The Society of Helpers, formerly known as the Society of the Helpers of the Holy Souls, is a Roman Catholic religious congregation of women founded in Paris, France, in 1856, with the objective of assisting the souls in Purgatory through their service to the needy of the world. The Sisters use the postnominal initials of "A.P." () in Europe, or, alternately, "H.H.S" in English-speaking countries.

History

Eugénie Smet

Eugénie Smet (1825–1871), also known as Mary of Providence, was a French religious sister who founded the Society of the Helpers of the Holy Souls in 1856. Her feast day is 7 February.

Eugénie was born in Lille on 25 March 1825, the daughter of Henri Édouard Joseph and Marie Pauline Joseph Taverne Smet. Her father was a trader from Lille. From 1836 to 1843 she was educated at the Convent of the Sacred Heart in Lille, where she demonstrated a particular devotion to the Guardian Angels.

In November 1853, she discovered her mission in the Church. In 1855, the Curé d'Ars confirmed her in her mission. She went to Paris on 19 January 1856 (the society dates its foundation from this day); three days later, Eugénie Smet obtained permission of Archbishop Sibour to establish her congregation in Paris. The community she had gathered round her took possession of No. 16, Rue de la Barouillère, on 1 July 1856.

On 27 December 1857, Eugénie Smet and five of her first companions made her first religious vows. A Jesuit was appointed chaplain, and the Rule of Ignatius of Loyola was adapted. The congregation was dedicated to Our Lady of Providence.

Sr. Mary of Providence died on 7 February 1871, of breast cancer, at the age of 45. She is buried in the Montparnasse cemetery. She was beatified in Rome on May 26, 1957, by Pope Pius XII. Her feast is kept on February 7, the anniversary of her death.

Lady Georgiana Fullerton wrote a biography of Eugénie Smet, Mere Marie de la Providence.

Communities
The first branch house was established at Nantes in July 1864. In 1867 six nuns were conducted by Bishop Adrien Languillat to Shanghai to take charge of an orphanage. In December, 1869, a house was established in Brussels. The Helpers did good work in the ambulances for the wounded of both nations during the Franco-Prussian War. On 25 June 1878, the constitutions of the order were approved by Pope Leo XIII. From 1874 to 1880 communities were established at Cannes, Orléans, Tourcoing, and Montmartre.

Present day
The Helpers profess vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, and follow an Ignatian spirituality. They have worked with the poor and the marginal of their societies since their founding. They work in a variety of ministries, with the goal of working  for peace and justice in a lifestyle based in contemplation. Rather than focus on a particular ministry, Smet decided to respond to such needs as presented themselves. As of 2015 they numbered some 500 Sisters in twenty four countries.

In the United Kingdom
The first foundation in the UK was in the Archdiocese of Westminster, at 23 Queen Anne Street, Cavendish Square. They removed to Gloucester Avenue, Regent's Park, in 1882. As of 2019, sisters serve in London, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool and Burnley.

United States province
In May, 1892, seven "Helpers" sailed to New York City, and were heartily welcomed by Archbishop Michael Corrigan. The first convent was a small house in Seventh Avenue; there they laboured for nearly three years, when they removed to 114 East 86th Street. During 1905 a course of lectures on hygiene and first aid to the injured was given. In 1906, they had five houses in the same neighbourhood. Children from the public schools came to the convents for religious instruction and preparation for First Communion and Confirmation, and there were sewing classes for girls.

In May 1903, some Helpers were sent to St. Louis, Missouri, led by Mother Mary St. Bernard. Archbishop John J. Glennon asked them to work among the African-American community. Home visitation was a major part of the Sisters' work in North St. Louis.

In 1905, the Sisters went to San Francisco, where they settled in a house in Howard Street, which was destroyed in the earthquake of 1906.

The leadership team of the U.S. Province is located in Chicago. The province produces an annual publication, Voices of Hope.

References

External links
 Society of Helpers
Eugenia at Patron Saints Index
Norse article on Eugenia
name day index

Religious organizations established in 1856
Catholic religious institutes established in the 19th century
Catholic female orders and societies
Women's congregations following Ignatian spirituality
1856 establishments in France
French beatified people
Founders of Catholic religious communities


Sunset at Chaophraya (, Khu Kam) is a 1995 romantic-drama film directed by Euthana Mukdasanit. Adapted from the novel Khu Kam by Thommayanti, the story is a love triangle, set in World War II-era Thailand, and depicts the star-crossed romance between an Imperial Japanese Navy officer and a Thai woman who is involved with the Free Thai resistance.

Singer Thongchai "Bird" McIntyre stars as the Japanese officer Kobori, reprising his role from a popular, 26-episode television series in 1990 that was based on the book. Aside from the 1990 series, the story has been adapted numerous times, including a film in 1973, another film in the 1988 and a musical play in 2003 by Dreambox Theatre in Bangkok that was revived in 2007.

One of top five box office hits in Thailand in 1995, this film was among the first Thai films to gain overseas distribution for home video, with an English-subtitled VHS release in 1998.

Plot
It is 1944, and the Japan's efforts to win the Pacific War are failing, and a Thai woman, Angsumalin, has just lost her husband, Kobori, an officer in the Imperial Japanese Navy.

The scene then flashes back to 1939, the early days of World War II in Siam, to Angsumalin meeting one last time with her former lover, a young Thai man named Vanus. He is leaving for England for his studies and hopes that Angsumalin will wait for him and marry him when he returns.

Shortly thereafter, Thailand is invaded by Japanese military forces. In Thonburi, opposite Bangkok on the Chaophraya River, the Imperial Japanese Navy establishes itself at a base. The forces there are led by Kobori, an idealistic young captain. One day he sees Angsumalin swimming in the river and falls for her. She, being a proudly nationalistic Thai woman, despises him because he is a foreigner.

Nonetheless, Kobori persists at seeing her and a courtship develops. Angsumalin sees a way to use Kobori to serve the underground Free Thai Movement while she waits for Vanus.

Then, for political reasons, Angsumalin's father insists that she marry Kobori. Understanding that Angsumalin is not marrying him out of love, Kobori promises not to touch her, but he breaks that vow after the wedding.

Despite this, Angsumalin develops tender feelings for Kobori, but is still torn by her feelings for her nation and Vanus, who returns to set in motion a conflict between the two men.

Cast (1995 Version)

 Bird McIntyre as Kobori
 Apasiri Nitibhon as Angsumalin (in Japanese name Hideko)
 Teerapat Sajakul as Vanus
 Supakorn Srisawat as Pol
 Deux Doksadao as Bua
 Chitrakorn Sundarapakshin as Angsumalin's father

References

External links

Sunset at Chaophraya at SiamZone

1996 films
1996 romantic drama films
Pacific War films
Thai-language films
1990s Japanese-language films
Thai romantic drama films
Films based on Thai novels
Films based on works by Thommayanti

Sunset at Chaophraya (1996 film)


Dave Parkinson (1923-1978) was an Australian professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1940s and 1950s. An Australian international and New South Wales interstate representative , he played club football in the Newcastle Rugby League for Cessnock, in Sydney's NSWRFL Premiership for Balmain, and also in country Queensland and New South Wales during his career.

Parkinson played four seasons in Newcastle for the Cessnock club before moving to Sydney. Signing with the Balmain club, the 1944 NSWRFL season was his first   and at the end of it he played in the Premiership Final against Newtown which the Tigers won 12-8. Balmain again reached the final in the 1945 NSWRFL season, which was a 22-18 loss against Eastern Suburbs.

The following season Parkinson was selected to play representative football for Sydney against South Coast and then during the 1946 Great Britain Lions tour was a surprise selection for Australia, becoming Kangaroo no. 229 when he was chosen to play at fullback in all three tests against the touring Great Britain team.  He made several try-saving tackles, which earned him praise as the Kangaroos held Great Britain to an 8-all draw in the first test. Parkinson retained his place for the second test which the British won 14-5. Again playing at fullback in the third test, after only 7 minutes Parkinson was tackled heavily and suffered a broken bone in his ankle. However he continued playing and Australia were further depleted when Arthur Clues was sent off for punching and the Kangaroos lost 20-7. Due to his injury Parkinson missed Balmain's victory over St George in the 1946 premiership decider. The following season he played in Queensland for Babinda as again Balmain won the premiership. Parkinson returned for the 1948 NSWRFL season  and once again Balmain reached the premiership decider but lost 8-5 to Western Suburbs.

Parkinson played at Parkes in 1949, then rejoined Cessnock in 1950. He played at fullback and kicked goals in each of Cessnock's Newcastle Rugby League grand finals wins of 1950, 1954 and 1955. Duribg the 1954 Great Britain Lions tour he captained Newcastle in 11-10 and 28-22 wins against Great Britain. Parkinson also enjoyed Newcastle Rugby League premierships with his club, Cessnock in 1954 and 1955.

References

1923 births
1978 deaths
Australia national rugby league team players
Australian rugby league players
Balmain Tigers players
Cessnock Goannas players
City New South Wales rugby league team players
Date of birth missing
Date of death missing
New South Wales rugby league team players
Newcastle rugby league team players
Rugby league fullbacks
Place of birth missing

Dave Parkinson


The Castle of Mey (also known for a time as Barrogill Castle) is located in Caithness, on the north coast of Scotland, about  west of John o' Groats. In fine weather there are views from the castle north to the Orkney Islands.

History
The lands of Mey belonged to the Bishops of Caithness. The Castle of Mey was built between 1566 and 1572, possibly on the site of an earlier fortification, by the 4th Earl of Caithness. According to a February 2019 report: "The castle was probably built between 1566 and 1572 by George Sinclair, 4th Earl of Caithness [and] includes a dominating tower with a series of tall ranges to the side and rear creating a three-sided courtyard open to the north and the sea."Originally a Z-plan tower house of three storeys, it had a projecting wing at the south-east, and a square tower at the north-west. The castle passed to Lord Caithness's younger son William, founder of the Sinclairs of Mey, although it later became the seat of the Earls. The castle's name was changed to Barrogill, and the structure was extended several times, in the 17th and 18th centuries, and again in 1821 when Tudor Gothic style alterations were made, to designs by William Burn. Barrogill passed out of the Sinclair family in 1889, on the death of the 15th Earl, when it passed to F. G. Heathcote (Sinclair). In 1929 it was purchased by Captain Frederic Bouhier Imbert-Terry.

The castle was used as an officers' rest home during the Second World War, and in 1950 the estate farms were sold off. By that time, only the tower was inhabitable.

Royal residence

Barrogill Castle was in a semi-derelict state when, in 1952, the estate was purchased by Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, the widow of George VI, who had died earlier that year.

The Queen Mother set about restoring the castle for use as a holiday home, removing some of the 19th-century additions, and reinstated the castle's original name. As part of the restoration, the castle was for the first time supplied with electricity and water.

Other work done in 1953–1954 included making the castle weathertight and habitable, as well as painting and plastering. The castle interior was also refurbished over the next few years. The west wing restoration was not completed until 1960.

The Queen Mother hung several portraits of the previous owners, the Earls of Caithness, around the castle. She regularly visited it in August and October from 1955 until her death in March 2002; the last visit was in October 2001.

In July 1996, the Queen Mother made the property, the policies and the farm over to the Queen Elizabeth Castle of Mey Trust, which has opened the castle and garden to the public regularly since her death. It is now open seven days a week from 1 May until 30 September each year, with a closed period of ten days at the end of July and the beginning of August, when King Charles III and Queen Camilla, usually stay at Mey. The Trust opened a new Visitor Centre in early 2007, and the visitor numbers for that year topped 29,000.

The Castle of Mey Trust
The Castle of Mey Trust was established by a Deed of Trust executed on 11 June 1996. Its president was the then Prince of Wales. The Trust would manage the property; its mandate was "to secure the future of the building, advance historical and architectural education, to develop the native breeds of Aberdeen Angus and Cheviot sheep and to undertake projects for the benefit of the local community", according to one report. After 2002, the Trust opened the castle for five months each summer to generate revenue that would sustain the property. In 2018, nearly 30,000 visits were recorded.

As of March 2014, the Trustees included former royal equerry Ashe Windham (chairman), the 20th Earl of Caithness, the 3rd Viscount Thurso, and Sir Ian Grant. There are also a number of Honorary Patrons associated with the trust: Lady Elizabeth Anson, Ken Bruce, Susan Hampshire, Kirsty King, Khalid bin Mahfouz, and Alan Titchmarsh (who is noted as being the first Honorary Patron). The trust together with the Friends and Patrons helped to maintain and promote the castle and all fundraising events.

Maintenance work completed by the Trust in 2018, including roof repairs, rewiring of the interior and lime harling of the exterior.

New stewardship
On 1 January 2019, stewardship of the Trust passed to The Prince's Foundation. The president of the Foundation is Charles III. Since 1 January 2019, he has been not only the president of the Castle of Mey Trust but also its sole Trustee, through the Foundation. The Foundation stated its intention to retain the Trust's goals: "...the preservation of buildings and monuments; the promotion of historical and architectural education; the preservation of the Aberdeen Angus breed of cattle, and the championing of wider benefits to the community, while the Duke of Rothesay and The Prince's Foundation is certain to make the continuation of his grandmother's legacy a priority."

The Granary Lodge bed and breakfast
In early May 2019, the Prince of Wales (now Charles III) formally opened a new building, Granary Lodge, as a 10-bedroom bed and breakfast on the castle grounds. This building combined the previous stables and granary. During the planning stages, it was decided to have "eco-heating" and to use local materials and craftsmen where possible.

Granary Lodge is one of the first ventures under the stewardship of The Prince's Foundation. The business is owned and operated by the Trust and planned to accept guests starting on 15 May 2019. Profits will go to maintaining and operating the estate as a tourist destination.

Public use
In January 2023, it was reported that the castle tearoom would be open to the public every Tuesday until March as a warming center, an initiative by the Prince's Foundation.

In popular culture
The ruins of Barrogill Castle are the scene of a black mass in the Nick Carter novel Spy Castle (1966)

The Queen Mother's purchase of the castle is featured in the Netflix show The Crown (episode 8 of the first series).

References

Further reading
 McCann, N. (2008), The Castle and Gardens of Mey, The Queen Elizabeth Castle of Mey Trust, .

External links

The Castle and Gardens of Mey

Buildings and structures completed in 1572
Buildings and structures in Caithness
Castles in Highland (council area)
Category A listed buildings in Highland (council area)
Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes
Listed castles in Scotland
Royal residences in Scotland
Gardens in Highland (council area)
Historic house museums in Highland (council area)
Country houses in Highland (council area)
Reportedly haunted locations in Scotland
1572 establishments in Scotland
Tower houses in Scotland

Castle of Mey


The 1890 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final was a Gaelic football match played at Clonturk Park on 26 June 1892 to determine the winners of the 1890 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, the 4th season of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, a tournament organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association for the champions of the four provinces of Ireland. The final was contested by Cork of Munster who were represented by Midleton and Wexford of Leinster who were represented by Blue and Whites, with Cork winning by 2–4 to 0–1.

The All-Ireland final had originally been fixed for 17 November 1890, however, the surprise arrival of Ulster champions Armagh necessitated a semi-final which Cork won. The final was then postponed for nineteen months, only being arranged on the Monday before the refixed date. Wexford were hampered from the beginning as they were short four of their regular team. After missing a great goal chance the Wexfordmen were in arrears by 1–3 to 0–1 at the interval.

The second half was a stop-start affair. 13 minutes of play were followed by an 8-minutes stoppage as one of the teams couldn't locate a substitute for an injured player. 3 more minutes of play followed before a 7-minute stoppage due to an injury to a Cork player. Shortly after Wexford scored a goal before bagging a second moments later to level the game. A proposed replay was cancelled due to a fair being held in Midleton and Cork were declared the champions on a score line of 2–4 to 0–1.

Cork's All-Ireland victory was their first championship title. As All-Ireland champions in hurling also, Cork became the first county to achieve the double.

Match

Details

References

Gaelic football
All-Ireland Senior Football Championship finals
Cork county football team matches
Wexford county football team matches


Sandesh (, ) is a Bengali children's magazine. It was first published by Upendrakishore Ray in 1913 through his publishing company, M/s U. Ray and Sons. The original partners of the venture were Upendrakishore and his sons Sukumar and Subinoy. Its publication had to be stopped twice. The current phase is the third and longest running one, spanning more than 59 years.

Beginning

The magazine was first published from its office in 22, Sukeas Street. Subsequently the office and the press were shifted to the new building built by Upendrakishore at 100, Garpar Road. Upendrakishore's son Sukumar Ray went to Great Britain for advanced training in printing technology, and he joined as an active partner after his return.

After the death of Upendrakishore Roychowdhury in 1915, his eldest son Sukumar Ray succeeded as the editor of the magazine in 1915. Sukumar was known for his humorous writings. The Sukumar Ray years established Sandesh as a magazine that combined literary values with humour and information from different parts of the world.

In 1923, after Sukumar's death, his younger brother Subinoy took charge of the magazine.  He was a gifted writer, but he could not tackle the problems of a business facing a serious crisis. The business of U. Roy & Sons became insolvent and the publication of the magazine had to be stopped in 1925.

Revival of the magazine

In 1929 it was revived by the publisher who had purchased the machinery of Upendrakishore's firm.  Subinay Ray remained one of the editors in this period. This phase of the magazine is remarkable for the quality of the works published, including several contributions from Rabindranath Tagore. In 1934 the magazine again ceased publication.

Revival by Satyajit Ray

In 1961, the magazine was revived under the editorialship of Satyajit Ray, the film director (also the grandson of the founder Upendrakishore Ray and son of Sukumar Ray); and Subhas Mukhopadhyay, a poet. Many of Satyajit Ray's writings were first published in this magazine. One of his most famous stories for the magazine was "Bankubabur Bandhu" ("Banku Babu's Friend" or "Mr. Banku's Friend"), a Bengali science fiction story he had written in 1962 and which gained popularity among Bengalis in the early 1960s. Ray also introduced his characters Feluda and Professor Shonku in short stories he wrote for Sandesh.

In 1963, when the magazine faced a financial crunch, Satyajit Ray formed a non-profit literary co-operative, Sukumar Sahitya Samavaya Samity Ltd., with some like-minded friends and relatives, and this co-operative has since been running the magazine. Satyajit's aunt, the writer Leela Majumdar became the honorary joint editor of the magazine in place of Sri Subhas Mukhopadhyay. Upeendrakishore's daughter Punyalata Chakraborty offered the magazine free accommodation at her house at 172/3, Rashbehari Avenue; and the magazine is even now operating from this address.

From 1974, Satyajit's cousin (and Punyalata's daughter) Nalini Das became honorary joint editor of the magazine. She was in effect the executive editor of the magazine from 1963, while her husband Asokananda Das was the honorary publisher. In 1992-93, the magazine faced a crisis when Satyajit Ray, Nalini Das and Asokananda Das all died within a period of 14 months. From 1994, Leela Majumdar also became too ill to be able to continue as the executive editor.

From the 1990s

From 1993–94, Sandip Ray, son of Satyajit Ray, became the joint editor of the magazine and Amitananda Das, son of Nalini Das became the publisher. However, the inexperienced team could not meet the challenge of the changing times, due to the competition from comics,, cable television, and books with coloured illustrations. The total circulation of children's magazines dropped steadily in this period. Sandesh remained a black and white magazine, and it struggled, incurring losses and skipping issues.

Special issues

Between 1995 and 2020, the special issues of Sandesh have become popular. In December 1995, the special issue "Feluda 30" (to commemorate thirty years of publication of the first-ever Feluda story in Sandesh) was extremely popular, that issue had to be printed a second time to meet the demand.

Revival efforts

In 2003, The Ford Foundation gave a grant of rupees 22 lakhs to Sandesh to make the magazine viable. Due to administrative failure of the editorial team of the period, though the magazine had many coloured pages and was more attractive visually, it was not viable financially. Between July 2005 and April 2006, the magazine missed several issues, and after May 2006 it skipped four issues.

In August 2006, a new attempt was made to revive the magazine. Since then the magazine has been published somewhat irregularly. Every year the Saradiya annual number has over 300 pages, and the literary quality of the stories and other contributions are generally highly appreciated. Between 2011 and 2014, however, the office of the magazine had to be shifted to a temporary address, and the magazine could publish only three issues per year.

Centenary year

2013 was the centenary year of the founding of the magazine by Upendrakishore Ray. It was also his 150th birth anniversary, since he started the magazine when he was 50 years old. The "Nababarsha" (Bengali New Year) special issue of Sandesh was published in the second week of May 2013, commemorating the 150th birth anniversary of Upendrakishore.

The 300-page Saradiya annual issue, scheduled to be published in September/October 2013, was to have a special section with articles about the centenary.

The centenary of Sandesh was celebrated from 28 to 31 December 2013 with a special exhibition held at "Nandan" and other functions including film shows. A special issue of Sandesh celebrating the centenary year was published in December.

Latest status

Early in 2014, Sandesh returned to its office at 172/3, Rashbehari Avenue, Kolkata. Since then the regularity of publication has improved somewhat. Now one annual (Saradiya) issue of over 300 pages is published along with four other issues usually of 96 pages each. A series of recent special issues have been popular and the circulation of the magazine is increasing slowly. It was through Sandesh that new-age popular writers like Rajesh Basu came to the fore.

The February 2017 issue had a Sonar Kella cover story and the April 2017 issue had a Narayan Gangopadhyay cover story.

Now Sandesh is also available online from many vendors.

References

Further reading
Robinson, Andrew, Satyajit Ray: The Inner Eye, Andre Deutsch Ltd., Great Britain, 1989. Page 22-23, 28-29 (illustrations 6 & 14), p. 297.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata-/June-launch-for-new-look-Sandesh/articleshow/38510986.cms
 (Newspaper coverage in March 2003).
  (Newspaper coverage in October 2007).

 http://m.timesofindia.com/city/kolkata/Sandesh-scores-sweet-century-promises-to-bounce-back/articleshow/19589179.cms (Newspaper coverage in April 2013 about the centenary of Sandesh)
  (Newspaper coverage in April 2013).

Children's magazines published in India
Monthly magazines published in India
Magazines established in 1913
1913 establishments in India

Sandesh (magazine)


Monterey Bay Aquarium is a nonprofit public aquarium in Monterey, California. Known for its regional focus on the marine habitats of Monterey Bay, it was the first to exhibit a living kelp forest when it opened in October 1984. Its biologists have pioneered the animal husbandry of jellyfish and it was the first to successfully care for and display a great white shark. The organization's research and conservation efforts also focus on sea otters, various birds, and tunas. Seafood Watch, a sustainable seafood advisory list published by the aquarium beginning in 1999, has influenced the discussion surrounding sustainable seafood. The aquarium is the home of the current oldest living sea otter, Rosa, and the birthplace of Otter 841.

Early proposals to build a public aquarium in Monterey County were not successful until a group of four marine biologists affiliated with Stanford University revisited the concept in the late 1970s. Monterey Bay Aquarium was built at the site of a defunct sardine cannery and has been recognized for its architectural achievements by the American Institute of Architects. Along with its architecture, the aquarium has won numerous awards for its exhibition of marine life, ocean conservation efforts, and educational programs.

Monterey Bay Aquarium receives around two million visitors each year. It led to the revitalization of Cannery Row, and produces hundreds of millions of dollars for the economy of Monterey County. In addition to being featured in two PBS Nature documentaries, the aquarium has appeared in film and television productions.

Founding and design
In the early 1960s, scientists at Stanford University's Hopkins Marine Station grew wary of the growing industry on Cannery Row. The station succeeded in convincing the university of their concerns in 1967, and Stanford University purchased the property on Cannery Row that housed the Hovden Cannery, a sardine cannery on the border of Monterey and Pacific Grove. Hovden Cannery closed in 1973 when its parent company moved the plant, and Hopkins used the facility as a warehouse. In the late 1970s, however, Chuck Baxter and Robin Burnett—both faculty members at Hopkins—along with Nancy Burnett, a graduate of Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, and Steve Webster, faculty at San Jose State University, thought of building an aquarium on the Hovden Cannery site. Three separate proposals for an aquarium in Monterey County had already occurred in 1914, 1925, and 1944, but financial backing and public support for the idea was not sufficient. Nancy Burnett brought the group's interest to her parents, Lucile and David Packard (cofounder of Hewlett-Packard), and their foundation commissioned a feasibility study. An aquarium was predicted to attract 300,000 paying visitors annually with a potential future increase to 500,000 so, in April 1978, the Packards created the Monterey Bay Aquarium Foundation, which purchased the Hovden property from Stanford for nearly US$1 million. Around this time, Julie Packard—also a daughter of David and Lucile—joined the planning group. David Packard funded construction with an initial donation of $7 million with the caveat that the private nonprofit would be financially self-supporting after it opened. Due to an expansion of its planned exhibits—after visits to public aquariums in Japan—and the design and creation of exhibits inhouse, the Packards paid a final sum of $55 million.

General contracting firm Rudolph and Sletten predicted the building would take 31 months (two and a half years) to construct, but project manager Linda Rhodes and architectural firm Esherick, Homsey, Dodge, and Davis (EHDD) first had to design the facility to fit Cannery Row. Those involved intended to reconstruct Hovden Cannery rather than destroy it, and EHDD acknowledged that the latter would be "a big disservice to our visiting public and to the community". Concrete sections of the building were able to be kept, but other areas were repurposed; the cannery's old warehouse was converted into administrative offices, and a seawater system for the aquatic exhibits replaced the cannery's pump house that brought fish to the warehouse from floating storage tanks in the bay. The facility was constructed around the cannery's boiler house, which is preserved as a non-functioning public exhibit. As the building would reside partially over water, unique challenges occurred throughout construction. Nearly half of the aquarium would be located over the bay in depths of up to , requiring foundational elements to be installed during low tide, which often occurred at night. According to a project manager with Rudolph and Sletten, excavations were sometimes lost as the composition of the ground underneath beach sand was inconsistent.

Various elements of the building mirrored that of Hovden Cannery, including its windows (to let in sunlight), plain cement walls, structural protection from waves and storms, and its many roofs. Exposed pipes and ducts along the ceiling also contributed to the industrial style of buildings on Cannery Row. The ironic transition from a plant that processed fish to an aquarium which would display them did not prevent the facility from appearing like a cannery, according to multiple journalists. The aquarium's successful representation of the cannery was acknowledged by the California Historical Society with a historical preservation award.

When Monterey Bay Aquarium opened on October 20, 1984, it was the largest public aquarium in the United States. On opening day, 11,000 visited it and around 30,000 people attended the day's festivities. In reference to the disappearance of sardines (through overfishing), which caused the canneries to close, the aquarium said that "the fish are back!" Throughout the following year, 2.4 million people visited, which influenced assumptions about "the ability of marine life to entertain, educate, and promote a city." Within five years, it was reported in the Los Angeles Times that it was among California's most popular visitor attractions. By 1994, it was the most attended aquarium in the United States. For its design, EHDD was awarded a National Honor Award from the American Institute of Architects in 1988. The institute's state chapter in California gave the facility its Twenty-five Year Award in 2011 and, in 2016, it was awarded the national Twenty-five Year Award, described as "a benchmark and role model for aquariums everywhere."

In discussing the aquarium's conservation and education programs, its track record for entertaining visitors, and its reputation for collaboration, the head of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums described it as "a definite leader" in 2009 to the Los Angeles Times. Since it opened in 1984, Julie Packard has been the aquarium's executive director.

Aquarium exhibits
According to a progress report during the aquarium's planning phase in 1980, the founders' efforts to build an aquarium developed from an interest in sharing marine life of the region with the public. This would be accomplished through its exhibits, featuring the aquatic habitats of Monterey Bay and central California. The idea to display marine habitats was inspired by the work of ecologist Ed Ricketts in his 1939 book on intertidal ecology, Between Pacific Tides. In the early 1980s this was a unique approach to the design of public aquariums, as the two largest public aquariums at the time in the United States—Boston's New England Aquarium (1969)  and Baltimore's National Aquarium (1981)—focused on "magnificent coral reef exhibits or big sharks", and displayed few local species.

Seawater system

Monterey Bay Aquarium displays 35,000 animals belonging to over 550 species in  of water. Filtered seawater from Monterey Bay is pumped into the Kelp Forest and other exhibits at  per minute. At night, unfiltered seawater (or "raw seawater") is used for the Kelp Forest exhibit to maintain its realistic appearance. The use of unfiltered seawater allows animals to grow in the aquarium's plumbing so it must occasionally be cleaned with tools called pigs, which blast through the pipes under pressure to remove organisms and debris. Control systems that maintain this seawater system and other life support components for the animals are mostly automated, tracking various chemical parameters and reducing the likelihood for human error during repetitive tasks such as filter media backwashing. The seawater system is controlled by more than 10,000 data points.

Kelp Forest exhibit
At  tall and  long, the Kelp Forest exhibit is the focal point of Monterey Bay Aquarium's Ocean's Edge wing. Nearly three stories high, the exhibit is regarded as the first successful attempt to maintain a living kelp forest in an artificial setting. During the facility's planning and construction, professionals doubted that kelp could be grown in an aquarium at this scale. And, even if it could be grown, critics of the project did not think the public would be interested in seeing this representation of Monterey Bay. During the design phase, kelp scientists Wheeler North at the California Institute of Technology and Mike Neushal at the University of California, Santa Barbara informed the aquarium of the kelp's needs. The exhibit's success at sustaining giant kelp and its realistic appearance are attributed to the availability of direct sunlight, the use of natural seawater from Monterey Bay, and a surge machine (a large plunger) that replicates California's pulsing water currents. The  surge machine, which plunges every 6 seconds, allows the kelp in the exhibit to grow an average of  per day and was designed and constructed by David Packard. Kelp forests are important ecosystems along California's coast—comparable to tropical rainforests in their biodiversity—and, alongside giant kelp, the exhibit contains species of fish indigenous to Monterey Bay, including rockfishes and leopard sharks.

Open Sea wing
In 1996, Monterey Bay Aquarium opened a second wing of aquatic exhibits, focusing on the pelagic habitats found  offshore in Monterey Bay. Costing US$57 million and taking seven years to develop, the wing almost doubled the aquarium's public exhibit space. It consists of three separate galleries: various jellyfish and other plankton found in the bay; a pelagic, large community exhibit; and "ocean travelers", which features tufted puffins and sea turtles. When the exhibition opened, the San Francisco Chronicle reported the aquarium had the most jellyfish on exhibit in the world. In 1997, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums awarded the wing its Exhibit Award.

Holding , the Open Sea community exhibit is the aquarium's largest tank. Made of fiberglass-reinforced plastic, it is  long and  deep. Its largest viewing window—at  long and  tall—was reportedly the largest aquarium window in the world when it was installed in 1996. To discourage animals from swimming into the window in the absence of visitors and injuring or killing themselves (as a  Pacific bluefin tuna did in 2007), an air hose underneath the window generates a "bubble wall" in front of it throughout the night. In 2011, species reported to be in the exhibit included green sea turtles, sardines, pelagic stingrays, scalloped hammerhead sharks, sandbar sharks, mahi-mahi, mackerel, bluefin and yellowfin tunas, and ocean sunfishes. Historically, the exhibit also included blue sharks, soupfin sharks, and California barracuda. Six great white sharks were displayed in the Open Sea exhibit between 2004 and 2011, an effort contested by some but generally described as having a positive scientific and educational impact. Prior to the display of the first white shark for six months before its release, the longest length of time that a white shark had survived in an aquarium was 16 days.

A 10-month, US$19 million renovation of the wing concluded in July 2011 to refurbish the community exhibit. Turbulent swimming patterns of  tunas were dismantling the exhibit's structural glass tiles, which the sea turtles were subsequently eating, so the exhibit was drained after all 10,000 animals were caught. Supplemental exhibits were added as part of this renovation featuring artwork that highlights current issues in ocean conservation, including overfishing and marine plastic pollution.

Other permanent exhibits
Monterey Bay Aquarium opened in 1984 with 83 tanks in 12 galleries, which more than doubled by 2014 into 200 live animal exhibits. In addition to the large Kelp Forest and Open Sea exhibits, the Monterey Bay Habitats tank is  long, the shape of a figure eight, and holds over , a similar volume of seawater to the Kelp Forest. As its name suggests, it represents various habitats in Monterey Bay, from wharfs to the sandy seafloor to deep rocky reefs. Many aquariums in this exhibit contain man-made structures that were left in the bay to accumulate living organisms prior to the aquarium's opening; in Monterey Bay Habitats, real pilings were obtained from the city's harbor department for the exhibit's wharf section. In others, artificial rocks tricked visitors and fish alike. With the aquarium's debut, this "nature-faking" via human manipulation did not trick some, but the fakeness' did not necessarily detract from the aquarium's intrinsic value."

Rescued sea otters live in a habitat holding , and are the only marine mammals exhibited. In 2014, the aquarium stated to the Vancouver Courier that it takes no official position on the controversy of captive killer whales or other cetaceans. The facility was not constructed to house cetaceans, and instead utilizes the 27 species of marine mammals that live in or travel through Monterey Bay as one of its "exhibits", as guests can view the bay and marine mammals from decks along the back of the building.

Monterey Bay Aquarium was the first public aquarium to have its interior mapped on Google Street View, creating a virtual walking tour.

Temporary exhibitions
Monterey Bay Aquarium began creating temporary exhibitions (or "special exhibitions") in the 1980s to display animals that are found outside of Monterey Bay. The first of these, titled "Mexico's Secret Sea", focused on the Sea of Cortez in 1989. Most exhibitions since then have focused on animal groups, including deep-sea animals (1999), sharks (2004), otters (2007), seahorses (2009), cephalopods (2014), and jellyfish. The 1997 "Fishing for Solutions" exhibition led to the development of the sustainable seafood program, Seafood Watch. In 2010, an exhibition titled "Hot Pink Flamingos" was one of the first aquarium exhibitions in the United States to explicitly discuss the effects of global warming on habitats and animals. Its content was successfully accessible and compelling to the public, but the exhibition was criticized for its narrow "consumerist approach" to climate change communication—promoting individual, marketplace-based actions rather than collective political ones.

At least three exhibitions have been devoted entirely to displaying jellyfish. In 1989, the aquarium's second temporary exhibition, titled "Living Treasures of the Pacific", included three jellyfish tanks following the successful display of one tank of moon jellies four years earlier in 1985. In 1992, the first temporary exhibition for jellyfish opened, called "Planet of the Jellies", the success of which prompted a permanent jellyfish gallery within the Open Sea wing in 1996. Within 20 years of opening Planet of the Jellies, the aquarium created two more temporary exhibitions centered on jellyfish. The final one of the three exhibitions opened in 2012, and displayed around 16 species of jellyfish from around the world in "a psychedelic theme from the 1960s". Staff members attribute the organization's fascination with jellyfish to their visual appeal, primitive biology, and reputed calming effect on visitors.

Terrestrial animals were displayed for the first time—including a tarantula, a snake, and a scorpion—in a US$3.8 million exhibit on ecosystems of Baja California that opened in 2016.

Research and conservation

Monterey Bay Aquarium helped create momentum for the establishment of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary in 1992, one of the largest marine protected areas in the United States. In 2004, the aquarium created a formal division to become involved in United States ocean policy and law, working with the Pew Charitable Trusts and the United States Commission on Ocean Policy at the onset. Staff scientists have authored scientific publications involving sea otters, great white sharks, and bluefin tunas, which are important species in the northern Pacific Ocean. In addition to other animals, work has been published in the areas of veterinary medicine, visitor studies, and museum exhibition development. Among over 200 institutions accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, Monterey Bay Aquarium ranked 10th in scientific publication activity between 1993 and 2013.

For Monterey Bay Aquarium's captive animal propagation efforts, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums has granted two awards, including one for the aquarium's work with purple-striped jellies in 1992. It has also received the association's general conservation award for its Sea Otter Research and Conservation Program. In October 2017, the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums conferred its Conservation Award to the aquarium for its "commitment to ocean protection and public awareness".

Marine life

Monterey Bay Aquarium's Sea Otter Research and Conservation program began in 1984 to research and rehabilitate wild southern sea otters.  more than 800 individuals had completed the rehabilitation program and researchers have collected data on wild sea otter populations using electronic tags. An otter rescued in 2001 began the program's surrogacy efforts, in which adult female sea otters that have been rehabilitated but cannot be released act as surrogate mothers to stranded sea otter pups. The aquarium was the only sea otter rehabilitation site in California until The Marine Mammal Center began expanding a program for sea otters in 2017. Its work with sea otters is featured in the PBS Nature episode titled "Saving Otter 501", which aired in October 2013.

Shorebirds, such as the threatened western snowy plover, are also rehabilitated and released. Since around 1998, the aquarium has worked with Point Blue Conservation Science to rescue western snowy plover eggs. The eggs hatch after being artificially incubated, and are raised until they are independent enough for release. The two organizations released 180 individuals in 2012, and about 100 individuals in 2013. The aquarium's endangered African penguins are part of an Association of Zoos and Aquariums species survival plan, a program that identifies genetically important birds and allows specific breeding activity to occur. Five chicks have hatched in the penguin colony as of 2014 and some of those have been sent to other accredited institutions. Beginning in June 2007, the aquarium operates a public presentation with its rehabilitated Laysan albatross that has a wingspan of . The program's goal is to inform visitors of the dangers that ocean plastic pollution causes for animals, especially the 21 species of albatrosses.

Pacific bluefin and yellowfin tunas have been historically displayed in the Open Sea community exhibit, some reaching more than . In 2011, three dozen fishes of the two species were on exhibit. Prior to opening the Open Sea wing in 1996, the aquarium established the Tuna Research and Conservation Center in 1994 in partnership with Stanford University's Hopkins Marine Station. Staff scientists and Barbara Block—professor of marine sciences at Stanford University—have tagged wild Pacific bluefin tunas to study predator-prey relationships, and have also investigated tuna endothermy with captive tunas at the center. To improve international collaboration of bluefin tuna management, Monterey Bay Aquarium and Stanford University hosted a symposium in January 2016 in Monterey. Over 200 scientists, fisheries managers, and policy makers gathered to discuss solutions to the decline of Pacific bluefin tuna populations.

Aquarists also propagate animals behind-the-scenes for the public exhibits. Since 1985, the aquarium has been deeply involved in jellyfish propagation, creating three temporary exhibitions and one permanent gallery (within the Open Sea wing). The organization's jellyfish collections have been the largest in the world, and its pioneering work with the animals resulted in a trend of jellyfish exhibitions in the United States. In August 2016, aquarists cultured comb jellies for the first time in a laboratory, which may allow them to become a model organism. Beginning in 2012, the aquarium began to breed many species of cephalopods in preparation for a temporary exhibition that opened in 2014. For the duration of the exhibition, half of the animals were cultured because of their short life cycles. A display in the exhibition showcased how aquarists rear different species of cephalopods, including bigfin reef squid, which live for only about six months. In partnership with Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, at least two deep-sea cephalopod species were displayed in the exhibition, including flapjack octopuses and the vampire squid.

Great white sharks

In 1984, Monterey Bay Aquarium's first attempt to display a great white shark lasted 11 days, ending when the shark died because it did not eat. Through a later program named Project White Shark, six white sharks were exhibited between 2004 and 2011 in the Open Sea community exhibit, which was constructed in the 1990s. Researchers at universities in California attributed the aquarium's success at exhibiting white sharks to the use of a  net pen, which gave the sharks time to recover from capture prior to transport. A  portable tank used to transport the fish to the exhibit allowed the sharks to swim continuously, which they must do in order to respire. These endeavors led to the first instance of a white shark eating in an aquarium.

At least one organization—the Pelagic Shark Research Foundation based in Santa Cruz, California—criticized the aquarium for attempting to keep white sharks in captivity, questioning the significance of possible scientific research and the ability to educate visitors. However, several independent biologists expressed approval for Project White Shark because of its logistical design, educational impact, and scientific insights. Regarding its educational impact, a white shark researcher from Australia stated in 2006 that "the fact people can come and see these animals and learn from them is of immeasurable value." The first captive white shark—on exhibit in 2004 for more than six months—was seen by one million visitors, and another million visitors saw either the second or third white sharks on display. In 198 days, the first white shark grew more than  and gained over  prior to its release.  Monterey Bay Aquarium is the only public aquarium in the world to have successfully exhibited a white shark for longer than 16 days.

The effort to display captive white sharks ended in 2011 due to the project's high resource intensity. Captive white sharks also incurred injuries and killed other animals in the exhibit after becoming increasingly aggressive, and the final shark died due to unknown reasons immediately following its release. Although no longer on exhibit for the public, aquarium researchers have continued to conduct research on white sharks. Collaborating with Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute in June 2016, staff scientists created cameras attached to harmless dorsal fin tags in an attempt to study the behavior of white sharks during their gathering known as the White Shark Café.

Seafood program

Monterey Bay Aquarium's consumer-based Seafood Watch program encourages sustainable seafood purchasing from fisheries that are "well managed and caught or farmed in ways that cause little harm to habitats or other wildlife." It began in 1999 as a result of a popular component of a temporary exhibition and has grown to consist of a website, six regional pocket guides, and mobile apps that allow consumers to check the sustainability ratings of specific fisheries. The program has expanded to include business collaborations, local and national restaurant and grocer partnerships, and outreach partnerships—primarily other public aquariums and zoos. Large-scale business and grocer affiliations include Aramark, Compass Group, Target, and Whole Foods Market. In both 2009 and 2015, Seafood Watch was reportedly playing an influential role in the discussion regarding seafood sustainability. According to the aquarium, the program's efficacy is driven by its work with both businesses and consumers, and is supported by the organization's expanding science and ocean policy programs.

In the late 2000s, Seafood Watch was likely the most known and most widely distributed sustainable seafood guide out of around 200 internationally. By 2014, fifteen years after its inception, the program had produced more than 52 million printed pocket guides. Its mobile apps were downloaded over one million times between 2009 and 2015. In 2003, the program's website was granted a MUSE Award from the American Alliance of Museums for use of media and technology in science. Bon Appétit magazine awarded its Tastemaker of the Year award to Seafood Watch in 2008 and, in 2013, Sunset magazine described it as one of "the most effective consumer-awareness programs".

In September 2016, the United States Agency for International Development announced it was cooperating with the aquarium to improve fisheries management in the Asia-Pacific.

Political advocacy
Monterey Bay Aquarium plays an active role in federal and state politics, from sponsoring governmental legislation about the ocean to persuading voter action from its visitors and online followers. The aquarium was a leading sponsor for the statewide shark fin ban in 2011. After the ban's success its efforts shifted to focus on marine plastic pollution, supporting successful legislation which restricted the use of microbeads in personal care products. In support of California Proposition 67 (2016), the organization produced advertisements, web pages, and podcasts in favor of a statewide ban on single-use plastic grocery bags. The aquarium is a founding member of a partnership between 20 public aquariums for collaborating on policy-based conservation efforts. This partnership, called the Aquarium Conservation Partnership, hosted a plastic pollution conference at Monterey Bay Aquarium in December 2016. In July 2017, the aquarium and other members of the partnership began eliminating their own plastic products, such as plastic bags, straws, and bottles.

The aquarium is a founding partner of the Ocean Project, which conducts national public opinion surveys about aquariums and environmental issues. And, along with Stanford University, it runs an organization involved in ocean science, policy, and law called the Center for Ocean Solutions. The aquarium has participated in several international conferences that focus on ocean policy, including the 2017 United Nations Ocean Conference. In March 2017, Monterey Bay Aquarium publicly endorsed the March for Science—a series of rallies and marches that occurred around the world on Earth Day the following April—and its penguins marched in their own miniature demonstration.

Educational efforts
Each year approximately 75,000 students, teachers, and chaperones from California access Monterey Bay Aquarium for free. An additional 1,500 low-income students, 350 teenagers, and 1,200 teachers participate in structured educational programs throughout the year. Between 1984 and 2014, the aquarium hosted more than 2 million students. In 2009, the aquarium and others collaborated to create an online resource called "Climate Interpreter", which is used by other zoological institutions, government agencies, and academic institutions to share materials for interpreting climate change to the public.

A , US$30 million education center being developed by the aquarium is expected to open in 2018, and will double the number of students and teachers it is able to work with each year. Monterey Bay Aquarium received a Webby Award in 2000 for "distributing information related to scientific exploration" and has won four awards from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums for its programs in the categories of education and diversity. In 2015, the Silicon Valley Business Journal awarded the aquarium with a Community Impact Award for its efforts to "shape a new generation of ocean conservation leaders."

Community and economic influence

Monterey Bay Aquarium employed over 500 people and had 1,200 active volunteers in 2015. Between 1984 and 2014, 8,500 volunteers donated 3.2 million community service hours. The aquarium attracts around 2 million visitors each year and, through 2016, over 50 million people had visited. Out of the 51 accredited public aquariums in the United States in 2015, Monterey Bay Aquarium's 2.08 million visitors ranked it second by number of visits, behind Georgia Aquarium's 2.2 million. In 2015, it served 290,000 annual members.

Free admission programs are offered for Monterey County residents including "Shelf to Shore", with the county's free library system, and "Free to Learn", with local nonprofit organizations and Monterey–Salinas Transit. Additionally, the aquarium offers free admission to Monterey County residents during a weeklong event in December, which grew from almost 17,000 visitors in 1998 to 50,000 visitors in 2013. In 2014, the program was expanded to include neighboring Santa Cruz and San Benito counties. An annual event called "Día del Niño" offers bilingual feeding presentations (in Spanish), activities, and free admission for children under the age of 13. Between 2002 and 2014, over 700,000 people visited for free through outreach programs.

In 2013, the aquarium's operational spending and its 2 million visitors generated US$263 million to the economy of Monterey County. In August 2016, an event during one evening raised over US$110,000 for the Community Foundation for Monterey County's drive to provide relief for the Soberanes Fire.

In December 2020, Natividad Medical Center in Salinas was loaned a deep-freeze fridge from the Aquarium in order to allow the hospital to store the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at -94 degrees Fahrenheit. Normally the aquarium uses the freezer for preserving "biological and veterinary samples". Prior to the loan, the hospital had planned on keeping the vaccine on dry ice which would have meant changing the dry ice every five days. Due to the aquarium's closure during the COVID-19 pandemic, between April 2020 and January 2021 a total of 243 staff were laid off or furloughed.

In media and popular culture
Monterey Bay Aquarium has been featured in two documentaries on the wildlife television program Nature; filmmakers were given behind-the-scenes access for "Oceans in Glass" in 2006, and "Saving Otter 501" followed the aquarium's sea otter rehabilitation program in 2013. It also heavily supported and was featured in BBC's Big Blue Live, a 2015 live television miniseries about Monterey Bay that won a BAFTA TV Award in 2016. The aquarium served as the filming location for the fictitious Cetacean Institute in the 1986 film Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. In the 2016 Disney/Pixar animated film Finding Dory, the aquarium inspired the design of the fish hospital that the characters visit, and its animals served as models for the film's animated characters. A scene from the HBO miniseries Big Little Lies, which aired in 2017, was filmed there.

After comparing the aquarium's visitor feedback to the feedback of other attractions, the media and the travel industry have given it top awards. In 2014, TripAdvisor ranked it as the number one public aquarium in the world and, in 2015, it ranked second. In 2015, it was listed by Parents magazine as the top public aquarium in the United States and the highest rated destination on the West Coast. Frommer's travel guide lists Monterey Bay Aquarium as "exceptional", the highest rating on its three-tier system.

Each year, since 2019, content creator DougDoug has held a Twitch livestream on the birthday of Monterey Bay Aquarium's oldest sea otter, Rosa. The livestreams have raised a significant amount of money for the aquarium, including $320.18 in 2019, $2,676.00 in 2020, $14,172.00 in 2021, $104,326.89 in 2022, and $302,292.69 in 2023.

Notes and references

Notes

Footnotes

References

Sources

External links

 Walkthrough of aquarium on Google Street View
 Aquarium's blog used through 2020, detailing conservation and science efforts
 YouTube video on the history of the aquarium from a founding biologist

Buildings and structures in Monterey, California
Monterey Bay
Museums in Monterey County, California
Oceanaria in the United States
Tourist attractions in Monterey, California
Wildlife rehabilitation and conservation centers

Monterey Bay Aquarium


The Search for Odin (Norwegian: Jakten på Odin) is the project title of Thor Heyerdahl's last series of archaeological excavations, which took place in (Tanais) in Russia.

Theoretical background
Heyerdahl's intention was to prove the veracity of the account of Snorri Sturluson in the Ynglinga saga, written in the 13th century, about the origin of the Norse royal dynasties, and the pre-Christian Norse gods. Snorri provides a euhemeristic account, in which he describes the Norse god Odin and some other Norse gods, the Æsir, as having been real people who emigrated from the area around the river Don to Scandinavia at the time of the Roman expansion into their old homeland. In Scandinavia, Snorri writes, they so impressed the native population that they started worshipping them as gods.

Heyerdahl tried to seek the origins of the Æsir, following the route set out by Snorri Sturluson in the Ynglinga saga, from the Black Sea and the river Tanais (referred to by Snorri Sturluson by the names Tanaís and Tanakvísl) via Saxon homelands in northern Germany, Odense on Fyn, Denmark to Old Sigtuna, ancient Sweden. When Heyerdahl died in 2002 the second season of excavations had just been finished.

Critique
Heyerdahl's Odin project was subjected to fierce criticism from Norwegian academics within the fields of research upon which the theory touches. Both the first book detailing the Odin project, Ingen grenser from 1999, and the second book, Jakten på Odin from 2001, were met with a forceful and detailed response from leading academics in which the reasons were laid out to the wider public as to why Heyerdahl's theory in their view was false. After the last book the attacks against Heyerdahl were also worded in a way that was seen by many as disrespectful. The five leading academics responsible for the reviews explained that although popular literature would not normally be subject to such scrutiny, they felt it was necessary in this case, partly because Heyerdahl himself laid claim to academic credentials and partly due to his popularity.

The reviewers, speaking on behalf of the academic community of Norway, categorize Heyerdahl's theory as an example of pseudoarchaeology, based on a selective reading of sources, and a lack of understanding, or a lack of willingness to use basic scientific methodology. Much of the foundation of his theory, they point out, is based on similarities between names of figures from Norse mythology and geographical place-names of the present time in the Pontic steppe and Caucasus. Comparison of these names is done with disregard of linguistic theory, according to the reviewers.

Azov is believed by Heyerdahl to have derived its name from as-hof – temple of the Æsir. Mainstream linguists and historians will say that the city of Azov got its name from the Turks, over 1000 years after Heyerdahl believes the Æsir lived there. Heyerdahl also points to the similarities between the word Æsir and the Azeri and Ossetian peoples of the Caucasus, between the god Odin and the Caucasian language group Udi and between the god Tyr and Turkey, and between the Vanir (a group of Norse gods) and the word Vannic, which was for a time in the 19th and 20th centuries the name used for the Urartian language, spoken in ancient times in the area around Lake Van.

See also
 House of Ynglings
 Mythological kings of Sweden

References

Further reading
The background for the project is described in two books, Ingen grenser, 1999, Heyerdahl, Thor and Per Lillieström, Oslo: Stenersens forlag,  and Jakten på Odin—På sporet av vår fortid, 2001, Heyerdahl, Thor and Per Lillieström, Oslo: Stenersens forlag, .
Rix, Robert. "'The North' and 'the East': The Odin Migration Theory." Cian Duffy (ed.), Romantic Norths: Anglo-Nordic Exchanges, 1770–1842. Palgrave Macmillan, 2017. pp. 153–179.

External links
 Bjornar Storfjell's account: A personal account of an anthropologist who worked with Thor Heyerdahl. Azerbaijan International, Vol. 10:2 (Summer 2002), p. 25. "Thor Heyerdahl's Final Projects."
Maal og minne 1, 2002: Review of Heyerdahl's book 'Jakten på Odin. På sporet av vår fortid' (2001), by Even Hovdhaugen, Christian Keller, Else Mundal, Anne Stalsberg and Gro Steinsland. (In Norwegian.)

Pseudoarchaeology
Thor Heyerdahl
Odin

Jakten på Odin


Under United States tax laws and accounting rules,  cost segregation is the process of identifying personal property assets that are grouped with real property assets, and separating out personal assets for tax reporting purposes.  According to the American Society of Cost Segregation Professionals, a cost segregation is "the process of identifying property components that are considered "personal property" or "land improvements" under the federal tax code."

A cost segregation study identifies and reclassifies personal property assets to shorten the depreciation time for taxation purposes, which reduces current income tax obligations. Personal property assets include a building's non-structural elements, exterior land improvements and indirect construction costs.The primary goal of a cost segregation study is to identify all construction-related costs that can be depreciated over a shorter tax life (typically 5, 7 and 15 years) than the building (39 years for non-residential real property). Personal property assets found in a cost segregation study generally include items that are affixed to the building but do not relate to the overall operation and maintenance of the building.

Land Improvements generally include items located outside a building that are affixed to the land and do not relate to the overall operation and maintenance of a building. Reducing tax lives results in accelerated depreciation deductions, a reduced tax liability, and increased cash flow. Land improvements include parking lots, driveways, paved areas, site utilities, walk ways, sidewalks, curbing, concrete stairs, fencing, retaining walls, block walls, car ports, dumpster enclosures, and landscaping. Landscaping itself can be separated into plants, trees, shrubs, sod, mulch, rock, and security lighting.

A Cost Segregation study allows a taxpayer who owns real estate to reclassify certain assets as Section 1245 property with shorter useful lives for depreciation purposes, rather than the useful life for Section 1250 property.

Recent tax law changes under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) have given a boost to cost segregation. Bonus depreciation was increased from 50% to 100% on certain qualifying assets. Real estate investors will receive immediate expensing of certain 5, 7 and 15 year property. TCJA also allows used property that was acquired after Sept. 27, 2017 to qualify for this special depreciation treatment. A quality cost segregation will separate any costs that qualify under the new bonus depreciation rules.

Property asset classification
Analysis of capital expenditures is used to determine appropriate asset classifications. Cost segregation identifies building costs that would typically be depreciated over a 27.5 or 39-year period and reclassifies them to permit a shorter, accelerated method of depreciation for certain building costs. Costs for non-structural elements, such as wall covering, carpet, accent lighting, portions of the electrical system, and exterior site improvements such as sidewalks and landscaping, can often be depreciated over five, seven or 15 years, rather than over 27.5 or 39 years.

Eligibility
Real property eligible for cost segregation includes buildings that have been purchased, constructed, expanded or remodeled since 1987. A formal engineering based study is typically cost-effective for buildings purchased or remodeled at a cost greater than $750,000.   A cost segregation study is most efficient for new buildings recently constructed, but it can also uncover retroactive tax deductions for older buildings which can generate significant short benefits due to "catch-up" depreciation.

Cost segregation study process
"A cost-segregation specialist can perform a nonintrusive yet detailed engineering study of a building's walls, flooring, and ceilings; and its plumbing, electrical, lighting,
telecommunications, heating and cooling systems" (Money Doesn't Grow on Trees, But It Could be Hidden in the Walls By William J. Barnes, CPA).

Usually, a construction engineer will analyze architectural drawings, mechanical and electrical plans, and other blueprints to segregate the structural and general building electrical and mechanical components from those linked to personal property.  The study also allocates "soft costs," such as architect and engineering fees, to all components of the building.

"In general, a study by a construction engineer is more reliable than one conducted by someone with no engineering or construction background. However, the possession of specific construction knowledge is not the only criterion. Experience in cost estimating and allocation, as well as knowledge of the applicable law, are other important criteria.  A quality study identifies the preparer and always references his/her credentials, experience and expertise in the cost segregation area" (www.irs.gov - Cost Segregation Audit Technique Guide - Chapter 4 - Principal Elements of a Quality Cost Segregation Study and Report).

Tax benefits of cost segregation
In addition to providing lower taxes, cost segregation can benefit businesses in a number of ways:
 Maximizing tax savings by adjusting the timing of deductions. When an asset's life is shortened, depreciation expense is accelerated and tax payments are decreased during the early stages of a property's life.  This, in turn, releases cash for investment opportunities or current operating needs.
 Creating an audit trail. Improper documentation of cost and asset classifications can lead to an unfavorable audit adjustment. A properly documented cost segregation helps resolve IRS inquiries at the earliest stages.
 Playing Catch-Up: Retroactivity. Since 1996, taxpayers can capture immediate retroactive savings on property added since 1987.  Previous rules, which provided a four-year catch-up period for retroactive savings, have been amended to allow taxpayers to take the entire amount of the adjustment in the year the cost segregation is completed.  This opportunity to recapture unrecognized depreciation in one year presents an opportunity to perform retroactive cost segregation analyses on older properties to increase cash flow in the current year.
 Additional tax benefits. Cost segregation can also reveal opportunities to reduce real estate tax liabilities and identify certain sales and use tax savings opportunities.

Downsides to Cost Segregation Studies
Downsides to cost segregation studies include cost, the triggering of depreciation recapture and understatement penalties for taxpayers that use cost segregation too aggressively.

See also
 Depreciation
 MACRS

Notes

External links
 "Cost Segregation Applied" The Journal of Accountancy
 American Society of Cost Segregation Professionals
 IRS Cost Segregation Audit Techniques Guide
United States Generally Accepted Accounting Principles
Real estate in the United States
Taxation in the United States

Cost segregation study


The term Black hair refers to the darkest of all human hair colors. It is a dominant and genetic trait, and found in people of all ethnic groups. Caucasian people with black hair are usually referred to as brunettes. Black hair carries extreme amounts of eumelanin and is less dense than the other hair colors.

Hair

Black hair