the interest in extraterrestrial life increased regardless. This is a result of the advances in several sciences. The knowledge of planetary habitability allows to consider on scientific terms the likelihood of finding life at each specific celestial body, as it is known which features are beneficial and harmful for life. Astronomy and telescopes also improved to the point exoplanets can be confirmed and even studied, increasing the number of search places. Life may still exist elsewhere in the Solar System in unicellular form, but the advances in spacecraft allow to send robots to study samples in situ, with tools of growing complexity and reliability. Although no extraterrestrial life has been found and life may still be just a rarity from Earth, there are scientific reasons to suspect that it can exist elsewhere, and technological advances that may detect it if it does. Many scientists are optimistic about the chances of finding alien life. In the words of SETI's Frank Drake, "All we know for sure is that the sky is not littered with powerful microwave transmitters". Drake noted that it is entirely possible that advanced technology results in communication being carried out in some way other than conventional radio transmission. At the same time, the data returned by space probes, and giant strides in detection methods, have allowed science to begin delineating habitability criteria on other worlds, and to confirm that at least other planets are plentiful, though aliens remain a question mark. The Wow! signal, detected in 1977 by a SETI project, remains a subject of speculative debate. On the other hand, other scientists are pessimistic. Jacques Monod wrote that "Man knows at last that he is alone in the indifferent immensity of the universe, whence which he has emerged by chance". In 2000, geologist and paleontologist Peter Ward and astrobiologist Donald Brownlee published a book entitled Rare Earth: Why Complex Life is Uncommon in the Universe.[better source needed] In it, they discussed the Rare Earth hypothesis, in which they claim that Earth-like life is rare in the universe, whereas microbial life is common. Ward and Brownlee are open to the idea of evolution on other planets that is not based on essential Earth-like characteristics such as DNA and carbon. As for the possible risks, theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking warned in 2010 that humans should not try to contact alien life forms. He warned that aliens might pillage Earth for resources. "If aliens visit us, the outcome would be much as when Columbus landed in America, which didn't turn out well for the Native Americans", he said. Jared Diamond had earlier expressed similar concerns. On 20 July 2015, Hawking and Russian billionaire Yuri Milner, along with the SETI Institute, announced a well-funded effort, called the Breakthrough Initiatives, to expand efforts to search for extraterrestrial life. The group contracted the services of the 100-meter Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope in West Virginia in the United States and the 64-meter Parkes Telescope in New South Wales, Australia. On 13 February 2015, scientists (including Geoffrey Marcy, Seth Shostak, Frank Drake and David Brin) at a convention of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, discussed Active SETI and whether transmitting a message to possible intelligent extraterrestrials in the Cosmos was a good idea; one result was a statement, signed by many, that a "worldwide scientific, political and humanitarian discussion must occur before any message is sent". Government responses The 1967 Outer Space Treaty and the 1979 Moon Agreement define rules of planetary protection against potentially hazardous extraterrestrial life. COSPAR also provides guidelines for planetary protection. A committee of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs had in 1977 discussed for a year strategies for interacting with extraterrestrial life or intelligence. The discussion ended without any conclusions. As of 2010, the UN lacks response mechanisms for the case of an extraterrestrial contact. One of the NASA divisions is the Office of Safety and Mission Assurance (OSMA), also known as the Planetary Protection Office. A part of its mission is to "rigorously preclude backward contamination of Earth by extraterrestrial life." In 2016, the Chinese Government released a white paper detailing its space program. According to the document, one of the research objectives of the program is the search for extraterrestrial life. It is also one of the objectives of the Chinese Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) program. In 2020, Dmitry Rogozin, the head of the Russian space agency, said the search for extraterrestrial life is one of the main goals of deep space research. He also acknowledged the possibility of existence of primitive life on other planets of the Solar System. The French space agency has an office for the study of "non-identified aero spatial phenomena". The agency is maintaining a publicly accessible database of such phenomena, with over 1600 detailed entries. According to the head of the office, the vast majority of entries have a mundane explanation; but for 25% of entries, their extraterrestrial origin can neither be confirmed nor denied. In 2020, chairman of the Israel Space Agency Isaac Ben-Israel stated that the probability of detecting life in outer space is "quite large". But he disagrees with his former colleague Haim Eshed who stated that there are contacts between an advanced alien civilisation and some of Earth's governments. In fiction Although the idea of extraterrestrial peoples became feasible once astronomy developed enough to understand the nature of planets, they were not thought of as being any different from humans. Having no scientific explanation for the origin of mankind and its relation to other species, there was no reason to expect them to be any other way. This was changed by the 1859 book On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin, which proposed the theory of evolution. Now with the notion that evolution on other planets may take other directions, science fiction authors created bizarre aliens, clearly distinct from humans. A usual way to do that was to add body features from other animals, such as insects or octopuses. Costuming and special effects feasibility alongside budget considerations forced films and TV series to tone down the fantasy, but these limitations lessened since the 1990s with the advent of computer-generated imagery (CGI), and later on as CGI became more effective and less expensive. Real-life events sometimes captivate people's imagination and this influences the works of fiction. For example, during the Barney and Betty Hill incident, the first recorded claim of an alien abduction, the couple reported that they were abducted and experimented on by aliens with oversized heads, big eyes, pale grey skin, and small noses, a description that eventually became the grey alien archetype once used in works of fiction. See also Notes References Further reading External links
========================================
[SOURCE: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mamluk_Sultanate] | [TOKENS: 21391]
Contents Mamluk Sultanate The Mamluk Sultanate (Arabic: ุณู„ุทู†ุฉ ุงู„ู…ู…ุงู„ูŠูƒ, romanized: Salแนญanat al-Mamฤlฤซk), also known as Mamluk Egypt or the Mamluk Empire, was a state that ruled Egypt, the Syrian region and the Hejaz from the mid-13th to early 16th centuries, with Cairo as its capital. It was ruled by a military caste of mamluks (freed slave soldiers) headed by a sultan. The sultanate was established with the overthrow of the Ayyubid dynasty in Egypt in 1250 and was conquered by the Ottoman Empire in 1517. Mamluk history is generally divided into the Turkic or Bahri period (1250โ€“1382) and the Circassian or Burji period (1382โ€“1517), called after the predominant ethnicity or corps of the ruling Mamluks during these respective eras. The first rulers of the sultanate hailed from the mamluk regiments of the Ayyubid sultan al-Salih Ayyub (r. 1240โ€“1249), usurping power from his successor in 1250. The Mamluks under Sultan Qutuz and Baybars routed the Mongols in 1260, halting their southward expansion. They then conquered or gained suzerainty over the Ayyubids' Syrian principalities. Baybars also reestablished the Abbasid dynasty of caliphs in Cairo, though their role was ceremonial. By the end of the 13th century, through the efforts of sultans Baybars, Qalawun (r. 1279โ€“1290) and al-Ashraf Khalil (r. 1290โ€“1293), the Mamluks had conquered the Crusader states, expanded into Makuria (Nubia), Cyrenaica, the Hejaz, and southern Anatolia. The sultanate experienced a long period of stability and prosperity during the third reign of al-Nasir Muhammad (r. 1293โ€“1294, 1299โ€“1309), before giving way to the internal strife characterizing the succession of his sons, when real power was held by senior emirs. One such emir, Barquq, overthrew the sultan in 1382 and again in 1390, inaugurating Burji rule. Mamluk authority across the empire eroded under his successors due to foreign invasions, tribal rebellions, and natural disasters, and the state entered into a long period of financial distress. Under Sultan Barsbay, major efforts were taken to replenish the treasury, particularly monopolization of trade with Europe and tax expeditions into the countryside. He also managed to impose Mamluk authority abroad, forcing Cyprus to submit in 1426. The sultanate stagnated after this. Sultan Qaitbay's long and competent reign (r. 1468โ€“1496) ensured some stability, though it was marked by conflicts with the Ottomans. The last effective sultan was Qansuh al-Ghuri (r. 1501โ€“1516), whose reign was known for heavy-handed fiscal policies, attempted military reforms, and confrontations with the Portuguese in the Indian Ocean. In 1516, he was killed in battle against Ottoman sultan Selim I, who subsequently conquered Egypt in 1517 and ended Mamluk rule. Under Mamluk rule, Cairo reached the peak of its size and wealth before the modern period, becoming one of the largest cities in the world at the time. The sultanate's economy was primarily agrarian, but its geographic position also placed it at the center of trade between Europe and the Indian Ocean. The Mamluks themselves relied on the iqta' system to provide revenues. They were also major patrons of art and architecture: inlaid metalwork, enameled glass, and illuminated Qur'an manuscripts were among the high points of art, while Mamluk architecture still makes up much of the fabric of historic Cairo today and is found throughout their former domains. Name The 'Mamluk Sultanate' is a modern historiographical term. Arabic sources for the period of the Bahri Mamluks refer to the dynasty as the 'State of the Turks' (Dawlat al-Atrak or Dawlat al-Turk) or 'State of Turkey' (al-Dawla al-Turkiyya). During Burji rule, it was also referred to as the 'State of the Circassians' (Dawlat al-Jarakisa). These names emphasized the ethnic origin of the rulers and Mamluk writers did not explicitly highlight their status as slaves, except on rare occasions during the Circassian period. History The mamluk was a manumitted slave, distinguished from the ghulam, or household slave. After thorough training in martial arts, court etiquette and Islamic sciences, these slaves were freed but expected to remain loyal to their master and serve his household. Mamluks formed part of the military apparatus in Syria and Egypt since at least the 9th century, rising to become governing dynasties in Egypt and Syria as the Tulunid and Ikhshidid dynasties. Mamluk regiments constituted the backbone of Egypt's military under Ayyubid rule in the late 12th and early 13th centuries, beginning under the first Ayyubid sultan Saladin (r. 1174โ€“1193), who replaced the Fatimid Caliphate's black African infantry with mamluks. Each Ayyubid sultan and high-ranking emir had a private mamluk corps. Most of the mamluks in the Ayyubids' service were ethnic Kipchak Turks from Central Asia, who, upon entering service, were converted to Sunni Islam and taught Arabic. Mamluks were highly committed to their master, to whom they often referred to as 'father', and were in turn treated more as kinsmen than as slaves. After their manumission, mamluks were given a position in either the courtly administration or the army. Mamluks were preferred to freeborn soldiers because they were raised to view the army and their sultan-ruler as their family and thus considered more loyal than freeborn soldiers who were first loyal to their biological families. The Ayyubid emir and future sultan as-Salih Ayyub acquired about one thousand mamluks (some of them free-born) from Syria, Egypt and Arabia by 1229, while serving as na'ib (viceroy) of Egypt during the absence of his father, Sultan al-Kamil (r. 1218โ€“1238). These mamluks were called the 'Salihiyya' (singular 'Salihi') after their master. Al-Salih became sultan of Egypt in 1240, and, upon his accession, he manumitted and promoted large numbers of his mamluks, provisioning them through confiscated iqtaสฟat (akin to fiefs; singular iqtaสฟ) from his predecessors' emirs. He created a loyal paramilitary apparatus in Egypt so dominant that contemporaries viewed Egypt as "Salihi-ridden", according to historian Winslow William Clifford. While historian Stephen Humphreys asserts the Salihiyya's increasing dominance of the state did not personally threaten al-Salih due to their fidelity to him, Clifford believes the Salihiyya's autonomy fell short of such loyalty. Tensions between as-Salih and his mamluks culminated in 1249 when Louis IX of France's forces captured Damietta in their bid to conquer Egypt during the Seventh Crusade. Al-Salih opposed the evacuation of Damietta and threatened to punish the city's garrison. This provoked a mutiny by his garrison in al-Mansura, which only dissipated with the intervention of the atabeg al-askar (commander of the military), Fakhr ad-Din ibn Shaykh al-Shuyukh. As the Crusaders advanced, al-Salih died and was succeeded by his Jazira (Upper Mesopotamia)-based son al-Mu'azzam Turanshah. Although the Salihiyya welcomed his succession, Turanshah challenged their dominance in the paramilitary apparatus by promoting his Kurdish retinue from the Jazira and Syria as a counterweight. On 11 February 1250, the Bahriyya, a junior regiment of the Salihiyya commanded by Baybars, defeated the Crusaders at the Battle of al-Mansura. On 27 February, Turanshah arrived in al-Mansura to lead the Egyptian army. On 5 April 1250, the Crusaders evacuated their camp opposite al-Mansura. The Egyptians followed them into the Battle of Fariskur where the Egyptians destroyed the Crusaders on 6 April. King Louis IX and a few of his surviving nobles were taken as prisoners, effectively ending the Seventh Crusade. Turanshah proceeded to place his own entourage and mamluks, known as the 'Mu'azzamiya', in positions of authority at the expense of the Salihiyya. On 2 May 1250, disgruntled Salihi emirs assassinated Turanshah at Fariskur. An electoral college dominated by the Salihiyya then convened to choose a successor to Turanshah among the Ayyubid emirs, with opinion largely split between an-Nasir Yusuf of Damascus and al-Mughith Umar of al-Karak. Consensus settled on al-Salih's widow, Shajar al-Durr. She ensured the Salihiyya's dominance of the paramilitary elite, and inaugurated patronage and kinship ties with the Salihiyya. In particular, she cultivated close ties with the Jamdari (pl. Jamdariyya) and Bahri (pl. Bahriyya) corps, distributing to them iqtaสฟ and other privileges. Her efforts and Egyptian military's preference to preserve the Ayyubid state were evident when the Salihi mamluk and atabeg al-askar, Aybak, was rebuffed from monopolizing power by the army and the Bahriyya and Jamdariyya, who all asserted that sultanic authority was exclusive to the Ayyubids. The Bahriyya compelled Aybak to share power with al-Ashraf Musa, a grandson of Sultan al-Kamil. Aybak was the main bulwark against the Bahri and Jamdari emirs, and his promotion as atabeg al-askar led to Bahri rioting in Cairo, the first of many intra-Salihi clashes about his ascendancy. The Bahriyya and Jamdariyya were represented by their patron, Faris al-Din Aktay, a principal organizer of Turanshah's assassination and the recipient of Fakhr ad-Din's large estate by Shajar al-Durr; the latter viewed Aktay as a counterweight to Aybak. Aybak moved against the Bahriyya by shutting their Roda headquarters in 1251 and assassinating Aktay in 1254. Afterward, Aybak purged his retinue and the Salihiyya of perceived dissidents, causing a temporary exodus of Bahri mamluks, most of whom settled in Gaza. The purge caused a shortage of officers, which led Aktay to recruit new supporters from among the army in Egypt and the Turkic Nasiri and Azizi mamluks from Syria, who had defected from an-Nasir Yusuf and moved to Egypt in 1250. Aybak felt threatened by the growing ambitions of the Syrian mamluks' empowered patron Jamal ad-Din Aydughdi. Upon learning of Aydughdi's plot to install an-Nasir Yusuf as sultan, which would leave Aydughdi as practical ruler of Egypt, Aybak imprisoned Aydughdi in Alexandria in 1254 or 1255. Aybak was assassinated on 10 April 1257, possibly on orders from Shajar al-Durr, who was assassinated a week later. Their deaths left a relative power vacuum in Egypt, with Aybak's teenage son, al-Mansur Ali, as heir to the sultanate and Aybak's close aide, Sayf al-Din Qutuz, as strongman. The Bahriyya and al-Mughith Umar made two attempts to conquer Egypt in November 1257 and 1258 but were defeated. They then turned on an-Nasir Yusuf in Damascus, who defeated them at Jericho. An-Nasir Yusuf followed up with a siege of al-Mughith and the Bahriyya at al-Karak, but the growing threat of a Mongol invasion of Syria led the Ayyubid emirs to reconcile, and Baybars to defect to an-Nasir Yusuf. Qutuz deposed Ali in 1259 and purged or arrested the Mu'izziya and any remaining Bahri mamluks in Egypt to eliminate potential opposition. The surviving Mu'izzi and Bahri mamluks went to Gaza, where Baybars had established a shadow state opposed to Qutuz. While mamluk factions fought for control of Egypt and Syria, the Mongols under Hulagu Khan had sacked Baghdad, the intellectual and spiritual center of the Islamic world, in 1258, and proceeded westward, capturing Aleppo and Damascus. Qutuz sent military reinforcements to his erstwhile enemy an-Nasir Yusuf in Syria, and reconciled with the Bahriyya, including Baybars, who was allowed to return to Egypt, to face the common Mongol threat. Hulagu sent emissaries to Qutuz in Cairo, demanding submission to Mongol rule but Qutuz had them killed, an act which historian Joseph Cummins called the "worst possible insult to the Mongol throne". After hearing that Hulagu withdrew from Syria to claim the Mongol throne, Qutuz and Baybars mobilized a 120,000-strong force to conquer Syria. The Mamluks entered Palestine and confronted the Mongol army Hulagu left behind under Kitbuqa in the plains south of Nazareth at the Battle of Ain Jalut in September 1260. The battle ended in a Mongol rout and Kitbuqa's capture and execution. Afterward, the Mamluks recaptured Damascus and the other Syrian cities taken by the Mongols. Upon Qutuz's triumphant return to Cairo, he was assassinated in a Bahri plot. Baybars then assumed power in October 1260, inaugurating Bahri rule. In 1263, Baybars deposed al-Mughith based on allegations of collaboration with the Mongol Ilkhanate of Persia, and thereby consolidated his authority over Islamic Syria. During his early reign, Baybars expanded the Mamluk from 10,000 cavalry to 40,000, with a 4,000-strong royal guard at its core. The new force was rigidly disciplined and highly trained in horsemanship, swordsmanship and archery. To improve intracommunication, Baybars instituted a barid (postal network) extending across Egypt and Syria, which led to large scale building of roads and bridges along the postal route. His military and administrative reforms cemented the power of the Mamluk state. He opened diplomatic channels with the Mongols to stifle their potential alliance with the Christian powers of Europe, while also sowing divisions between the Mongol Ilkhanate and the Mongol Golden Horde. His diplomacy was additionally intended to maintain the flow of Turkic mamluks from Mongol-held Central Asia. With his power in Egypt and Islamic Syria consolidated by 1265, Baybars launched expeditions against the Crusader fortresses throughout Syria, capturing Arsuf in 1265, and Halba and Arqa in 1266. Baybars captured and destroyed fortresses along the Syrian coast to prevent their potential future use by new waves of Crusaders. He often established new cities further inland, irreversibly changing settlement patterns in the region, as was the case, for example, with Ascalon whose inhabitants were moved to Al-Majdal Asqalan. In August 1266, the Mamluks launched a punitive expedition against the Armenian Cilician Kingdom for its alliance with the Mongols, laying waste to numerous Armenian villages and significantly weakening the kingdom. At around the same time, Baybars captured Safed from the Knights Templar, and shortly after, Ramla, both cities in interior Palestine. Unlike the coastal fortresses, the Mamluks strengthened and utilized the interior cities as major garrisons and administrative centers. In 1268, the Mamluks captured Jaffa before conquering the Crusader stronghold of Antioch on 18 May. In 1271, Baybars captured the major Krak des Chevaliers fortress from the Crusader County of Tripoli. Despite an alliance with the Isma'ili Shia Assassins in 1272, in July 1273, the Mamluks, who by then considered the Assassins' independence as problematic, wrested control of their fortresses in the Jabal Ansariya range, including Masyaf. In 1277, Baybars launched an expedition against the Ilkhanids, routing them in Elbistan in Anatolia, but withdrew to avoid overstretching his forces and risk being cut off from Syria by a larger incoming Ilkhanid army. To Egypt's south, Baybars had initiated an aggressive policy toward the Christian Nubian kingdom of Makuria. In 1265, the Mamluks invaded northern Makuria, forcing the Nubian king to become their vassal. Around that time, the Mamluks had conquered the Red Sea areas of Suakin and the Dahlak Archipelago, while attempting to extend their control to the Hejaz (western Arabia), the desert regions west of the Nile, and Barqa (Cyrenaica). In 1268, the Makurian king, David I, overthrew the Mamluks' vassal and in 1272, raided the Mamluk Red Sea port of Aydhab. In 1276, the Mamluks defeated King David of Makuria in the Battle of Dongola and installed their ally Shakanda as king. This brought the fortress of Qasr Ibrim under Mamluk suzerainty. The conquest of Nubia was not permanent and the process of invading the region and installing vassal kings was repeated by Baybars's successors. Nonetheless, Baybars' initial conquest led to the annual expectation of tribute from the Nubians by the Mamluks until the Makurian kingdom's demise in the mid-14th century. Furthermore, the Mamluks received the submission of King Adur of al-Abwab further south. Baybars attempted to establish his Zahirid house as the state's ruling dynasty by appointing his four-year-old son al-Sa'id Baraka as co-sultan in 1264. This represented a break from the Mamluk tradition of choosing the sultan by merit rather than lineage. In July 1277, Baybars died en route to Damascus, and was succeeded by Baraka. Baraka was ousted in a power struggle ending with Qalawun, a top deputy of Baybars, as sultan in November 1279. The Ilkhanids launched a massive offensive against Syria in 1281. The Mamluks were outnumbered by the 80,000-strong Ilkhanid-Armenian-Georgian-Seljuk coalition, but routed the coalition at the battle of Homs, confirming Mamluk dominance in Syria. The Ilkhanids' rout enabled Qalawun to proceed against Crusader holdouts in Syria and in May 1285, he captured and garrisoned the Marqab fortress. Qalawun's early reign was marked by policies intended to garner support from the merchant class, the Muslim bureaucracy and the religious establishment. He eliminated the illegal taxes that burdened the merchants and commissioned extensive building and renovation projects for Islam's holiest sites, such as the Prophet's Mosque in Medina, the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem and the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron. His building activities later shifted to more secular and personal purposes, including his large, multi-division hospital complex in Cairo. After the dรฉtente with the Ilkhanids, Qalawun suppressed internal dissent by imprisoning dozens of high-ranking emirs in Egypt and Syria. He diversified the hitherto mostly Turkic mamluk ranks by purchasing numerous non-Turks, particularly Circassians, forming out of them the Burjiyya regiment. Qalawun was the last Salihi sultan and after his death in 1290, his son, al-Ashraf Khalil, drew legitimacy by emphasizing his lineage from Qalawun. Like his predecessors, Khalil's main priorities were organizing the state apparati, defeating the Crusaders and Mongols, integrating Syria, and preserving the flow of new mamluks and weaponry into the empire. Baybars had purchased 4,000 mamluks, Qalawun 6,000โ€“7,000 and by the end of Khalil's reign, there was an estimated total of 10,000 mamluks in the sultanate. In 1291, Khalil captured Acre, the last major Crusader stronghold in Palestine and Mamluk rule consequently extended across all of Syria. Khalil's death in 1293 led to period of factional struggle, with Khalil's prepubescent brother, al-Nasir Muhammad, being overthrown the following year by an ethnic Mongol mamluk of Qalawun, al-Adil Kitbugha, who in turn was succeeded by a Greek mamluk of Qalawun, Husam al-Din Lajin. To consolidate control, Lajin redistributed iqtaสฟat to his supporters. He was unable to keep power and al-Nasir Muhammad was restored as sultan in 1298, ruling over a fractious realm until being toppled by Baybars II, a Circassian mamluk of Qalawun, who was wealthier, and more pious and cultured than his immediate predecessors. Early into al-Nasir Muhammad's second reign, the Ilkhanids, whose leader Mahmud Ghazan was a Muslim convert, had invaded Syria and routed a Mamluk army near Homs in the Battle of Wadi al-Khaznadar in 1299. Ghazan largely withdrew from Syria shortly after due to a lack of fodder for their numerous horses and the residual Ilkhanid force retreated in 1300 at the approach of the rebuilt Mamluk army. Another Ilkhanid invasion in 1303 was repelled after a Mamluk victory at the Battle of Marj al-Suffar in the plains south of Damascus. Baybars II ruled for roughly one year before al-Nasir Muhammad became sultan again in 1310, this time ruling for over three decades in a period often considered by historians to be the zenith of the Mamluk empire. To avoid the experiences of his previous two reigns where the mamluks of Qalawun and Khalil held sway and periodically assumed power, al-Nasir Muhammad established a centralized autocracy. In 1310, he imprisoned, exiled or killed any Mamluk emirs that supported those who toppled him in the past, including the Burji mamluks. He assigned iqta'at to over thirty of his own mamluks. Initially, he left most of his father's mamluks undisturbed, but in 1311 and 1316, he imprisoned and executed most of them, and again redistributed iqta'at to his own mamluks. By 1316, the number of mamluks decreased to 2,000. Al-Nasir Muhammad further consolidated power by replacing Caliph al-Mustakfi (r. 1302โ€“1340) with his own appointee, al-Wathiq, as well as compelling the qadi (head judge) to issue legal rulings advancing his interests. Under al-Nasir Muhammad, the Mamluks repulsed an Ilkhanid invasion of Syria in 1313 and concluded a peace treaty with the Ilkhanate in 1322, bringing a long-lasting end to the Mamlukโ€“Mongol wars. Afterward, al-Nasir Muhammad ushered in a period of stability and prosperity through the enactment of major political, economic and military reforms ultimately intended to ensure his continued rule and consolidate the Qalawuniโ€“Bahri regime. Concurrent with his reign was the disintegration of the Ilkhanate into several smaller dynastic states and the consequent Mamluk effort to establish diplomatic and commercial relationships with the new states. Amid conditions reducing the flow of mamluks from the Mongol territories to the sultanate, al-Nasir Muhammad compensated by adopting new methods of training, and military and financial advancement that introduced a great level of permissiveness. This led to relaxed conditions for new mamluks and encouraged the pursuit of military careers in Egypt by aspiring mamluks outside of the empire. Al-Nasir Muhammad died in 1341 and his rule was followed by a succession of descendants in a period marked by political instability. Most of his successors, except for al-Nasir Hasan (r. 1347โ€“1351, 1354โ€“1361) and al-Ashraf Sha'ban (r. 1363โ€“1367), were sultans in name only, with the patrons of the leading mamluk factions holding actual power. The first of al-Nasir Muhammad's sons to accede was al-Mansur Abu Bakr, who al-Nasir Muhammad designated as successor. Al-Nasir Muhammad's senior aide, Qawsun, held real power and imprisoned and executed Abu Bakr and had al-Nasir Muhammad's infant son, al-Ashraf Kujuk, appointed instead. By January 1342, Qawsun and Kujuk were toppled, and the latter's half-brother, al-Nasir Ahmad of al-Karak, was declared sultan. Ahmad relocated to al-Karak and left a deputy to govern in Cairo. This unorthodox arrangement, together with his seclusive and frivolous behavior and his execution of loyal partisans, ended with Ahmad's deposition and replacement by his half-brother al-Salih Isma'il in June 1342. Isma'il ruled until his death in August 1345, and was succeeded by his brother al-Kamil Sha'ban. The latter was killed in a mamluk revolt and was succeeded by his brother al-Muzaffar Hajji, who was also killed in a mamluk revolt in late 1347. After Hajji's death, the senior emirs hastily appointed another son of al-Nasir Muhammad, the twelve-year-old al-Nasir Hasan. Coinciding with Hasan's first reign, in 1347โ€“1348, the Bubonic Plague arrived in Egypt and other plagues followed, causing mass death in the country, which led to major social and economic changes in the region. In 1351, the senior emirs, led by Emir Taz, ousted and replaced Hasan with his brother, al-Salih Salih. The emirs Shaykhu and Sirghitmish deposed Salih and restored Hasan in 1355, after which Hasan gradually purged Taz, Shaykhu and Sirghitmish and their mamluks from his administration. Hasan recruited and promoted the awlad al-nas (descendants of mamluks who did not undergo the enslavement/manumission process) in the military and administration, a process lasted for the remainder of the Bahri period. This caused resentment among Hasan's own mamluks, led by Emir Yalbugha al-Umari, who killed Hasan in 1361. Yalbugha became regent to Hasan's successor, the young son of the late sultan Hajji, al-Mansur Muhammad. By then, mamluk solidarity and loyalty to the emirs had dissipated. To restore discipline and unity within the Mamluk state and military, Yalbugha revived the rigorous training of mamluks used under Baybars and Qalawun. In 1365, a Mamluk attempt to annex Armenia, which had since replaced Crusader Acre as the Christian commercial foothold of Asia, was stifled by an invasion of Alexandria by Peter I of Cyprus. The Mamluks concurrently experienced a deterioration of their lucrative position in international trade and the economy declined, further weakening the Bahri regime. Meanwhile, the harshness of Yalbugha's educational methods and his refusal to rescind his disciplinary reforms provoked a mamluk backlash. Yalbugha was killed by his mamluks in an uprising in 1366. The rebels were supported by Sultan al-Ashraf Sha'ban, who Yalbugha had installed in 1363. Sha'ban ruled as the real power in the sultanate until 1377, when he was killed by mamluk dissidents on his way to Mecca perform the Hajj. Sha'ban was succeeded by his seven-year-old son al-Mansur Ali, though the oligarchy of the senior emirs held the reins of power. Among the senior emirs who rose to prominence under Ali were Barquq and Baraka, both Circassian mamluks of Yalbugha. Barquq was made atabeg al-asakir in 1378, giving him command of the Mamluk army, which he used to oust Baraka in 1380. Ali died in May 1381 and was succeeded by his nine-year-old brother, al-Salih Hajji, with real power held by Barquq as regent. The next year, Barquq toppled al-Salih Hajji and assumed the throne. His accession was enabled by Yalbugha's mamluks, whose corresponding rise to power left Barquq vulnerable. His rule was challenged by a revolt in Syria in 1389 by the Mamluk governors of Malatya and Aleppo, Mintash and Yalbugha al-Nasiri, the latter a mamluk of Yalbugha. The rebels took over Syria and headed for Egypt, prompting Barquq to abdicate in favor of al-Salih Hajji. The alliance between Yalbugha al-Nasiri and Mintash soon fell apart and factional fighting ensued in Cairo, with Mintash ousting Yalbugha. Barquq was arrested and exiled to al-Karak where he rallied support. In Cairo, Barquq's loyalists took the citadel and arrested al-Salih Hajji. This paved the way for Barquq's usurpation of the sultanate once more in February 1390, firmly establishing the Burji regime. The ruling Mamluks of this period were mostly Circassians drawn from the Christian population of the northern Caucasus. Barquq solidified power in 1393, when his forces killed the major opponent to his rule, Mintash, in Syria. Barquq oversaw the mass recruitment of Circassians (estimated at 5,000 recruits) into the mamluk ranks and the restoration of the state's authority throughout its realm in the tradition of Baybars and Qalawun. A major innovation to this system was the division of Egypt into three niyabat (sing. niyaba; provinces), similar to the administrative divisions in Syria. The new Egyptian niyabat were Alexandria, Damanhur and Asyut. Barquq instituted this to better control the Egyptian countryside from the rising strength of the Bedouin tribes. He further dispatched the Berber Hawwara tribesmen of the Nile Delta to Upper Egypt to check the Arab Bedouins. During Barquq's reign, in 1387, the Mamluks had forced the Anatolian entity in Sivas to become a Mamluk vassal. Towards the end of the 14th century, challengers to the Mamluks emerged in Anatolia, including the Ottoman dynasty and the Turkmen allies of Timur, the Aq Qoyunlu and Qara Qoyunlu tribes of southern and eastern Anatolia. Barquq died in 1399 and was succeeded by his eleven-year-old son, an-Nasir Faraj. That year, Timur invaded Syria, sacking Aleppo and Damascus. Timur ended his occupation of Syria in 1402 to fight the Ottomans in Anatolia, whom he deemed a more dangerous threat. Faraj held onto power during this turbulent period, which, in addition to Timur's devastating raids, the rise of Turkmen tribes in the Jazira, and attempts by Barquq's emirs to topple Faraj, also saw a famine in Egypt in 1403, a severe plague in 1405 and a Bedouin revolt that practically ended Mamluk control of Upper Egypt between 1401 and 1413. Mamluk authority throughout the sultanate significantly eroded, while the capital Cairo underwent an economic crisis. Faraj was toppled in 1412 by the Syria-based emirs, Tanam, Jakam, Nawruz and al-Mu'ayyad Shaykh, against whom Faraj had sent seven military expeditions. The emirs could not usurp the throne themselves, and had Caliph al-Musta'in (r. 1406โ€“1413) installed as a puppet sultan; the caliph had the support of the non-Circassian mamluks and legitimacy with the local population. Six months later, Shakyh ousted al-Musta'in after neutralizing his main rival, Nawruz, and assumed the sultanate. Shaykh's main policy was restoring state authority within the empire, which experienced further plagues in 1415โ€“1417 and 1420. Shaykh replenished the treasury through tax collection expeditions akin to raids across the empire to compensate the tax arrears that accumlated under Faraj. Shaykh also commissioned and led military campaigns against the Mamluks' enemies in Anatolia, reasserting the state's influence there. Before Shaykh died in 1421, he attempted to offset the power of the Circassians by importing Turkish mamluks and installing a Turk as atabeg al-asakir to serve as regent for his infant son Ahmad. After his death, a Circassian emir, Tatar, married Shaykh's widow, ousted the atabeg al-asakir and assumed power. Tatar died three months into his reign and was succeeded by Barsbay, another Circassian emir of Barquq, in 1422. Under Barsbay, the Mamluk Sultanate reached its greatest territorial extent and was militarily dominant throughout the region, but his legacy was mixed in the eyes of contemporary commentators who criticized his fiscal methods and economic policies. Barsbay pursued an economic policy of establishing state monopolies over the lucrative trade with Europe, particularly spices, at the expense of local merchants. European merchants were forced to buy spices from state agents who set prices that maximized revenue rather than promoting competition. This monopoly set a precedent for his successors, some of whom established monopolies over other goods such as sugar and textiles. Barsbay compelled Red Sea traders to offload their goods at the Mamluk-held Hejazi port of Jeddah rather than the Yemeni port of Aden to derive the greatest financial gain from the Red Sea transit route to Europe. Barsbay's efforts at monopolization and trade protection were meant to offset the severe financial losses of the agricultural sector due to the frequent recurring plagues that took a heavy toll on the farmers. In the long term, the monopoly over the spice trade had a negative effect on Egyptian commerce and became a motivation for European merchants to seek alternative routes to the east around Africa and across the Atlantic. Barsbay undertook efforts protect the caravan routes to the Hejaz from Bedouin raids. He reduced the independence of the Sharifs of Mecca to a minimum, sent troops to occupy the Hejaz and rein in the Bedouin, and took direct control of much of the region's administration. He aimed to secure the Egyptian Mediterranean coast from Catalan and Genoese piracy. Related to this, he launched campaigns against Cyprus in 1425โ€“1426, during which the island's Lusignan king, Janus, was taken captive, because of his alleged assistance to the pirates; the large ransoms paid to the Mamluks by the Cypriots allowed them to mint new gold coinage for the first time since the 14th century. Janus became Barsbay's vassal, an arrangement enforced on his successors for several decades after. In response to Aq Qoyonlu raids against the Jazira, the Mamluks launched expeditions against them, sacking Edessa and massacring its Muslim inhabitants in 1429 and attacking their capital Amid in 1433. The Aq Qoyonlu consequently recognized Mamluk suzerainty. While the Mamluks succeeded in forcing the Anatolian beyliks to largely submit to their suzerainty, Mamluk authority in Upper Egypt was mostly relegated to the emirs of the Hawwara tribe. The latter had grown wealthy from their burgeoning trade with central Africa and achieved a degree of local popularity due to their piety, education and generally benign treatment of the inhabitants. Barsbay died on 7 June 1438 and, per his wishes, was succeeded by his fourteen-year-old son, al-Aziz Yusuf, with a leading emir of Barsbay, Sayf al-Din Jaqmaq, appointed regent. The usual disputes over succession ensued and after three months Jaqmaq won and became sultan, exiling Yusuf to Alexandria. Jaqmaq maintained friendly relations with the Ottomans. His most important foreign military effort was an abortive campaign to conquer Rhodes from the Knights of St. John, involving three expeditions between 1440 and 1444. Domestically, Jaqmaq largely continued Barsbay's monopolies, though he promised to enact reforms and formally rescinded some tariffs. Jaqmaq died in February 1453. His eighteen-year-old son, al-Mansur Uthman, was installed on the throne but soon lost all support when he tried to buy the loyalty of other mamluks with debased coins. Sayf al-Din Inal, who Barsbay had made his atabeg al-asakir, won enough support to be declared sultan two months after Jaqmaq's death. He ruled when Mehmed II, the Ottoman sultan, conquered Constantinople in 1453 and ordered public celebrations to commemorate the event, much like the celebrations of a Mamluk victory. It is unclear whether Inal and the Mamluks understood the implications of this event. It marked the rise of the Ottomans as a superpower, a status that brought them into increasing conflict with the evermore stagnant Mamluk Sultanate. By then, the state was under severe financial stress, with the state selling off iqta'at properties, depriving the treasury of their tax revenues. Coins based on precious metals nearly disappeared from circulation. Inal died on 26 February 1461. His son, al-Mu'ayyad Ahmad, ruled for a short stint under challenges from the governors of Damascus and Jeddah. A compromise candidate, the Greek Khushqadam al-Mu'ayyadi, was then chosen and eventually neutralized his opposition. His reign was marked by further political difficulties abroad and domestically. Cyprus remained a vassal, but Khushqadam's representative was killed in battle after insulting James II (who had been installed by Inal). At home, Bedouin tribes caused unrest and the sultan's attempts to suppress the Labid tribe in the Nile Delta and against the Hawwara in Upper Egypt had little effect. Khushqadam died on 9 October 1467 and the mamluk emirs initially installed Yalbay al-Mu'ayyadi as his successor. After two months he was replaced by Timurbugha al-Zahiri. Timurbugha was deposed in turn on 31 January 1468, but voluntarily consented to the accession of his second in command, Qaitbay. Qaitbay's 28-year-long reign, the second longest in Mamluk history after al-Nasir Muhammad, was marked by relative stability and prosperity. Historical sources present a sultan whose character was markedly different from other Mamluk rulers. Notably, he disliked engaging in conspiracy, even though this had been a hallmark of Mamluk politics. He had a reputation for being even-handed and treating his colleagues and subordinates fairly, exemplified by his magnanimous treatment of the deposed Timurbugha. These traits seem to have kept internal tensions and conspiracies at bay throughout his reign. While the Mamluk practices of confiscation, extortion, and bribery continued in fiscal matters, under Qaitbay they were practiced in a more systematic way that allowed individuals and institutions to function within a more predictable environment. His engagement with the civil bureaucracy and the ulema (Islamic jurists and scholars) appeared to reflect a genuine commitment to Sunni Islamic law. He was one of the most prolific Mamluk patrons of architecture, second only to al-Nasir Muhammad, and his patronage of religious and civic buildings extended to the provinces beyond Cairo. Nonetheless, Qaitbay operated in an environment of recurring plague epidemics that underpinned a general population decline. Agriculture suffered, the treasury was often stretched thin, and by the end of his reign the economy was still weak. The challenges to Mamluk dominance abroad were also mounting, particularly to the north. Shah Suwar, the leader of the Dulkadirid principality in Anatolia, benefited from Ottoman support and was an excellent military tactician. Meanwhile, Qaitbay supported the ruler of the Karamanid principality, Ahmad. Initially, the Mamluks failed in a series of campaigns against Shah Suwar. The tide turned in 1470โ€“1471 when an agreement was reached between Qaitbay and Mehmed II, by which Qaitbay stopped supporting the Karamanids and the Ottomans stopped supporting the Dulkadirids. Now without Ottoman support, Shah Suwar was defeated in 1471 by a Mamluk expedition led by Qaitbay's senior field commander, Yashbak min Mahdi. Shah Suwar held out in his fortress near Zamantฤฑ, before agreeing to surrender himself if his life was spared and he was allowed to remain as a vassal. In the end, Qaitbay was unwilling to let him live and Shah Suwar was betrayed, brought to Cairo, and executed. Shah Budaq was installed as his replacement and as a Mamluk vassal, though the Ottoman-Mamluk rivalry over the Dulkadirid throne continued. The next challenge to Qaitbay was the rise of the Aq Qoyunlu leader Uzun Hasan. The latter led an expedition into Mamluk territory around Aleppo in 1472, but was routed by Yashbak. The next year, Uzun Hassan was more resoundingly defeated in battle against Mehmed II near Erzurum. His son and successor, Ya'qub, resorted to inviting Yashbak min Mahdi to participate in a campaign against Edessa. As this avoided any challenge against Qaitbay's authority, Yashbak accepted. Although initially successful, he was killed during the siege of the city, thus depriving Qaitbay of his most important field commander. In 1489, the Republic of Venice annexed Cyprus. The Venetians promised Qaitbay their occupation would benefit him as well, as their large fleet than could better keep the peace in the eastern Mediterranean than the Cypriots. Venice also agreed to continue the Cypriots' yearly tribute of 8,000 ducats to Cairo. A treaty signed between the two powers in 1490 formalized this arrangement. It was a sign that the Mamluks were now depending partly on the Venetians for naval security. With the death of Mehmed II in 1481 and the accession of his son, Bayezid II, to the Ottoman throne, Ottoman-Mamluk tensions escalated. Bayezid's claim to the throne was challenged by his brother, Jem. The latter fled into exile and Qaitbay granted him sanctuary in Cairo in September 1481. Qaitbay eventually allowed him to return to Anatolia to lead a new attempt against Bayezid. This venture failed and Jem was fled into exile again, this time into Christian hands to the west. Bayezid interpreted Qaitbay's welcome to Jem as direct support for the latter's cause and was furious. Qaitbay also supported the Dulkadirid leader, Ala al-Dawla (who had replaced Shah Budaq), against the Ottomans, but Ala al-Dawla was compelled to shift his loyalty to Bayezid c. 1483 or 1484, which soon triggered the start of an Ottomanโ€“Mamluk war over the next six years. By 1491, both sides were exhausted and an Ottoman embassy arrived in Cairo in the spring. An agreement was concluded and the status quo ante bellum was reaffirmed. During the rest of Qaitbay's reign, no further external conflicts took place. Qaitbay's death on 8 August 1496 inaugurated several years of instability. Eventually, following several brief reigns by other candidates, Qansuh al-Ghuri (or al-Ghawri) was placed on the throne in 1501. Al-Ghuri secured his position over several months and appointed new figures to key posts. His nephew, Tuman Bay was appointed dawadar and his second in command. In Syria, al-Ghuri appointed Sibay, a former rival who opposed him in 1504โ€“1505, as governor of Damascus in 1506. The latter remained a major figure during his reign but he acknowledged Cairo's suzerainty and helped to keep the peace. Al-Ghuri is often viewed negatively by historical commentators, particularly Ibn Iyas, for his draconic fiscal policies. He inherited a state beset by financial problems. In addition to the demographic and economic changes under his predecessors, changes in the organisation of the Mamluk military over time had also resulted in large numbers of soldiers feeling alienated and repeatedly threatening to revolt unless given extra payments, which drained the state's finances. To address the shortfalls, al-Ghuri resorted to heavy-handed and far-reaching taxation and extortion to refill the treasury, which elicited protests that were sometimes violent. He used the raised funds to repair fortresses throughout the region, to commission his own construction projects in Cairo, and to purchase a large number of new mamluks to fill his military ranks. Al-Ghuri also attempted reforms of the Mamluk military. He recognized the impact of gunpowder technology used by the Ottomans and Europeans, but which the Mamluks had eschewed. In 1507, he established a foundry to produce cannons and created a new regiment trained to use them, known as the 'Fifth Corps' (al-แนฌabaqa al-Khamisa). The latter's ranks were filled recruits from outside the traditional mamluk system, including Turkmens, Persians, awlad al-nas, and craftsmen. The traditional mamluk army, however, regarded firearms with contempt and vigorously resisted their incorporation into Mamluk warfare, which prevented al-Ghuri from making effective use of them until the end of his reign. In the meantime, Shah Ismail I had emerged in 1501 and forged the Safavid Empire in Iran. The Safavids styled themselves as champions of Twelver Shi'ism, in direct opposition to the Sunnism of the Mamluks and Ottomans. Tensions along this frontier encouraged al-Ghuri to rely more on the Ottomans for aid, a policy that the Venetians ultimately also urged him to follow in order to counter their common foe, the Portuguese. The latter's expansion into the Indian Ocean was one of the major concerns of al-Ghuri's time. In 1498, the Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama had circumnavigated Africa and reached India, thus opening a new route for European trade with the east which bypassed the Middle East. This posed a serious threat to Muslim commerce, which was dominant in the area, as well as to the prosperity of Venice, which relied on trade passing from the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean through Mamluk lands. For over more than a decade, a series of confrontations took place between Portuguese forces in the Indian Ocean and Muslim expeditions sent against them. A Mamluk fleet of fifty ships left from Jeddah in 1506, with assistance of forces from the Gujarat Sultanate. It defeated the Portuguese in 1507 but lost at the Battle of Diu in 1509. In 1515, a joint Ottoman-Mamluk fleet set out under the leadership of Salman Ra'is, but ultimately it did not accomplish much. Selim I, the new Ottoman sultan, defeated the Safavids decisively at the Battle of Chaldiran in 1514. Soon after, he attacked and defeated the Dulkadirids, a Mamluk vassal, for refusing to aid him against the Safavids. Secure now against Ismail I, in 1516 he drew together a great army aiming at conquering Egypt, but to obscure the fact he presented the mobilisation of his army as being part of the war against Ismail I. The war started in 1516 which led to the later incorporation of Egypt and its dependencies in the Ottoman Empire, with Mamluk cavalry proving no match for the Ottoman artillery and the janissaries. On 24 August 1516, at the Battle of Marj Dabiq, the Ottomans were victorious against an army led by al-Ghuri himself. Khayr Bak, the governor of Aleppo, had secretly conspired with Selim and betrayed al-Ghuri, leaving with his troops part-way during the battle. In the subsequent chaos, al-Ghuri was killed. The surviving Mamluk forces returned to Aleppo but were denied entry to the city and marched back to Egypt, harassed along the way. Syria passed into Ottoman possession, and the Ottomans were welcomed in many places as deliverance from the Mamluks. The Mamluk Sultanate survived a little longer until 1517. Tuman Bay, whom al-Ghuri had left as deputy in Cairo, was hastily and unanimously proclaimed sultan on 10 October 1516. The emirs rejected his plan to confront the next Ottoman advance at Gaza, so instead he prepared a final defense at al-Raydaniyya to the north of Cairo. In the early days of 1517, Tuman Bay received news that a Mamluk army was defeated at Gaza. The Ottoman attack at al-Raydaniyya overwhelmed the defenders on 22 January 1517 and reached Cairo. Over the following days, furious fighting continued between Mamluks, locals, and Ottomans, resulting in much damage to the city and three days of pillaging. Selim proclaimed an amnesty on 31 January, at which point many of the remaining Mamluks surrendered. Tuman Bay fled to Bahnasa in Middle Egypt with some of his remaining forces. Selim initially offered the Mamluk sultan peace as an Ottoman vassal, but his messengers were intercepted and killed by mamluks. Tuman Bay, with 4,000 cavalry and some 8,000 infantry, confronted the Ottomans in a final bloody battle near Giza on 2 April 1517, where he was defeated and captured. Selim intended to spare him, but Khayr Bak and Janbirdi al-Ghazali, another former Mamluk commander, persuaded the Ottoman sultan that Tuman Bay was too dangerous to keep alive. Accordingly, the last Mamluk sultan was executed by hanging at Bab Zuwayla, one of Cairo's gates, on 13 April 1517. In reward for his betrayal at Marj Dabiq, Selim installed Khayr Bak as Ottoman governor of Egypt. Janbirdi was appointed governor of Damascus. While the Mamluk Sultanate ceased to exist with the Ottoman conquest and the recruitment of Royal Mamluks ended, the mamluks as a military-social class continued to exist. They constituted a "self-perpetuating, largely Turkish-speaking warrior class" that continued to influence politics under Ottoman rule. They existed as military units in parallel with the more strictly Ottoman regiments like the janissaries and the azabs. The difference between these Ottoman regiments and the Egyptian mamluk regiments became blurred over time as intermarriage became common, resulting in a more mixed social class. During this period, a number of mamluk 'households' formed, with a complex composition including both true mamluks and awlad al-nas, who could also rise to high ranks. Each household was headed by an ustadh, who could be an Ottoman officer or a local civilian. Their patronage extended to include retainers recruited from other Ottoman provinces as well as allies among the local urban population and tribes. Up to the early 17th century, the vast majority of Egyptian mamluks were still of Caucasian or Circassian origin. In the later 17th and 18th centuries, mamluks from other parts of the Ottoman Empire or its frontiers, such as Bosnia and Georgia, began to appear in Egypt. Throughout the Ottoman period, powerful mamluk households and factions struggled for control of important political offices and of Egypt's revenues. Between 1688 and 1755, mamluk beys, allied with Bedouin and factions within the Ottoman garrison, deposed at least thirty-four governors. The mamluks remained a dominating force in Egyptian politics until their final elimination at the hands of Muhammad Ali in 1811. Society By the time the Mamluks took power, Arabic had already been established as the language of religion, culture and the bureaucracy in Egypt, and was widespread among non-Muslim communities there as well. Arabic's wide usage among Muslim and non-Muslim commoners had likely been motivated by their aspiration to learn the language of the ruling and scholarly elite. Another contributing factor was the wave of Arab tribal migration to Egypt and subsequent intermarriage between Arabs and the indigenous population. The Mamluks contributed to the expansion of Arabic in Egypt through their victory over the Mongols and the Crusaders and the subsequent creation of a Muslim haven in Egypt and Syria for Arabic-speaking immigrants from other conquered Muslim lands. The continuing invasions of Syria by Mongol armies led to further waves of Syrian immigrants, including scholars and artisans, to Egypt. Although Arabic was used as the administrative language of the sultanate, a variety of Kipchak Turkic, namely the Mamluk-Kipchak language was the spoken language of the Mamluk ruling elite. According to Petry, "the Mamluks regarded Turkish as their caste's vehicle of communication, even though they themselves spoke Central Asian dialects such as Qipjak, or Circassian, a Caucasic language." According to historian Michael Winter, Turkishness was the distinctive aspect of the Mamluk ruling elite, for only they knew how to speak Turkish and had Turkish names. While the Mamluk elite was ethnically diverse, those who were not Turkic in origin were Turkicized nonetheless. As such, the ethnically Circassian mamluks who gained prominence with the rise of the Burji regime and became the dominant ethnic element of the government, were educated in the Turkish language and were considered to be Turks by the Arabic-speaking population. Kipchak Turkish was also used in writing, but to a lesser extent than Arabic and mainly for a mamluk audience. Over time, it was replaced in this role by Oghuz Turkish due to the growing influence of Turkish Anatolia. The ruling military elite of the sultanate was exclusive to those of mamluk background, with rare exceptions. Ethnicity served as a major factor separating the mostly Turkic or Turkicized Mamluk elite from their Arabic-speaking subjects. Ethnic origin was a key component of an individual mamluk's identity, and ethnic identity manifested itself through given names, dress, access to administrative positions and was indicated by a sultan's nisba. The sons of mamluks, known as the awlad al-nas, did not typically hold positions in the military elite and instead, were often part of the civilian administration or the Muslim religious establishment. Among the Bahri sultans and emirs, there existed a degree of pride of their Kipchak Turkish roots, and their non-Kipchak usurpers such as sultans Kitbuqa, Baybars II and Lajin were often de-legitimized in the Bahri-era sources for their non-Kipchak origins. The Mamluk elites of the Burji period were also apparently proud of their Circassian origins. A wide range of Islamic religious expression existed in Egypt during the early Mamluk era, namely Sunni Islam and its major madhabs (schools of jurisprudence) and different Sufi orders, but also small communities of Ismai'li Shia Muslims, particularly in Upper Egypt. There remained a significant minority of Coptic Christians. Under Saladin, the Ayyubids embarked on a program of reviving and strengthening Sunni Islam in Egypt to counter Christianity, which had been reviving under the religiously benign rule of the Fatimids, and Isma'ilism, the branch of Islam of the Fatimid state. Under the Bahri sultans, the promotion of Sunni Islam was pursued more vigorously than under the Ayyubids. The Mamluks were motivated by personal piety or political expediency for Islam was both an assimilating and unifying factor between the Mamluks and the majority of their subjects; the early mamluks had been brought up as Sunni Muslims and the Islamic faith was the only aspect of life shared between the Mamluk ruling elite and its subjects. While the precedent set by the Ayyubids highly influenced the Mamluk state's embrace of Sunni Islam, the circumstances in the Muslim Middle East in the aftermath of the Crusader and Mongol invasions also left Mamluk Egypt as the last major Islamic power able to confront the Crusaders and the Mongols. Thus, the early Mamluk embrace of Sunni Islam also stemmed from the pursuit of a moral unity within their realm based on the majority views of its subjects. The Mamluks cultivated and utilized Muslim leaders to channel the religious feelings of their Muslim subjects in a manner that did not disrupt the sultanate's authority. Similar to their Ayyubid predecessors, the Bahri sultans favored the Shafi'i madhab, while additionally promoting the other major Sunni madhabs, namely the Maliki, Hanbali and Hanafi. Baybars ended the Ayyubid and early Mamluk tradition of selecting a Shafi'i scholar as qadi al-qudah (chief judge) and instead appointed a qadi al-qudah from each of the four madhabs. This policy was partly motivated to accommodate an increasingly diverse Muslim population whose components had immigrated to Egypt from regions where other madhabs prevailed. The diffusion of the post of qadi al-qudah enabled Mamluk sultans to patronize each madhab and gain more influence over them. Nevertheless, the Shafi'i scholars kept a number of privileges over their counterparts. The Mamluks embraced the Sufi orders in the empire. Sufism was widespread in Egypt by the 13th century, and the Shadhiliyya was the most popular order. The Shadhiliyya lacked an institutional structure and was flexible in its religious thought, allowing it to easily adapt to its local environment. It incorporated Sunni Islamic piety with its basis in the Qur'an and hadith, Sufi mysticism, and elements of popular religion such as sainthood, ziyarat (visitation) to the tombs of saintly or religious individuals, and dhikr (invocation of God). Other Sufi orders with large numbers of adherents were the Rifa'iyya and Badawiyya. While the Mamluks patronized the Sunni ulema through appointments to government office, they patronized the Sufis by funding zawiyas (Sufi lodges). On the other end of the spectrum of Sunni religious expression were the teachings of the Hanbali scholar Ibn Taymiyya, which emphasized stringent moral rigor based on literal interpretations of the Qur'an and the Sunna, and a deep hostility to the aspects of mysticism and popular religious innovations promoted by the Sufis. While Ibn Taymiyya was not a typical representative of Sunni orthodoxy in the sultanate, he was the most prominent Muslim scholar of the Mamluk era and arrested several times by the Mamluks for his religious teachings, which are still influential in the modern Muslim world. Ibn Taymiyya's doctrines were regarded as heretical by the Sunni establishment patronized by the Mamluks. Christians and Jews in the empire were governed by the dual authority of their respective religious institutions and the sultan. The authority of the former extended to many of the everyday aspects of Christian and Jewish life and was not restricted to the religious practices of the two communities. The Mamluk government, often under the official banner of the Pact of Umar which gave Christians and Jews dhimmi (protected peoples) status, determined the taxes paid by Christians and Jews, including the jizya (poll tax on non-Muslims), permission to construct houses of worship, and the public appearance of Christians and Jews. Jews generally fared better than Christians, and the latter experienced more difficulties under the Mamluks than their Muslim predecessors. The association of Christians with the Mongols, due to the latter's use of Armenian and Georgian Christian auxiliaries, the attempted alliance between the Mongols and the Crusader powers, and the massacres of Muslim communities and the sparing of Christians in cities captured by the Mongols, contributed to rising anti-Christian sentiments in the Mamluk era. The manifestations of anti-Christian hostility were mostly spearheaded at the popular level rather than by the Mamluk sultans. The main source of popular hostility was resentment at the privileged positions many Christians held in the Mamluk bureaucracy. The Coptic decline in Egypt occurred under the Bahri sultans and accelerated further under the Burji regime. There were several instances of Egyptian Muslim protests against the wealth of Copts and their employment with the state, and both Muslim and Christian rioters burned down each other's houses of worship during intercommunal clashes. As a result of popular pressure, Copts had their employment in the bureaucracy terminated at least nine times between the late 13th and mid-15th centuries, and on one occasion, in 1301, the government ordered the closure of all churches. Coptic bureaucrats were often restored to their positions after tensions passed. Many Copts were forced to convert to Islam or at least adopted outward expressions of Muslim faith to protect their employment and avoid the jizya and official measures against them. A large wave of Coptic conversions to Islam occurred in the 14th century, as a result of persecution, destruction of churches, and to retain employment. By the end of the Mamluk period, the ratio of Muslims to Christians in Egypt may have risen to 10:1. In Syria, the Mamluks uprooted the local Maronite and Greek Orthodox Christians from the coastal areas to prevent their contact with European powers. The Maronite Church was especially suspected by the Mamluks of collaboration with the Europeans due to the close relations between the Maronite Church and the papacy in Rome and the Christian European powers, particularly Cyprus. The Greek Orthodox Church declined after the Mamluk destruction of its spiritual center, Antioch, and the Timurid destruction of Aleppo and Damascus in 1400. The Syriac Christians also significant declined in Syria due to intra-communal disputes over patriarchal succession and the destruction of churches by the Timurids or local Kurdish tribes. The Mamluks inaugurated a similar decline of the Armenian Orthodox Church after their conquest of the Cilicia in 1374, in addition to the raids of the Timurids in 1386 and the conflict between the Timurids and the Aq Qoyunlu and Kara Qoyonlu tribal confederations in Cilicia. Bedouins were a reserve force in the Mamluk military. During the third reign of al-Nasir Muhammad, the Bedouin tribes, particularly those of Syria, such as the Al Fadl, were strengthened and integrated into the economy. Bedouin tribes were also a major supplier of the Mamluk cavalry's Arabian horses. Qalawun purchased horses from the Bedouin of Barqa, which were inexpensive but of high quality, while al-Nasir Muhammad spent extravagantly for horses from Bedouins in Barqa, Syria, Iraq and Bahrayn (eastern Arabia). Baybars and Qalawun, and the Syrian viceroys of al-Nasir Muhammad during his first two reigns, emirs Salar and Baybars II, were averse to granting Bedouin sheikhs iqtaสฟat, and when they did, the iqtaสฟat were of low quality. During al-Nasir Muhammad's third reign, the Al Fadl were granted high-quality iqtaสฟat in abundance, strengthening the tribe to become the most powerful among the Bedouin of the Syrian Desert. Beyond his personal admiration of the Bedouin, al-Nasir Muhammad's distributed iqtaสฟat to the Al Fadl to prevent their defection to the Ilkhanate, which the Al Fadl had frequently done during the early 14th century. Competition over iqtaสฟat and the post of amir al-สฟarab (chief commander of the Bedouin) in Syria, led to conflict and rebellion among the tribes, leading to mass bloodshed in Syria in the aftermath of al-Nasir Muhammad's death. The Mamluk leadership in Syria, weakened by the losses of the Black Plague, was unable to quell the Bedouin through military expeditions, so they resolved to assassinate the chiefs of the tribes. The Al Fadl eventually lost favor, to the advantage of the Bedouin tribes around al-Karak under later Bahri sultans. In Egypt, during al-Nasir Muhammad's third reign, the Mamluks had a similar relationship with the Bedouin. The Isa Ibn Hasan al-Hajjan tribe became powerful there after being assigned massive iqtaสฟat. The tribe remained strong after al-Nasir Muhammad's death, but frequently rebelled against the succeeding Bahri sultans. They were restored after each rebellion, before the tribe's sheikh was finally executed in 1353. In Sharqiya in Lower Egypt, the Tha'laba tribes were entrusted to supervise the postal routes, but were often unreliable and joined the Al A'id tribe during their raids. Bedouin tribal wars frequently disrupted trade and travel in Upper Egypt, and destroyed cultivated lands and sugar processing plants. In the mid-14th century, the rival Arak and Banu Hilal tribes of Upper Egypt, became de facto rulers of the region, forcing the Mamluks to rely on them for tax collection. The Bedouin were purged from Upper and Lower Egypt by the campaigns of Shaykhu in 1353. Government The Mamluks did not significantly alter the administrative, legal and economic systems they inherited from the Ayyubid state. The Mamluk ruled over essentially the same territory of the Ayyubid state, i.e. Egypt, Syria and the Hejaz. Unlike the collective sovereignty of the Ayyubids, where territory was divided among members of the royal family, the Mamluk state was unitary. Under many Ayyubid sultans, Egypt had paramountcy over the Syrian provinces, but under the Mamluks this paramountcy was consistent and absolute. Cairo remained the capital of the empire and its social, economic and administrative center, with the Citadel of Cairo serving as the sultan's headquarters. The Mamluk sultan was the supreme government authority, while he delegated power to provincial governors known as nuwwab al-saltana (deputy sultans, sing. na'ib al-saltana). The vice-regent of Egypt was the top na'ib, followed by the na'ib of Damascus, then Aleppo, then the nuwwab of al-Karak, Safed, Tripoli, Homs and Hama. In Hama, the Mamluks permitted the Ayyubids to continue governing until 1341 (its popular governor in 1320, Abu'l Fida, was granted the honorary title of sultan by al-Nasir Muhammad), but otherwise the nuwwab of the provinces were mamluk emirs. A consistent accession process occurred with every new sultan. It mostly involved an election by a council of emirs and mamluks (who would proffer an oath of loyalty), the sultan's assumption of the regal title al-malik, a state-organized procession through Cairo led by the sultan, and the reading of the sultan's name in the khutba (Friday prayer sermon). The process was not formalized and the electoral body never defined, but typically consisted of the emirs and mamluks of whichever Mamluk faction held sway; usurpations of the throne by rival factions were relatively common. Despite the electoral nature of accession, dynastic succession was nonetheless a reality at times, especially during the Bahri period, where Baybars' sons Baraka and Solamish succeeded him, before Qalawun usurped the throne and was thereafter succeeded by four generations of direct descendants, with occasional interruptions. Hereditary rule was much less frequent under the Burji regime. Nonetheless, with rare exception, the Burji sultans were all linked to the regime's founder Barquq through blood or mamluk affiliation. The accession of blood relatives to the sultanate was often the result of the decision or indecision of leading Mamluk emirs or the will of the preceding sultan. The latter situation applied to the sultans Baybars, Qalawun, the latter's son, al-Nasir Muhammad and Barquq, who formally arranged for one or more of their sons to succeed them. More often than not, the sons of sultans were elected by the senior emirs with the intention that they serve as convenient figureheads presiding over an oligarchy of the emirs. Lesser-ranked emirs viewed the sultan as a peer whom they entrusted with ultimate authority and as a benefactor whom they expected to guarantee their salaries and monopoly on the military. When emirs felt the sultan was not ensuring their benefits, disruptive riots, coup plots or delays to calls for service were all likely scenarios. Often, the practical restrictions on a sultan's power came from his own khushdashiyya, defined by historian Amalia Levanoni as "the fostering of a common bond between mamluks who belonged to the household of a single master and their loyalty towards him." The foundation of Mamluk organization and factional unity was based on the principles of khushdashiyya, which was a crucial component of a sultan's authority and power. The sultan also derived power from other emirs, with whom there was constant tension, particularly in peacetime. According to Holt, the factious nature of emirs who were not the sultan's khushdashiyya stemmed from their primary loyalty being to their ustadh. Emirs who were part of the sultan's khushdashiyya also rebelled at times, particularly the nuwwab of Syria who had power bases in their provinces. Typically, the faction most loyal to the sultan were the Royal Mamluks, particularly those whom the sultan had personally recruited and manumitted, as opposed to the qaranis, who were recruited by his predecessors. The qaranis occasionally constituted a hostile faction, such as with as-Salih Ayyub and the Qalawuni successors of al-Nasir Muhammad. Among the sultan's responsibilities were issuing and enforcing specific legal orders and general rules, making the decision to go to war, levying taxes for military campaigns, ensuring the proportionate distribution of food supplies throughout the empire and, in some cases, overseeing the investigation and punishment of alleged criminals. The sultan or his appointees led the Hajj caravans from Cairo and Damascus to Mecca in the capacity of amir al-hajj (commander of the Hajj caravan). Starting with Qalawun, the sultans monopolized the provision of the Kiswa (mantle) that was annually draped over the Kaaba, in addition to patronizing Jerusalem's Dome of the Rock. Another prerogative, at least of the early Bahri sultans, was to import as many mamluks as possible, preferably those from the territories of the Mongols. The Mamluks' enemies, namely the Mongol states and their Muslim vassals, the Armenians, and the Crusaders, disrupted the flow of mamluks to the sultanate. Unable to meet the military's need for new mamluks, the sultans often resorted to recruiting wafidiyya (Ilkhanid deserters or prisoners of war). To legitimize their rule, the Mamluks presented themselves as the defenders of Islam, and, beginning with Baybars, sought confirmation of their executive authority from a caliph. The Ayyubids had owed their allegiance to the Abbasid Caliphate, but the latter was destroyed when the Mongols sacked the Abbasid capital Baghdad in 1258 and killed Caliph al-Musta'sim. Three years later, Baybars reestablished the institution of the caliphate by making a member of the Abbasid dynasty, al-Mustansir, caliph, who in turn confirmed Baybars as sultan. The caliph recognized the sultan's authority over Egypt, Syria, the Jazira, Diyar Bakr, the Hejaz and Yemen and any territory conquered from the Crusaders or Mongols. Al-Mustansir's Abbasid successors continued in their official capacity as caliphs, but held no real power. The less than year-long reign of Caliph al-Musta'in as sultan in 1412 was an anomaly. In an anecdotal testament to the caliph's lack of real authority, a group of rebellious mamluks responded to Lajin's presentation of the Caliph al-Hakim's decree asserting Lajin's authority with the following comment, recorded by Ibn Taghribirdi: "Stupid fellow. For God's sakeโ€”who pays any heed to the caliph now?" The Abbasid presence was nonetheless an important political asset for the legitimacy of the Mamluk rulers and conferred significant prestige on them. The caliphs themselves also continued to be relevant figureheads even to other Muslim rulers until the end of the 14th century; for example, the sultans of Delhi, the Muzaffarid sultan Muhammad, the Jalayirid sultan Ahmad, and the Ottoman sultan Bayezid I all sought diplomas of investiture from the Abbasid caliphs or declared nominal allegiance to them. During the 15th century, however, the institution of the caliphate declined in importance and the caliphs became little more than religious dignitaries who visited the sultan on special occasions. Among other changes, this was exemplified by a shift in the caliph's ceremonial role during the accession of a Mamluk sultan to power: whereas Baybars formally pledged an oath of allegiance (bay'ah) to the Abbasid caliph al-Mustansir in 1261, some or most later caliphs formally performed a pledge of allegiance to the Mamluk sultan instead. The sultans were products of the military hierarchy, entry into which was essentially restricted to mamluks. Awlad al-nas could enter and rise high within the hierarchy, but typically did not enter military service. Instead, many entered into mercantile, scholastic or other civilian careers. The army Baybars inherited consisted of Kurdish and Turkic tribesmen, refugees from the Ayyubid armies of Syria, and other troops from armies dispersed by the Mongols. After the Battle of Ain Jalut, Baybars restructured the army into three components: the Royal Mamluk regiment, the soldiers of the emirs, and the halqa (non-mamluk soldiers). The Royal Mamluks, were under the direct command of the sultan and the highest-ranking body within the army, entry into which was exclusive. The lower-ranking emirs had their own corps, akin to private armies, which were also mobilized by the sultan as needed. As emirs were promoted, the number of soldiers in their corps increased, and when rival emirs challenged each other's authority, they often utilized their forces, leading to major disruptions of civilian life. The halqa had inferior status to the mamluk regiments. It had its own administrative structure and was under the direct command of the sultan. The halqa regiments declined in the 14th century when professional non-mamluk soldiers generally stopped joining the force. One of Baybars's early reforms was creating a clear and permanent hierarchy, a system which the Ayyubids had lacked. To that end, he established a ranking system for emirs of ten, forty and one hundred, each indicating the number of mamluks assigned to an emir's command. An emir of one hundred could further be assigned one thousand mounted soldiers during battle. Baybars instituted uniformity within the army and ended the improvised nature of the Ayyubid forces in Egypt and Syria. Baybars and Qalawun standardized the undefined Ayyubid policies of distributing iqtaสฟat to emirs. This reform created a clear link between an emir's rank and the size of his iqtaสฟ. Baybars started biweekly inspections of the troops to verify sultanic orders were implemented, in addition to the periodic inspections where he distributed new arms to the troops. Beginning under Qalawun, the sultan and the military administration recorded all emirs in the empire and defined their roles as part of the right or left flanks of the army during wartime. Gradually, as mamluks filled administrative and courtier posts within the state, Mamluk innovations to the Ayyubid hierarchy were developed. The offices of ustadar (majordomo), hajib (chamberlain), amir jandar (commander of the arsenal) and khazindar (treasurer), which existed during the Ayyubid period, were preserved, but Baybars added the offices of dawadar (secretary or adviser), amir akhur (commander of the royal stables), ru'us al-nawab (chief of the mamluk corps) and amir majlis (commander of the audience). These additional offices were largely ceremonial posts and were closely connected to the military hierarchy. The ustadar (from the Arabic ustadh al-dar, lit. 'master of the house') was the sultan's chief of staff, responsible for organizing the royal court's daily activities, managing the sultan's personal budget, and supervising all of the buildings of the Citadel of Cairo and its staff. The ustadar was often referred to as the ustadar al-aliya (grand master of the house) to distinguish from his subordinate ustadar saghirs (lesser majordomos) who oversaw specific aspects of the court and citadel, such as the sultan's treasury, private property, and the kitchens of the citadel. Emirs had their own ustadars. The ustadar al-aliya became a powerful office in the late 14th century, particularly under Barquq and al-Nasir Faraj, who transferred the responsibilities of the special bureau for their mamluks to the authority of the ustadar, turning the latter into the state's chief financial official. Economy The Mamluk economy essentially consisted of two spheres: the state economy, which was organized like an elite household and controlled by the caste government headed by the sultan, and the free market economy, which was the domain of society and associated with the local subjects, in contrast to the ethnic outsiders of the ruling elite. The Mamluks introduced greater centralization of the economy by organizing the state bureaucracy in Cairo (Damascus and Aleppo already had organized bureaucracies), and the military hierarchy and its associated iqtaสฟ system. In Egypt, the centrality of the Nile River facilitated Mamluk centralization of the region. The Mamluks used the same currency system as the Ayyubids, consisting of gold dinars, silver dirhams and copper fulus. The monetary system during the Mamluk period was highly unstable due to frequent monetary changes enacted by the sultans. Increased circulation of copper coins and the increased use of copper in dirhams often led to inflation. The Mamluks created an administrative body called the hisba to supervise the market, with a muhtasib (inspector-general) in charge. There were four muhtasibs based in Cairo, Alexandria, al-Fustat and Lower Egypt. The muhtasib in Cairo was the most important and his position akin to a finance minister. The muhtasib inspected weights and measures and the quality of goods, maintained legal trade, and detected price gouging. A qadi or Muslim scholar occupied the post, but in the 15th century, mamluk emirs began to be appointed as muhtasibs to recompense them during cash shortages or as a result of the gradual shift of the muhtasib's role from the legal realm to enforcement. The iqtaสฟ system was inherited from the Ayyubids and further organized under the Mamluks to fit their military needs. Iqtaสฟat were a central component of the Mamluk power structure. The iqtaสฟ of the Muslims differed from the European concept of fiefs in that the iqtaสฟ represented a right to collect revenue from a fixed territory and was accorded to an officer (an emir) as income and a financial source to provision his soldiers. Before the Mamluks' rise, there was a growing tendency of iqtaสฟ holders to treat their iqtaสฟ as personal, heritable property. The Mamluks effectively ended this, with the exception of some areas, mainly in Mount Lebanon, where longtime Druze iqtaสฟ holders (see Buhturids), who became part of the halqa, successfully resisted the abolition of their hereditary iqtaสฟat. In the Mamluk era, the iqtaสฟ was an emir's main income source, and starting in 1337, Iqtaสฟ holders sometimes leased or sold rights to their iqtaสฟat to non-mamluks to extract more profits. By 1343, the practice was commonplace and by 1347, the sale of iqta'at became taxed. The iqtaสฟ was a more stable revenue source than other methods the Mamluks employed, such as tax hikes, the sale of administrative offices, and extortion of the population. According to historian Jo van Steenbergen, The iqtaสฟ system was fundamental in assuring a legitimized, controlled and guaranteed access to the resources of the Syro-Egyptian realm to an upper level of Mamluk society that was primarily military in form and organization. As such it was a fundamental feature of Mamluk society, on the one hand giving way to a military hierarchy that crystallized into an even more developed economic hierarchy and that had substantial economic interests in society at large; on the other hand, it deeply characterized the realm's economic and social development, its agriculture, grain trade, and rural demography in particular. The system consisted of land assignments from the state in return for military services. Land was assessed by the periodic rawk (cadastral survey), which was a survey of land parcels (measured by feddan units), assessment of land quality, and the annual estimated tax revenue of the parcels, and classification of a parcel's legal status as waqf (endowment) or iqtaสฟ. The rawk organized the iqtaสฟ system and the first was carried out in 1298 under Lajin. A second and final rawk was completed in 1315 under al-Nasir Muhammad and influenced political and economic developments of the Mamluk Sultanate until its fall in the early 16th century. Gradually, the iqtaสฟ system was expanded, and increasingly larger areas of kharaj (taxable lands) were appropriated as iqtaสฟ lands to meet the fiscal needs of the military, namely payment of emirs and their subordinates. The state resolved to increase allotments by dispersing an emir's iqtaสฟat across several provinces and for short terms. This led to iqtaสฟ holders neglecting the administrative oversight, maintenance, and infrastructure of their iqtaสฟat, and concentrating solely on collecting taxes, resulting in less productivity. Agriculture was the primary source of revenue in the Mamluk economy. Agricultural products were the main exports of Mamluk Egypt, Syria and Palestine. Moreover, the major industries of sugar and textile production depended on crops (sugar cane and cotton). Every agricultural commodity was taxed by the state, with the sultan's treasury taking the largest share of the revenues; emirs and major private brokers followed. An emir's main source of income were the agricultural products of his iqtaสฟ. In Egypt, Mamluk centralization of agricultural production was more thorough than in Syria and Palestine. All agriculture in Egypt depended on a single source of irrigation, the Nile, and the measures and rights to irrigation were determined by the river's flooding, whereas in Syria and Palestine, there were multiple sources of mostly rain-fed irrigation, and measures and rights were determined at the local level. Centralization in Syria and Palestine was also more complicated than in Egypt due to the diversity of those regions' geography and their frequent invasions. The state's role in Syro-Palestinian agriculture was restricted to the fiscal administration and to the irrigation networks and other rural infrastructure. Although the degree of centralization was not as high as in Egypt, the Mamluks imposed sufficient control over the Syrian economy to derive significant revenues. The maintenance of the Mamluk army in Syria relied on the state's control over Syrian agricultural revenues. Among the responsibilities of a Mamluk provincial or district governor were repopulating abandoned areas to foster agricultural production, protecting the lands from Bedouin raids, increasing productivity in barren lands (likely through the upkeep and expansion of existing irrigation networks), and devoting special attention to the cultivation of the more arable low-lying regions. To ensure rural life was undisturbed by Bedouin raiding, which disrupted agricultural work or damaged crops and agrarian infrastructure and thus decreased revenues, the Mamluks attempted to prevent Bedouin armament and confiscate existing weapons from them. Egypt and Syria played a central transit role in international trade in the Middle Ages. Early into their rule, the Mamluks expanded the empire's role in foreign trade, with Baybars signing a commercial treaty with Genoa and Qalawun signing a similar agreement with Ceylon. By the 15th century, internal upheaval from Mamluk power struggles, diminishing iqtaสฟ revenue from plagues, and the encroachment of abandoned farmlands by Bedouin tribes had led to a financial crisis in the sultanate. To compensate these losses, the Mamluks applied a three-pronged approach: taxing the urban middle classes, boosting production and sale of cotton and sugar to Europe, and profiting from their transit position in the trade between Europe and the Far East. The last was the Mamluks' most lucrative policy and was accomplished by cultivating trade ties with Venice, Genoa and Barcelona, and increasing tariffs on commodities. At this time, the long-established trade between Europe and the Islamic world began to make up a significant part of state revenues as the Mamluks taxed the merchants operating or passing through the empire's ports. Mamluk Egypt was a major producer of textiles and a supplier of raw materials for Western Europe. The frequent outbreaks of the Black Plague led to a decline in the production of textiles, silk products, sugar, glass, soaps, and paper, which coincided with the Europeans' increasing production of these goods. Trade continued nonetheless and despite papal restrictions on trade with the Muslims during the Crusades. Mediterranean trade was dominated by spices, such as pepper, muscat nuts and flowers, cloves and cinnamon, as well as medicinal drugs and indigo. These goods originated in Persia, India, and Southeast Asia and made their way to Europe via the Mamluk ports of Syria and Egypt. These ports were frequented by European merchants, who in turn sold gold and silver ducats and bullion, silk, wool and linen fabrics, furs, wax, honey, and cheeses. Under Barsbay, a state monopoly was established on luxury goods, namely spices, with the state setting prices and collecting a percentage of the profits. In 1387, Barsbay established direct control over Alexandria, the principal Egyptian commercial port, transferring its tax revenues to his personal treasury (diwan al-khass) instead of the imperial treasury, which was linked with the military's iqtaสฟ system. In 1429, he ordered the spice trade to Europe be conducted through Cairo before goods reached Alexandria to end the direct transportation of spices from the Red Sea to Alexandria. In the late 15th and early 16th centuries, the Portuguese expansion into Africa and Asia significantly decreased the revenues of the Mamlukโ€“Venetian monopoly on trans-Mediterranean trade. This contributed to and coincided with the fall of the sultanate. Culture Mamluk decorative artsโ€”especially enameled and gilded glass, inlaid metalwork, woodwork, and textilesโ€”were prized around the Mediterranean as well as in Europe, where they had a profound impact on local production. Mamluk glassware influenced the Venetian glass industry. Trade with Iran, India, and China was even more extensive, turning Mamluk cities into centers of both trade and consumption. Imported luxury goods from the East sometimes influenced local artistic vocabularies, as exemplified by the incorporation of Chinese motifs into both objects and architecture. The Mamluks themselves, as former slaves who rose through the ranks by their own efforts, were status-conscious patrons who commissioned luxury objects marked with emblems of their ownership. Architecture was the most significant form of Mamluk patronage and numerous artistic objects were commissioned to furnish Mamluk religious buildings, such as glass lamps, Qur'an manuscripts, brass candlesticks, and wooden minbars. Decorative motifs in one art form were often applied in other art forms, including architecture. Patronage varied over time, but the two high points of the arts were the reigns of al-Nasir Muhammad and Qaitbay. Some art forms also varied in importance over time. For example, enameled glassware was a prominent industry during the first half of the Mamluk period but declined significantly in the 15th century. Most of the surviving examples of carpets, by contrast, date from the end of the Mamluk period. Ceramic production was relatively less important overall, in part because Chinese porcelains were widely available. In the art of manuscript decoration, the Qur'an was the book most commonly produced with a high degree of artistic elaboration. Cairo, Damascus, and Aleppo were among the main centers of manuscript production. Mamluk-period Qur'ans were richly illuminated and exhibit stylistic similarities with those produced under the contemporary Ilkhanids in Iran. The production of high-quality paper at this time also allowed for pages to be larger, which encouraged artists to elaborate new motifs and designs to fill these larger formats. Some manuscripts could be monumental in size; for example, one Qur'an manuscript produced for al-Ashraf Sha'ban measured between 75 and 105 centimetres tall. One of the stylistic features that distinguished Mamluk manuscript decoration was the presence of gilded foliate scrollwork over pastel-coloured backgrounds set within wide margins. Frontispieces were often decorated with star-shaped or hexagonal geometric motifs. Metalware, whether in the form of ewers, basins, or candlesticks, was widely used in various contexts and many examples have survived today. They were made of brass or bronze with inlaid decoration, though in the later periods decoration was often engraved rather than inlaid. The quality and quantity of metalwork was also generally higher in the early period. One of the best examples of this period is the so-called Baptistรจre of Saint-Louis (kept at the Louvre today), a large brass basin inlaid with arabesques and horizontal scenes of animals, hunters, and riders playing polo. An example of the later period is a series of candlesticks commissioned by Qaitbay for Muhammad's tomb in the Prophet's Mosque in Medina. They are made of engraved brass, with black bitumen filling parts of the surfaces in order to create contrast with the motifs in polished brass. Their decoration consists almost entirely of Arabic calligraphy, with the thuluth script prominently used. Glass lamps were another high point of Mamluk art, particularly those commissioned for mosques. Egypt and Syria already possessed a rich tradition of glassmaking before this period and Damascus was the most important production center during the Mamluk period. Coloured glass had been common in the preceding Ayyubid period, but during the Mamluk period enamel and gilding became the most important techniques of decorating glass. Mosque lamps had a bulbous body with a wide flaring neck at the top. They were produced in the thousands and suspended from the ceiling by chains. Mamluk architecture is distinguished in part by the construction of multi-functional buildings whose floor plans became increasingly creative and complex due to the limited available space in the city and the desire to make monuments visually dominant in their urban surroundings. While Cairo was the main center of patronage, Mamluk architecture also appears in Damascus, Jerusalem, Aleppo, and Medina. Patrons, including sultans and high-ranking emirs, typically set out to build mausoleums for themselves but attached to them charitable structures such as madrasas, zawiyas, sabils (public fountains), or mosques. The revenues and expenses of these charitable complexes were governed by inalienable waqf agreements that also served the secondary purpose of ensuring some form of income or property for the patrons' descendants. The cruciform or four-iwan floor plan was adopted for madrasas and became more common for new monumental complexes than the traditional hypostyle mosque, though the vaulted iwans of the early period were replaced with flat-roofed iwans in the later period. The decoration of monuments also became more elaborate over time, with stone-carving and colored marble paneling and mosaics (including ablaq) replacing stucco as the most dominant architectural decoration. Monumental decorated entrance portals became common compared to earlier periods, often carved with muqarnas. Influences from Syria, Ilkhanid Iran, and possibly even Venice were evident in these trends. Minarets, which were also elaborate, usually consisted of three tiers separated by balconies, with each tier having a different design than the others. Late Mamluk minarets, for example, most typically had an octagonal shaft for the first tier, a round shaft on the second, and a lantern structure with finial on the third level. Domes also transitioned from wooden or brick structures, sometimes of bulbous shape, to pointed stone domes with complex geometric or arabesque motifs carved into their outer surfaces. The peak of this stone dome architecture was achieved under Qaitbay in the late 15th century. After the Ottoman conquest of 1517, new Ottoman-style buildings were introduced, however the Mamluk style continued to be repeated or combined with Ottoman elements in many subsequent monuments. Some building types which first appeared in the late Mamluk period, such as sabil-kuttabs (a combination of sabil and kuttab) and multi-storied caravanserais (wikalas or khans), actually grew in number during the Ottoman period. In modern times, from the late 19th century onwards, a neo-Mamluk style also appeared, partly as a nationalist response against Ottoman and European styles, in an effort to promote local 'Egyptian' styles. Mamluks sultans and emirs had personal blazons, which were important symbols of their status and a distinctive cultural feature of the Mamluk ruling class. With the possible exception of the earliest years of the regime, Mamluks chose their own blazons. This was done while they were emirs and the blazon usually symbolized the office or position they held at this time. The blazon appeared on their banners and it was retained even after they became sultans. Such blazons were an important feature of Mamluk visual culture and they are found on all kinds of objects manufactured for Mamluk patrons. They were also featured in Mamluk architecture, though less consistently. This heraldic practice was unique in the medieval Muslim world. Unlike European heraldry, Mamluk blazons used a much more limited set of images and symbols for their charges: only about forty-five symbols were used. Early Mamluk blazons were simple, usually featuring a single symbol such as a cup, sword, or an animal. Some banners were merely distinguished by patterned fabrics and plain geometric divisions. The blazon of Baybars was a panther, lion, or leopard, while that of Qalawun, according to one author, was a fleur-de-lis. From the late 13th century to the mid 14th century, the crescent moon appears on Mamluk ceramics and some Mamluk coins, either alone or in conjunction with other symbols, though it was rarely used for personal blazons. Starting with al-Nasir Muhammad, epigraphic blazons (with Arabic calligraphy) became part of the heraldic repertoire. From the late 14th to the mid-15th centuries, blazons became more complex and their shields were usually divided into three parts, with the main symbol placed within each division, sometimes in pairs. After this, late Mamluk blazons became even more elaborate but were more homogenous in style. They were filled with details, including up to five or six different symbols. By this point, they were possibly no longer used as individualized personal blazons but perhaps more as general marks of their social class. The Mamluk sultans also followed the Ayyubids in using yellow as the official colour associated with the sultan and used on sultanic banners. Baybars is said to have noted the yellow colour of his banners in opposition to the red banners of Bohemund VI. After Selim II conquered Damascus in 1516, a contemporary writer, Ibn Tulun, noted that the rich yellow silk banner of the Mamluks was replaced by the plain red banner of the Ottomans. Red banners are also known to have been used by the Mamluks, as the historian Ibn Taghribirdi (d. 1470) recorded that Sultan al-Mu'ayyad gifted a red banner to one of his vassals in Anatolia. Various symbols were also used to represent the Mamluk realm in European sources. The Book of Knowledge of All Kingdoms, written by an anonymous European author after 1360, attributes to Cairo a white flag with a blue crescent moon. In the Catalan Atlas of 1375, created by a Majorcan cartographer (likely Abraham Cresques), the Mamluk empire is symbolized by the drawing of a Muslim ruler shown with a green parrot on his arm, the latter possibly a symbol of nobility. Next to this, an icon symbolizing Babylon (alongside Cairo), is marked by a yellow flag with a crescent moon, with the crescent representing Muslim rule. Nearby, the city of Alexandria is marked with a flag containing the panther symbol of the former Sultan Baybars, whose reputation was known from the Crusades. List of sultans See also References Bibliography Further reading
========================================
[SOURCE: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Baker_(broadcaster)] | [TOKENS: 837]
Contents Richard Baker (broadcaster) Richard Douglas James Baker OBE RD (15 June 1925 โ€“ 17 November 2018) was an English broadcaster, best known as a newsreader for BBC News from 1954 to 1982, and as a radio presenter of classical music. He was a contemporary of Kenneth Kendall and Robert Dougall and was the first reader of the BBC Television News (in voiceover) in 1954. Early life The eldest son of a plasterer, Baker was born in Willesden, north London, and educated at Kilburn Grammar School and at Peterhouse, Cambridge. Baker's undergraduate years were interrupted by war service in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve during World War II. He was on a minesweeper that protected the Allied Arctic supply convoys to the USSR. He was awarded the Royal Naval Reserve decoration. In May 2015 he was awarded the Ushakov Medal for his service in the Arctic convoys of World War II. Broadcasting career After graduating from Cambridge University, Baker worked as an actor and as a teacher. An approach to the BBC saw him gain his first broadcasting role, presenting classical music on the BBC Third Programme. He introduced the first BBC television news broadcast on 5 July 1954, although John Snagge read the actual bulletin. He presented news bulletins on the BBC until he stepped down on 31 December 1982. A competent pianist, he also became closely associated with classical music broadcasting, and presented many music programmes on both television and radio, including, for many years, the annual live broadcast from the Last Night of the Proms. He was a regular panellist on the classical music quiz show Face the Music. From 1979โ€“1980 he was a columnist for Now! Magazine. On radio he presented Baker's Dozen, Start the Week on Radio 4 from April 1970 until 1987, Mozart, These You Have Loved (1972โ€“77), and Melodies for You for BBC Radio 2 (1986โ€“1995, 1999โ€“2003). He also presented the long-running Your Hundred Best Tunes for BBC Radio 2 on Sunday nights, taking over from Alan Keith, who died in 2003, and retiring in January 2007 when the programme was dropped by the BBC. In 1995, he made his first foray into independent radio with a move to Classic FM, where he presented the Classic Countdown and Evening Concert programmes. Baker narrated Mary, Mungo and Midge (1969), a children's cartoon produced for the BBC, and Teddy Edward (1973), another children's series, as well as Prokofiev's composition for children Peter and the Wolf. He made cameo appearances in three episodes (30, 33 and 39) of Monty Python's Flying Circus and in the 1977 Morecambe and Wise Christmas Show. In the former, he is performing his newsreading duties before pausing and speaking the non sequitur "Lemon curry?" Personal life Baker married Margaret Martin, at St Mary The Boltons in Brompton, London, on 2 June 1961, while both were in their mid-30s. They had known each other from infancy as their mothers were friends. The couple had two sons; Andrew, a sports columnist at The Daily Telegraph and James, a television executive at Red Arrow Studios. Baker wrote a biography of Vice-Admiral Sir Gilbert Stephenson, under whom he had served. The Terror of Tobermory was published by W. H. Allen in 1972. At the time of his 90th birthday Baker was living with his wife at a retirement village in Oxfordshire. He died on 17 November 2018, at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, aged 93. Following his death, fellow BBC broadcast journalist John Simpson tweeted: "Richard Baker, who has just died, was one of the finest newsreaders of modern times: highly intelligent, thoughtful, gentle, yet tough in defence of his principles." References External links
========================================
[SOURCE: https://www.theverge.com/column/881567/i-review-laptops-for-the-verge-ask-me-anything] | [TOKENS: 1736]
ColumnCloseColumnPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All ColumnGadgetsCloseGadgetsPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All GadgetsTechCloseTechPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All TechI review laptops for The Verge, ask me anything๏ปฟIโ€™ll be answering subscriber questions today at 11AM PT / 2PM ET. Come geek out with me about laptops, photography, the great state of New Jersey, or other nerdy things.๏ปฟIโ€™ll be answering subscriber questions today at 11AM PT / 2PM ET. Come geek out with me about laptops, photography, the great state of New Jersey, or other nerdy things.by Antonio G. Di BenedettoCloseAntonio G. Di BenedettoReviewer, LaptopsPosts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All by Antonio G. Di BenedettoFeb 20, 2026, 3:00 PM UTCLinkShareGiftLove me some laptops. Photo: Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The VergeAntonio G. Di BenedettoCloseAntonio G. Di BenedettoPosts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All by Antonio G. Di Benedetto is a reviewer covering laptops and the occasional gadget. He spent over 15 years in the photography industry before joining The Verge as a deals writer in 2021.What up, Verge-heads! Wait. โ€œVergesters?โ€ โ€œVerge-igans?โ€ Nope, that ainโ€™t itโ€ฆGREETINGS, DEAREST VERGE SUBSCRIBERS!Antonio here. ๐Ÿ‘‹๐Ÿป Iโ€™m your friendly neighborhood laptop reviewer, and Iโ€™m hosting an exclusive subscriber โ€œAMAโ€ today at 11AM PT / 2PM ET. I review laptops ranging from MacBooks and Chromebooks to weird-but-awesome tablets and a $6,000 gaming laptop. So I have a fairly wide range of experience with some of the best computers you can own: what their screens look like, how nice they are to type on, if their trackpads suck or not, and, of course, how many ugly stickers youโ€™ll be removing if you buy one yourself.Always be testing. For eternity.My job has me using both Windows and macOS, so I find things to appreciate and dislike in both. Iโ€™ve also dabbled a bit in Linux with Bazzite, which I love, but I havenโ€™t found the time to dive as deep as my colleagues Nathan, Stevie, or Terrence.Outside of laptops, I occasionally cover cameras and mechanical keyboards, and once in a while I pitch in to support our games coverage (just a little). I also do my own product photography for my reviews, because I work remotely.Iโ€™m a chatterbox whoโ€™s always keen to talk shop about any of this stuff or geeky hobbies like fountain pens, watches, or Gunpla (one of my dad-hobbies of choice). So join me today, ask some questions, and letโ€™s shoot the shit.Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.Antonio G. Di BenedettoCloseAntonio G. Di BenedettoReviewer, LaptopsPosts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All by Antonio G. Di BenedettoColumnCloseColumnPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All ColumnGadgetsCloseGadgetsPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All GadgetsLaptopsCloseLaptopsPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All LaptopsQ&ACloseQ&APosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All Q&ATechCloseTechPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All TechMost PopularMost PopularThe RAM shortage is coming for everything you care aboutA $10K+ bounty is waiting for anyone who can unplug Ring doorbells from Amazonโ€™s cloudMetaโ€™s VR metaverse is ditching VRTurtle Beachโ€™s new PC controller with swiveling sticks is 30 percent offGE Profile made a smaller version of its nugget ice maker that needs less counter spaceThe Verge DailyA free daily digest of the news that matters most.Email (required)Sign UpBy submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.Advertiser Content FromThis is the title for the native ad Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Column Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Gadgets Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Tech I review laptops for The Verge, ask me anything ๏ปฟIโ€™ll be answering subscriber questions today at 11AM PT / 2PM ET. Come geek out with me about laptops, photography, the great state of New Jersey, or other nerdy things. ๏ปฟIโ€™ll be answering subscriber questions today at 11AM PT / 2PM ET. Come geek out with me about laptops, photography, the great state of New Jersey, or other nerdy things. Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All by Antonio G. Di Benedetto Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All by Antonio G. Di Benedetto What up, Verge-heads! Wait. โ€œVergesters?โ€ โ€œVerge-igans?โ€ Nope, that ainโ€™t itโ€ฆ GREETINGS, DEAREST VERGE SUBSCRIBERS! Antonio here. ๐Ÿ‘‹๐Ÿป Iโ€™m your friendly neighborhood laptop reviewer, and Iโ€™m hosting an exclusive subscriber โ€œAMAโ€ today at 11AM PT / 2PM ET. I review laptops ranging from MacBooks and Chromebooks to weird-but-awesome tablets and a $6,000 gaming laptop. So I have a fairly wide range of experience with some of the best computers you can own: what their screens look like, how nice they are to type on, if their trackpads suck or not, and, of course, how many ugly stickers youโ€™ll be removing if you buy one yourself. My job has me using both Windows and macOS, so I find things to appreciate and dislike in both. Iโ€™ve also dabbled a bit in Linux with Bazzite, which I love, but I havenโ€™t found the time to dive as deep as my colleagues Nathan, Stevie, or Terrence. Outside of laptops, I occasionally cover cameras and mechanical keyboards, and once in a while I pitch in to support our games coverage (just a little). I also do my own product photography for my reviews, because I work remotely. Iโ€™m a chatterbox whoโ€™s always keen to talk shop about any of this stuff or geeky hobbies like fountain pens, watches, or Gunpla (one of my dad-hobbies of choice). So join me today, ask some questions, and letโ€™s shoot the shit. Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All by Antonio G. Di Benedetto Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Column Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Gadgets Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Laptops Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Q&A Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Tech Most Popular The Verge Daily A free daily digest of the news that matters most. This is the title for the native ad More in Column This is the title for the native ad Top Stories ยฉ 2026 Vox Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved
========================================
[SOURCE: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_debt_of_the_United_States] | [TOKENS: 9248]
Contents National debt of the United States The national debt of the United States is the total national debt owed by the federal government of the United States to treasury security holders. The national debt at a given point in time is the face value of the then outstanding treasury securities that have been issued by the Treasury and other federal agencies. The U.S. Department of the Treasury publishes a daily total of the national debt, which as of November 2025[update] is $38 trillion. Treasury reports: "The Debt to the Penny dataset provides information about the total outstanding public debt and is reported each day. Debt to the Penny is made up of intragovernmental holdings and debt held by the public, including securities issued by the U.S. Treasury. Total public debt outstanding is composed of Treasury Bills, Notes, Bonds, Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS), Floating Rate Notes (FRNs), and Federal Financing Bank (FFB) securities, as well as Domestic Series, Foreign Series, State and Local Government Series (SLGS), U.S. Savings Securities, and Government Account Series (GAS) securities." Related terms such as "national deficit" and "national surplus" refer to the federal government budget balance from year to year and not the cumulative amount of debt held. In a deficit year, the national debt increases as the government needs to borrow funds to finance the deficit. In a surplus year, the debt decreases as more money is received than spent, enabling the government to reduce the debt by buying back Treasury securities or by issuing less new debt than old debt it redeems at maturity. Broadly, US government debt increases as a result of government spending and decreases from tax or other funding receipts, both of which fluctuate during a fiscal year. The aggregate, gross amount that Treasury can borrow is limited by the United States debt ceiling. There are two components of gross national debt: Historically, the U.S. public debt as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) increases during wars and recessions and then subsequently declines. For instance, most recently, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government spent trillions in virus aid and economic relief. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that the budget deficit for fiscal year 2020 would increase to $3.3 trillion or 16% GDP, more than triple that of 2019 and the largest as a percentage of GDP since 1945. In December 2021, debt held by the public was estimated at 96.19% of GDP, and approximately 33% of this public debt was owned by foreigners (government and private). The ratio of debt to GDP may decrease as a result of a government surplus or via growth of GDP and inflation. The CBO estimated in February 2024 that Federal debt held by the public is projected to rise from 99 percent of GDP in 2024 to 116 percent in 2034, and would continue to grow if current laws generally remained unchanged. Over that period, the growth of interest costs and mandatory spending outpaces the growth of revenues and the economy, driving up debt. If those factors persist beyond 2034, pushing federal debt higher still, to 172 percent of GDP in 2054. The United States has the largest external debt in the world. The total amount of U.S. Treasury securities held by foreign entities in December 2021 was $7.7 trillion, up from $7.1 trillion in December 2020. Total US federal government debt breached the $30 trillion mark for the first time in history in February 2022. In December 2023, total federal debt was $33.1 trillion; $26.5 trillion held by the public and $12.1 trillion in intragovernmental debt. The annualized cost of servicing this debt was $726 billion in July 2023, which accounted for 14% of the total federal spending. Additionally, in recent decades, aging demographics and rising healthcare costs have led to concern about the long-term sustainability of the federal government's fiscal policies. In February 2024, the total federal government debt rose to $34.4 trillion, after increasing by approximately $1 trillion during each of two separate 100-day periods since the previous June. In 2024, federal interest payments on the national debt surpassed spending on both Medicare and national defense. On October 23, 2025, the National debt reached $38 trillion, a new high. The milestone was achieved amidst a Federal government shutdown, which by then had been going on for 23 days. The shutdown caused delays in economic activity and the postponement of financial decisions, pushing the number even further up. An increase of $1 trillion, from $37 to $38 trillion, was recorded between Aug 12 and Oct 23 of the same year, a time interval of merely 71 days. In addition, more than $382 billion of debt were added in the first 23 days of the government shutdown alone, according to the Joint Economic Committee (JEC), translating to an average rate of increase of $192,200 per second. History The United States federal government has continuously had a fluctuating public debt since its formation in 1789, except for about a year during 1835โ€“1836, a period in which the nation, during the presidency of Andrew Jackson, completely paid the national debt. To allow comparisons over the years, public debt is often expressed as a ratio to GDP. The United States public debt as a percentage of GDP reached its highest level during Harry Truman's first presidential term, during and after World War II. Public debt as a percentage of GDP fell rapidly in the post-World War II period and reached a low in 1974 under Richard Nixon. Debt as a share of GDP has consistently increased since then, except during the presidencies of Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton. Public debt rose sharply during the 1980s, as Ronald Reagan negotiated with Congress to cut tax rates and increase military spending. It fell during the 1990s because of decreased military spending, increased taxes and the 1990s boom. Public debt rose sharply during Presidency of George W. Bush and after the 2008 financial crisis, with resulting significant tax revenue declines and spending increases, such as the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. In their September 2018 monthly report published on October 5 and based on data from the Treasury Department's "Daily Treasury Statements" (DTS), the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) wrote that the federal budget deficit was c.$782 billion for the fiscal year 2018โ€”which runs from October 2017 through September 2018. This is $116 billion more than in FY2017.: 1 The Treasury statements as summarized by in the CBO report that corporate taxes for 2017 and 2018 declined by $92 billion representing a drop of 31%. The CBO added that "about half of the decline ... occurred since June" when some of the provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 took effect, which included the "new lower corporate tax rate and the expanded ability to immediately deduct the full value of equipment purchases". (~$1.64 trillion in 2024) According to articles in The Wall Street Journal and Business Insider, based on documents released on October 29, 2018, by the Treasury Department, the department's projection estimated that by the fourth quarter of the FY2018, it would have issued c. $1.338 trillion (~$1.64 trillion in 2024) in debt. This would have been the highest debt issuance since 2010, when it reached $1.586 trillion (~$2.22 trillion in 2024). The Treasury anticipated that the total "net marketable debt"โ€”net marketable securitiesโ€”issued in the fourth quarter would reach $425 billion; which would raise the 2018 "total debt issuance" to over a trillion dollars of new debt, representing a "146% jump from 2017". According to the Journal that is the highest fourth quarter issuance "since 2008, at the height of the financial crisis." As cited by the Journal and the Business Insider, the primary drivers of new debt issuance are "stagnant", "sluggish tax revenues", a decrease in "corporate tax revenue", due to the GOP Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, the "bipartisan budget agreement", and "higher government spending". Due to the Coronavirus epidemic, the national debt rose to levels that exceeded what had been seen during World War Two, meaning that the U.S. had officially grown its debt amount to never before seen numbers. Valuation and measurements As of March 6, 2025, debt held by the public was $29 trillion, and intragovernmental holdings were $7.4 trillion, for a total of $36.4 trillion. Debt held by the public was approximately 77% of GDP in 2017, ranked 43rd highest out of 207 countries. The CBO forecast in April 2018 that the ratio will rise to nearly 100% by 2028, perhaps higher if current policies are extended beyond their scheduled expiration date. The national debt can also be classified into marketable or non-marketable securities. Most of the marketable securities are Treasury notes, bills, and bonds held by investors and governments globally. The non-marketable securities are mainly the "government account series" owed to certain government trust funds such as the Social Security Trust Fund, which represented $2.82 trillion (~$3.54 trillion in 2024) in 2017. The non-marketable securities represent amounts owed to program beneficiaries. For example, the cash is received but spent for other purposes. If the government continues to run deficits in other parts of the budget, the government will have to issue debt held by the public to fund the Social Security Trust Fund, in effect exchanging one type of debt for the other.[failed verification][dubious โ€“ discuss] Other large intragovernmental holders include the Federal Housing Administration, the Federal Savings and Loan Corporation's Resolution Fund and the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund (Medicare).[citation needed] Only debt held by the public is reported as a liability on the consolidated financial statements of the United States government. Debt held by US government accounts is an asset to those accounts but a liability to the Treasury; they offset each other in the consolidated financial statements. Government receipts and expenditures are normally presented on a cash rather than an accrual basis, although the accrual basis may provide more information on the longer-term implications of the government's annual operations. The United States public debt is often expressed as a ratio of public debt to GDP. The ratio of debt to GDP may decrease as a result of a government surplus as well as from growth of GDP and inflation.[citation needed] Under normal accounting rules, fully owned companies would be consolidated into the books of their owners, but the large size of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac has made U.S. governments reluctant to incorporate them into its own books. When the two mortgage companies required bail-outs, White House Budget Director Jim Nussle, on September 12, 2008, initially indicated their budget plans would not incorporate the government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) debt into the budget because of the temporary nature of the conservator intervention. As the intervention has dragged out, some pundits began to question this accounting treatment, noting that changes in August 2012 "makes them even more permanent wards of the state and turns the government's preferred stock into a permanent, perpetual kind of security". The federal government controls the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, which would normally criticize inconsistent accounting practices, but it does not oversee its own government's accounting practices or the standards set by the Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board. The on- or off-balance sheet obligations of those two independent GSEs was just over $5 trillion at the time the conservatorship was put in place, consisting mainly of mortgage payment guarantees and agency bonds. The confusing independent but government-controlled status of the GSEs resulted in investors of the legacy common shares and preferred shares launching various activist campaigns in 2014. U.S. federal government guarantees were not included in the public debt total as they were not drawn against.[clarification needed] In late 2008, the federal government had guaranteed large amounts of obligations of mutual funds, banks, and corporations under several programs designed to deal with the problems arising from the 2008 financial crisis. The guarantee program lapsed at the end of 2012, when Congress declined to extend the scheme. The funding of direct investments made in response to the crisis, such as those made under the Troubled Asset Relief Program, was included in the debt totals. The U.S. federal government is obligated under current law to make mandatory payments for programs such as Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) projects that payouts for these programs will significantly exceed tax revenues over the next 75 years. The Medicare Part A (hospital insurance) payouts already exceed program tax revenues, and Social Security payouts exceeded payroll taxes in fiscal year 2010. These deficits require funding from other tax sources or borrowing. The present value of these deficits or unfunded obligations is an estimated $45.8 trillion. This is the amount that would have had to be set aside in 2009 in order to pay for the unfunded obligations which, under current law, will have to be raised by the government in the future. Approximately $7.7 trillion relates to Social Security, while $38.2 trillion relates to Medicare and Medicaid. In other words, health care programs will require nearly five times more funding than Social Security. Adding this to the national debt and other federal obligations would bring total obligations to nearly $62 trillion. However, these unfunded obligations are not counted in the national debt, as shown in monthly Treasury reports of the national debt. GDP is a measure of the total size and output of the economy. One measure of the debt burden is its size relative to GDP, called the "debt-to-GDP ratio". Mathematically, this is the debt divided by the GDP amount. The Congressional Budget Office includes historical budget and debt tables along with its annual "Budget and Economic Outlook". Debt held by the public as a percentage of GDP rose from 34.7% GDP in 2000 to 40.5% in 2008 and 67.7% in 2011. Mathematically, the ratio can decrease even while debt grows if the rate of increase in GDP (which also takes account of inflation) is higher than the rate of increase of debt. Conversely, the debt to GDP ratio can increase even while debt is being reduced, if the decline in GDP is sufficient. Because much of the debt that was incurred as a result of World War Two could not be passed onto American citizens who also had no money to spare, the debt was never addressed and continued to grow. According to the CIA World Factbook, during 2015, the U.S. debt to GDP ratio of 73.6% was the 39th highest in the world. This was measured using "debt held by the public." However, $1 trillion in additional borrowing since the end of FY 2015 raised the ratio to 76.2% as of April 2016 [See Appendix#National debt for selected years]. Also, this number excludes state and local debt. According to the OECD, general government gross debt (federal, state, and local) in the United States in the fourth quarter of 2015 was $22.5 trillion (125% of GDP); subtracting out $5.25 trillion for intragovernmental federal debt to count only federal "debt held by the public" gives 96% of GDP. The ratio is higher if the total national debt is used, by adding the "intragovernmental debt" to the "debt held by the public." For example, on April 29, 2016, debt held by the public was approximately $13.84 trillion (~$17.7 trillion in 2024) or about 76% of GDP. Intra-governmental holdings stood at $5.35 trillion, giving a combined total public debt of $19.19 trillion. U.S. GDP for the previous 12 months was approximately $18.15 trillion, for a total debt to GDP ratio of approximately 106%. Increasing and untreated national debt leads to a significantly diminished ability for the economy to operate at its highest level. Conceptually, an annual deficit (or surplus) should represent the change in the national debt, with a deficit adding to the national debt and a surplus reducing it. However, there is complexity in the budgetary computations that can make the deficit figure commonly reported in the media (the "total deficit") considerably different from the annual increase in the debt. The major categories of differences are the treatment of the Social Security program, Treasury borrowing, and supplemental appropriations outside the budget process. Social Security payroll taxes and benefit payments, along with the net balance of the U.S. Postal Service, are considered "off-budget", while most other expenditure and receipt categories are considered "on-budget". The total federal deficit is the sum of the on-budget deficit (or surplus) and the off-budget deficit (or surplus). Since FY1960, the federal government has run on-budget deficits except for FY1999 and FY2000, and total federal deficits except in FY1969 and FY1998โ€“FY2001. For example, in January 2009 the CBO reported that for FY2008, the "on-budget deficit" was $638 billion, offset by an "off-budget surplus" (mainly due to Social Security revenue in excess of payouts) of $183 billion, for a "total deficit" of $455 billion. This latter figure is the one commonly reported in the media. However, an additional $313 billion was required for "the Treasury actions aimed at stabilizing the financial markets," an unusually high amount because of the subprime mortgage crisis. This meant that the "debt held by the public" increased by $768 billion ($455B + $313B = $768B). The "off-budget surplus" was borrowed and spent (as is typically the case), increasing the "intra-governmental debt" by $183 billion. So the total increase in the "national debt" in FY2008 was $768B +$183B = $951 billion. The Treasury Department reported an increase in the national debt of $1,017B for FY2008. The $66 billion difference is likely from "supplemental appropriations" for the war on terror, some of which were outside the budget process entirely until President Obama began including most of them in his FY2010 budget. In other words, spending the "off budget" Social Security surplus adds to the total national debt (by increasing the intragovernmental debt) while the "off-budget" surplus reduces the "total" deficit reported in the media. Certain spending called "supplemental appropriations" is outside the budget process entirely but adds to the national debt. Funding for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars was accounted for this way prior to the Obama administration. Certain stimulus measures and earmarks were also outside the budget process. The federal government publishes the total debt owed (public and intragovernmental holdings) daily. Holders of debt Because a large variety of people own the notes, bills, and bonds in the "public" portion of the debt, the Treasury also publishes information that groups the types of holders by general categories to portray who owns United States debt. In this data set, some of the public portion is moved and combined with the total government portion, because this amount is owned by the Federal Reserve as part of United States monetary policy. (See Federal Reserve System.) As is apparent from the chart, a little less than half of the total national debt is owed to the "Federal Reserve and intragovernmental holdings". The foreign and international holders of the debt are also put together from the notes, bills, and bonds sections. To the right is a chart for the data as of June 2008: As of October 2018, foreigners owned $6.2 trillion of U.S. debt, or approximately 39% of the debt held by the public of $16.1 trillion and 28% of the total debt of $21.8 trillion. In December 2020, foreigners held 33% ($7 trillion out of $21.6 trillion) of publicly held US debt; of this $7 trillion, $4.1 trillion (59.2%) belonged to foreign governments and $2.8 trillion (40.8%) to foreign investors. Including both private and public debt holders, the top three December 2020 national holders of American public debt are Japan ($1.2 trillion or 17.7%), China ($1.1 trillion or 15.2%), and the United Kingdom ($0.4 trillion or 6.2%). Historically, the share held by foreign governments had grown over time, rising from 13% of the public debt in 1988 to 34% in 2015. In more recent years, foreign ownership has retreated both in percent of total debt and total dollar amounts. China's maximum holding of 9.1% or $1.3 trillion of U.S. debt occurred in 2011, subsequently reduced to 5% in 2018. Japan's maximum holding of 7% or $1.2 trillion occurred in 2012, subsequently reduced to 4% in 2018. According to Paul Krugman, "America actually earns more from its assets abroad than it pays to foreign investors." Nonetheless, the country's net international investment position represents a debt of more than $26 trillion. Debt reduction proposals In the early 2010s, the U.S. Treasury has been obtaining negative real interest rates on government debt, meaning the inflation rate was greater than the interest rate paid on the debt. Such low rates, outpaced by the inflation rate, occur when the market believes that there are no alternatives with sufficiently low risk, or when popular institutional investors such as insurance companies, pensions, or bond, money market, and balanced mutual funds are required or choose to invest sufficiently large sums in Treasury securities to hedge against risk. Economist Lawrence Summers states that at such low interest rates, government borrowing actually saves taxpayer money and improves creditworthiness. In the late 1940s through the early 1970s, the U.S. and UK both reduced their debt burden by about 30% to 40% of GDP per decade by taking advantage of negative real interest rates, but interest rates are not always that low. Between 1946 and 1974, the U.S. debt-to-GDP ratio fell from 121% to 32% even though there were surpluses in only eight of those years which were much smaller than the deficits. Two economists, Jaromir Benes and Michael Kumhof, working for the International Monetary Fund, published a working paper called The Chicago Plan Revisited suggesting that the debt could be eliminated by raising bank reserve requirements and converting from fractional-reserve banking to full-reserve banking. Economists at the Paris School of Economics have commented on the plan, stating that it is already the status quo for coinage currency, and a Norges Bank economist has examined the proposal in the context of considering the finance industry as part of the real economy. A Centre for Economic Policy Research paper agrees with the conclusion that "no real liability is created by new fiat money creation and therefore public debt does not rise as a result." Economic risks and debates The CBO reported several types of risk factors related to rising debt levels in a July 2010 publication: The U.S. has never fully defaulted. In April 1979, however, the U.S. may have technically defaulted on $122 million (~$424 million in 2024) in Treasury bills, which was less than 1% of U.S. debt. The Treasury Department characterized it as a delay rather than as a default, but it did have consequences for short-term interest rates, which jumped 0.6%. Others view it as a temporary, partial default. The Fourth Liberty Loan of 1918 was not redeemed in gold. The United States debt ceiling is a legislative constraint on the amount of national debt that can be incurred by the U.S. Treasury. It limits how much money the federal government may pay on the debt it already has by borrowing even more money. The debt ceiling applies to almost all federal debt, including accounts owned by the public and intra-government funds for Medicare and Social Security. In 2009 the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported that the United States was on a "fiscally unsustainable" path because of projected future increases in Medicare and Social Security spending. According to the Treasury report in October 2018, summarized by Business Insider's Bob Bryan, the U.S. federal budget deficit rose as a result of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 signed into law by President Donald Trump on December 22, 2017 and the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 signed into law on March 23, 2018. Debt levels may affect economic growth rates. In 2010, economists Kenneth Rogoff and Carmen Reinhart reported that among the 20 developed countries studied, average annual GDP growth was 3โ€“4% when debt was relatively moderate or low (i.e., under 60% of GDP), but it dips to just 1.6% when debt was high (i.e., above 90% of GDP). In April 2013, the conclusions of Rogoff and Reinhart's study came into question when a coding error in their original paper was discovered by Herndon, Ash and Pollin of the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Herndon, Ash and Pollin found that after correcting for errors and unorthodox methods used, there was no evidence that debt above a specific threshold reduces growth. Reinhart and Rogoff maintain that after correcting for errors, a negative relationship between high debt and growth remains. However, other economists, including Paul Krugman, have argued that it is low growth which causes national debt to increase, rather than the other way around. Commenting on fiscal sustainability, former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke stated in April 2010 that "Neither experience nor economic theory clearly indicates the threshold at which government debt begins to endanger prosperity and economic stability. But given the significant costs and risks associated with a rapidly rising federal debt, our nation should soon put in place a credible plan for reducing deficits to sustainable levels over time." Interest expense on the public debt was approximately $678 billion in FY 2023. During FY 2023, the government also accrued a non-cash interest expense of $197 billion for intragovernmental debt, primarily the Social Security Trust Fund, for a total interest expense of $875 billion. This accrued interest is added to the Social Security Trust Fund and therefore the national debt each year and will be paid to Social Security recipients in the future. However, since it is a non-cash expense it is excluded from the budget deficit calculation. The federal debt at the end of the 2018/19 fiscal year (ended September 30, 2019) was $22.7 trillion (~$27.8 trillion in 2024). The portion that is held by the public was $16.8 trillion. Neither figure includes approximately $2.5 trillion owed to the government. Interest on the debt was $404 billion. The cost of servicing the U.S. national debt can be measured in various ways. The CBO analyzes net interest as a percentage of GDP, with a higher percentage indicating a higher interest payment burden. During 2015, this was 1.3% GDP, close to the record low 1.2% of the 1966โ€“1968 era. The average from 1966 to 2015 was 2.0% of GDP. However, the CBO estimated in 2016 that the interest amounts and % GDP will increase significantly over the following decade as both interest rates and debt levels rise: "Interest payments on that debt represent a large and rapidly growing expense of the federal government. CBO's baseline shows net interest payments more than tripling under current law, climbing from $231 billion in 2014, or 1.3% of GDP, to $799 billion in 2024, or 3.0% of GDPโ€”the highest ratio since 1996." According to a study by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB), the U.S. government will spend more on servicing their debts than they do for their national defense budget by 2024. In October 2023, yields for 10-year Treasury notes breached 5% as traders adjusted their assessment of United States' fiscal position and lowered their expectation that Congress or the White House would take any action to improve it. The impact was felt by homebuyers, with 30-year mortgage rate at its highest in two decades, and corporations facing higher costs of borrowing. Interests paid by the federal government jumped by $184 billion during the 2022 fiscal year and are still climbing. According to a 2013 Forbes article, many American and other economic analysts have expressed concerns on the amount of United States government debt the People's Republic of China is holding as part of their reserves. The National Defense Authorization Act of FY 2012 included a provision requiring the Secretary of Defense to conduct a "national security risk assessment of U.S. federal debt held by China." The department issued its report in July 2012, stating that "attempting to use U.S. Treasury securities as a coercive tool would have limited effect and likely would do more harm to China than to the United States.โ€ [citation needed] An August 19, 2013 Congressional Research Service report said that the threat is not credible and the effect would be limited even if carried out. The report said that the threat would not offer "China deterrence options, whether in the diplomatic, military, or economic realms, and this would remain true both in peacetime and in scenarios of crisis or war." A 2010 article by James K. Galbraith in The Nation, defends deficits and dismisses concerns over foreign holdings of United States government debt denominated in U.S. dollars, including China's holdings. In 2010, Warren Mosler, wrote that "When[ever] the Chinese redeem those T-securities, the money is transferred back to China's checking account at the Fed. During the entire purchase and redemption process, the dollars never leave the Fed." Australian economist Bill Mitchell argued that the United States government had a "nearly infinite capacity...to spend." Against the backdrop of escalating Sino-U.S. tensions in 2020, Yuzo Sakai, a manager at Ueda Totan Forex Ltd., said that if China undertakes a massive sales of U.S. bonds, investors may flock to the Japanese yen as a safe-haven currency. Since 2018, China had been gradually decreasing its holdings of U.S. federal debt, bringing the total to $1.07 trillion in June 2020, behind Japan who became the biggest foreign creditor of the United States. Stephen Nagy, a professor at the International Christian University, said a sell-off by China "might damage the United States in the short term" but also cause "critical economic instability" in the Chinese and global economy. Jeff Kingston, a professor and director of Asian Studies at Temple University, Japan, echoed the view, adding that dumping would lower the price of U.S. bonds, making it more attractive to other countries. According to an institutional investor, however, it may be difficult for Japan to boost its already large holdings of U.S. government debt, as such a move could be seen as "currency manipulation". Economists also debate the definition of public debt. Krugman argued in May 2010 that the debt held by the public is the right measure to use, while Reinhart has testified to the President's Fiscal Reform Commission that gross debt is the appropriate measure. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) cited research by several economists supporting the use of the lower debt held by the public figure as a more accurate measure of the debt burden, disagreeing with these Commission members. There is debate regarding the economic nature of the intragovernmental debt, which was approximately $4.6 trillion in February 2011. For example, the CBPP argues: that "large increases in [debt held by the public] can also push up interest rates and increase the amount of future interest payments the federal government must make to lenders outside of the United States, which reduces Americans' income. By contrast, intragovernmental debt (the other component of the gross debt) has no such effects because it is simply money the federal government owes (and pays interest on) to itself." However, if the U.S. government continues to run "on budget" deficits as projected by the CBO and OMB for the foreseeable future, it will have to issue marketable Treasury bills and bonds (i.e., debt held by the public) to pay for the projected shortfall in the Social Security program. This will result in "debt held by the public" replacing "intragovernmental debt". One debate about the national debt relates to intergenerational equity. For example, if one generation is receiving the benefit of government programs or employment enabled by deficit spending and debt accumulation, to what extent does the resulting higher debt impose risks and costs on future generations? There are several factors to consider: Krugman wrote in March 2013 that by neglecting public investment and failing to create jobs, we are doing far more harm to future generations than merely passing along debt: "Fiscal policy is, indeed, a moral issue, and we should be ashamed of what we're doing to the next generation's economic prospects. But our sin involves investing too little, not borrowing too much." Young workers face high unemployment and studies have shown their income may lag throughout their careers as a result. Teacher jobs have been cut, which could affect the quality of education and competitiveness of younger Americans. COVID-19 pandemic and aftermath The COVID-19 pandemic in the United States impacted the economy significantly beginning in March 2020, as businesses were shut-down and furloughed or fired personnel. About 16 million people filed for unemployment insurance in the three weeks ending April 9. It caused the number of unemployed persons to increase significantly, which is expected to reduce tax revenues while increasing automatic stabilizer spending for unemployment insurance and nutritional support. As a result of the adverse economic impact, both state and federal budget deficits will dramatically increase, even before considering any new legislation. To help address lost income for millions of workers and assist businesses, Congress and President Trump enacted the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) on March 27, 2020. It included loans and grants for businesses, along with direct payments to individuals and additional funding for unemployment insurance. The act carried an estimated $2.3 trillion price tag, with an expectation that some or all of the loans would ultimately be paid back including interest. While the law would have almost certainly increased budget deficits relative to the January 2020 10-year CBO baseline (completed prior to the COVID-19 pandemic), in the absence of the legislation, a complete economic collapse could have occurred. However, as of 2023, many of these loans have been forgiven. CBO provided a preliminary score for the CARES Act on April 16, 2020, estimating that it would increase federal deficits by about $1.8 trillion over the 2020-2030 period. The estimate includes: CBO reported that not all parts of the bill will increase deficits: โ€œAlthough the act provides financial assistance totaling more than $2 trillion, the projected cost is less than that because some of that assistance is in the form of loan guarantees, which are not estimated to have a net effect on the budget. In particular, the act authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to provide up to $454 billion to fund emergency lending facilities established by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Because the income and costs stemming from that lending are expected to roughly offset each other, CBO estimates no deficit effect from that provision.โ€ The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimated that the budget deficit for fiscal year 2020 would increase to a record $3.8 trillion (~$4.52 trillion in 2024), or 18.7% GDP. For scale, in 2009 the budget deficit reached 9.8% GDP ($1.4 trillion nominal dollars) in the depths of the Great Recession. CBO forecast in January 2020 that the budget deficit in FY2020 would be $1.0 trillion (~$1.19 trillion in 2024), prior to considering the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic or CARES. CFRB further estimated that the national debt would reach 106% of U.S. GDP in September 2020, a record since the aftermath of World War II. President Biden also allocated significant amounts of money towards relief of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a May 2021 report, Biden has or plans to spend $5.72 (~$6.51 trillion in 2024) trillion dollars toward this effort and others such as climate change including providing stimulus checks and serving schools and low-income children. Economists are divided if this unprecedented level of spending from the Biden Administration has, in part, contributed to the inflation spike from 2021 to 2022 as a result of increasing the money supply in the economy. Appendix On July 27, 2018, the BEA revised its GDP figures in a comprehensive update and figures back to FY2013 were revised accordingly. On June 25, 2014, the BEA announced: "[On July 30, 2014, i]n addition to the regular revision of estimates for the most recent 3 years and for the first quarter of 2014, GDP and select components will be revised back to the first quarter of 1999. Fiscal years 1940โ€“2009 GDP figures were derived from February 2011 Office of Management and Budget figures which contained revisions of prior year figures due to significant changes from prior GDP measurements. Fiscal years 1950โ€“2010 GDP measurements were derived from December 2010 Bureau of Economic Analysis figures which also tend to be subject to revision, especially more recent years. Afterwards the OMB figures were revised back to 2004 and the BEA figures (in a revision dated July 31, 2013) were revised back to 1947. Regarding estimates recorded in the GDP column (the last column) marked with a "~" symbol, absolute differences from advance (one month after) BEA reports of GDP percent change to current findings (as of November 2013) found in revisions are stated to be 1.3% ยฑ 2.0% or a 95% probability of being within the range of 0.0โ€“3.3%, assuming the differences to occur according to standard deviations from the average absolute difference of 1.3%. E.g. with an advance report of a $400 billion increase of a $10 trillion GDP, for example, one could be 95% confident that the range in which the exact GDP dollar amount lies would be 0.0 to 3.3% different than 4.0% (400 รท 10,000) or within the range of $0 to $330 billion different than the hypothetical $400 billion (a range of $70โ€“730 billion). Two months after, with a revised value, the range of potential difference from the stated estimate shrinks, and three months after with another revised value the range shrinks again. Fiscal years 1940โ€“1970 begin July 1 of the previous year (for example, Fiscal Year 1940 begins July 1, 1939, and ends June 30, 1940); fiscal years 1980โ€“2010 begin October 1 of the previous year. Intragovernmental debts before the Social Security Act are presumed to equal zero. 1909โ€“1930 calendar year GDP estimates are from MeasuringWorth.com Fiscal Year estimates are derived from simple linear interpolation. (a1) Audited figure was "about $5,659 billion." (a2) Audited figure was "about $5,792 billion." (a3) Audited figure was "about $6,213 billion." (a) Audited figure was said to be "about" the stated figure. (a4) Audited figure was "about $7,918 billion." (a5) Audited figure was "about $8,493 billion." (a6) Audited figure was "about $8,993 billion." (a7) Audited figure was "about $10,011 billion." (a8) Audited figure was "about $11,898 billion." (a9) Audited figure was "about $13,551 billion." (a10) GAO affirmed Bureau of the Public debt figure as $14,781 billion. (a11) GAO affirmed Bureau of the Public debt figure as $16,059 billion. (a12) GAO affirmed Bureau of the Fiscal Service's figure as $16,732 billion. (a13) GAO affirmed Bureau of the Fiscal Service's figure as $17,810 billion. (a14) GAO affirmed Bureau of the Fiscal Service's figure as $18,138 billion. (a15) GAO affirmed Bureau of the Fiscal Service's figure as $19,560 billion. (a16) GAO affirmed Bureau of the Fiscal Service's figure as $20,233 billion. (a17) GAO affirmed Bureau of the Fiscal Service's figure as $21,506 billion. According to federal government data, interest payment on debt has crossed above one trillion (that is, more than defence budget) on October 1, 2023, meaning a $3 billion-a-day interest payment. Note that this is all interest the U.S. paid, including interest credited to Social Security and other government trust funds, not just "interest on debt" frequently cited elsewhere. The following is a list of the top foreign holders of Treasury securities as listed by the Federal Reserve Board (revised by December 2025 survey): A 1998 Brookings Institution study published by the Nuclear Weapons Cost Study Committee (formed in 1993 by the W. Alton Jones Foundation), calculated that total expenditures for U.S. nuclear weapons from 1940 to 1998 was $5.5 trillion in 1996 Dollars. The total public debt at the end of fiscal year 1998 was $5,478,189,000,000 in 1998 Dollars or $5.3 trillion in 1996 Dollars. Sources: Eurostat, International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook (emerging market economies); Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Economic Outlook (advanced economies), IMF 1China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand 2Afghanistan, Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, People's Republic of, Fiji, Georgia, Hong Kong SAR, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kiribati, Korea, Republic of, Kyrgyz Republic, Lao P.D.R., Macao SAR, Malaysia, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Fed. States of, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nauru, Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Vietnam On July 30, 2015, the BEA released a revision to 2012โ€“2015 GDP figures. The figures for this table were corrected on that day with changes to FY 2013 and 2014, but not 2015 as FY 2015 is updated within a week with the release of debt totals for July 31, 2015. Note that this table does not go back to 1917 when the debt ceiling started. Pub. L. 115โ€“123 (text) (PDF) Reference for values between 1993 and 2015: Note that: U.S. states have a combined state and local government debt of about $3 trillion and another $5 trillion in unfunded liabilities. See also Notes References Further reading External links
========================================
[SOURCE: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_York_Times_Book_Review] | [TOKENS: 2091]
Contents The New York Times Book Review The New York Times Book Review (NYTBR) is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to the Sunday edition of The New York Times in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely read book review publications in the industry. The magazine's offices are located near Times Square in New York City. Overview The New York Times has published a book review section since Saturday, October 10, 1896, announcing: "We begin today the publication of a Supplement which contains reviews of new books ... and other interesting matter ... associated with news of the day." In 1911, the review was moved to Sundays, on the theory that it would be more appreciatively received by readers with a bit of time on their hands. The target audience is an intelligent, general-interest adult reader. The Times publishes two versions each week, one with a cover price sold via subscription, bookstores, and newsstands; the other with no cover price included as an insert in each Sunday edition of the Times (the copies are otherwise identical). Each week, the NYTBR receives 750 to 1000 books from authors and publishers in the mail, of which 20 to 30 are chosen for review. Books are selected by the "preview editors" who read over 1,500 advance galleys a year. The selection process is based on finding books that are important and notable, as well as discovering new authors whose books stand above the crowd. Self-published books are generally not reviewed as a matter of policy. Books not selected for review are stored in a "discard room" and then sold. As of 2006[update], Barnes & Noble arrived about once a month to purchase the contents of the discard room, and the proceeds are then donated by NYTBR to charities. Books that are actually reviewed are usually donated to the reviewer. As of 2015, all review critics are freelance; the NYTBR does not have staff critics. In prior years, the NYTBR did have in-house critics, or a mix of in-house and freelance. For freelance critics, they are assigned an in-house "preview editor" who works with them in creating the final review. Freelance critics might be employees of The New York Times whose main duties are in other departments. They also include professional literary critics, novelists, academics, and artists who write reviews for the NYTBR on a regular basis. Other duties on staff include a number of senior editors and a chief editor; a team of copy editors; a letter pages editor who reads letters to the editor; columnists who write weekly columns, such as the "Paperback Row" column; a production editor; a web and Internet publishing division; and other jobs. In addition to the magazine there is an Internet site that offers additional content, including audio interviews with authors, called the "Book Review Podcast". The book review publishes each week the widely cited and influential New York Times Best Seller list, which is created by the editors of the Times "News Surveys" department. In 2021, on the 125th anniversary of the Book Review, Parul Sehgal a staff critic and former editor at the Book Review, wrote a review of the NYTBR titled "Reviewing the Book Review". "Inside The New York Times Book Review" is the oldest and most popular podcast at The New York Times. The debut episode was released on April 30, 2006 and the show has been recorded weekly ever since. Editors 1983 Legion court case In 1983, William Peter Blatty sued the New York Times Book Review for failing to include his 1983 novel, Legion, in its best-seller list. The New York Times had previously claimed that it based its "best-seller list" is based on computer-processed sales figures from 2,000 bookstores across the United States. Blatty contended that Legion had sold enough copies to be included on the list. Lawyers for The New York Times did not deny this, but stated that the content of its best-seller list is a subjectively editorial compilation. The court ruled in favor of The New York Times, relying on the First Amendment precedent of Miami Herald Publishing Co. v. Tornillo (1974). Best Books of the Year and Notable Books Each year since 1968, around the beginning of December, a list of notable books and/or editor's choice ("Best Books") is announced. Beginning in 2004, it consists of a "100 Notable Books of the Year" list which contains fiction and non-fiction titles, 50 of each. From the list of 100, 10 books are awarded the "Best Books of the Year" title, five each of fiction and non-fiction. Other year-end lists include the Best Illustrated Children's Books, in which 10 books are chosen by a panel of judges. 1998 The Notable Books were announced December 6, 1998. The eleven Editor's Choice books were announced December 6, 1998. 1999 The Notable Books were announced December 5, 1999. The eleven Editor's Choice books were announced December 5, 1999. 2000 The Notable Books were announced December 3, 2000. The 10 Editor's Choice books were announced December 3, 2000. 2001 The Notable Books were announced December 2, 2001. The 9 Editor's Choice books were announced December 2, 2001. 2002 The Notable Books were announced December 8, 2002. The 7 Editor's Choice books were announced December 8, 2002. 2003 The Notable Books were announced December 7, 2003. The 9 Editor's Choice books were announced December 7, 2003. 2004 The 100 Notable Books were announced December 5, 2004. The 10 Best Books were announced December 12, 2004. 2005 The 100 Notable Books were announced December 4, 2005. The 10 Best Books were announced December 11, 2005. 2006 The 100 Notable Books were announced December 3, 2006. The 10 Best Books were announced December 10, 2006. 2007 The 100 Notable Books were announced December 2, 2007. The 10 Best Books were announced December 9, 2007. 2008 The 100 Notable Books were announced November 26, 2008. The 10 Best Books were announced December 14, 2008. 2009 The 100 Notable Books were announced December 6, 2009. The 10 Best Books were announced December 13, 2009. 2010 The 100 Notable Books were announced November 24, 2010. The 10 Best Books were announced December 1, 2010. 2011 The 100 Notable Books were announced November 21, 2011. The 10 Best Books were announced November 30, 2011. 2012 The 100 Notable Books were announced November 27, 2012. The 10 Best Books were announced November 30, 2012. 2013 The 100 Notable Books were announced November 27, 2013. The 10 Best Books were announced December 4, 2013. 2014 The 100 Notable Books were announced. The 10 Best Books were announced December 14, 2014. 2015 The 100 Notable Books were announced November 27, 2015. The 10 Best Books were announced December 3, 2015. 2016 The 100 Notable Books were announced November 23, 2016. The 10 Best Books were announced December 1, 2016. 2017 The 100 Notable Books were announced November 22, 2017. The 10 Best Books were announced November 30, 2017. 2018 The 100 Notable Books were announced November 18, 2018. The 10 Best Books were announced November 29, 2018. 2019 The 100 Notable Books were announced November 25, 2019. The 10 Best Books were announced November 22, 2019. In 2019 for the first time, the 10 Best Books were announced prior to the 100 Notable Books. 2020 The 100 Notable Books were announced November 20, 2020. The 10 Best Books were announced November 23, 2020. Fiction Nonfiction 2021 The 100 Notable Books were announced November 22, 2021. The 10 Best Books were announced November 30, 2021. Fiction Nonfiction 2022 The 100 Notable Books were announced November 22, 2022. The 10 Best Books were announced November 29, 2022. Fiction Nonfiction 2023 The 100 Notable Books were announced November 21, 2023. The 10 Best Books were announced on November 28. Fiction Nonfiction 2024 The 100 Notable Books were announced November 26, 2024. The 10 Best Books were announced on December 3. Fiction Nonfiction Studies In 2010, Stanford professors Alan Sorenson and Jonah Berger published a study examining the effect on book sales from positive or negative reviews in the New York Times Book Review. They found all books benefited from positive reviews, while only popular or well-known authors were negatively impacted by negative reviews. Lesser-known authors benefited from negative reviews (i.e., bad publicity boosted book sales). A 2012 study by writer Roxane Gay found that 90% of New York Times book reviews published in 2011 were on books by white authors, whereas 2010 United States census found that only 72% of the population was White, defined as including Hispanic and Latino Americans who identify as white. See also References External links
========================================
[SOURCE: https://www.wired.com/tag/travel/] | [TOKENS: 90]
WIRED Travel Before You Go How to Get There What to Do News and Updates More Travel ยฉ 2026 Condรฉ Nast. All rights reserved. WIRED may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Condรฉ Nast. Ad Choices
========================================
[SOURCE: https://www.wired.com/about/faq/] | [TOKENS: 12912]
Frequently Asked QuestionsAbout WIREDWIRED is obsessed with what comes next. Through rigorous investigations and game-changing reporting, we tell stories that donโ€™t just reflect the momentโ€”they help create it. Part of the Condรฉ Nast portfolio, WIRED leads the conversation on how technology is changing every aspect of our livesโ€”from business and politics to culture and science.Becoming a SubscriberHow do I subscribe or give a gift subscription?Please visit our subscription page to find the best option for your needs.When will my first issue arrive?Digital access begins immediately. You should receive your first issue between eight and ten weeks after purchasing a print subscription.Contact customer service if you are experiencing any delivery problems.What does my subscription include?All subscriptions provide unlimited digital access to the website, subscriber-only newsletters, and invitations to Livestream AMAs. Print subscribers also receive the print edition of the magazine, published at least four times per year.My subscription included a tote bag. When can I expect it to arrive?The tote ships six to eight weeks after your payment is processed. International orders may take longer to ship, and packages may be delayed at customs. We regret that our staff cannot track tote bags after they enter the postal system.What forms of payment do you accept?We accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, and Diners Club cards. We also accept PayPal, Apple Pay, and Amazon Pay. Alternatively, checks can be mailed to WIRED, P.O. Box 37617, Boone, IA 50037-0617.Can I get a receipt or confirmation of my subscription, account details, or cancellation?Yes, our staff would be happy to send you a receipt. After subscribing, you can expect to receive a confirmation email within twenty-four hours. You can reach us by email at help@wired.com, or by phone at 1-855-226-5869. International subscribers may call 1-332-237-7084. Please also chat with our team using the chat widget at the bottom right-hand corner of this page for the fastest support.When will I be charged?Credit cards are charged as soon as your order is received. It may take up to three days for the charge to appear on your credit card statement. Before the start of each renewal, you will be emailed a reminder notice summarizing the details of your subscription and the rate that you will be charged.Why do I need to provide a mailing address for a digital subscription?If your subscription includes a physical premium, we need your mailing address to deliver it to you.Can I subscribe to WIRED if I live outside the United States?Yes. You can subscribe to WIRED from most countries, although it may take longer to receive print issues in the mail. For assistance, you can reach us by email at help@wired.com, or by phone at 1-855-226-5869. International subscribers may call 1-332-237-7084. Please also chat with our team using the chat widget at the bottom right-hand corner of this page for the fastest support.I forgot my password. How can I recover it?Go to WIRED.com and click Sign In (top-right corner of your screen)Select Sign in another way and enter your email addressIf you are using a password to sign, click โ€œForgot your password? Reset itโ€If there is a WIRED subscription associated with your email address, we will send you instructions for resetting your password.How do I make changes to my email address or password?Please visit My Account to manage your WIRED.com account information, including your email address and password.What does it mean to link or verify my subscription? Why is this important?Creating an online account and subscribing to the magazine are independent operations. It is possible to create an online account without being a subscriber and vice versa. In order to read unlimited articles online as a subscriber, youโ€™ll need to link your subscription to your WIRED account.This process may be necessary for customers who have never created an account or registered an email address with us.To link your subscription:Sign In or Create an AccountIf the system does not recognize you immediately, you will need to enter your account number or subscription number, which can be found in two places: the Account Summary section of Customer Care and the mailing label of a magazine if you are a print subscriber.Or select the link to use your shipping address.If you have trouble linking your subscription, please email at help@wired.com, or by phone at 1-855-226-5869. International subscribers may call 1-332-237-7084. Please also chat with our team using the chat widget at the bottom right-hand corner of this page for the fastest support.How do I unsubscribe from WIRED?You can cancel your subscription (or a gift subscription) within your online account page or contact customer service for assistance.What is your cancellation policy?Youโ€™re in full control of your subscription and can cancel at any time. When you purchase a subscriptionโ€”whether it includes print and digital access or digital access onlyโ€”it begins immediately.Please note that we do not offer refunds for cancellations. When you cancel, your subscription will remain active through the end of your current billing term, and you will not be charged again.How can I receive confirmation of my cancellation?Our staff would be happy to send you a confirmation. Please email us at help@wired.com, or by phone at 1-855-226-5869. International subscribers may call 1-332-237-7084. Please also chat with our team using the chat widget at the bottom right-hand corner of this page for the fastest support.How do I check when my subscription expires?You can view the expiration date of your subscription (or gift subscription) by reaching out to our customer care team at help@wired.com, or by phone at 1-855-226-5869. International subscribers may call 1-332-237-7084. Please also chat with our team using the chat widget at the bottom right-hand corner of this page for the fastest support.How do I temporarily suspend my subscription?Print subscribers can stop their subscription (or gift subscription) for up to one year and then resume it via customer care.If I suspend my print subscription, will I still have access to WIRED.com and the WIRED apps?Full access to the website and apps is available only to subscribers, so while your subscription is suspended, you will have limited access.WIRED UK Website ClosureI am a WIRED UK subscriber; how do I access content on WIRED.com?If you have already created an account to access the Wired UK digital edition, simply visit wired.com and sign in using the same email address and password associated with your subscription.If you haven't already created an account to access the digital edition, please follow the instructions below:Register your account and use your print subscription customer number and surname to create a digital access account. If you do not know your customer number, you can locate it here or with our customer service team.From there, head to wired.com and sign in using the same email address.I am a subscriber to WIRED UK magazine. Will I still be able to receive my magazines?Yes, your WIRED UK magazine subscription will continue uninterrupted unless a cancellation is initiated.Digital All AccessWhat is WIRED Digital All Access?The WIRED All Access subscription provides digital access to WIRED, Vanity Fair, Vogue, Architectural Digest, Bon Appรฉtit, and Epicurious.What is included in the WIRED Digital All Access subscription?Unlimited access to WIRED, Vanity Fair, Vogue, Architectural Digest, Bon Appรฉtit, and Epicurious. (If selected at an additional cost, The New Yorker access is also included.)Free WIRED tote bagComplete online archive access for most brandsHow much does the WIRED Digital All Access subscription cost?To see our latest offers, visit our order page.How do I sign up for a WIRED Digital All Access subscription?To see our latest offers, visit our order page.If I already have a WIRED digital subscription, can I upgrade to Digital All Access?Yes, you can upgrade your WIRED subscription to a Digital All Access subscription by contacting customer care via the chat widget at the bottom right hand corner of this page, which typically offers the fastest support. All Access is not available for print subscriptions.If I already have a Vogue, Vanity Fair, The New Yorker, Architectural Digest, Bon Appรฉtit, or Epicurious subscription, can I change to Digital All Access?Other subscriptions cannot be bundled individually at this time. If you are interested in a WIRED Digital All Access subscription, please contact customer care using the chat widget at the bottom right hand corner of this page. All Access is not available for print subscriptions.If I cancel my WIRED Digital All Access subscription, can I maintain my Vanity Fair, Vogue, The New Yorker, Architectural Digest, Bon Appรฉtit, and Epicurious access?Canceling your Digital All Access subscription will result in a loss of access to all brands included.Does the WIRED Digital All Access subscription include app access?The New Yorker (iOS and Android) and Epicurious (iOS) apps are included with your Digital All Access subscription.Privacy policy & user agreementUse of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. WIRED may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Condรฉ Nast Ad Choices.Reading on a Phone, Computer, or TabletWhy should I create an online account?All readers are encouraged to create a free online account, regardless of their subscription status, so you can take advantage of features like saving stories to read later. If you have not done so, please create a free account now.Are all WIRED articles available online?All articles originally published online or in the print magazine are online and available with your subscription. The first print magazine was published in March/April 1993. You can also find print replicas of issues dating back to 2021 in our online archive.Do I need a subscription to access WIRED.com?If you are not a subscriber, you have limited access to WIREDโ€™s website. All web visitors can browse all Gear articles without a subscription.Is the magazine available on mobile and tablet devices?Yes. The WIRED app includes web versions of all magazine articles, and it is available through the App Store. Digital editions of the magazine are also available through the Nook bookstore.Which devices support the WIRED app?The WIRED app can be downloaded to your iPhone, iPad, or iPod for free from the App Store. While the app is not currently available for Android devices, Android users can read WIRED stories online.Do I need a WIRED subscription to access the WIRED app?Yes. The app is exclusive to subscribers and is free to download. If you subscribed directly through WIRED (including WIRED.com or the WIRED app), you can view as many articles and issues as you'd like. If eligible, non-subscribers will be invited to explore the app through a free trial.Can I share stories from the WIRED app through email or social media?Yes, the link will direct viewers to the story on our website.I subscribed through the WIRED app on my iPhone, iPad, or iPod. How do I get unlimited online access?Immediately after you subscribed through the app, you were prompted to create an online account. If you have not done so, you can now.If you subscribed through the WIRED app:Open the app and select Settings in the top-right corner of the screen.Select Sign in or create an account.If you do not see Sign in or create an account, select Restore your Apple purchase.I purchased a subscription through the WIRED app. How can I cancel it?If you subscribed through the WIRED app, youโ€™ll need to cancel through Apple.I subscribed to WIRED through Amazon but am no longer able to sign into WIRED.com.Due to changes at Amazon, Amazon subscribers have limited access, and new issues are no longer available on KindlePlease visit our contact us page to submit this request.I purchased a WIRED subscription on my Nook Color Tablet. Does that provide unlimited digital access to WIRED?If you purchased a subscription directly from Barnes & Noble, your access is limited to your Nook Color Tablet. If you have questions, please visit Barnes & Nobleโ€™s contact us page.How do I get unlimited access to WIRED on my Nook?If youโ€™re already a subscriber, open the Nook Bookstore.Visit the WIRED page.Order a monthly subscription to begin a fourteen-day trial. You will not be charged.After submitting your order, check your in-box. You will receive an email with instructions for redeeming your free offer as an active magazine subscriber.How do I get unlimited access to WIRED on my Android phone or tablet?Subscribers can read WIRED on an Android phone or tablet via WIRED.com. You can also follow WIRED via Google News, but you will need to sign in to our website to read articles.Do I need a subscription to follow WIRED in Google News?WIREDโ€™s feed is free to follow, though subscribers will need to sign in to our Web site to read articles.How can I access WIRED articles published on Flipboard?WIREDโ€™s feed is free to follow at https://flipboard.com/@WIRED. Articles link to WIRED.com, where subscribers have unlimited access and non-subscribers have limited access.I purchased a WIRED subscription on Zinio. Does that provide unlimited digital access to WIRED?If you purchased a subscription on Zinio, your access is limited to Zinio. If you have questions, please visit Zinioโ€™s contact us page.How do I sign up for email newsletters?Visit wired.com/newsletter to sign up for any of our offerings, including The Daily, Classics, Gadget Lab, and more.Where can I get my subscriber-only newsletters?After subscribing, and when logged-in, you can sign-up for your subscriber-only newsletter at the Newsletter Hub.I signed up for your newsletters. Why am I not receiving them regularly?Please check your junk folder. If the problem persists, please visit our contact us page to submit your request.How do I unsubscribe from a newsletter or marketing e-mail?To unsubscribe from a newsletter, select Unsubscribe at the bottom of the e-mail or sign in to newyorker.com and navigate to My Account from the top-right corner. You can manage your newsletter subscriptions at the bottom of your profile.For all marketing emails, select Unsubscribe at the bottom of the email.How can I listen to WIRED audio and podcasts?Explore our Podcasts hub, or download episodes for free from iTunes and most other platforms. Also available is Spoken Layer, narrated versions of our best articles.How to Contact WIREDHow can I contact editors or contributors?To provide feedback, please visit wired.com/about/feedback.How can I submit an idea or piece?Visit wired.com/about/how-to-pitch-stories-to-wired.How can I advertise in WIRED?Please contact us at adinquiries@condenast.com.About the WIRED Reviews teamWhat is the WIRED Reviews team?WIREDโ€™s Reviews team is a group of 13 full-time staff writers and editors with centuries of combined experience who conduct comprehensive testing on products, services, and software to write in-depth reviews and buying guides. The team was founded in 2017 and one of its original members, Adrienne So, is still on staff as a senior editor. We also work with a small group of trusted freelance contributors who are experts in their field. Youโ€™ll find an author bio that outlines each testerโ€™s expertise on any review we publish. Our mission is to provide the most authentic and engaging buying advice for every product our audience needs or wants, to pioneer product discovery for tech enthusiasts, and to serve as a trusted hub for fair and thoughtful product reviews.How does WIRED select products to test and review?Weโ€™re looking to write about products our readers are interested in, which means everything from groundbreaking new tech to novel gadgets theyโ€™ve seen all over social media, to products like bed-in-a-box mattresses where itโ€™s difficult for any individual consumer to do proper comparison shopping. Our audience is tech-savvy, so youโ€™ll see lots of coverage of mobile phones, laptops, gaming devices, and the like, but WIRED readers also like to live comfortably and healthfully, score great deals, and often enjoy outdoor recreation.Why should I trust WIREDโ€™s product reviews?Because we tell the truth and we do the work. WIREDโ€™s Reviews team tests every product and service we write about, even when weโ€™re picking the best Amazon Prime Day deals. Our product recommendations are made in service to readers and independently of revenue considerations. While we do get a small cut of most sales when readers click to buy recommended products discussed in our product reviews and buying guides, the content in those guides is created through a rigorous and independent editorial process and is subjected to the same high standards as everything else WIRED publishes. Content from our Reviews team is fact-checked by editors and goes through the same prepublication review process as any other WIRED story. When we make a mistake, we immediately correct it and append an editorโ€™s note for transparency as appropriate.Does the WIRED Reviews team use generative AI?No. We follow the same editorial standards as everything else published by WIRED. You can read our whole policy here, but the gist is that we do not publish stories with text generated by AI, except when AI-generated text is the point of the story.Do you purchase every product you test?No, but we do not accept โ€œfree productsโ€ from manufacturers or make any agreements that involve a promise of editorial coverage in exchange for sending us a product. We often accept delivery of review samples directly from PR agencies and brands, which we typically don't pay for. We return or donate these samples after testing. When we know a specific product is of interest to readers and a review sample is not available, WIRED will purchase the product and the writer will donate it after testing.How does the WIRED Reviews team conduct testing for product reviews?How we test each product depends on what it is. We thoroughly test anything we recommend to readers and try to explain our methodology in each article without bogging it down with excessive detail many readers donโ€™t care about. Our overall goal in all testing is to replicate the productโ€™s regular use as closely as we canโ€”this is why we review mattresses by sleeping on them in our homes rather than dropping a bowling ball on them in a lab where we conduct โ€œnap tests.โ€ Since our testing methodology is a popular question with both readers and brands, weโ€™ve compiled the basic protocols for some of our key coverage areas below.Ebikes: WIRED reviews upward of 50 new ebikes a year by riding them on a variety of terrain for at least 40 miles over the course of at least two weeks. We test cargo bikes by hauling kids and groceries, we ride mountain and gravel bikes on trails, and we test commuter bikes while running errands on regular city streets (including up and down steep hills). In addition to our real-life testing, we evaluate specs like weight, tire size, battery life, motor power, and the sourcing of key components to make our guides to the Best Ebikes and Best Cheap Ebikes.Electric scooters: WIRED reviewers ride electric scooters for at least 30 miles, though often much longer, on varying terrain and under various power loads (such as laden with groceries or up and down steep hills). Our main tester, the author of our guide to the Best Electric Scooters, is Brooklyn-based Julian Chokkattu, who takes electric scooters on the same routes through Bushwick during his tests so he can evaluate how a scooter may deviate from the established baseline.Fitness trackers: WIREDโ€™s lead tester wears fitness trackers for at least two weeks and evaluates them on fit, specifications, durability, battery life, whether she can see the display in natural daylight, and whether features perform as advertisedโ€”for example, AI coaching, climbing software, or GPS tracking. She also evaluates companion smartphone apps based on ease of use and claimed features.Mattresses: We sleep on any mattress we recommend for at least a week in our own homes, though we sometimes give up on a mattress after a few nights (we then tell readers to avoid it), and we will sometimes spend months long-term testing. Lead reviewer Martin Cizmar has established a level of real-life mattress testing thatโ€™s unmatched among our competitors, who frequently do a "nap test" where they form an opinion after sitting around on a mattress in their office.Office chairs: We sit on every chair we test for several weeks while workingโ€”two weeks at the minimum, but often much longer than that. We also invite different friends and family members to try the chairs out so we can assess comfort levels for folks with different heights and body types.Mobile phones: To compile our expansive library of smartphone reviews and guides, our testers use any smartphone theyโ€™re reviewing for at least a week, but sometimes longer. We test each phone by loading in our own SIM cards and using the phone as we would any personal device for the duration of the testing period. To compare cameras, we take the same photos on a second, similarly priced phone at the same time and study the results. For phone cases, which we test for at least a few days each, we look for alignment between ports and holes, check all buttons for clickiness, judge how it feels in our pockets, and check for how much the case is raised over the screen and camera lenses. We don't do drop tests as we donโ€™t have enough free phones to replace all the broken ones.Internet routers: WIRED tests Wi-Fi and mesh routers for at least one week, though often longer, in a home setting. We test the stated features and introduce stress testing, such as cutting the power to see how routers cope with a sudden loss of power. Our lead tester, Simon Hill, also runs a bevy of technical tests, including network throughput testing, file transfers, coverage heatmaps, and speed testsโ€”all organized into a handy (and impressive) spreadsheet.Air Purifiers: WIRED reviews more than 50 new air purifiers a year, assessing them in various home environments from coast to coast for months at a time. We test air purifiers in both homes and 100-year-old apartments with cats, dogs, and gas stoves, and near highways and in urban areas. In addition to our real-world testing, we measure decibel levels, ease of use, and efficacy, and we evaluate cost, design, length of warranty, and most importantly, the rate of air exchange in a specific-size room, making our deep dives, reviews, and Best Air Purifier guide essential reading.Soundbars: WIREDโ€™s staffers, including Parker Hall and Ryan Waniata, evaluate soundbars using a wide variety of testing material, from custom-made Dolby Atmos demos to familiar movies like Guardians of the Galaxy, sitcoms like Seinfeld and Parks and Recreation, and everything in between. We test apps and features like auto-calibration, surround sound speakers, and multiroom audio integration in multiple settings wherever possible. For music testing, we stream carefully curated playlists and random radio stations at compressed and lossless resolutions over Bluetooth and Wi-Fi where available. We live with these products over multiple days at minimum to test their usability the same way we expect you to use them.Headphones and earbuds: Headphones and earbuds come in a multitude of styles, sizes, and varieties and we test them in accordance. For all headphones we test, sound quality, comfort, and fit are of the utmost importance. For wireless headphones and earbuds, we pay special attention to key aspects like ease of pairing and setup, battery life, app connection and settings, and convenience features like speak-to-chat. When focusing on sound quality, we use curated playlists with familiar music (from Fleetwood Macโ€™s โ€œThe Chainโ€ to The Weekndโ€™s โ€œStarboyโ€) in both compressed and lossless resolution where applicable. For spatial audio, we test music and videos in multiple formats, including Dolby Atmos.Televisions: TVs are among the most important products in A/V, and we test them accordingly. We spend at least a week with each TV we test, using it day and night as our daily driver. We utilize carefully selected video and audio content (from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows on Blu-ray to Our Planet in Dolby Vision and Atmos on Netflix). Our testing material runs the gamut, including live broadcasts, streaming content, and physical media with high-end Ultra HD Blu-ray players. We use Spears & Munsilโ€™s latest Ultra HD Benchmark discs to lock in settings and evaluate multiple resolution and HDR formats, including Dolby Vision, HDR10, and HDR10+. We watch content in various light conditions and test usability features, from smart assistants to services like AirPlay 2 and Chromecast to paint a holistic picture.Running gear: Our lead writer runs four to five times a week, around 20 to 25 miles per week, and evaluates the gearโ€™s overall performance with a mix of long runs, interval runs, and trail and road running.Pizza ovens: To name the best pizza ovens, we test each oven in our backyard for a minimum of two weeks. While using the oven, our testers also use handheld infrared thermometers to take the temperature of the baking stone at various places to gauge how evenly they heat and cook. We test all ovens with homemade dough, store-bought dough, and frozen pizzas.Luggage and backpacks: WIRED tests luggage designed primarily for air travel by taking it on at least two flights. When reviewing backpacks, our testers wear them for at least two weeks. In addition to this regular use, we also evaluate design details, like whether they have straight or curved zippers, what gauge the zippers are, whether they're toothed or coiled, what the warranty is, whether the hardware is metal or plastic, or whether the fabric is sustainable. Our reviewers also do things like fill backpacks full of books and toss them around, and kick carry-on bags to see whether they get foot marks or are easy to clean.Umbrellas: Our testers use umbrellas several times, whenever it rains. We test them as a normal person would while checking for the main hallmarks of what makes a good umbrella, as listed in our buying guide. We also aim to get a good sense of how each umbrella handles gusts and heavy storms.Webcams: We use every webcam we test for several weeks as a daily driver, and our testers also try to compare the image quality with another similar model. Reviewers make audio recordings to see how the mics pick up their voices. Webcam testers often solicit feedback on appearance and sound quality during our weekly Gear team meetings, which take place over Zoom.Bidets: For our guide to the Best Bidets, our testers install the bidets on a toilet in their homes and use each sample for at least a week.Monitors: Reviewer Nena Farrell leads our coverage of the best computer monitors and tests each pick for at least one week, with a minimum of three working days. She sets monitors up with both a PC and Mac laptop to check performance, and she runs at least two different video games to see how the monitor performs, even if it isn't a monitor designed specifically for video games.Camp cookware: Reviewer Scott Gilbertson famously lives in an RV, so he is always testing camp cookware. In fact, grills and other cookware are tested for months before they ever make it into a guide. He cooks outside every day, rotating stoves every few months so he gets a good sense of how they perform, how they stand up to weather, and how hard they are to clean.Tents: We aim to spend at least a week in every tent, ideally in a variety of weather conditions. Every pocket, zipper, guy line, and feature is tested. Will the rainfly catch on the door zippers? Is the ventilation good? Is the tent easy to set up? We assess all of the above and more, and list our favorites in our Best Tents buying guide.Meal kits: When testing meal kit delivery services, each service is evaluated meal-by-meal over the course of a few days. Our lead reviewer follows recipes to the letter and substitutes ingredients only if something arrives inedibleโ€”for example, if something thaws during shipment or the produce is moldy (these substitutions are always noted). She always has at least one other person try a meal and notes down both of their first impressions and opinions before discussing the meal further. She assesses packaging, ingredient quality, texture, and taste, then factors in price to make recommendations.Security cameras: Indoor and outdoor security cameras are tested for at least one month. We test any manufacturer claims and special features, like motion detection or smartphone alerts, and stress-test the cameras as well. We also test videofeed quality and loading times.Video doorbells: We test video doorbells for a minimum of two weeks. Any manufacturer claims are tested and verified, as are smartphone companion apps or smart home connectivity options. We also consider the data storage, retention, and privacy policies of the manufacturers of each camera we test, as these things also factor into our recommendations.Sex toys and tech: We test sex tech for a minimum of two weeks using common sense. We test on different erogenous zones and different bodies. We also conduct controlled tests for features like battery life, waterproofness, and ease of cleaning. We test manufacturer claims as well.Espresso machines and coffee gear: We use espresso machines and coffee gear for at least two weeks in everyday situations. We also perform some controlled tests. Our lead reviewer tests for consistency, how hot the heating elements get, how quickly they heat up, how much time needs to pass between switching functions (brewing versus steaming), and the like. She also tests general usability. Is the machine easy to clean and maintain? Are things that need to be cleaned easily accessible? Does it look nice on the counter or does it seem to acquire a grime after only a couple uses? Does the steaming wand work efficiently? All of these factors inform our assessment.Coffee grinders: Our lead reviewer assesses coffee grinders for at least two weeks using a mix of everyday use and controlled tests. Sheโ€™s mostly testing for consistency, as well as factors like how quickly grime builds up in the burrs, how accessible the burrs are for cleaning, how loud the grinder is, and how finely or coarsely it can grind. She also assesses for ease of cleaning and overall maintenance requirements.Digital cameras: We test cameras by using them over a period of (ideally) months, but often just weeks because DSLR cameras, compact system cameras, and mirrorless cameras are generally loaned to us on a short-term basis, and camera companies are eager to pass them on to the next reviewer. Our lead reviewer tries to shoot at least 500 images on every camera he tests. He then views and edits the resulting RAW and JPG files in Darktable.Coolers: We test coolers by putting a standard bag of cube ice inside it on a warm day (at least 75 degrees Fahrenheit), putting the cooler in the shade, and then timing how long it takes for the ice to melt. We also assess weight, portability, durability, and overall design.Binoculars: We test binoculars by going birding. And to baseball games. And stargazing. For months and months.Most PopularThe Big StoryInside the Gay Tech MafiaPoliticsDHS Opens a Billion-Dollar Tab With PalantirGearA $10K Bounty Awaits Anyone Who Can Hack Ring Cameras to Stop Sharing Data With AmazonBusinessInside the Rolling Layoffs at Jack Dorseyโ€™s Block Frequently Asked Questions About WIRED WIRED is obsessed with what comes next. Through rigorous investigations and game-changing reporting, we tell stories that donโ€™t just reflect the momentโ€”they help create it. Part of the Condรฉ Nast portfolio, WIRED leads the conversation on how technology is changing every aspect of our livesโ€”from business and politics to culture and science. Becoming a Subscriber How do I subscribe or give a gift subscription? Please visit our subscription page to find the best option for your needs. When will my first issue arrive? Digital access begins immediately. You should receive your first issue between eight and ten weeks after purchasing a print subscription. Contact customer service if you are experiencing any delivery problems. What does my subscription include? All subscriptions provide unlimited digital access to the website, subscriber-only newsletters, and invitations to Livestream AMAs. Print subscribers also receive the print edition of the magazine, published at least four times per year. My subscription included a tote bag. When can I expect it to arrive? The tote ships six to eight weeks after your payment is processed. International orders may take longer to ship, and packages may be delayed at customs. We regret that our staff cannot track tote bags after they enter the postal system. What forms of payment do you accept? We accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, and Diners Club cards. We also accept PayPal, Apple Pay, and Amazon Pay. Alternatively, checks can be mailed to WIRED, P.O. Box 37617, Boone, IA 50037-0617. Can I get a receipt or confirmation of my subscription, account details, or cancellation? Yes, our staff would be happy to send you a receipt. After subscribing, you can expect to receive a confirmation email within twenty-four hours. You can reach us by email at help@wired.com, or by phone at 1-855-226-5869. International subscribers may call 1-332-237-7084. Please also chat with our team using the chat widget at the bottom right-hand corner of this page for the fastest support. When will I be charged? Credit cards are charged as soon as your order is received. It may take up to three days for the charge to appear on your credit card statement. Before the start of each renewal, you will be emailed a reminder notice summarizing the details of your subscription and the rate that you will be charged. Why do I need to provide a mailing address for a digital subscription? If your subscription includes a physical premium, we need your mailing address to deliver it to you. Can I subscribe to WIRED if I live outside the United States? Yes. You can subscribe to WIRED from most countries, although it may take longer to receive print issues in the mail. For assistance, you can reach us by email at help@wired.com, or by phone at 1-855-226-5869. International subscribers may call 1-332-237-7084. Please also chat with our team using the chat widget at the bottom right-hand corner of this page for the fastest support. I forgot my password. How can I recover it? If there is a WIRED subscription associated with your email address, we will send you instructions for resetting your password. How do I make changes to my email address or password? Please visit My Account to manage your WIRED.com account information, including your email address and password. What does it mean to link or verify my subscription? Why is this important? Creating an online account and subscribing to the magazine are independent operations. It is possible to create an online account without being a subscriber and vice versa. In order to read unlimited articles online as a subscriber, youโ€™ll need to link your subscription to your WIRED account. This process may be necessary for customers who have never created an account or registered an email address with us. To link your subscription: If you have trouble linking your subscription, please email at help@wired.com, or by phone at 1-855-226-5869. International subscribers may call 1-332-237-7084. Please also chat with our team using the chat widget at the bottom right-hand corner of this page for the fastest support. How do I unsubscribe from WIRED? You can cancel your subscription (or a gift subscription) within your online account page or contact customer service for assistance. What is your cancellation policy? Youโ€™re in full control of your subscription and can cancel at any time. When you purchase a subscriptionโ€”whether it includes print and digital access or digital access onlyโ€”it begins immediately. Please note that we do not offer refunds for cancellations. When you cancel, your subscription will remain active through the end of your current billing term, and you will not be charged again. How can I receive confirmation of my cancellation? Our staff would be happy to send you a confirmation. Please email us at help@wired.com, or by phone at 1-855-226-5869. International subscribers may call 1-332-237-7084. Please also chat with our team using the chat widget at the bottom right-hand corner of this page for the fastest support. How do I check when my subscription expires? You can view the expiration date of your subscription (or gift subscription) by reaching out to our customer care team at help@wired.com, or by phone at 1-855-226-5869. International subscribers may call 1-332-237-7084. Please also chat with our team using the chat widget at the bottom right-hand corner of this page for the fastest support. How do I temporarily suspend my subscription? Print subscribers can stop their subscription (or gift subscription) for up to one year and then resume it via customer care. If I suspend my print subscription, will I still have access to WIRED.com and the WIRED apps? Full access to the website and apps is available only to subscribers, so while your subscription is suspended, you will have limited access. WIRED UK Website Closure I am a WIRED UK subscriber; how do I access content on WIRED.com? If you have already created an account to access the Wired UK digital edition, simply visit wired.com and sign in using the same email address and password associated with your subscription. If you haven't already created an account to access the digital edition, please follow the instructions below: Register your account and use your print subscription customer number and surname to create a digital access account. If you do not know your customer number, you can locate it here or with our customer service team. From there, head to wired.com and sign in using the same email address. I am a subscriber to WIRED UK magazine. Will I still be able to receive my magazines? Yes, your WIRED UK magazine subscription will continue uninterrupted unless a cancellation is initiated. Digital All Access What is WIRED Digital All Access? The WIRED All Access subscription provides digital access to WIRED, Vanity Fair, Vogue, Architectural Digest, Bon Appรฉtit, and Epicurious. What is included in the WIRED Digital All Access subscription? How much does the WIRED Digital All Access subscription cost? To see our latest offers, visit our order page. How do I sign up for a WIRED Digital All Access subscription? To see our latest offers, visit our order page. If I already have a WIRED digital subscription, can I upgrade to Digital All Access? Yes, you can upgrade your WIRED subscription to a Digital All Access subscription by contacting customer care via the chat widget at the bottom right hand corner of this page, which typically offers the fastest support. All Access is not available for print subscriptions. If I already have a Vogue, Vanity Fair, The New Yorker, Architectural Digest, Bon Appรฉtit, or Epicurious subscription, can I change to Digital All Access? Other subscriptions cannot be bundled individually at this time. If you are interested in a WIRED Digital All Access subscription, please contact customer care using the chat widget at the bottom right hand corner of this page. All Access is not available for print subscriptions. If I cancel my WIRED Digital All Access subscription, can I maintain my Vanity Fair, Vogue, The New Yorker, Architectural Digest, Bon Appรฉtit, and Epicurious access? Canceling your Digital All Access subscription will result in a loss of access to all brands included. Does the WIRED Digital All Access subscription include app access? The New Yorker (iOS and Android) and Epicurious (iOS) apps are included with your Digital All Access subscription. Privacy policy & user agreement Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. WIRED may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Condรฉ Nast Ad Choices. Reading on a Phone, Computer, or Tablet Why should I create an online account? All readers are encouraged to create a free online account, regardless of their subscription status, so you can take advantage of features like saving stories to read later. If you have not done so, please create a free account now. Are all WIRED articles available online? All articles originally published online or in the print magazine are online and available with your subscription. The first print magazine was published in March/April 1993. You can also find print replicas of issues dating back to 2021 in our online archive. Do I need a subscription to access WIRED.com? If you are not a subscriber, you have limited access to WIREDโ€™s website. All web visitors can browse all Gear articles without a subscription. Is the magazine available on mobile and tablet devices? Yes. The WIRED app includes web versions of all magazine articles, and it is available through the App Store. Digital editions of the magazine are also available through the Nook bookstore. Which devices support the WIRED app? The WIRED app can be downloaded to your iPhone, iPad, or iPod for free from the App Store. While the app is not currently available for Android devices, Android users can read WIRED stories online. Do I need a WIRED subscription to access the WIRED app? Yes. The app is exclusive to subscribers and is free to download. If you subscribed directly through WIRED (including WIRED.com or the WIRED app), you can view as many articles and issues as you'd like. If eligible, non-subscribers will be invited to explore the app through a free trial. Can I share stories from the WIRED app through email or social media? Yes, the link will direct viewers to the story on our website. I subscribed through the WIRED app on my iPhone, iPad, or iPod. How do I get unlimited online access? Immediately after you subscribed through the app, you were prompted to create an online account. If you have not done so, you can now. If you subscribed through the WIRED app: I purchased a subscription through the WIRED app. How can I cancel it? If you subscribed through the WIRED app, youโ€™ll need to cancel through Apple. I subscribed to WIRED through Amazon but am no longer able to sign into WIRED.com. Due to changes at Amazon, Amazon subscribers have limited access, and new issues are no longer available on KindlePlease visit our contact us page to submit this request. I purchased a WIRED subscription on my Nook Color Tablet. Does that provide unlimited digital access to WIRED? If you purchased a subscription directly from Barnes & Noble, your access is limited to your Nook Color Tablet. If you have questions, please visit Barnes & Nobleโ€™s contact us page. How do I get unlimited access to WIRED on my Nook? How do I get unlimited access to WIRED on my Android phone or tablet? Subscribers can read WIRED on an Android phone or tablet via WIRED.com. You can also follow WIRED via Google News, but you will need to sign in to our website to read articles. Do I need a subscription to follow WIRED in Google News? WIREDโ€™s feed is free to follow, though subscribers will need to sign in to our Web site to read articles. How can I access WIRED articles published on Flipboard? WIREDโ€™s feed is free to follow at https://flipboard.com/@WIRED. Articles link to WIRED.com, where subscribers have unlimited access and non-subscribers have limited access. I purchased a WIRED subscription on Zinio. Does that provide unlimited digital access to WIRED? If you purchased a subscription on Zinio, your access is limited to Zinio. If you have questions, please visit Zinioโ€™s contact us page. How do I sign up for email newsletters? Visit wired.com/newsletter to sign up for any of our offerings, including The Daily, Classics, Gadget Lab, and more. Where can I get my subscriber-only newsletters? After subscribing, and when logged-in, you can sign-up for your subscriber-only newsletter at the Newsletter Hub. I signed up for your newsletters. Why am I not receiving them regularly? Please check your junk folder. If the problem persists, please visit our contact us page to submit your request. How do I unsubscribe from a newsletter or marketing e-mail? To unsubscribe from a newsletter, select Unsubscribe at the bottom of the e-mail or sign in to newyorker.com and navigate to My Account from the top-right corner. You can manage your newsletter subscriptions at the bottom of your profile. For all marketing emails, select Unsubscribe at the bottom of the email. How can I listen to WIRED audio and podcasts? Explore our Podcasts hub, or download episodes for free from iTunes and most other platforms. Also available is Spoken Layer, narrated versions of our best articles. How to Contact WIRED How can I contact editors or contributors? To provide feedback, please visit wired.com/about/feedback. How can I submit an idea or piece? Visit wired.com/about/how-to-pitch-stories-to-wired. How can I advertise in WIRED? Please contact us at adinquiries@condenast.com. About the WIRED Reviews team What is the WIRED Reviews team? WIREDโ€™s Reviews team is a group of 13 full-time staff writers and editors with centuries of combined experience who conduct comprehensive testing on products, services, and software to write in-depth reviews and buying guides. The team was founded in 2017 and one of its original members, Adrienne So, is still on staff as a senior editor. We also work with a small group of trusted freelance contributors who are experts in their field. Youโ€™ll find an author bio that outlines each testerโ€™s expertise on any review we publish. Our mission is to provide the most authentic and engaging buying advice for every product our audience needs or wants, to pioneer product discovery for tech enthusiasts, and to serve as a trusted hub for fair and thoughtful product reviews. How does WIRED select products to test and review? Weโ€™re looking to write about products our readers are interested in, which means everything from groundbreaking new tech to novel gadgets theyโ€™ve seen all over social media, to products like bed-in-a-box mattresses where itโ€™s difficult for any individual consumer to do proper comparison shopping. Our audience is tech-savvy, so youโ€™ll see lots of coverage of mobile phones, laptops, gaming devices, and the like, but WIRED readers also like to live comfortably and healthfully, score great deals, and often enjoy outdoor recreation. Why should I trust WIREDโ€™s product reviews? Because we tell the truth and we do the work. WIREDโ€™s Reviews team tests every product and service we write about, even when weโ€™re picking the best Amazon Prime Day deals. Our product recommendations are made in service to readers and independently of revenue considerations. While we do get a small cut of most sales when readers click to buy recommended products discussed in our product reviews and buying guides, the content in those guides is created through a rigorous and independent editorial process and is subjected to the same high standards as everything else WIRED publishes. Content from our Reviews team is fact-checked by editors and goes through the same prepublication review process as any other WIRED story. When we make a mistake, we immediately correct it and append an editorโ€™s note for transparency as appropriate. Does the WIRED Reviews team use generative AI? No. We follow the same editorial standards as everything else published by WIRED. You can read our whole policy here, but the gist is that we do not publish stories with text generated by AI, except when AI-generated text is the point of the story. Do you purchase every product you test? No, but we do not accept โ€œfree productsโ€ from manufacturers or make any agreements that involve a promise of editorial coverage in exchange for sending us a product. We often accept delivery of review samples directly from PR agencies and brands, which we typically don't pay for. We return or donate these samples after testing. When we know a specific product is of interest to readers and a review sample is not available, WIRED will purchase the product and the writer will donate it after testing. How we test each product depends on what it is. We thoroughly test anything we recommend to readers and try to explain our methodology in each article without bogging it down with excessive detail many readers donโ€™t care about. Our overall goal in all testing is to replicate the productโ€™s regular use as closely as we canโ€”this is why we review mattresses by sleeping on them in our homes rather than dropping a bowling ball on them in a lab where we conduct โ€œnap tests.โ€ Since our testing methodology is a popular question with both readers and brands, weโ€™ve compiled the basic protocols for some of our key coverage areas below. Ebikes: WIRED reviews upward of 50 new ebikes a year by riding them on a variety of terrain for at least 40 miles over the course of at least two weeks. We test cargo bikes by hauling kids and groceries, we ride mountain and gravel bikes on trails, and we test commuter bikes while running errands on regular city streets (including up and down steep hills). In addition to our real-life testing, we evaluate specs like weight, tire size, battery life, motor power, and the sourcing of key components to make our guides to the Best Ebikes and Best Cheap Ebikes. Electric scooters: WIRED reviewers ride electric scooters for at least 30 miles, though often much longer, on varying terrain and under various power loads (such as laden with groceries or up and down steep hills). Our main tester, the author of our guide to the Best Electric Scooters, is Brooklyn-based Julian Chokkattu, who takes electric scooters on the same routes through Bushwick during his tests so he can evaluate how a scooter may deviate from the established baseline. Fitness trackers: WIREDโ€™s lead tester wears fitness trackers for at least two weeks and evaluates them on fit, specifications, durability, battery life, whether she can see the display in natural daylight, and whether features perform as advertisedโ€”for example, AI coaching, climbing software, or GPS tracking. She also evaluates companion smartphone apps based on ease of use and claimed features. Mattresses: We sleep on any mattress we recommend for at least a week in our own homes, though we sometimes give up on a mattress after a few nights (we then tell readers to avoid it), and we will sometimes spend months long-term testing. Lead reviewer Martin Cizmar has established a level of real-life mattress testing thatโ€™s unmatched among our competitors, who frequently do a "nap test" where they form an opinion after sitting around on a mattress in their office. Office chairs: We sit on every chair we test for several weeks while workingโ€”two weeks at the minimum, but often much longer than that. We also invite different friends and family members to try the chairs out so we can assess comfort levels for folks with different heights and body types. Mobile phones: To compile our expansive library of smartphone reviews and guides, our testers use any smartphone theyโ€™re reviewing for at least a week, but sometimes longer. We test each phone by loading in our own SIM cards and using the phone as we would any personal device for the duration of the testing period. To compare cameras, we take the same photos on a second, similarly priced phone at the same time and study the results. For phone cases, which we test for at least a few days each, we look for alignment between ports and holes, check all buttons for clickiness, judge how it feels in our pockets, and check for how much the case is raised over the screen and camera lenses. We don't do drop tests as we donโ€™t have enough free phones to replace all the broken ones. Internet routers: WIRED tests Wi-Fi and mesh routers for at least one week, though often longer, in a home setting. We test the stated features and introduce stress testing, such as cutting the power to see how routers cope with a sudden loss of power. Our lead tester, Simon Hill, also runs a bevy of technical tests, including network throughput testing, file transfers, coverage heatmaps, and speed testsโ€”all organized into a handy (and impressive) spreadsheet. Air Purifiers: WIRED reviews more than 50 new air purifiers a year, assessing them in various home environments from coast to coast for months at a time. We test air purifiers in both homes and 100-year-old apartments with cats, dogs, and gas stoves, and near highways and in urban areas. In addition to our real-world testing, we measure decibel levels, ease of use, and efficacy, and we evaluate cost, design, length of warranty, and most importantly, the rate of air exchange in a specific-size room, making our deep dives, reviews, and Best Air Purifier guide essential reading. Soundbars: WIREDโ€™s staffers, including Parker Hall and Ryan Waniata, evaluate soundbars using a wide variety of testing material, from custom-made Dolby Atmos demos to familiar movies like Guardians of the Galaxy, sitcoms like Seinfeld and Parks and Recreation, and everything in between. We test apps and features like auto-calibration, surround sound speakers, and multiroom audio integration in multiple settings wherever possible. For music testing, we stream carefully curated playlists and random radio stations at compressed and lossless resolutions over Bluetooth and Wi-Fi where available. We live with these products over multiple days at minimum to test their usability the same way we expect you to use them. Headphones and earbuds: Headphones and earbuds come in a multitude of styles, sizes, and varieties and we test them in accordance. For all headphones we test, sound quality, comfort, and fit are of the utmost importance. For wireless headphones and earbuds, we pay special attention to key aspects like ease of pairing and setup, battery life, app connection and settings, and convenience features like speak-to-chat. When focusing on sound quality, we use curated playlists with familiar music (from Fleetwood Macโ€™s โ€œThe Chainโ€ to The Weekndโ€™s โ€œStarboyโ€) in both compressed and lossless resolution where applicable. For spatial audio, we test music and videos in multiple formats, including Dolby Atmos. Televisions: TVs are among the most important products in A/V, and we test them accordingly. We spend at least a week with each TV we test, using it day and night as our daily driver. We utilize carefully selected video and audio content (from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows on Blu-ray to Our Planet in Dolby Vision and Atmos on Netflix). Our testing material runs the gamut, including live broadcasts, streaming content, and physical media with high-end Ultra HD Blu-ray players. We use Spears & Munsilโ€™s latest Ultra HD Benchmark discs to lock in settings and evaluate multiple resolution and HDR formats, including Dolby Vision, HDR10, and HDR10+. We watch content in various light conditions and test usability features, from smart assistants to services like AirPlay 2 and Chromecast to paint a holistic picture. Running gear: Our lead writer runs four to five times a week, around 20 to 25 miles per week, and evaluates the gearโ€™s overall performance with a mix of long runs, interval runs, and trail and road running. Pizza ovens: To name the best pizza ovens, we test each oven in our backyard for a minimum of two weeks. While using the oven, our testers also use handheld infrared thermometers to take the temperature of the baking stone at various places to gauge how evenly they heat and cook. We test all ovens with homemade dough, store-bought dough, and frozen pizzas. Luggage and backpacks: WIRED tests luggage designed primarily for air travel by taking it on at least two flights. When reviewing backpacks, our testers wear them for at least two weeks. In addition to this regular use, we also evaluate design details, like whether they have straight or curved zippers, what gauge the zippers are, whether they're toothed or coiled, what the warranty is, whether the hardware is metal or plastic, or whether the fabric is sustainable. Our reviewers also do things like fill backpacks full of books and toss them around, and kick carry-on bags to see whether they get foot marks or are easy to clean. Umbrellas: Our testers use umbrellas several times, whenever it rains. We test them as a normal person would while checking for the main hallmarks of what makes a good umbrella, as listed in our buying guide. We also aim to get a good sense of how each umbrella handles gusts and heavy storms. Webcams: We use every webcam we test for several weeks as a daily driver, and our testers also try to compare the image quality with another similar model. Reviewers make audio recordings to see how the mics pick up their voices. Webcam testers often solicit feedback on appearance and sound quality during our weekly Gear team meetings, which take place over Zoom. Bidets: For our guide to the Best Bidets, our testers install the bidets on a toilet in their homes and use each sample for at least a week. Monitors: Reviewer Nena Farrell leads our coverage of the best computer monitors and tests each pick for at least one week, with a minimum of three working days. She sets monitors up with both a PC and Mac laptop to check performance, and she runs at least two different video games to see how the monitor performs, even if it isn't a monitor designed specifically for video games. Camp cookware: Reviewer Scott Gilbertson famously lives in an RV, so he is always testing camp cookware. In fact, grills and other cookware are tested for months before they ever make it into a guide. He cooks outside every day, rotating stoves every few months so he gets a good sense of how they perform, how they stand up to weather, and how hard they are to clean. Tents: We aim to spend at least a week in every tent, ideally in a variety of weather conditions. Every pocket, zipper, guy line, and feature is tested. Will the rainfly catch on the door zippers? Is the ventilation good? Is the tent easy to set up? We assess all of the above and more, and list our favorites in our Best Tents buying guide. Meal kits: When testing meal kit delivery services, each service is evaluated meal-by-meal over the course of a few days. Our lead reviewer follows recipes to the letter and substitutes ingredients only if something arrives inedibleโ€”for example, if something thaws during shipment or the produce is moldy (these substitutions are always noted). She always has at least one other person try a meal and notes down both of their first impressions and opinions before discussing the meal further. She assesses packaging, ingredient quality, texture, and taste, then factors in price to make recommendations. Security cameras: Indoor and outdoor security cameras are tested for at least one month. We test any manufacturer claims and special features, like motion detection or smartphone alerts, and stress-test the cameras as well. We also test videofeed quality and loading times. Video doorbells: We test video doorbells for a minimum of two weeks. Any manufacturer claims are tested and verified, as are smartphone companion apps or smart home connectivity options. We also consider the data storage, retention, and privacy policies of the manufacturers of each camera we test, as these things also factor into our recommendations. Sex toys and tech: We test sex tech for a minimum of two weeks using common sense. We test on different erogenous zones and different bodies. We also conduct controlled tests for features like battery life, waterproofness, and ease of cleaning. We test manufacturer claims as well. Espresso machines and coffee gear: We use espresso machines and coffee gear for at least two weeks in everyday situations. We also perform some controlled tests. Our lead reviewer tests for consistency, how hot the heating elements get, how quickly they heat up, how much time needs to pass between switching functions (brewing versus steaming), and the like. She also tests general usability. Is the machine easy to clean and maintain? Are things that need to be cleaned easily accessible? Does it look nice on the counter or does it seem to acquire a grime after only a couple uses? Does the steaming wand work efficiently? All of these factors inform our assessment. Coffee grinders: Our lead reviewer assesses coffee grinders for at least two weeks using a mix of everyday use and controlled tests. Sheโ€™s mostly testing for consistency, as well as factors like how quickly grime builds up in the burrs, how accessible the burrs are for cleaning, how loud the grinder is, and how finely or coarsely it can grind. She also assesses for ease of cleaning and overall maintenance requirements. Digital cameras: We test cameras by using them over a period of (ideally) months, but often just weeks because DSLR cameras, compact system cameras, and mirrorless cameras are generally loaned to us on a short-term basis, and camera companies are eager to pass them on to the next reviewer. Our lead reviewer tries to shoot at least 500 images on every camera he tests. He then views and edits the resulting RAW and JPG files in Darktable. Coolers: We test coolers by putting a standard bag of cube ice inside it on a warm day (at least 75 degrees Fahrenheit), putting the cooler in the shade, and then timing how long it takes for the ice to melt. We also assess weight, portability, durability, and overall design. Binoculars: We test binoculars by going birding. And to baseball games. And stargazing. For months and months. ยฉ 2026 Condรฉ Nast. All rights reserved. WIRED may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Condรฉ Nast. Ad Choices
========================================
[SOURCE: https://www.mako.co.il/food-feed/2026-m02_w03/shorts-16f8e830f856c91027.htm] | [TOKENS: 100]
We are sorry... ...but your activity and behavior on this website made us think that you are a bot. Please solve this CAPTCHA in helping us understand your behavior to grant access You reached this page when trying to access https://www.mako.co.il/food-feed/2026-m02_w03/shorts-16f8e830f856c91027.htm from 79.181.162.231 on February 21 2026, 10:56:47 UTC
========================================
[SOURCE: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ello_(social_network)] | [TOKENS: 719]
Contents Ello (social network) Ello was an online social networking service created by Paul Budnitz and Todd Berger in March 2014. It was shut down in July 2023. History Ello began as a private social network consisting of seven artists and programmers. After a year of the social network being private, the creators redesigned the website and launched Ello to the public. Seed funding of $435,000 from the venture capital investor FreshTracks Capital in January 2014 helped sustain the company initially. This decision earned some criticism when the network achieved wider popularity. Ello launched on March 19, 2014, complete with a manifesto that claimed to distinguish it from other social networks like Facebook. The site promised it would never sell user data, proclaiming "You Are Not a Product". The social network service officially launched on April 3, although membership registration was only by invitation. Ello gained added attention in September 2014, when numerous members of the LGBTQ community left Facebook following the controversial enforcement of its real-name policy, thought to be intended to exclude drag queens in San Francisco. At its peak, the social network was processing more than 30,000 signup requests an hour. It is estimated that 20% of sign ups remain active on the site one week after registration. In October 2014, Ello reorganized itself as a benefit corporation and raised a further $5.5 million in venture capital. In 2015 Ello launched its iPhone app, which has many similarities to the original website, including format. In 2016, Wired writer Charley Locke noted that the user base of Ello has shifted from early adopters of new social media to artists and other creative people. In 2018, Talenthouse acquired Ello for an undisclosed amount. As of July 2023, the Ello social network is no longer available. Features Initially influenced by Facebook, Ello later switched to a Pinterest-like focus on art, photography, fashion and web culture. The Ello service claimed several notable distinguishing intentions as a social network such as never selling user data to advertisers or third parties, never showing advertisements, and not enforcing a real-name policy. Ello provided some features like an emoji autocomplete, NSFW settings and hashtags, and was planning on adding others such as private messaging. Revenue Ello was free to use, but was exploring a freemium model to finance future activities. It was also selling specially branded T-shirts in a partnership with Threadless to generate revenue. Additionally, the social network introduced a 'Hire Me' button in August 2016, followed by a 'Buy' and 'Collaborate Button' soon after that. The 'Hire Me' and/or 'Collaborate' buttons enabled users to be contacted by other community members, to either collaborate or offer their services. The 'Buy button' could be added to any post, and directed towards any online shop where the goods were sold. As such, Ello seemingly chose to turn to the affiliate revenue model to gain income. Reception Ello had been criticized for its simple, minimalist design. Bona Kim of Gizmodo criticized the general bugginess of the website and accused it of trying too hard to look different from its main competitor, Facebook. One highly positive review expressed concern that Ello "seems fated to become the betamax of social media: superior to its competitor but failing to win popular traction. But it doesn't matter ... A social network doesn't need approval from everyone to work." References
========================================
[SOURCE: https://www.theverge.com/games/881332/nintendo-pokemon-presents-pokemon-day] | [TOKENS: 1560]
GamingCloseGamingPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All GamingEntertainmentCloseEntertainmentPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All EntertainmentNewsCloseNewsPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All NewsNintendoโ€™s next big Pokรฉmon presentation is on February 27thFireRed and LeafGreen are also coming to the Nintendo Switch.FireRed and LeafGreen are also coming to the Nintendo Switch.by Charles Pulliam-MooreCloseCharles Pulliam-MooreFilm & TV ReporterPosts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All by Charles Pulliam-MooreFeb 20, 2026, 2:25 PM UTCLinkShareGiftImage: Nintendo / The Pokรฉmon CompanyCharles Pulliam-MooreCloseCharles Pulliam-MoorePosts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All by Charles Pulliam-Moore is a reporter focusing on film, TV, and pop culture. Before The Verge, he wrote about comic books, labor, race, and more at io9 and Gizmodo for almost five years.Pokรฉmon Day is always a big deal for Nintendo fans, but with this year being the franchiseโ€™s 30th anniversary, the next Pokรฉmon Presents stream is likely to bring the heat when it begins on February 27th at 9AM ET. With Pokรฉmon Legends: Z-A behind us and Pokรฉmon Pokopia right around the corner, chances are high that weโ€™re finally going to get some new information about the franchiseโ€™s next mainline game. But thereโ€™s also a chance that weโ€™ll see more from Pokรฉmon Champions and hear about updates for other spin-off games like Pokรฉmon Unite, TCG Pocket, and Pokรฉmon Sleep.In addition to announcing the next Presents stream, Nintendo also revealed today that Pokรฉmon FireRed / LeafGreen โ€” which originally released for the Game Boy Advance in 2004 โ€” will be coming to the Nintendo Switch family of consoles via the eShop next week (note: they wonโ€™t be available as part of the Switch Online subscription). The rereleased games donโ€™t seem to feature any significant changes from their original versions. But they will be available to download as soon as next weekโ€™s Pokรฉmon Presents concludes, and Nintendo also says that the game will be โ€œavailable at select retailers launch week for a suggested retail price of $19.99.โ€The FireRed / LeafGreen news seems like the sort of surprise Nintendo and The Pokรฉmon Company might have wanted to keep under wraps until the Presents stream. But this could easily be a sign that next weekโ€™s presentation is going to be packed with so much new info that the companies wanted to get the small stuff out of the way well in advance.Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.Charles Pulliam-MooreCloseCharles Pulliam-MooreFilm & TV ReporterPosts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All by Charles Pulliam-MooreEntertainmentCloseEntertainmentPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All EntertainmentGamingCloseGamingPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All GamingNewsCloseNewsPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All NewsNintendoCloseNintendoPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All NintendoPokemonClosePokemonPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All PokemonMost PopularMost PopularXbox chief Phil Spencer is leaving MicrosoftThe RAM shortage is coming for everything you care aboutRead Microsoft gaming CEO Asha Sharmaโ€™s first memo on the future of XboxAmazon blames human employees for an AI coding agentโ€™s mistakeWill Stancil, man of the people or just an annoying guy?The Verge DailyA free daily digest of the news that matters most.Email (required)Sign UpBy submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.Advertiser Content FromThis is the title for the native ad Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Gaming Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Entertainment Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All News Nintendoโ€™s next big Pokรฉmon presentation is on February 27th FireRed and LeafGreen are also coming to the Nintendo Switch. FireRed and LeafGreen are also coming to the Nintendo Switch. Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All by Charles Pulliam-Moore Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All by Charles Pulliam-Moore Pokรฉmon Day is always a big deal for Nintendo fans, but with this year being the franchiseโ€™s 30th anniversary, the next Pokรฉmon Presents stream is likely to bring the heat when it begins on February 27th at 9AM ET. With Pokรฉmon Legends: Z-A behind us and Pokรฉmon Pokopia right around the corner, chances are high that weโ€™re finally going to get some new information about the franchiseโ€™s next mainline game. But thereโ€™s also a chance that weโ€™ll see more from Pokรฉmon Champions and hear about updates for other spin-off games like Pokรฉmon Unite, TCG Pocket, and Pokรฉmon Sleep. In addition to announcing the next Presents stream, Nintendo also revealed today that Pokรฉmon FireRed / LeafGreen โ€” which originally released for the Game Boy Advance in 2004 โ€” will be coming to the Nintendo Switch family of consoles via the eShop next week (note: they wonโ€™t be available as part of the Switch Online subscription). The rereleased games donโ€™t seem to feature any significant changes from their original versions. But they will be available to download as soon as next weekโ€™s Pokรฉmon Presents concludes, and Nintendo also says that the game will be โ€œavailable at select retailers launch week for a suggested retail price of $19.99.โ€ The FireRed / LeafGreen news seems like the sort of surprise Nintendo and The Pokรฉmon Company might have wanted to keep under wraps until the Presents stream. But this could easily be a sign that next weekโ€™s presentation is going to be packed with so much new info that the companies wanted to get the small stuff out of the way well in advance. Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All by Charles Pulliam-Moore Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Entertainment Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Gaming Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All News Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Nintendo Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Pokemon Most Popular The Verge Daily A free daily digest of the news that matters most. This is the title for the native ad More in Gaming This is the title for the native ad Top Stories ยฉ 2026 Vox Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved
========================================
[SOURCE: https://www.wired.com/about/wired-staff/] | [TOKENS: 2295]
Meet Our TeamGlobal editorial director: Katie DrummondExecutive editor: Brian BarrettSteven Levy Editor at large (Signal: stevenlevy.72)Features:Reyhan Harmanci Features directorJohn Gravois Senior Features editorJason Kehe Features editorAnthony Lydgate Features editorAlana Hope Levinson Features editorSandra Upson Features editorAngela Watercutter Senior editor, special projectsScience:Tim Marchman Director, science, politics, and security (Signal: timmarchman.01)Emily Mullin Staff writer (Signal: emullin.06)Molly Taft Senior writer (Signal: mollytaft.76)Politics:Leah Feiger Senior editor (Signal: leahfeiger.86)Vittoria Elliott Staff writer (Signal: velliott88.18)David Gilbert Contributor (Signal: DavidGilbert.01)Makena Kelly Senior writer (Signal: makenakelly.32)Security:Andrew Couts Senior editor, security & investigations (Signal: couts.01)Matt Burgess Senior writer (Signal: mattburgess.20)Dell Cameron Senior writer (Signal: dell.3030)Andy Greenberg Senior writer (Signal: Andy.01)Lily Hay Newman Senior writer (Signal: +1 347 722-1347)Maddy Varner Senior writerBusiness:Zoรซ Schiffer Director, business and industry (Signal: zoeschiffer.87)Louise Matsakis Senior business editor (Signal: louise_matsakis.83)Paresh Dave Senior writer (Signal: peard33.24)Lauren Goode Senior writer (Signal: ChaoticGoode.12)Maxwell Zeff Senior writerCaroline Haskins Staff writer (Signal: carolinehaskins.61)Joel Khalili Staff writer (Signal: Joel_Khalili.28)Kate Knibbs Senior writer (Signal: Kateknibbs.09)Will Knight Senior writerZeyi Yang Senior writer (Signal: zeyiyang.06)Gear:Michael Calore Director, consumer tech and cultureJeremy White Senior editorBoone Ashworth Staff writer (Signal: boone.10)Aarian Marshall Staff writer (Signal: aarianm.30)Reece Rogers Service writerCulture:Manisha Krishnan Senior editorJason Parham Senior writerMiles Klee Senior writerReviews:Martin Cizmar Commerce category director, techKat Merck Senior reviews editorJulian Chokkattu Senior commerce reviews editorAdrienne So Senior associate reviews editorParker Hall Senior associate reviews editorMolly Higgins Operations coordinatorScott Gilbertson Operations managerSimon Hill Senior writer and reviewerBoutayna Chokrane Writer and reviewerNena Farrell Writer and reviewerJulia Forbes Product writer and reviewerMatthew Korfhage Product reviewerLouryn Strampe Writer and reviewerLuke Larsen Product writer and reviewerRyan Waniata Writer and reviewerArt, Design, and Photography:Paloma Shutes Director of photographyAlyssa Walker Creative directorAnjali Nair Art directorCatherine Gargan Hall Photo editorSkye Battles Photo editorDJ Jackson Assistant photo editorJacqui VanLiew Senior designerBen Hinks DesignerResearch:Matt Giles Research directorMeghan Herbst Research editorDaniel Roman Research editorSamantha Spengler Research editorCopy:Brian Dustrud Copy chiefLee Simmons Story editorAudience Development:Veronica de Souza, Executive director, audience development & content strategyNathan May Director of newsletters & communityArielle Goldstein Manager, audience developmentElana Klein Associate manager, audience developmentMichaela Neville Senior Manager, social mediaMatthew Champion Director, multiplatform videoLaura Cameron Associate manager, social mediaSophie Johal Manager, social mediaAlana Yzola Senior multimedia producerEditorial Operations:Hemal Jhaveri Global director, editorial operationsJay Dayrit Editorial operations directorShireen Mohyi Director, business operationsDaisy May Sitch Senior global content planning managerAbrielle Ramirez Assistant to the global editorial directorProduction:Kimberly Chua Digital operations managerTheresa Thadani Contributing digital production artistCoupons:Molly Higgins ProducerNicole Kinning ProducerLouryn Strampe Writer and reviewerFinance and Marketing:Douglas Grinspan, Chief business officerJane Garcia Buhks, Global marketing leadRoshรฉ Anderson, Global associate director, marketingGabby Iwunze, Global associate director, marketingAisha Kassim, Global manager, marketingBen Peryer, VP, global eventsAnna Suarez, Senior director, eventsFlorence Pak, Design directorVideo and Multimedia:Branden Smith Senior director, digital videoEfrat Kashai Director of content production, digital videoLisandro Perez-Rey Video director, digital videoJustin Wolfson Producer, digital videoPaul Gulyas Researcher, digital videoBrandon White Associate producer, digital videoPaula Martone Executive director, production managementJamie Rasmussen Line Producer, production managementChris Dawson Senior director, post productionNicholas Ascanio Ryan Powell Director(s), post productionChristian Olguin Post Production Supervisor, post productionBilly Keenly Senior director, creative optimizationDan Traveris Director, creative optimizationJordan Sokol Manager, design optimizationChristopher Bannon Head of global, audioNico Steele Senior director, production operations, audioMost PopularThe Big StoryInside the Gay Tech MafiaPoliticsDHS Opens a Billion-Dollar Tab With PalantirGearA $10K Bounty Awaits Anyone Who Can Hack Ring Cameras to Stop Sharing Data With AmazonBusinessInside the Rolling Layoffs at Jack Dorseyโ€™s Block Meet Our Team Global editorial director: Katie DrummondExecutive editor: Brian Barrett Steven Levy Editor at large (Signal: stevenlevy.72) Features:Reyhan Harmanci Features directorJohn Gravois Senior Features editorJason Kehe Features editorAnthony Lydgate Features editorAlana Hope Levinson Features editorSandra Upson Features editorAngela Watercutter Senior editor, special projects Science:Tim Marchman Director, science, politics, and security (Signal: timmarchman.01)Emily Mullin Staff writer (Signal: emullin.06)Molly Taft Senior writer (Signal: mollytaft.76) Politics:Leah Feiger Senior editor (Signal: leahfeiger.86)Vittoria Elliott Staff writer (Signal: velliott88.18)David Gilbert Contributor (Signal: DavidGilbert.01)Makena Kelly Senior writer (Signal: makenakelly.32) Security:Andrew Couts Senior editor, security & investigations (Signal: couts.01)Matt Burgess Senior writer (Signal: mattburgess.20)Dell Cameron Senior writer (Signal: dell.3030)Andy Greenberg Senior writer (Signal: Andy.01)Lily Hay Newman Senior writer (Signal: +1 347 722-1347)Maddy Varner Senior writer Business:Zoรซ Schiffer Director, business and industry (Signal: zoeschiffer.87)Louise Matsakis Senior business editor (Signal: louise_matsakis.83)Paresh Dave Senior writer (Signal: peard33.24)Lauren Goode Senior writer (Signal: ChaoticGoode.12)Maxwell Zeff Senior writerCaroline Haskins Staff writer (Signal: carolinehaskins.61)Joel Khalili Staff writer (Signal: Joel_Khalili.28)Kate Knibbs Senior writer (Signal: Kateknibbs.09)Will Knight Senior writerZeyi Yang Senior writer (Signal: zeyiyang.06) Gear:Michael Calore Director, consumer tech and cultureJeremy White Senior editorBoone Ashworth Staff writer (Signal: boone.10)Aarian Marshall Staff writer (Signal: aarianm.30)Reece Rogers Service writer Culture:Manisha Krishnan Senior editorJason Parham Senior writerMiles Klee Senior writer Reviews:Martin Cizmar Commerce category director, techKat Merck Senior reviews editorJulian Chokkattu Senior commerce reviews editorAdrienne So Senior associate reviews editorParker Hall Senior associate reviews editorMolly Higgins Operations coordinatorScott Gilbertson Operations managerSimon Hill Senior writer and reviewerBoutayna Chokrane Writer and reviewerNena Farrell Writer and reviewerJulia Forbes Product writer and reviewerMatthew Korfhage Product reviewerLouryn Strampe Writer and reviewerLuke Larsen Product writer and reviewerRyan Waniata Writer and reviewer Art, Design, and Photography:Paloma Shutes Director of photographyAlyssa Walker Creative directorAnjali Nair Art directorCatherine Gargan Hall Photo editorSkye Battles Photo editorDJ Jackson Assistant photo editorJacqui VanLiew Senior designerBen Hinks Designer Research:Matt Giles Research directorMeghan Herbst Research editorDaniel Roman Research editorSamantha Spengler Research editor Copy:Brian Dustrud Copy chiefLee Simmons Story editor Audience Development:Veronica de Souza, Executive director, audience development & content strategyNathan May Director of newsletters & communityArielle Goldstein Manager, audience developmentElana Klein Associate manager, audience developmentMichaela Neville Senior Manager, social mediaMatthew Champion Director, multiplatform videoLaura Cameron Associate manager, social mediaSophie Johal Manager, social mediaAlana Yzola Senior multimedia producer Editorial Operations:Hemal Jhaveri Global director, editorial operationsJay Dayrit Editorial operations directorShireen Mohyi Director, business operationsDaisy May Sitch Senior global content planning managerAbrielle Ramirez Assistant to the global editorial director Production:Kimberly Chua Digital operations managerTheresa Thadani Contributing digital production artist Coupons:Molly Higgins ProducerNicole Kinning ProducerLouryn Strampe Writer and reviewer Finance and Marketing:Douglas Grinspan, Chief business officerJane Garcia Buhks, Global marketing leadRoshรฉ Anderson, Global associate director, marketingGabby Iwunze, Global associate director, marketingAisha Kassim, Global manager, marketingBen Peryer, VP, global eventsAnna Suarez, Senior director, eventsFlorence Pak, Design director Video and Multimedia:Branden Smith Senior director, digital videoEfrat Kashai Director of content production, digital videoLisandro Perez-Rey Video director, digital videoJustin Wolfson Producer, digital videoPaul Gulyas Researcher, digital videoBrandon White Associate producer, digital videoPaula Martone Executive director, production managementJamie Rasmussen Line Producer, production managementChris Dawson Senior director, post productionNicholas Ascanio Ryan Powell Director(s), post productionChristian Olguin Post Production Supervisor, post productionBilly Keenly Senior director, creative optimizationDan Traveris Director, creative optimizationJordan Sokol Manager, design optimizationChristopher Bannon Head of global, audioNico Steele Senior director, production operations, audio ยฉ 2026 Condรฉ Nast. All rights reserved. WIRED may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Condรฉ Nast. Ad Choices
========================================
[SOURCE: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook_Stories] | [TOKENS: 940]
Contents Facebook Stories Facebook Stories are short user-generated photo or video collections that can be uploaded to the user's Facebook. Facebook Stories were created on March 28, 2017. They are considered a second news feed for the social media website. It is focused around Facebook's in-app camera which allows users to add fun filters and Snapchat-like lenses to their content as well as add visual geolocation tags to their photos and videos. The content is able to be posted publicly on the Facebook app for only 24 hours or can be sent as a direct message to a Facebook friend. "As people mostly post photos and videos, Stories is the way theyโ€™re going to want to do it," says Facebook Camera product manager Connor Hayes, noting Facebook's shift away from text status updates after ten years as its primary sharing option. "Obviously weโ€™ve seen this doing very well in other apps. Snapchat has really pioneered this," explained Hayes. Facebook has seen much success through other applications like Snapchat and Instagram, especially since Facebook bought Instagram for $1 billion in 2012. History After the many failed attempts of trying to incorporate Snapchat-like features on Facebook, (date=January 2018) the company decided to test run Messenger Day. In 2016, Facebook created a feature called Messenger Day, which allowed users to post videos and pictures with filters for 24 hours only. This project was only used in Poland because of the unpopularity of Snapchat in that region. Users are able to add texts and colorful graphics. However, this was only a test for Facebook to be later turned into a feature on Facebook's app. Facebook's introduction of the Story function may have been in response to the wider success of Instagram Story advertising over the advertising on Facebook Wall; Instagram Story ads were found to be more successful than Facebook Wall advertising in all demographics aside from non-millennial men. Popularity and criticism As of 2017[update], Facebook Stories is much less popular among social media users than Snapchat and Instagram. In August 2016, Instagram stories, which is a part of the Facebook owned Instagram, was created and as of June 2017, had 250 million active users. Mark Zuckerberg states, "It is important to release products that people are familiar with, but (Facebook Stories) is going to have the first mainstream augmented reality platform." In a campaign to get more Facebook users to use Facebook Stories, "Facebook is turning friends into ghosts who arenโ€™t using stories. So, instead of the blank space that used to be there above the news feed, Facebook will show grayed-out icons of some frequently contacted friends, regardless of whether theyโ€™ve ever posted to their Facebook story before." Plugin extensions to Chrome. and Firefox. have been written specifically to hide Facebook stories. As of September 2019, Facebook itself has so far not created an off option for its users. Features There are two ways that a user can view Facebook Stories. First, by scrolling to the top of the feed, the users are able to view their friends' Stories and create a story. Second, swipe right from any screen on the Facebook app. Users can "like" Stories and reply to them. Before uploading content to a story, users are able to save it to the camera roll. Once users are done creating the story, press the down arrow to save on the camera roll, or the center arrow to share. Users are able to send a direct message to any friends, post to a timeline or add to a Story. If users post a story to a timeline it will appear at the top of the profile as if it were any other picture or video. And just like posting to a Timeline, users can decide who sees it (Public, Friends and so on). But posting to a "Story" will make it available to all friends for a 24-hour period and will appear as a bubble at the top of their feeds. Right now, there's no way to select who seesโ€”or doesn't seeโ€”a Story. To delete a story, go to the bottom right of the screen and click view icon tab and can delete a story by pressing on the buttons on the three dots at the top. Facebook is the first app to have animated face filters. The company worked with artists Hattie Stewart and Douglas Coupland to design original filters for the Facebook app. To access lenses, swipe up and down, but users have to apply them before recording or taking a picture, which is a key difference between Facebook stories and Snapchat. As well as video stories being 20 seconds and being able to replay a friend's direct message. List of what is included in Facebook Camera: References
========================================
[SOURCE: https://www.ynet.co.il/sport/israelisoccer/article/hyu0ha8uwx] | [TOKENS: 408]
ื ืžืฉื›ืช ื”ืงืจื™ืื” ื‘ืื™ืจืœื ื“ ืœื ืœื”ื•ืคื™ืข ืžื•ืœ ื™ืฉืจืืœ: "ืžืกืจ ืฉืœ ื”ืชืขืœืžื•ืช ืžืกื‘ืœ ื”ืคืœืกื˜ื™ื ื™ื" ืขืœ ืจืงืข ื”ืžืคื’ืฉื™ื ื”ืฆืคื•ื™ื™ื ืขื ื”ื›ื—ื•ืœื™ื-ืœื‘ื ื™ื ื‘ืžืกื’ืจืช ืœื™ื’ืช ื”ืื•ืžื•ืช, ื”ืื™ืจื™ื ืžืžืฉื™ื›ื™ื ืœืขืกื•ืง ื‘ื”ืจื—ื‘ื” ื‘ื”ืชืžื•ื“ื“ื•ืช, ื•ืœื ืžื‘ื—ื™ื ื” ืžืงืฆื•ืขื™ืช. ืฉื—ืงืŸ ื”ืขื‘ืจ ืฉืœ ืื™ืจืœื ื“ ื•ื”ืžืืžืŸ, ื’'ื•ืื™ ืื•ื‘ืจืื™ื™ืŸ ื”ืชื‘ื˜ื ื‘ื—ืจื™ืคื•ืช ื ื’ื“ ืงื™ื•ื ื”ืžืฉื—ืงื™ื: "ื”ืชืžื™ื›ื” ืฉืœื™ ื‘ืขื ื”ืคืœืกื˜ื™ื ื™ ืื™ื ื” ื ื™ืชื ืช ืœืขืจืขื•ืจ". ืื—ื“ ืžืืจื’ื•ื ื™ ื”ืขื•ื‘ื“ื™ื ื‘ืžื“ื™ื ื” ื”ื‘ื™ืข ื—ืฉืฉ ืž"ืกื ื˜ื™ืžื ื˜ ืื ื˜ื™-ืื™ืจื™ ื‘ื™ืฉืจืืœ ืฉืขืœื•ืœ ืœืกื›ืŸ ืืช ื‘ื™ื˜ื—ื•ื ื ืฉืœ ืฉื—ืงื ื™ื ื•ืื•ื”ื“ื™ื ืื™ืจื™ื"
========================================
[SOURCE: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottoman_Syria] | [TOKENS: 1669]
Contents Ottoman Syria Ottoman Syria (Arabic: ุณูˆุฑูŠุง ุงู„ุนุซู…ุงู†ูŠุฉ) is a historiographical term used to describe the group of divisions of the Ottoman Empire within the region of the Levant, usually defined as being east of the Mediterranean Sea, west of the Euphrates River, north of the Arabian Desert and south of the Taurus Mountains. Ottoman Syria was organized by the Ottomans upon conquest from the Mamluk Sultanate in the early 16th century as a single eyalet (province) of the Damascus Eyalet. In 1534, the Aleppo Eyalet was split into a separate administration. The Tripoli Eyalet was formed out of Damascus province in 1579 and later the Adana Eyalet was split from Aleppo. In 1660, the Eyalet of Safed was established and shortly afterwards renamed the Sidon Eyalet; in 1667, the Mount Lebanon Emirate was given special autonomous status within the Sidon province, but was abolished in 1841 and reconfigured in 1861 as the Mount Lebanon Mutasarrifate. The Syrian eyalets were later transformed into the Syria Vilayet, the Aleppo Vilayet and the Beirut Vilayet, following the 1864 Tanzimat reforms. Finally, in 1872, the Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem was split from the Syria Vilayet into an autonomous administration with a special status. History Before 1516, Syria was part of the Mamluk Empire centered in Lower Egypt. The Ottoman Sultan Selim I conquered Syria in 1516 after defeating the Mamlukes at the Battle of Marj Dabiq near Aleppo in northern Syria. Selim carried on his victorious campaign against the Mamlukes and conquered Egypt in 1517 following the Battle of Ridanieh, bringing an end to the Mamluk Sultanate. Administrative divisions When he first seized Syria in 1516, Selim I kept the administrative subdivisions of the Mamluk period unchanged. After he came back from Egypt in July 1517, he reorganized Syria into one large province or eyalet named ลžam (Arabic/Turkish for "Syria"). The eyalet was subdivided into several districts or sanjaks. In 1549, Syria was reorganized into two eyalets. The northern Sanjak of Aleppo became the center of the new Eyalet of Aleppo. At this time, the two Syrian Eyalets were subdivided as follows: In 1579, the Eyalet of Tripoli was established under the name of Tripoli of Syria (Turkish: TrablusลŸam; Arabic: ุทุฑุงุจู„ุณ ุงู„ุดุงู…). At this time, the eyalets became as follows: The Eyalet of Aleppo included the Sanjaks of Aleppo, Adana, Marash, Aintab, and Urfa. The Eyalet of Tripoli included the Sanjaks of Tripoli, Latakia, Hama and Homs. The Eyalet of Damascus included the Sanjaks of Damascus, Beirut, Sidon (Sidon-Beirut), Acre, Safad, Nablus, Jerusalem, Gaza, Hauran and Ma'an. In 1660, the Eyalet of Safad was established. It was later renamed the Eyalet of Sidon, and later, the Eyalet of Beirut. In 1833, the Syrian provinces were ceded to Muhammed Ali of Egypt in the Convention of Kutahya. The firman stated that "The governments of Candia and Egypt are continued to Mahomet Ali. And in reference to his special claim, I have granted him the provinces of Damascus, Tripoli-in-Syria, Sidon, Saphet, Aleppo, the districts of Jerusalem and Nablous, with the conduct of pilgrims and the commandment of the Tcherde (the yearly offering to the tomb of the Prophet). His son, Ibrahim Pacha, has again the title of Sheikh and Harem of Mekka, and the district of Jedda; and farther, I have acquiesced in his request to have the district of Adana ruled by the Treasury of Taurus, with the title of Mohassil." In this period, the Sublime Porte's firmans (decrees) of 1839 and, more decisively, of 1856 โ€“ equalizing the status of Muslim and non-Muslim subjects โ€“ produced a dramatic alienation of Muslims from Christians. In the words of one writer, "The former resented the implied loss of superiority and recurrently assaulted and massacred Christian communities โ€“ in Aleppo in 1850, in Nablus in 1856, and in Damascus and Lebanon in 1860. Among the long-term consequences of these bitter internecine conflicts were the emergence of a Christian-dominated Lebanon in the 1920s โ€“ 40s and the deep fissure between Christian and Muslim Palestinian Arabs as they confronted the Zionist influx after World War I." Following the massacre of thousands of Christian civilians during the 1860 civil conflict in Mount Lebanon and Damascus, and under growing European pressure, mainly from France, an Ottoman edict issued in 1861 transformed the "Double Kaymakamate", the former regime based on religious rule that led to civil war, into the Mount Lebanon Mutasarrifate, governed by a mutasarrฤฑf who, according to law, had to be a non-Lebanese Christian. As part of the Tanzimat reforms, an Ottoman law passed in 1864 provided for a standard provincial administration throughout the empire with the eyalets becoming smaller vilayets, governed by a vali (governor) still appointed by the Sublime Porte but with new provincial assemblies participating in administration. In 1872 Jerusalem and the surrounding towns became the Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem, gaining a special administrative status. From 1872 until World War I subdivisions of Ottoman Syria were: The sanjak Zor and the major part of the vilayet Aleppo may or may not be included in Ottoman Syria. The Geographical Dictionary of the World, published in 1906, describes Syria as: "a country in the [south-west] part of Asia, forming part of the Turkish Empire. It extends eastward from the Mediterranean Sea to the river Euphrates and the Syrian Desert (the prolongation northward of the Arabian Desert), and southward from the Alma-Dagh (ancient Amanus), one of the ranges of the Taurus, to the frontiers of Egypt (Isthmus of Suez) It lies between the parallels of 31ยฐ and 37ยฐ [north latitude]. It comprises the vilayet of Syria (Suria), or of Damascus, the vilayet of Beirut, the [south-west] part of the vilayet of Aleppo, and the mutessarrifliks of Jerusalem and the Lebanon. Palestine is included in [the country] Syria, comprising the mutessarriflik of Jerusalem and part of the vilayets of Beirut and Syria. The designation Syria is sometimes used in wider sense so as to include the whole of the vilayet of Aleppo and the Zor Sanjak, a large part of Mesopotamia being thus added." About Syria in 1915, a British report says: "The term Syria in those days was generally used to denote the whole of geographical and historic Syria, that is to say the whole of the country lying between the Taurus Mountains and the Sinai Peninsula, which was made up of part of the Vilayet of Aleppo, the Vilayet of Bairut, the Vilayet of Syria, the Sanjaq of the Lebanon, and the Sanjaq of Jerusalem. It included that part of the country which was afterwards detached from it to form the mandated territory of Palestine." Contemporary maps, showing Eyalets (pre-Tanzimat reforms) Contemporary maps, showing Vilayets (post-Tanzimat reforms) See also References Sources External links
========================================
[SOURCE: https://www.mako.co.il/food-recipes/recipes_column-bread/Recipe-a3232c74c656c91026.htm] | [TOKENS: 97]
We are sorry... ...but your activity and behavior on this website made us think that you are a bot. Please solve this CAPTCHA in helping us understand your behavior to grant access You reached this page when trying to access https://www.mako.co.il/food-recipes/recipes_column-bread/Recipe-a3232c74c656c91026.htm from 79.181.162.231 on February 21 2026, 10:56:48 UTC
========================================
[SOURCE: https://www.wired.com/about/wired-on-background-policy/] | [TOKENS: 900]
WIREDโ€™s โ€˜On Backgroundโ€™ PolicyStatements made to WIRED are on the record by default. Here is our guide for communications professionals.Many powerful companies make a practice of obfuscating or dodging accountability when speaking to media outlets by providing information while insisting it not be attributed to anyone in particular, and sometimes not even to the company itself. For that reason, WIRED is joining the Verge, Quartz, and others in making its editorial standards clearer.Anyone talking to WIRED reporters in any official capacity does so on the record by default. This means that what you say or write can be quoted and attributed to you by name, not just as โ€œa company spokesperson.โ€ We typically allow anonymity only to sources who could face retaliation or be endangered by the information they provide, and when we do so we explain our reasons to readers. As Julia Angwin, editor in chief of the Markup, has noted, โ€œCorporate spokespeople who are paid to provide information simply donโ€™t meet the criteria for being granted anonymity.โ€Sometimes we may agree to have a conversation on background, meaning we can use the information you provide, but will not identify you by name. Conversations are on background only when we agree to it. If you send us a statement โ€œon backgroundโ€ without prior agreement, we may still treat it as on the record.You must also get our agreement for each proposed condition of the conversation, such as requests to not quote a particular statement directly or to identify a source in a certain way. Please be clear about your exact requests every time you speak with WIRED. At our discretion we may also tell our readers why weโ€™re providing the information in this way.Off-the-record conversations cannot be used for publication, and they also must be agreed to (which we rarely do for corporate spokespeople).The companies you speak for play significant roles in shaping the future; we have a responsibility to tell our readers how we got the information about your plans to shape it.Most PopularThe Big StoryInside the Gay Tech MafiaPoliticsDHS Opens a Billion-Dollar Tab With PalantirGearA $10K Bounty Awaits Anyone Who Can Hack Ring Cameras to Stop Sharing Data With AmazonBusinessInside the Rolling Layoffs at Jack Dorseyโ€™s Block WIREDโ€™s โ€˜On Backgroundโ€™ Policy Many powerful companies make a practice of obfuscating or dodging accountability when speaking to media outlets by providing information while insisting it not be attributed to anyone in particular, and sometimes not even to the company itself. For that reason, WIRED is joining the Verge, Quartz, and others in making its editorial standards clearer. Anyone talking to WIRED reporters in any official capacity does so on the record by default. This means that what you say or write can be quoted and attributed to you by name, not just as โ€œa company spokesperson.โ€ We typically allow anonymity only to sources who could face retaliation or be endangered by the information they provide, and when we do so we explain our reasons to readers. As Julia Angwin, editor in chief of the Markup, has noted, โ€œCorporate spokespeople who are paid to provide information simply donโ€™t meet the criteria for being granted anonymity.โ€ Sometimes we may agree to have a conversation on background, meaning we can use the information you provide, but will not identify you by name. Conversations are on background only when we agree to it. If you send us a statement โ€œon backgroundโ€ without prior agreement, we may still treat it as on the record. You must also get our agreement for each proposed condition of the conversation, such as requests to not quote a particular statement directly or to identify a source in a certain way. Please be clear about your exact requests every time you speak with WIRED. At our discretion we may also tell our readers why weโ€™re providing the information in this way. Off-the-record conversations cannot be used for publication, and they also must be agreed to (which we rarely do for corporate spokespeople). The companies you speak for play significant roles in shaping the future; we have a responsibility to tell our readers how we got the information about your plans to shape it. ยฉ 2026 Condรฉ Nast. All rights reserved. WIRED may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Condรฉ Nast. Ad Choices
========================================
[SOURCE: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LiveNOW_from_Fox] | [TOKENS: 313]
Contents LiveNow from Fox LiveNow from Fox (stylized as LiveNOW from FOX) is a streaming video television network operated by Fox Television Stations, a division of Fox Corporation. The channel carries live coverage of breaking news events throughout the day on several streaming and smart TV platforms. On-air hosts include Andy Mac, Austin Westfall, Carel Lajara, Christina Evans, Christy Matino, J Russell, Josh Breslow, Mike Pache and Stephanie Coueignoux. Operation The programming is often handled by a single digital journalist who simultaneously narrates live coverage and operates a video switcher, leveraging resources, on-air talent and raw material from the Fox News Channel and its local news affiliates. The digital journalists work out of Fox's owned-and-operated stations in Phoenix, Arizona (KSAZ-TV) and Orlando, Florida (WOFL), presenting an estimated 100 hours a week of live coverage. History The service originated as Fox 10 News Now, a webcast that had been run by KSAZ-TV in 2014. It gained a large following on YouTube in 2016 when it carried president Donald Trump's rallies and other live events uninterrupted and in their entirety. In 2020, the channel transitioned and rebranded to a national product called News Now from Fox. Later that year amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the channel rebranded to "CoronavirusNow," dedicating itself to coverage of the pandemic. Later that year, it took on its current name and format. References External links
========================================