document_title: Golden Gate Bridge

question_text: how many workers died building the golden gate

root

text: Golden Gate Bridge

text: History

text: Ferry service

text: Before the bridge was built, the only practical short route between San Francisco and what is now Marin County was by boat across a section of San Francisco Bay. A ferry service began as early as 1820, with a regularly scheduled service beginning in the 1840s for the purpose of transporting water to San Francisco.[10]

tag: p

text: The Sausalito Land and Ferry Company service, launched in 1867, eventually became the Golden Gate Ferry Company, a Southern Pacific Railroad subsidiary, the largest ferry operation in the world by the late 1920s.[10][11] Once for railroad passengers and customers only, Southern Pacific's automobile ferries became very profitable and important to the regional economy.[12] The ferry crossing between the Hyde Street Pier in San Francisco and Sausalito in Marin County took approximately 20 minutes and cost US$1.00 per vehicle, a price later reduced to compete with the new bridge.[13] The trip from the San Francisco Ferry Building took 27 minutes.

text: Many wanted to build a bridge to connect San Francisco to Marin County. San Francisco was the largest American city still served primarily by ferry boats. Because it did not have a permanent link with communities around the bay, the city's growth rate was below the national average.[14] Many experts said that a bridge could not be built across the 6,700 ft (2,042 m) strait, which had strong, swirling tides and currents, with water 372 ft (113 m) deep[15] at the center of the channel, and frequent strong winds. Experts said that ferocious winds and blinding fogs would prevent construction and operation.[14]

text: Conception

text: Although the idea of a bridge spanning the Golden Gate was not new, the proposal that eventually took hold was made in a 1916 San Francisco Bulletin article by former engineering student James Wilkins.[16] San Francisco's City Engineer estimated the cost at $100 million, which would have been $2.12 billion in 2009, and impractical for the time. He asked bridge engineers whether it could be built for less.[10] One who responded, Joseph Strauss, was an ambitious engineer and poet who had, for his graduate thesis, designed a 55-mile-long (89 km) railroad bridge across the Bering Strait.[17] At the time, Strauss had completed some 400 drawbridges—most of which were inland—and nothing on the scale of the new project.[3] Strauss's initial drawings[16] were for a massive cantilever on each side of the strait, connected by a central suspension segment, which Strauss promised could be built for $17 million.[10]

text: Local authorities agreed to proceed only on the assurance that Strauss would alter the design and accept input from several consulting project experts.[citation needed] A suspension-bridge design was considered the most practical, because of recent advances in metallurgy.[10]

text: Strauss spent more than a decade drumming up support in Northern California.[18] The bridge faced opposition, including litigation, from many sources. The Department of War was concerned that the bridge would interfere with ship traffic. The navy feared that a ship collision or sabotage to the bridge could block the entrance to one of its main harbors. Unions demanded guarantees that local workers would be favored for construction jobs. Southern Pacific Railroad, one of the most powerful business interests in California, opposed the bridge as competition to its ferry fleet and filed a lawsuit against the project, leading to a mass boycott of the ferry service.[10]

text: In May 1924, Colonel Herbert Deakyne held the second hearing on the Bridge on behalf of the Secretary of War in a request to use federal land for construction. Deakyne, on behalf of the Secretary of War, approved the transfer of land needed for the bridge structure and leading roads to the "Bridging the Golden Gate Association" and both San Francisco County and Marin County, pending further bridge plans by Strauss.[19] Another ally was the fledgling automobile industry, which supported the development of roads and bridges to increase demand for automobiles.[13]

text: The bridge's name was first used when the project was initially discussed in 1917 by M.M. O'Shaughnessy, city engineer of San Francisco, and Strauss. The name became official with the passage of the Golden Gate Bridge and Highway District Act by the state legislature in 1923, creating a special district to design, build and finance the bridge.[20] San Francisco and most of the counties along the North Coast of California joined the Golden Gate Bridge District, with the exception being Humboldt County, whose residents opposed the bridge's construction and the traffic it would generate.[21]

text: Design

text: Strauss was chief engineer in charge of overall design and construction of the bridge project.[14] However, because he had little understanding or experience with cable-suspension designs,[22] responsibility for much of the engineering and architecture fell on other experts. Strauss's initial design proposal (two double cantilever spans linked by a central suspension segment) was unacceptable from a visual standpoint. The final graceful suspension design was conceived and championed by Leon Moisseiff, the engineer of the Manhattan Bridge in New York City.[23]

text: Irving Morrow, a relatively unknown residential architect, designed the overall shape of the bridge towers, the lighting scheme, and Art Deco elements, such as the tower decorations, streetlights, railing, and walkways. The famous International Orange color was originally used as a sealant for the bridge.[24] The US Navy had wanted it to be painted with black and yellow stripes to ensure visibility by passing ships.[14]

text: Senior engineer Charles Alton Ellis, collaborating remotely with Moisseiff, was the principal engineer of the project.[25] Moisseiff produced the basic structural design, introducing his "deflection theory" by which a thin, flexible roadway would flex in the wind, greatly reducing stress by transmitting forces via suspension cables to the bridge towers.[25] Although the Golden Gate Bridge design has proved sound, a later Moisseiff design, the original Tacoma Narrows Bridge, collapsed in a strong windstorm soon after it was completed, because of an unexpected aeroelastic flutter.[26] Ellis was also tasked with designing a "bridge within a bridge" in the southern abutment, to avoid the need to demolish Fort Point, a pre–Civil War masonry fortification viewed, even then, as worthy of historic preservation. He penned a graceful steel arch spanning the fort and carrying the roadway to the bridge's southern anchorage.[27]

text: Ellis was a Greek scholar and mathematician who at one time was a University of Illinois professor of engineering despite having no engineering degree. He eventually earned a degree in civil engineering from the University of Illinois prior to designing the Golden Gate Bridge and spent the last twelve years of his career as a professor at Purdue University. He became an expert in structural design, writing the standard textbook of the time.[28] Ellis did much of the technical and theoretical work that built the bridge, but he received none of the credit in his lifetime. In November 1931, Strauss fired Ellis and replaced him with a former subordinate, Clifford Paine, ostensibly for wasting too much money sending telegrams back and forth to Moisseiff.[28] Ellis, obsessed with the project and unable to find work elsewhere during the Depression, continued working 70 hours per week on an unpaid basis, eventually turning in ten volumes of hand calculations.[28]

text: With an eye toward self-promotion and posterity, Strauss downplayed the contributions of his collaborators who, despite receiving little recognition or compensation,[22] are largely responsible for the final form of the bridge. He succeeded in having himself credited as the person most responsible for the design and vision of the bridge.[28] Only much later were the contributions of the others on the design team properly appreciated.[28] In May 2007, the Golden Gate Bridge District issued a formal report on 70 years of stewardship of the famous bridge and decided to give Ellis major credit for the design of the bridge.

text: Finance

text: The Golden Gate Bridge and Highway District, authorized by an act of the California Legislature, was incorporated in 1928 as the official entity to design, construct, and finance the Golden Gate Bridge.[14] However, after the Wall Street Crash of 1929, the District was unable to raise the construction funds, so it lobbied for a $30 million bond measure. The bonds were approved in November 1930,[17] by votes in the counties affected by the bridge.[29] The construction budget at the time of approval was $27 million. However, the District was unable to sell the bonds until 1932, when Amadeo Giannini, the founder of San Francisco–based Bank of America, agreed on behalf of his bank to buy the entire issue in order to help the local economy.[10]

text: Construction

text: Construction began on January 5, 1933.[10] The project cost more than $35 million,[30] ($3.45 billion in 2016 dollars[31]) completing ahead of schedule and $1.3 million under budget.[32] The Golden Gate Bridge construction project was carried out by the McClintic-Marshall Construction Co., a subsidiary of Bethlehem Steel Corporation founded by Howard H. McClintic and Charles D. Marshall, both of Lehigh University.

text: Strauss remained head of the project, overseeing day-to-day construction and making some groundbreaking contributions. A graduate of the University of Cincinnati, he placed a brick from his alma mater's demolished McMicken Hall in the south anchorage before the concrete was poured. He innovated the use of movable safety netting beneath the construction site, which saved the lives of many otherwise-unprotected ironworkers. Of eleven men killed from falls during construction, ten were killed on February 17, 1937, when the bridge was near completion when the net failed under the stress of a scaffold that had fallen.[33] According to Travel Channel's Monumental Mysteries, the workers' platform that was attached to a rolling hanger on a track collapsed when the bolts that were connected to the track were too small and the amount of weight was too great to bear. The platform fell into the safety net, but was too heavy and the net gave way. Two out of the twelve workers survived the 200-foot (61 m) fall into the icy waters, including the 37-year-old foreman, Slim Lambert. Nineteen others who were saved by the net over the course of construction became members of their Half Way to Hell Club.[34]

text: The project was finished and opened May 27, 1937. The Bridge Round House diner was then included in the southeastern end of the Golden Gate Bridge, adjacent to the tourist plaza which was renovated in 2012.[35] The Bridge Round House, an Art Deco design by Alfred Finnila completed in 1938, has been popular throughout the years as a starting point for various commercial tours of the bridge and an unofficial gift shop.[36] The diner was renovated in 2012[35] and the gift shop was then removed as a new, official gift shop has been included in the adjacent plaza.[36]

text: During the bridge work, the Assistant Civil Engineer of California Alfred Finnila had overseen the entire iron work of the bridge as well as half of the bridge's road work.[37] With the death of Jack Balestreri in April 2012, all workers involved in the original construction are now deceased.

text: Opening festivities, 50th, and 75th anniversaries

text: The bridge-opening celebration began on May 27, 1937 and lasted for one week. The day before vehicle traffic was allowed, 200,000 people crossed either on foot or on roller skates.[10] On opening day, Mayor Angelo Rossi and other officials rode the ferry to Marin, then crossed the bridge in a motorcade past three ceremonial "barriers", the last a blockade of beauty queens who required Joseph Strauss to present the bridge to the Highway District before allowing him to pass. An official song, "There's a Silver Moon on the Golden Gate", was chosen to commemorate the event. Strauss wrote a poem that is now on the Golden Gate Bridge entitled "The Mighty Task is Done." The next day, President Roosevelt pushed a button in Washington, D.C. signaling the official start of vehicle traffic over the Bridge at noon. As the celebration got out of hand there was a small riot in the uptown Polk Gulch area. Weeks of civil and cultural activities called "the Fiesta" followed. A statue of Strauss was moved in 1955 to a site near the bridge.[16]

text: In May 1987, as part of the 50th anniversary celebration, the Golden Gate Bridge district again closed the bridge to automobile traffic and allowed pedestrians to cross the bridge. However, this celebration attracted 750,000 to 1,000,000 people, and ineffective crowd control meant the bridge became congested with roughly 300,000 people, causing the center span of the bridge to flatten out under the weight.[38] Although the bridge is designed to flex in that way under heavy loads, and was estimated not to have exceeded 40% of the yielding stress of the suspension cables,[39] bridge officials stated that uncontrolled pedestrian access was not being considered as part of the 75th anniversary on Sunday, May 27, 2012,[40][41][42] because of the additional law enforcement costs required "since 9/11".[43]

text:
A pedestrian poses at the old railing on opening day, 1937

Play media

Opening of the Golden Gate Bridge

Official invitation to the opening of the bridge. This copy was sent to the City of Seattle

tag: ul

text: Structural specifications

text: Until 1964, the Golden Gate Bridge had the longest suspension bridge main span in the world, at 4,200 feet (1,300 m). Since 1964 its main span length has been surpassed by ten bridges; it now has the second-longest main span in the United States, after the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in New York City. The total length of the Golden Gate Bridge from abutment to abutment is 8,981 feet (2,737 m).[44]

text: The Golden Gate Bridge's clearance above high water averages 220 feet (67 m) while its towers, at 746 feet (227 m) above the water,[44] were the world's tallest on a suspension bridge until 1993 when it was surpassed by the Mezcala Bridge, in Mexico. The Golden Gate Bridge remains the tallest bridge in the United States.

text: The weight of the roadway is hung from 250 pairs of vertical suspender ropes, which are attached to two main cables. The main cables pass over the two main towers and are fixed in concrete at each end. Each cable is made of 27,572 strands of wire. The total length of galvanized steel wire used to fabricate both main cables is estimated to be 80,000 miles (130,000 km).[44]

text: The bridge has approximately 1,200,000 total rivets.[citation needed]

text: Aesthetics

text: The color of the bridge is officially an orange vermilion called international orange.[45] The color was selected by consulting architect Irving Morrow[46] because it complements the natural surroundings and enhances the bridge's visibility in fog. Aesthetics was the foremost reason why the first design of Joseph Strauss was rejected. Upon re-submission of his bridge construction plan, he added details, such as lighting, to outline the bridge's cables and towers.[47] In 1999, it was ranked fifth on the List of America's Favorite Architecture by the American Institute of Architects.

text: The bridge was originally painted with red lead primer and a lead-based topcoat, which was touched up as required. In the mid-1960s, a program was started to improve corrosion protection by stripping the original paint and repainting the bridge with zinc silicate primer and vinyl topcoats.[48][45] Since 1990, acrylic topcoats have been used instead for air-quality reasons. The program was completed in 1995 and it is now maintained by 38 painters who touch up the paintwork where it becomes seriously corroded.[49]

text:
A view of the Golden Gate Bridge from the Marin Headlands on a foggy morning at sunrise

View of the northern tower of the bridge

text: Traffic

text: Most maps and signage mark the bridge as part of the concurrency between U.S. Route 101 and California State Route 1. Although part of the National Highway System, the bridge is not officially part of California's Highway System.[50] For example, under the California Streets and Highways Code § 401, Route 101 ends at "the approach to the Golden Gate Bridge" and then resumes at "a point in Marin County opposite San Francisco". The Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District has jurisdiction over the segment of highway that crosses the bridge instead of the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans).

text: The movable median barrier between the lanes is moved several times daily to conform to traffic patterns. On weekday mornings, traffic flows mostly southbound into the city, so four of the six lanes run southbound. Conversely, on weekday afternoons, four lanes run northbound. During off-peak periods and weekends, traffic is split with three lanes in each direction.[51]

text: From 1968 to 2015, opposing traffic was separated by small, plastic pylons, and during that time, there were 16 fatalities resulting from 128 head-on collisions.[52] To improve safety, the speed limit on the Golden Gate Bridge was reduced from 50 to 45 mph (80 to 72 km/h) on October 1, 1989.[53] Although there had been discussion concerning the installation of a movable barrier since the 1980s, only in March 2005 did the Bridge Board of Directors commit to finding funding to complete the $2 million study required prior to the installation of a movable median barrier.[52] Installation of the resulting barrier was completed on January 11, 2015, following a closure of 45.5 hours to private vehicle traffic, the longest in the bridge's history. The new barrier system, including the zipper trucks, cost approximately $30.3 million to purchase and install.[52][54]

text: Usage and tourism

text: The bridge is popular with pedestrians and bicyclists, and was built with walkways on either side of the six vehicle traffic lanes. Initially, they were separated from the traffic lanes by only a metal curb, but railings between the walkways and the traffic lanes were added in 2003, primarily as a measure to prevent bicyclists from falling into the roadway.[55]

text: The main walkway is on the eastern side, and is open for use by both pedestrians and bicycles in the morning to mid-afternoon during weekdays (5 am to 3:30 pm), and to pedestrians only for the remaining daylight hours (until 6 pm, or 9 pm during DST). The eastern walkway is reserved for pedestrians on weekends (5 am to 6 pm, or 9 pm during DST), and is open exclusively to bicyclists in the evening and overnight, when it is closed to pedestrians. The western walkway is open only for bicyclists and only during the hours when they are not allowed on the eastern walkway.[56]

text: Bus service across the bridge is provided by two public transportation agencies: San Francisco Muni and Golden Gate Transit. Muni offers Saturday and Sunday service on the Marin Headlands Express bus line, and Golden Gate Transit runs numerous bus lines throughout the week.[57][58] The southern end of the bridge, near the toll plaza and parking lot, is also accessible daily from 5:30 a.m. to midnight by Muni line 28.[59] The Marin Airporter, a private company, also offers service across the bridge between Marin County and San Francisco International Airport.[60]

text: A visitor center and gift shop, dubbed the "Bridge Pavilion", is located on the San Francisco side of the bridge, adjacent to the southeast parking lot. It opened in 2012, in time for the bridge's 75th anniversary celebration. A cafe, outdoor exhibits, and restroom facilities are located nearby.[61] On the Marin side of the bridge, only accessible from the northbound lanes, is the H. Dana Bower Rest Area and Vista Point,[62] named after the first landscape architect for the California Division of Highways.[63]

text: Lands and waters under and around the bridge are homes to varieties of wildlife such as bobcats and sea lions.[64][65] Three species of cetaceans that had been absent in the area for many years show recent recoveries/(re)colonizations vicinity to the bridge, and researchers study them to strengthen protections, concerning actions by public and recommending to watch whales either from the bridge and nearby, or to use a local whale watching operator.[66][67][68]

text: Tolls

text: The last of the construction bonds were retired in 1971, with $35 million in principal and nearly $39 million in interest raised entirely from bridge tolls.[53]

text: In November 2006, the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District recommended a corporate sponsorship program for the bridge to address its operating deficit, projected at $80 million over five years. The District promised that the proposal, which it called a "partnership program," would not include changing the name of the bridge or placing advertising on the bridge itself. In October 2007, the Board unanimously voted to discontinue the proposal and seek additional revenue through other means, most likely a toll increase.[69][70]

text: In an effort to save $19.2 million over the following 10 years, the Golden Gate District voted in January 2011 to eliminate all toll takers by 2012 and use only open road tolling.[71] Subsequently, this was delayed and toll taker elimination occurred in March 2013. The cost savings have been revised to $19 million over an eight-year period. In addition to the FasTrak electronic toll collection system, the Golden Gate District implemented the use of license plate tolling (branded as "Pay-by-Plate"), and also a one time payment system for drivers to pay before or after their trip on the bridge. Twenty-eight positions were eliminated as part of this plan.[72]

text: On April 7, 2014, the toll for users of FasTrak was increased from $5 to $6, while the toll for drivers using either the license plate tolling or the one time payment system was raised from $6 to $7. Bicycle, pedestrian, and northbound motor vehicle traffic remain toll free. For vehicles with more than two axles, the toll rate is $7 per axle for those using license plate tolling or the one time payment system, and $6 per axle for FasTrak users. During peak traffic hours, carpool vehicles carrying two or more people and motorcycles pay a discounted toll of $4; drivers must have Fastrak to take advantage of this carpool rate.[72] The Golden Gate Transportation District then planned to increase the tolls by 25 cents in July 2015, and then by another 25 cents each of the next three years.[73]

text:
Golden Gate Bridge toll increases (2014–18)[73][74]

Effective date
FasTrak
Toll-by-plate
Carpool
Multi-axle vehicle

April 7, 2014
$6.00
$7.00
$4.00
$7.00 per axle

July 1, 2015
$6.25
$7.25
$4.25
$7.25 per axle

July 1, 2016
$6.50
$7.50
$4.50
$7.50 per axle

July 1, 2017
$6.75
$7.75
$4.75
$7.75 per axle

July 1, 2018
$7.00
$8.00
$5.00
$8.00 per axle

tag: table

text: Congestion pricing

text: In March 2008, the Golden Gate Bridge District board approved a resolution to start congestion pricing at the Golden Gate Bridge, charging higher tolls during the peak hours, but rising and falling depending on traffic levels. This decision allowed the Bay Area to meet the federal requirement to receive $158 million in federal transportation funds from USDOT Urban Partnership grant.[75] As a condition of the grant, the congestion toll was to be in place by September 2009.[76][77]

text: The first results of the study, called the Mobility, Access and Pricing Study (MAPS), showed that a congestion pricing program is feasible.[78] The different pricing scenarios considered were presented in public meetings in December 2008.[79]

text: In August 2008, transportation officials ended the congestion pricing program in favor of varying rates for metered parking along the route to the bridge including on Lombard Street and Van Ness Avenue.[80]

text: Issues

text: Suicides

text: The Golden Gate Bridge is the second-most used suicide site/suicide bridge in the world, after the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge.[81] The deck is about 245 feet (75 m) above the water.[82] After a fall of four seconds, jumpers hit the water at around 75 mph or about 120 km/h. Most of the jumpers die from impact trauma. About 5% of the jumpers survive the initial impact but generally drown or die of hypothermia in the cold water.[83][84]

text: After years of debate and over an estimated 1,500 deaths, suicide barriers began to be installed in April 2017. Construction will take approximately four years at a cost of over $200 million.[85]

text: Wind

text: Since its completion, the Golden Gate Bridge has been closed because of weather conditions only three times: on December 1, 1951, because of gusts of 69 mph (111 km/h); on December 23, 1982, because of winds of 70 mph (113 km/h); and on December 3, 1983, because of wind gusts of 75 mph (121 km/h).[48]

text: An anemometer, placed midway between the two towers on the west side of the bridge, has been used to measure wind speeds. Another anemometer was placed on one of the towers.

text: Seismic vulnerability and improvements

text: Modern knowledge of the effect of earthquakes on structures led to a program to retrofit the Golden Gate to better resist seismic events. The proximity of the bridge to the San Andreas Fault places it at risk for a significant earthquake. Once thought to have been able to withstand any magnitude of foreseeable earthquake, the bridge was actually vulnerable to complete structural failure (i.e., collapse) triggered by the failure of supports on the 320-foot (98 m) arch over Fort Point.[86] A $392 million program was initiated to improve the structure's ability to withstand such an event with only minimal (repairable) damage. One challenging undertaking is completing this program without disrupting traffic. A complex electro-hydraulic synchronous lift system was custom built for construction of temporary support towers and a series of intricate lifts, transferring the loads from the existing bridge onto the temporary supports. This was completed with engineers from Balfour Beatty and Enerpac, accomplishing this task without disrupting day-to-day San Francisco commuter traffic.[87][88] The retrofit was planned to be completed in 2012.[88][89]

text: The former elevated approach to the Golden Gate Bridge through the San Francisco Presidio, known as Doyle Drive, dated to 1933 and was named after Frank P. Doyle, President and son of the founder of the Exchange Bank in Santa Rosa, and the man who, more than any other person, made it possible to build the Golden Gate Bridge.[90] The highway carried about 91,000 vehicles each weekday between downtown San Francisco and the North Bay and points north.[91] The road was deemed "vulnerable to earthquake damage", had a problematic 4-lane design, and lacked shoulders, and a San Francisco County Transportation Authority study recommended that it be replaced. Construction on the $1 billion[92] replacement, temporarily known as the Presidio Parkway, began in December 2009.[93] The elevated Doyle Drive was demolished on the weekend of April 27–30, 2012, and traffic used a part of the partially completed Presidio Parkway, until it was switched onto the finished Presidio Parkway on the weekend of July 9–12, 2015. As of May 2012, an official at Caltrans said there is no plan to permanently rename the portion known as Doyle Drive.[94]

text: In popular culture

text: As a prominent American landmark, the Golden Gate Bridge has been used in numerous media which includes books, films and video games.


document_title: List of largest roadside attractions

question_text: where is the world's largest non stick frying pan

question_tokens: where is the world 's largest non stick frying pan

text: List of largest roadside attractions

text: Notable roadside attractions[edit]

text:
Distinction
Category
Description
Continent
Country
State/Province
Town
Material
Notes

Worlds largest wagon wheel and pick
Transportation
Wagon wheel
N. America
Canada
Alberta
F. Assiniboine

World's Largest Artificial Trout
Animal
Trout
Oceania
Australia
New South Wales
Adaminaby
Fiberglass

World's Largest Artificial Prawn
Animal
Prawn
Oceania
Australia
New South Wales
Ballina
Fiberglass

World's Largest Tennis Racket
Sport
Tennis racket
Oceania
Australia
New South Wales
Barellan
Fiberglass

World's Largest Fruit Bowl
Container
Fruit bowl
Oceania
Australia
New South Wales
Bilpin
Fiberglass

World's Largest Artificial Banana
Food
Banana
Oceania
Australia
New South Wales
Coffs Harbour
Fiberglass

World's Largest Artificial Eagle
Animal
Eagle
Oceania
Australia
New South Wales
Cowra
Fiberglass

World's Largest Artificial Sheep
Animal
Sheep
Oceania
Australia
New South Wales
Goulburn
Concrete

World's Largest Barrel Building
Building
Barrel
Oceania
Australia
Queensland
Bundaberg

World's Largest Boomerang
Sport
Boomerang
Oceania
Australia
New South Wales
Hawes

World's Largest Artificial Chicken
Animal
Chicken
Oceania
Australia
New South Wales
Kemps Creek

World's Largest Bowl
Container
Bowl
Oceania
Australia
New South Wales
Lake Cathie

World's Largest Artificial Guitar
Music
Guitar
Oceania
Australia
New South Wales
Tamworth

World's Largest Artificial Oyster
Animal
Oyster
Oceania
Australia
New South Wales
Taree

World's Largest Bicycle
Transportation
Bicycle
Oceania
Australia
New South Wales
Chullora

World's Largest Artificial Potato
Food
Potato
Oceania
Australia
New South Wales
Robertson

Australia's Largest Sundial
Time
Sundial
Oceania
Australia
New South Wales
Singleton

World's Largest Artificial Pineapple
Food
Pineapple
Africa
South Africa
Eastern Cape
Bathurst

World's Largest Artificial Crocodile
Animal
Crocodile
Oceania
Australia
Northern Territory
Humpty Doo

Australia's Largest Artificial Pineapple
Food
Pineapple
Oceania
Australia
Queensland
Nambour

Australia's Largest Artificial Orange
Food
Orange
Oceania
Australia
South Australia
Berri

World's Largest Rocking Horse
Miscellaneous
Rocking Horse
Oceania
Australia
South Australia
Gumeracha

World's Largest Artificial Lobster
Animal
Lobster
Oceania
Australia
South Australia
Kingston SE

World's Largest Geoglyph[1]
Miscellaneous
Geoglyph
Oceania
Australia
Queensland
Nambour

World's Largest Artificial Mushroom
Food
Mushroom
N. America
Canada
Alberta
Vilna
Metal

World's Largest Artificial Perogy
Food
Perogy
N. America
Canada
Alberta
Glendon

World's Largest Piggy Bank
Container
Piggy Bank
N. America
Canada
Alberta
Coleman

World's Largest Artificial Kubasa
Food
Kubasa
N. America
Canada
Alberta
Mundare

(Ukrainian garlic sausage)

World's Largest Artificial Pysanka
Miscellaneous
Pysanka
N. America
Canada
Alberta
Vegreville

(Ukrainian easter egg)

World's Largest UFO Landing Pad
Miscellaneous
UFO landing pad
N. America
Canada
Alberta
St. Paul

World's Largest Artificial Duck
Animal
Duck
N. America
Canada
Alberta
Andrew

World's Largest Artificial Dinosaur
Animal
Dinosaur
N. America
Canada
Alberta
Drumheller

World's Largest Elephant Building
Animal
Elephant Building
N. America
U.S.A.
New Jersey
Margate

Canada's Largest Baseball Bat
Sport
Baseball Bat
N. America
Canada
Alberta
Edmonton

World's Largest Artificial Cowboy Boot
Miscellaneous
Cowboy Boot
N. America
Canada
Alberta
Edmonton

World's Largest Badminton Racquet
Sport
Badminton racquet
N. America
Canada
Alberta
St. Albert

World's Largest Golf Putter
Sport
Golf putter
N. America
Canada
Alberta
Bow Island

Canada's Largest Weathervane
Miscellaneous
Weathervane
N. America
Canada
Yukon
Whitehouse

World's Largest Starship Enterprise
Miscellaneous
Starship Enterprise
N. America
Canada
Alberta
Vulcan

World's Largest Golf Tee
Sport
Golf Tee
N. America
Canada
Alberta
Trochu

World's Largest Tepee
Building
Tepee
N. America
Canada
Alberta
Medicine Hat

Canada's Largest Truck
Transportation
Truck
N. America
Canada
British Columbia
Sparwood

World's Largest Cross-Country Skis
Sport
Cross-country skis
N. America
Canada
British Columbia
100 Mile House

World's Tallest Totem Pole
Miscellaneous
Totem Pole
N. America
Canada
British Columbia
Alert Bay

World's Largest Ice Hockey Stick
Sport
Ice hockey stick
N. America
Canada
British Columbia
Duncan

World's Largest Wind Chimes
Miscellaneous
Wind chimes
N. America
Canada
British Columbia
Kaslo

World's Largest Standing Cuckoo Clock
Time
Cuckoo Clock
N. America
Canada
British Columbia
Kimberley

citation needed

World's Largest Fly Fishing Rod
Sport
Fly fishing rod
N. America
Canada
British Columbia
Houston

World's Largest Rosary
Religion
Rosary
N. America
Canada
British Columbia
Metchosin

World's Largest Tree Crusher
Tool
Tree crusher
N. America
Canada
British Columbia
Mackenzie

World's Largest Artificial Fiddle
Music
Fiddle
N. America
Canada
Nova Scotia
Sydney

World's Largest Artificial Mastodon
Animal
Mastodon
N. America
Canada
Nova Scotia
Stewiacke

World's Largest Artificial Mosquito
Animal
Mosquito
N. America
Canada
Manitoba
Komarno

World's Largest Artificial Moose
Animal
Moose
N. America
Canada
Manitoba
Riverton

World‘s Largest Artificial Pumpkin
Food
Pumpkin
N. America
Canada
Manitoba
Roland

World's Largest Artificial Catfish
Animal
Catfish
N. America
Canada
Manitoba
Selkirk

World's Largest Artificial Apple
Food
Apple
N. America
Canada
Ontario
Colborne

World's Largest Artificial Coin
Miscellaneous
Coin
N. America
Canada
Ontario
Sudbury

World's Largest Artificial Orange
Food
Orange
N. America
Canada
Quebec
Montreal

World's Largest Artificial Bread and Salt
Food
Bread and salt
N. America
Canada
Saskatchewan
Canora

World's Largest Artificial Lily
Plant
Lily
N. America
Canada
Ontario
Parkside

World's Largest Artificial Tomahawk
Tool
Tomahawk
N. America
Canada
Saskatchewan
Cut Knife

World's Largest Artificial Bunnock
Miscellaneous
Bunnock
N. America
Canada
Saskatchewan
Macklin

World's Largest Artificial Axe
Tool
Axe
N. America
Canada
New Brunswick
Nackawic

North America's Largest Artificial Lobster
Animal
Lobster
N. America
Canada
New Brunswick
Shediac

World's Largest Artificial Maple Leaf
Plant
Maple leaf
N. America
Canada
New Brunswick
Millville

World's Largest Artificial Fiddleheads
Food
Fiddleheads
N. America
Canada
New Brunswick
Plaster Rock

World's Longest Covered Bridge
Transportation
Covered Bridge
N. America
Canada
New Brunswick
Hartland

World's Largest Artificial Atlantic Salmon
Animal
Atlantic Salmon
N. America
Canada
New Brunswick
Campbellton

Canada's Largest Artificial Potato
Food
Potato
N. America
Canada
Prince Edward Island
O'Leary

Worlds Largest Bull Temple
Religion
Temple
Asia
India
Karnataka
Bangalore

World's Largest Sundial[2]
Time
Sundial
Asia
India
Rajasthan
Jaipur

World's Largest Artificial Bottle of Lemon & Paeroa
Food
Lemon & Paeroa
Oceania
New Zealand
Waikato region
Paeroa

World's Largest Artificial Carrot
Food
Carrot
Oceania
New Zealand
North Island
Ohakune

World's Largest Artificial Crayfish
Animal
Crayfish
Oceania
New Zealand
South Island
Kaikoura

World's Largest Artificial Kiwifruit
Food
Kiwifruit
Oceania
New Zealand
North Island
Te Puke

World's Largest Artificial Salmon
Animal
Salmon
Oceania
New Zealand
South Island
Rakaia

World's Largest Artificial Sandfly
Animal
Sandfly
Oceania
New Zealand
South Island
Greymouth

New Zealand's Largest Artificial Trout
Animal
Trout
Oceania
New Zealand
South Island
Gore

text: United States of America[edit]

text: Alabama[edit]

text:
World's Largest Office Chair, 625 Noble St, Anniston, Alabama 36201, USA
World's Largest Hog, Dothan, Alabama, USA
World's Largest Boll Weevil, Enterprise, Alabama, USA
World's Largest Brick, Montgomery, Alabama, USA
World's Largest Catfish, Troy, Alabama, USA
World's Largest Soda Bottle (Destroyed), The Bottle, Alabama, USA

text: Alaska[edit]

text:
World's Largest Santa Claus, North Pole, Alaska, USA
World's Largest Chocolate Waterfall, Anchorage, Alaska, USA

text: Arizona[edit]

text:
World's Largest Cow Skull, Amado, Arizona, USA
World's Largest Kokopelli, Camp Verde, Arizona, USA
World's Largest Kachina, Carefree, Arizona, USA
World's Largest Map of Old Route 66, Meteor City, Arizona, USA
World's Largest Petrified Tree, Holbrook, Arizona, USA

text: Arkansas[edit]

text:
World's Largest Spinach Can, Alma, Arkansas, USA
World's Largest King Kong, Beaver, Arkansas, USA
World's Largest Razorback, Berryville, Arkansas, USA
World's Largest Charcoal Grill, Magnolia, Arkansas, USA
World's Largest Raven, Ravenden, Arkansas, USA

text: California[edit]

text:
World's Largest Thermometer, Baker, California, USA
World's Largest Dinosaurs, Cabazon, California, USA
World's Largest Artichoke, Castroville, California, USA
World's Largest Yoyo, Chico, California, USA
World's Largest Hammer Eureka, California, USA
World's Largest Hamster Wheel, Point Loma, California, USA
World's Largest Monk, Hillsborough, California, USA
World's Largest Tortoise, Joshua Tree, California, USA
World's Largest Raisin Box, Kingsburg, California, USA
World's Largest Swedish Coffeepot, Kingsburg, California, USA
World's Largest Paul Bunyan & Babe Blue Ox, Klamath, California, USA
World's Largest Paper Cup, Riverside, California, USA
World's Largest Blooming Vine, Sierra Madre, California, USA
World's Largest Donut, Inglewood, California, USA

text: Colorado[edit]

text: World's Largest Fork, Creede, Colorado, USA[3]

text: Florida[edit]

text:
World's 2nd Largest McDonald's, Orlando, Florida, USA
World's Largest's Bowling Pin, Tampa, Florida, USA
World's Largest Cross, Orlando, Florida, USA - 199 ft

text: Georgia[edit]

text:
World's Largest Chicken, Marietta, Georgia, USA
World's Largest Peanut, Ashburn, Georgia, USA

text: Illinois[edit]

text:
World's Largest Ketchup Bottle, Collinsville, Illinois, USA
World's Largest Abraham Lincoln Statue, Charleston, Illinois, USA
World's Largest Laundromat, Berwyn, Illinois, USA
World's Largest Wind Chime, Casey, Illinois, USA
World's Largest Golf Tee, Casey, Illinois, USA
World's Largest Knitting Needles, Casey, Illinois, USA
World's Largest Crochet Hook, Casey, Illinois, USA
World's Largest Rocking Chair, Casey, Illinois, USA
World's Largest Mailbox, Casey, Illinois, USA
World's Largest Pitch Fork, Casey, Illinois, USA
World's Largest Bean, Chicago, Illinois, USA

text: Indiana[edit]

text:
World's Largest Egg Mentone, Indiana USA
World's Largest Ball of Paint Alexandria, Indiana USA
World's Largest Sycamore Stump Kokomo, Indiana USA
World's Largest Preserved Steer ("Old Ben") Kokomo, Indiana USA
World's Largest Clock[citation needed] Clarksville, Indiana USA

text: Iowa[edit]

text:
World's Largest Bull, Audubon
Iowa's Largest Frying Pan, Brandon
Worlds Largest popcorn ball, Sac City
World's Largest Concrete Gnome, Reiman Gardens, Ames
World's Largest Truck Stop, Walcott
World's Largest Bullhead, Crystal Lake
World's Largest Strawberry, Strawberry Point, Iowa
World's Largest Wooden Nickel, Iowa City, Iowa

text: Kansas[edit]

text:
World's Largest Ball of Twine, Cawker City, Kansas, USA
World's Largest Collection of World's Smallest Versions of World's Largest..., Lucas, Kansas[4]
World's Largest Easel, Goodland, Kansas
World's Largest "Gas Kan" Water Tower, Gas, Kansas
World's Largest Hairball, Garden City, Kansas
World's Largest Hand Dug Well, Greensburg, Kansas
World's Largest Spur, Abilene, Kansas
World's Largest Prairie Dog Oakley, Kansas

text: Kentucky[edit]

text:
World's Largest Baseball Bat, Louisville
World's Largest Rag Rug, Cave City

text: Louisiana[edit]

text: World's Largest Cross, Louisiana, USA - 199 ft

text: Maine[edit]

text: World's Largest Revolving and Rotating Globe,[5] Yarmouth, Maine, USA

text: Maryland[edit]

text: World's Largest Pencil, Glen Burnie, Maryland, USA (the pencil in the City Museum, St. Louis, MO is larger.)

text: Massachusetts[edit]

text: World's Largest Clam Box, Ipswich, Massachusetts, USA

text: Michigan[edit]

text:
World's largest model tire, Allen Park, Michigan, US[6]
World's Largest Cherry Pie,[7] Traverse City, Michigan, US[8]
Former World's Largest Cherry Pie, Charleviox, Michigan[9]
World's Largest Picnic Table, Olive, Michigan[10][11]
World's Largest Musical Fountain, Grand Haven, Michigan

text:
World's Largest Working Rifle, Ishpeming, Michigan[12]
World's Largest Running Chain Saw, Ishpeming, Michigan[13]
World's Largest Weathervane, Montague, Michigan[14]
World's Largest Crucifix, Indian River, Michigan[15]
World's Largest Lugnut, Lansing, Michigan[16]
World's Largest Indian, Ironwood, Michigan[17]

text: World's Largest Disappointment (Kyle Teague), Kalamazoo, Michigan[18]

text: Minnesota[edit]

text:
World's Largest Snowman, North St. Paul, Minnesota
World's Largest Fish, Rockville, Minnesota
World's Largest Prairie Chicken, Rothsay, Minnesota
World's Largest Pelican, Pelican Rapids, Minnesota
World's Largest Turkey, Frazee, Minnesota
World's Largest Loon, Vergas, Minnesota
World's Largest Tiger Muskie, Nevis, Minnesota
World's Largest Walleye, Baudette
World's Largest Jolly Green Giant, Blue Earth, Minnesota
World's Largest Boot, Red Wing, Minnesota
World's Largest Ball of Twine (by one man), Darwin, Minnesota[19]

text: Missouri[edit]

text:
World's Largest Hotdog Cart, Washington, Missouri, USA
World's Largest Goose, Sumner, Missouri, USA
World's Largest Pecan, Brunswick, Missouri, USA
World's Largest Rocking Chair, Fanning, Missouri, USA
World's Largest Underground Business Complex, Kansas City, Missouri, USA
World's Largest Chess Piece, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
World's Largest Underwear, St. Louis, Missouri, USA (Inside St. Louis City Museum)
World's Largest Pencil, St. Louis, Missouri, USA (Inside St. Louis City Museum)
Worlds Largest (Longest) Water Bar, Excelsior Springs, Missouri, USA

text: Montana[edit]

text:
Worlds Largest Penguin, Cut Bank, Montana, USA
Worlds Largest Taxidermied Steer, Baker, Montana, USA
Worlds Largest Larch Tree, Seely Lake, Montana, USA
Worlds Largest Freestanding Masonry Structure (Anaconda Chimney) Anaconda, Montana, USA
Worlds Largest Load Bearing Brick Building (Crown Plaza Hotel) Billings, Montana, USA
Worlds Largest Statue of the 15th Governor of Montana, Donald Nutter (Veterans Memorial Park), Sidney, Montana, USA
Worlds Largest Wooden Dome, (Brick Breeden Fieldhouse), Bozeman, Montana, USA
Worlds Largest Statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary (not including base), Butte, Montana, USA
Worlds Largest Man Made Body of Toxic Water (Berkeley Pit) Butte, Montana, USA
Worlds Largest Sugar Beet Sculpture, Fairview, Montana, USA
Worlds Largest Statue of Shep the Dog, Fort Benton, Montana, USA
Worlds Largest Snowflake Measuring 15" Wide in 1887, Fort Keogh, Montana (No Longer Available for Public Viewing)
Worlds Largest Tractor Manufactured, Big Bud 747, Havre, Montana
Worlds Largest Beaver Dam, Three Forks, Montana
Worlds Largest Purple Spoon Sculpture, East Glacier, Montana

The Big Pineapple, Nambour

text: Nebraska[edit]

text:
World's Largest Porch Swing, Hebron, Nebraska, USA
World's Largest Railroad Yard Bailey Yard, North Platte, Nebraska, USA
Nebraska's Largest Carrot, West Point, NE. USA 11.3 lbs 16in. long. Owner. Deb Miserez

text: New Mexico[edit]

text: World's Largest Pistachio, Alamogordo, New Mexico, USA[21]

text: New Jersey[edit]

text:
World's Largest Water Tower, Union, NJ, USA
World's Largest Elephant, Margate, NJ USA[22]

text: New York[edit]

text:
World's Largest Kaleidoscope, Mount Tremper, New York, USA
World's Largest Pancake Griddle, Penn Yan, New York, USA

text: North Carolina[edit]

text:
World's Largest Bureaus, High Point, NC, USA
World's Largest Duncan Phyfe Chair Thomasville, NC, USA
World's Largest Ten Commandments, Murphy, NC, USA
World's Largest Frying Pan, Rose Hill, NC, USA
World's Largest Strawberry, Ellerbe, NC, USA[23]
World's Largest Tobacco Worm, Wendell, NC, USA

text: North Dakota[edit]

text:
World's Largest Holstein Cow, New Salem, ND, USA
World's Largest Buffalo, Jamestown, ND, USA
World's Largest Scrap Tin Sculptures, Enchanted Highway, Gladstone, ND, USA
World's Largest Wooden Baseball Bat, Fargo, ND, USA

text: Ohio[edit]

text:
Longaberger headquarters (basket-shaped building), Newark, Ohio
World's Largest Apple Basket, Frazeysburg, Ohio
World's Largest Cheese Wheel, Berlin, Ohio
World's Largest Rubber Ink Stamp, Cleveland, Ohio
World's Largest Outdoor Chandelier, Cleveland, Ohio
World's Largest Pumpkin, Circleville, Ohio
World's Largest Pumpkin Pie, New Bremen, Ohio
World's Largest Radio, Columbus, Ohio
World's Largest Corn Field, Dublin, Ohio
World's Largest Crystal Ball, Westerville, Ohio
World's Largest Loaf of Bread, Urbana, Ohio
World's Largest Cuckoo Clock, Sugarcreek, Ohio[24]
World's Largest Horseshoe Crab Blanchester, Ohio
World's Largest Gavel, Columbus, Ohio
World's Largest Bear trap (Galloway, Ohio)

text: Oklahoma[edit]

text:
World's Largest Driller Statue, Tulsa
World's Largest McDonald's, Vinita
World's Largest Route 66 Sign, Elk City

text: Oregon[edit]

text:
World's Largest Caveman, Grants Pass[25]
World's Largest Corn Dog, Rockaway Beach Oregon --30-foot Pronto Pup http://www.oregonlive.com/washingtoncounty/index.ssf/2016/03/oregon_corndog_history_reaches.html

text: Pennsylvania[edit]

text:
World's Largest Yogi Bear, Cook Forest, Pennsylvania, USA
World's Largest Shoe, Hellam, Pennsylvania, USA
World's Largest Clothespin, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
World's Largest Split Button, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
World's Largest Paint Can, Interstate 81 between Chambersburg and Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, USA
World's Largest Blue Crayon, Easton, Pennsylvania, USA

text: Rhode Island[edit]

text: World's largest bug, Providence, Rhode Island, USA[26]

text: South Carolina[edit]

text:
World's Largest Peach, Gaffney, South Carolina, USA
World's Largest Fire Hydrant, Columbia, South Carolina, USA

text: South Dakota[edit]

text:
World's Largest Drug Store - Wall Drug, Wall
World's Largest Petrified Wood Park - Lemmon, South Dakota
World's Largest Prairie Dog - Badlands National Park, The Ranch Store Phillip, South Dakota
World's Largest Collection of Reptiles - Reptile Gardens, Rapid City, South Dakota

text: Texas[edit]

text:
World's Largest Caterpillar, Italy
World's Largest Fire Hydrant (Former), Beaumont
World's Largest Jackrabbit, Odessa
World's Largest Muleshoe, Muleshoe
World's Largest Pecan, Seguin
World's Largest Rattlesnake, Freer
World's Largest Roadrunner, Fort Stockton
World's Largest Watermelon, Luling
World's Largest Patio Chair, Dallas
World's Largest Peanut, Pearsall, Texas
World's Largest Strawberry, Poteet, Texas

text: Utah[edit]

text:
World's Largest Fishing Fly (non functional) - Logan[27]

Hugo's, Bealeton, Virginia - World's Largest roadside rollerskate

text: Virginia[edit]

text:
World's Largest Office Building - The Pentagon, Arlington
World's Largest Chair - Grove Park Mission, Bassett
World's Largest Star, Roanoke
World's Largest Ham, Smithfield
World's Largest Gorilla, Virginia Beach
World's Largest Sea Serpent, Virginia Beach
World's Largest Rollerskate, Bealeton

text: World's Largest Apple, Winchester

text: Washington[edit]

text:
World's Largest Clam - Squirting, Long Beach
World's Largest Lava Lamp (proposed), Soap Lake
World's Largest Paper Airplane, Mukilteo
World's Largest Cowboy Hat & Boots, Seattle
World's Largest Milk Bottle (maybe), Spokane
World's Largest Wagon, Spokane
World's Largest Egg (former), Winlock

text: West Virginia[edit]

text:
World's Largest Teapot, Chester

The World's Largest Musky, at the National Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame; Hayward, WI.

text: Wisconsin[edit]

text:
World's Largest Musky, Hayward, Wisconsin, USA
World's Largest Man on a Bike, Sparta, Wisconsin, USA
World's Largest Penny, Woodruff, Wisconsin, USA
World's Largest Six-Pack of Beer, La Crosse, Wisconsin, USA
World's Largest Soup Kettle, Laona, Wisconsin, USA
World's Tallest Grandfather Clock, Kewaunee, Wisconsin, USA

text: Wyoming[edit]

text: Worlds Largest Jackalope, Douglas, Wyoming, USA

text: South America[edit]

text: Brazil[edit]

text:
World's Largest Hominy, Balneário Piçarras (Santa Catarina), Brazil
World's Largest Chikki, Piranguinho (Minas Gerais), Brazil
World's Largest Minas Cheese, Ipanema (Minas Gerais), Brazil
World's Largest Soybean Foot, Santa Carmen (Mato Grosso), Brazil
World's Largest Cashew tree, Natal (Rio grande do norte), Brazil
World's Largest herdsmanship, São Sebastião (São Paulo), Brazil
World's Largest Sweet Tapioca, Caruaru (Pernambuco), Brazil
World's Largest Brown sugar, Pindoretama (Ceará), Brazil
World's Largest Stone, Pocinhos (Paraiba), Brazil

text: Europe[edit]

text: France[edit]

text: Woinic the World's Largest Boar, autoroute A34 near Saulces-aux-Tournelles, France. Coordinates:49°35′39″N 4°30′10″E / 49.59417°N 4.50278°E / 49.59417; 4.50278 [28]

text: Germany[edit]

text: World's Largest Coffee Pot, Selb, Germany

text: The Netherlands[edit]

text: World's Largest Egg, (6m x 4m) Restaurant Het Ei van Barneveld, Barneveld, The Netherlands [29]


document_title: Bombardier beetle

question_text: why is the bombardier beetle not harmed by the chemicals it stores

text: Bombardier beetle

text: Habitat[edit]

text: Bombardier beetles inhabit all the continents except Antarctica. They typically live in woodlands or grasslands in the temperate zones but can be found in other environments if there are moist places to lay their eggs.

text: Behavior[edit]

text: Most species of bombardier beetles are carnivorous, including the larva.[2] The beetle typically hunts at night for other insects, but will often congregate with others of its species when not actively looking for food.[3]

text: Anatomy[edit]

text: There are two large glands that open at the tip of the abdomen. Each gland is composed of a thick walled vestibule which contains a mixture of catalases and peroxidases produced by the secretory cells that line the vestibule. Both glands are also made up of a thin-walled and compressible reservoir which contains an aqueous solution of hydroquinones and hydrogen peroxide.[1] The hydrogen peroxide and hydroquinones do not react in the reservoir because the environment of the reservoir does not give sufficient energy to fuel the reaction.

text: Defense mechanism[edit]

text: When the beetle feels threatened it opens a valve which allows the aqueous solution from the reservoir to reach the vestibule. The catalases lining the vestibule wall facilitate the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide into oxygen gas and water. The reaction proceeds as follows:

text: The peroxidase enzymes facilitate the oxidation of the hydroquinones into p-quinone, as shown in the reaction below:

text: The net reaction is:

text: This reaction is very exothermic, and the released energy raises the temperature of the mixture to near 100 °C, vaporizing about a fifth of it. The resultant pressure buildup forces the entrance valves from the reactant storage chambers to close, thus protecting the beetle's internal organs. The boiling, foul-smelling liquid is expelled violently through an outlet valve, with a loud popping sound. The beetles' glands store enough hydroquinone and hydrogen peroxide to allow the beetle to release its chemical spray roughly 20 times. In some cases this is enough to kill a predator.[4] The main component of the beetle spray is 1,4-Benzoquinone, which is particularly irritating to the eyes and the respiratory system.

text: The flow of reactants into the reaction chamber and subsequent ejection occur in a series of about 70 pulses, at a rate of about 500 pulses per second. The whole sequence of events takes only a fraction of a second. These pulsations are caused by repeated microexplosions which are the results of the continuous pressure on the reservoir and the oscillatory opening and closing of the valve that controls access to the reaction chamber. This pulsed mechanism is beneficial for the beetles' survival because the system uses pressure instead of muscles to eject the spray at a constant velocity, saving the beetle energy. Also, the reintroduction of new reactants into the vestibule where enzymes are stored, reduces the temperature of the chamber, thereby protecting the peroxidases and catalases from thermal denaturation.[5]

text: Typically the beetle turns its body so as to direct the jet towards whatever triggered the response. The gland openings of some African bombardier beetles can swivel through 270° and thrust between the insect's legs, discharging the fluid in a wide range of directions with considerable accuracy.[6]

text: Evolution of the defense mechanism[edit]

text: The full evolutionary history of the beetle's unique defense mechanism is unknown, but biologists have shown that the system could have theoretically evolved from defenses found in other beetles in incremental steps by natural selection.[7][8] Specifically, quinone chemicals are a precursor to sclerotin, a brownish substance produced by beetles and other insects to harden their exoskeleton.[9] Some beetles additionally store excess foul-smelling quinones, including hydroquinone, in small sacs below their skin as a natural deterrent against predators—all carabid beetles have this sort of arrangement. Some beetles additionally mix hydrogen peroxide, a common by-product of the metabolism of cells, in with the hydroquinone; some of the catalases that exist in most cells make the process more efficient. The chemical reaction produces heat and pressure, and some beetles exploit the latter to push out the chemicals onto the skin; this is the case in the beetle Metrius contractus, which produces a foamy discharge when attacked.[10] In the bombardier beetle, the muscles that prevent leakage from the reservoir additionally developed a valve permitting more controlled discharge of the poison and an elongated abdomen to permit better control over the direction of discharge.[7][8]

text: The unique combination of features of the bombardier beetle's defense mechanism—strongly exothermic reactions, boiling-hot fluids, and explosive release—have been claimed by creationists and proponents of intelligent design to be examples of irreducible complexity.[11]


document_title: OshKosh B'Gosh

question_text: where did the name osh-kosh b'gosh come from

text: OshKosh B'Gosh

text: It has been requested that the title of this article be changed to Oshkosh B'gosh. Please see the relevant discussion on the discussion page. Do not move the page until the discussion has reached consensus for the change and is closed.

text:
OshKosh B'Gosh

Type

Subsidiary

Founded
1895

Headquarters
Atlanta, Georgia, United States

Number of locations

297 (January 2017)[1]

Products
Clothing

Parent
Carter's, Inc.
(2005–present)

Website
www.oshkosh.com

text: OshKosh B'Gosh is an American children's apparel company founded in Oshkosh, Wisconsin in 1895. It is a subsidiary of Carter's.

text: Originally a small-town manufacturer of adult work clothing, it has become best known for its children's clothing, especially bibbed overalls. The original children's overalls, dating from the early twentieth century, were intended to let parents dress their children like their fathers. According to the company, sales of the product increased after Miles Kimball, an Oshkosh-based mail-order catalog, featured a pair of the overalls in its national catalog in 1960. As a result, OshKosh began to sell their products through department stores and expanded their children's line.

text: Children's clothing made up 15 percent of the company's sales in 1979; by 1993 that number was 95 percent.

text: Oshkosh B'Gosh clothes are no longer made in Oshkosh. Downsizing of domestic operations and a massive increase in outsourcing and manufacturing at Mexican and Honduran subsidiaries saw the domestic manufacturing share drop below 10% by the year 2000.[2]

text: The company was sold to Carter's, another clothing manufacturer in 2005 for $312 million,[3] though it still operates under the original name.

text: Today, the company sells accessories, jeans, pants, shirts, sweaters, t-shirts and tank tops, and its trademark overalls. The company produces clothing for babies, infants, toddlers, kids (4-7), and youth (5-14); however, it no longer manufactures clothing in adult sizes due to poor sales. The company also has over three hundred stores in the United States of America.

text: The company now has its headquarters in Suite 1800 at Phipps Tower in Atlanta's Buckhead district.[4]


document_title: Rubeus Hagrid

question_text: what is the name of hagrid's spider

question_tokens: what is the name of hagrid 's spider

text: Rubeus Hagrid

text: Character development[edit]

text: Hagrid was among the characters that Rowling says she created on "the very first day".[1] She has explained the source of his name as "another old English word, meaning – if you were hagrid – it’s a dialect word – you’d had a bad night. Hagrid is a big drinker – he has a lot of bad nights."[2] His first name, Rubeus, was named after red in Latin to reflect alchemy and his paternal contrast to Albus Dumbledore: his "passion" to Dumbledore's "asceticism".[3] In her article "Harry’s Fame", Rosemary Goring notes the Forest of Dean is an influence on Rowling’s work, and Hagrid is the only character that is "directly drawn from the Forest of Dean". According to Goring, Hagrid’s "dropped word-endings are a Chepstow speciality." She also claims that Hagrid is physically "modeled on the Welsh chapter of Hells Angels who’d swoop down on the town and hog the bar, 'huge mountains of leather and hair".[4]

text: The character of Hagrid and conversations between him, Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger in his hut are expository through the series, due to the fact that the trio frequently discover things about Albus Dumbledore and Hogwarts by talking with Hagrid, as he has a habit of letting slip bits of information that were specifically confided to him. He was also one of the first characters to imply that the idea of thinking of wizards as "pure-bloods" and "half-bloods" is a dated concept.

text: Rowling has stated in an interview that Hagrid was in Gryffindor house during his time as a student.[5] When he comes into possession of an acromantula, he is expelled from Hogwarts as his pet is believed to be the "monster of Slytherin". However, persuaded by Dumbledore (who at the time was Transfiguration teacher), Headmaster Armando Dippet agrees to train Hagrid as gamekeeper, allowing the boy to remain at Hogwarts. By the time Harry attends Hogwarts, Hagrid is also the Keeper of Keys and Grounds: the former, according to Rowling, means "that he will let you in and out of Hogwarts."[6] Part of his job includes leading the first years across the lake in boats, upon their initial arrival at Hogwarts.

text: When discussing the killing off of characters in her books, Rowling said that she always knew she was "working towards the point where Hagrid carried Harry out alive – but supposedly dead – out of the forest". She said she had planned from very early on that Harry would walk to his death accompanied by the 'ghosts', and that "he would emerge in Hagrid's arms". In her own words, "that's what always kept Hagrid safe". She said "Hagrid would have been a natural to kill in some ways", but that the mental image of this moment – a big fatherly Hagrid carrying the limp Harry in his arms – was so strong it decided his fate. She also liked the circular notion of Hagrid both bringing Harry into the world, and then bringing him back from the dead.[7]

text: Appearances[edit]

text: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone[edit]

text: Hagrid is introduced in the opening chapter of the first novel. Following the death of James and Lily Potter, Dumbledore entrusts Hagrid with rescuing the infant Harry from his parents' house after they have been murdered by Lord Voldemort. When Minerva McGonagall expresses her concern about the fact that it was Hagrid who would carry Harry to the Dursleys', Dumbledore says that he would trust Hagrid with his life, a fact that is demonstrated several times during the series, as Dumbledore frequently asks him to carry out secret tasks. Ten years later, he is tasked to bring the Philosopher’s Stone from Gringotts to Hogwarts, and provides the three-headed dog Fluffy to guard it. Dumbledore also gives him the task of locating Harry, helping him to find his bearings in the wizarding world and to buy his school things. Hagrid is the first member of the Hogwarts staff to be introduced to Harry before he began attending the school. Hagrid later becomes friends with Ron and Hermione as well. Later in the book, a hooded person (Quirinus Quirrell in disguise) gives him a dragon egg to elicit details about Fluffy. Hagrid lets slip to Harry, Ron, and Hermione that the way to get past Fluffy is to play music, for which they use the flute Hagrid himself carved for Harry, which allows them to pursue the potential thief. The three also assist Hagrid after the dragon egg hatches, by helping to remove the baby dragon Norbert, who is taken to live in a dragon sanctuary in Romania where Ron’s older brother, Charlie Weasley, works.

text: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets[edit]

text: Readers first discover why Hagrid was expelled from Hogwarts in the second novel. It is revealed that Hagrid was a student at Hogwarts at the same time as Tom Marvolo Riddle, the wizard who later became Lord Voldemort. Hagrid was expelled during his third year, after being caught in the company of Aragog, a dangerous acromantula: this already serious crime seemed worse than it was, due to the belief that the acromantula was "The Monster of Slytherin", and that Hagrid had released it from the Chamber of Secrets and allowed it to attack students. Aragog escapes into the dark forest and starts a colony of spiders. The belief of Hagrid's guilt was encouraged by Tom Riddle, the actual criminal, who had been using the true monster (a basilisk) to attack students, and who had framed Hagrid to prevent the school from being closed, because he didn't want to return to the orphanage whence he had come. During the events of the second book, the Basilisk is unleashed once again and Hagrid is sent to the prison of Azkaban, as he is believed again to be responsible for the attacks. However, before being arrested, Hagrid tells Harry and Ron to "follow the spiders", so that they can meet Aragog and discover the identity of the true monster. After Harry defeats the Basilisk and uncovers the truth, Hagrid is freed from prison.

text: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban[edit]

text: Following the resignation of Silvanus Kettleburn, who, according to Dumbledore, wanted to spend time with his remaining limbs, Hagrid is assigned to teach the subject of Care of Magical Creatures in the third novel. He is also allowed to perform magic again since his name has been cleared after the events of the previous book.[8] During his first class, in which he introduces the hippogriffs to third-years, one of the beasts, Buckbeak, attacks Draco Malfoy after the boy insults it. Although Dumbledore manages to prove that Hagrid is innocent, the Ministry of Magic sentences Buckbeak to death. Thus, Hagrid's classes become extremely boring, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione spend some time looking for information that would help Hagrid in Buckbeak’s defence. Near the end of the book Hermione and Harry use a time-turner to save Buckbeak from death and Sirius Black from the Dementor's Kiss.

text: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire[edit]

text: In the fourth novel it is revealed that Hagrid is of mixed wizard and giant parentage, his mother having been the giantess Fridwulfa, who left his wizard father when Hagrid was a baby. Since giants have a reputation for being brutal, and were once allies of Voldemort, Hagrid keeps his parentage a secret and allows people to imagine other reasons for his great size (such as drinking a bottle of Skele-Gro when he did not need it). Hagrid’s parentage is exposed in the Daily Prophet by Rita Skeeter, who portrays him as dangerous (because of his fascination for aggressive creatures) and incompetent. Hagrid is gravely affected by this and attempts to resign from his post as teacher, though Dumbledore does not accept his resignation. During the novel, Hagrid develops a romantic interest with Olympe Maxime – another half-giant witch and Headmistress of the French magic school Beauxbatons. Hagrid is also one of the very few people who, since the beginning, believes Harry’s word that he did not apply to enter the Triwizard Tournament. Later in the book, Alastor Moody (impersonated by Barty Crouch Jr) suggests Hagrid should show Harry that the first task of the Tournament would involve dragons. Hagrid also provides Blast-Ended Skrewts for the third task.

text: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix[edit]

text: Hagrid is absent during the first part of the fifth novel. The character later reveals to Harry, Ron and Hermione that he and Madame Maxime travelled across Europe together on a mission from the Order, planning to find giants and convince them to ally themselves with the good side and with Dumbledore; however, Death Eaters also find the giants and managed to get them to Voldemort’s side. Hagrid is attacked by giants during the mission, and saved by Maxime. Hagrid and Maxime eventually part on the journey home because of Maxime’s exasperation with Grawp, Hagrid’s half-brother whom he had found and was attempting to bring home with them. Grawp, who wanted to stay with the giants, seriously injured Hagrid. Hagrid introduces his half-brother to Harry and Hermione, and asks them to take care of him after he leaves Hogwarts. High Inquisitor of Hogwarts Dolores Umbridge supervises the classes of all the members of the Hogwarts staff, including Hagrid's, and she looks for an excuse to fire him, as Hagrid is close to Dumbledore. Towards the end of the book, Umbridge and other Ministry officials attempt to arrest Hagrid. The latter manages to escape, but Professor McGonagall is injured whilst trying to defend him. Finally, with Dumbledore’s post as Headmaster restored, Hagrid returns to Hogwarts.

text: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince[edit]

text: In the sixth novel, Harry, Ron, and Hermione are no longer students of Care of Magical Creatures, and Hagrid is both angry and disappointed with them during the first part of the book, but he soon realises that it is not because they do not like him. Later in the novel, Aragog dies, and Hagrid risks his life to recover the acromantula's body to give it a proper funeral. After the funeral, he and Horace Slughorn drink excessive amounts of Firewhisky, and Harry takes advantage of this situation (under the influence of Felix Felicis potion, otherwise known as "liquid luck") to retrieve a certain memory from Slughorn. Towards the end of the book, Death Eaters attack Hogwarts and Hagrid's hut is set on fire as he tries to fight them.  During Dumbledore’s funeral, Hagrid is seen carrying the Headmaster’s body.

text: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows[edit]

text: In the seventh novel, Hagrid is part of the Order of the Phoenix delegation assigned to remove Harry from the Dursleys' home to the magic-protected Burrow. Hagrid takes Harry on the flying motorcycle he inherited from Sirius but the plan goes awry when the Order delegation is ambushed by Death Eaters. The pair narrowly make it to the Burrow after being attacked by Voldemort himself. After attending Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour’s wedding reception, Hagrid does not appear again until near the end of the book when it is revealed he has been driven into hiding in the mountains by the new Death Eater regime at Hogwarts.

text: During the climactic battle, Hagrid attempts to come to the defence of Aragog's carnivorous children, who have been driven out of the Forbidden Forest by the Death Eaters and are now attacking both Hogwarts defenders and Death Eaters indiscriminately, but he is carried off by a swarm of them. He later turns up, captive in the Death Eaters' camp, when Harry sacrifices himself to Voldemort. Hagrid is forced to carry Harry back to the school, not realising that Harry has survived again, and en route accuses the watching Centaurs of not doing enough to help. The Centaurs soon afterward join the fray and Hagrid takes part in the second half of the battle, felling his main nemesis among the Death Eaters, the magical-creature executioner Walden Macnair.

text: According to Rowling, the scene in the final book in which Hagrid is seen carrying Harry’s apparently dead body is very significant as "Hagrid brings Harry from the Dursleys. He takes him into the wizarding world ... He was sort of his guardian and his guide ... And now I wanted Hagrid to be the one to lead Harry out of the forest."[9] Rowling also commented that Hagrid was never in danger of dying, as she "always had that picture in my head of the huge gigantic Hagrid walking through the forest crying with Harry in his arms".[10]

text: Epilogue[edit]

text: Nineteen years after Voldemort’s defeat, Hagrid is still at Hogwarts and invites Harry and Ginny Weasley's second son Albus Severus Potter to his hut for tea, just as he had once done for Harry himself. During an interview in 2007, when asked if Hagrid did marry, Rowling answered that Hagrid developed a relationship with a giantess but it did not work out.[11]

text: Film portrayal[edit]

text: Scottish actor Robbie Coltrane has portrayed Hagrid in all of the film adaptations of the Harry Potter novels.[12] Robin Williams was interested for the role and approached Chris Columbus, the director of the first two films, about participating in the project but Columbus rejected him due to the "all-British and Irish cast" policy.[13][14] Rowling had wanted Coltrane for the role from the start,[13] responding "RobbieColtraneforHagrid" all in one quick breath when asked who was the top of her list of casting choices.[15][16] Coltrane was already a fan of the books[17] and has commented that being part of the Harry Potter franchise was "a fantastic thing."[18] Rowling discussed Hagrid's past and future with Coltrane, assisting him in preparing for the role.[17][19] She also stated that "Robbie is just perfect for Hagrid because Hagrid is a very loveable character, quite likeable, quite comic [...] but he had to have – you really do have to sense – a certain toughness underneath [...] and I think Robbie does that perfectly."[16]

text: Former English rugby union player Martin Bayfield portrayed Hagrid as a stunt performer in longer shots due to his large size to emphasise Hagrid’s height. Bayfield also appeared as a young Hagrid in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

text: Characterisation[edit]

text: Outward appearance[edit]

text: In Philosopher’s Stone, Hagrid is mentioned as being twice as tall as the average man and nearly five times as wide but in the film, he is portrayed as being 8 ft 6 in (2.59 m) and in later books he is said to be three times as wide.[citation needed] Hagrid is known for his thick West Country accent. Being a half-giant, he is less vulnerable to jinxes and spells than full-humans. In Order of the Phoenix, when Umbridge and some other wizards come to remove him from Hogwarts he fights back. They try to jinx and stun him, but the spells just bounce off him because of giant-inherited resistance to magic. Hagrid also shows this resilience at the end of Half-Blood Prince, during the chapter Flight of the Prince, withstanding a Death Eater’s powerful curses. Some potions are also ineffective with him, such as Polyjuice Potion, which is designed for human-only use.[20]

text: Personality[edit]

text: He has a friendly, softhearted personality and is easily driven to tears, as seen in his very first scene, when he drops Harry off at the Dursleys' in Philosopher’s Stone. He is very loyal to his peers, especially Dumbledore, to whom he refers as the greatest wizard in the world multiple times. As first seen in Philosopher’s Stone, he becomes extremely angry whenever anyone insults Dumbledore around him (a mistake made by Vernon Dursley, who called Dumbledore a "crackpot old fool"). He is also very loyal to Harry, suffered several times during the series because of this loyalty, and had to go into hiding twice to avoid prison. Rowling says of Hagrid, "Hagrid was always supposed to be this almost elemental force. He’s like the king of the forest, or the Green Man. He’s this semi-wild person who lives on the edge of the forest".[21]

text: Magical abilities and skills[edit]

text: Following his expulsion from Hogwarts, the Ministry of Magic broke Hagrid’s oak wand and forbade him to perform magic.[22] Hagrid keeps the pieces of his wand in a pink umbrella, and performs small spells from time to time; however, he was technically forbidden to do magic until the third book, and since he is not a fully qualified wizard, he "will always be a bit inept" as compared to other adult wizards,[8] but "occasionally surprises everyone, himself included, by bringing off more impressive bits of magic".[23] However, he is unable to produce a Patronus.[24] He also has magical abilities that stem from his giant blood. For example, in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, many of the stunning spells thrown at him by Ministry officials simply bounce off him. Also, being half-giant gives Hagrid some level of superhuman strength, which allowed him to bend the barrel of a shotgun with one hand.

text: Family[edit]

text: Grawp[edit]

text: Grawp is the giant half-brother of Hagrid. Grawp and Hagrid were born of the same mother, the giantess Fridwulfa.[25] Grawp is about 16 feet (4.9 m) tall, which Hagrid claims is small for a giant. His knuckles are the size of cricket balls (~225 mm in circumference). The other giants were bullying Grawp, and this is a factor in Hagrid’s decision to bring him to the Forbidden Forest. Big and dim, he only knows a few words in English and his manners are wild and unpredictable, but he is also a child in giant years.  In the film, this is elaborated on more as he is visibly portrayed as a big, excitable child who simply doesn't know his own strength or developed proper social cues yet.  He responds to Hermione, who approaches him like a strict but caring mother figure, scolding him when doing something wrong, but giving him praise and playing with him when he does something good.

text: At first, Grawp seems indifferent to his brother’s attempts to civilise him, preferring to spend his time tearing down trees. After Hagrid leaves Hogwarts to avoid being imprisoned, he leaves Grawp in the care of Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Much to their surprise, when they find themselves trapped in the forest during a confrontation with the local centaur population, Grawp inadvertently manages to divert the centaurs' attention from Harry and Hermione while looking for Hagrid, whom he calls 'Hagger'.

text: In the Half-Blood Prince, Grawp is moved to the mountains, where he is apparently progressing much better. He also attends Dumbledore’s funeral with Hagrid, much more civil and calm than before, and dressed formally. He also appears to understand emotions, at least to some extent, as he pats Hagrid’s head to comfort him. In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Grawp, Hagrid, and Fang go into hiding after Hagrid throws a "Support Harry Potter" party and it is implied that Grawp helped them all escape. He is the only giant fighting against the Death Eaters in the Battle of Hogwarts, probably in an attempt to protect Hagrid, as he frequently calls his name while fighting the Death Eaters. Grawp participates in the victory celebration over Voldemort’s defeat (albeit from a window, since he is too big to fit into the hall), and the Hogwarts students show their appreciation by tossing food into his laughing mouth.

text: In the film adaptation of the fifth book Grawp is computer-generated using a new "soul capturing" process from Image Metrics.[26] Andrew Whitehead spent 18 months working on the giant Grawp for the film.[27] The voice of Grawp is performed by Tony Maudsley.[28]

text: Parents[edit]

text: In the Goblet of Fire, the truth about Hagrid’s parents is revealed: his father, who is never named in the stories, married a giantess, Fridwulfa. Fridwulfa left Rubeus to his father’s care after his birth; according to Hagrid, she was not very maternal. Later she gave birth to Grawp. She died long before Hagrid returned to the giants in the Order of the Phoenix. Hagrid describes his father as "a tiny little man" whom he could pick up with one hand and place on the dresser at the age of six. Hagrid clearly felt great affection for him; in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, he says that his father’s death when Hagrid was in third year at Hogwarts was one of his saddest memories.

text: Friendship with Albus Dumbledore[edit]

text: Hagrid had a long-standing friendship with Dumbledore who became a sort of surrogate father to Hagrid after his father's death. It was Professor Dumbledore who stood up for Hagrid upon his expulsion and got him the job as gamekeeper and keeper of keys and grounds at Hogwarts. Hagrid, in turn, was a loyal friend to and agent for Dumbledore in various situations. Professor Dumbledore would recruit Hagrid as an agent of the Order of the Phoenix during both wizarding wars. Hagrid was also trusted by Dumbledore to rescue Harry from his parent's collapsing home upon their deaths and later was sent to retrieve Harry on his eleventh birthday, tell him of his wizarding identity and take him to Diagon Alley to purchase his supplies and equipment. Hagrid has been protective of Dumbledore and defended his honour against those who would speak badly about Dumbledore such as Vernon Dursley. Hagrid refers to Dumbledore as a "great man" and Dumbledore continued to help Hagrid and comfort him when he was in distress. Hagrid was stricken by grief when Dumbledore died and wept openly at the funeral services after having carried Dumbledore's body to where his tomb was to be.

text: Hagrid's pets[edit]

text: Hagrid keeps and has kept a variety of pets, including some which the Wizarding community considers impossible to domesticate. They are not always wrong. Rowling has said that Hagrid has little interest in tamer magical creatures because of the lack of a challenge,[citation needed] although he has a large but cowardly boarhound named Fang. Hagrid’s love of dangerous magical creatures is central to the plot of several books of the series.

text: Aragog[edit]

text: Aragog was an Acromantula, an enormous, sentient spider capable of speech, who made a unique clicking noise as he moved in search of prey. Hagrid raised Aragog from an egg as a Hogwarts student, keeping him inside a cupboard. In his third year at Hogwarts, Hagrid was caught talking to Aragog in the dungeons by Tom Riddle, who alleged that Aragog was the "Monster of Slytherin", and that Hagrid had opened the Chamber of Secrets. In fact, it was Riddle who had opened the Chamber, and the monster was actually a basilisk.

text: After Hagrid's expulsion and assignment as gamekeeper, Aragog lived in the Forbidden Forest. Hagrid found him a mate, Mosag, with whom Aragog bore an entire colony of giant spiders. He remained grateful to Hagrid for his entire life, and kept his carnivorous children from attacking him when he came to visit (to bring him and his family food). This courtesy was not extended to other creatures and people, even when they were friends of Hagrid's; he allowed his children to attack Harry, Ron, and Fang when they encountered him in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Hagrid led him and Ron to Aragog by giving them the cryptic advice, "follow the spiders". An aging Aragog reveals to Harry and Ron of Hagrid's innocence and the discovery of a girl's corpse in the bathroom, before giving them a clue of the Chamber's resident monster; it was born in the castle, and his species never speak of the creature nor give its name, despite Hagrid's numerous inquiries as they fear it above all others. Though Aragog allowed his children to attack Harry, Ron, and Fang, they were saved at the last minute by Ron's father Arthur Weasley’s flying car, which had been lost in the forest months before. Aragog remained in the Forbidden Forest for the rest of his life, but eventually died of old age in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Hagrid retrieved Aragog’s body from the forest so that he could give him a proper burial, fearing that his children would devour his body. From that point on, the spider colony was the only part of the Forbidden Forest that Hagrid could not enter safely.

text: Aragog’s children returned in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows during the Battle at Hogwarts; having been driven from the forest, they began attacking Death Eaters and Hogwarts' inhabitants indiscriminately. Hagrid’s love of the spiders endangered him and others because he tried to protect them; the spiders thanked Hagrid by capturing him and taking him to Voldemort. It is unknown what happens to them afterwards.

text: Aragog was voiced by Julian Glover in the film adaptation of the Chamber of Secrets. In 2017, in celebration of the 20th anniversary of "Harry Potter" franchise, arachnologists Anton A. Nadolny and Alireza Zamani named a new species of Iranian wolf spiders (Lycosidae) after Aragog, as Lycosa aragogi. The single specimen was collected on 26 April 2016, almost 19 years to the day after Aragog died (20 April 1997 in the world of the book).[29]

text: Buckbeak[edit]

text: Buckbeak, along with eleven other hippogriffs, is introduced during one of Hagrid’s Care of Magical Creatures classes. Hagrid explains that hippogriffs are very calm, powerful, proud creatures, but are sensitive and demand respect. Harry successfully approaches Buckbeak, who allows him to ride him around the paddock.

text: Draco, in an arrogant attempt to show up his school nemesis, endeavours to approach Buckbeak as well. It becomes obvious that Draco neither listens to nor cares about Hagrid's warnings about the hippogriffs' sensitivity, as he makes contemptuous remarks about Buckbeak. Quickly angered, Buckbeak slashes Draco’s arm with his claws. Pretending to be injured much more severely than he truly is, Draco persuades his father, Lucius Malfoy, to use his political power to sentence Buckbeak to death. Hagrid’s numerous appeals fail, and members of the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures come to Hogwarts to execute Buckbeak. With the use of a Time-Turner, Hermione and Harry free Buckbeak (they believed him earlier to have been executed, but it was revealed the executioner only swung his axe into the fence in anger, in the film he does this to a pumpkin) and rescue Sirius from the tower in which he is being held before being handed over to the Dementors. Sirius escapes with Buckbeak and flies to safety. During most of Harry’s fourth year, Sirius and Buckbeak hide in a cave in the mountains above Hogsmeade. After this, they move to Number 12 Grimmauld Place, whereupon Buckbeak stays in Sirius' mother’s former room. When Kreacher wants to lure Sirius away briefly, he wounds Buckbeak.

text: In Half-Blood Prince, Harry inherits Buckbeak, and allows Hagrid to look after him again. To avoid suspicion from the Ministry of Magic, he is given the alias "Witherwings". A fiercely loyal creature, Buckbeak chases Severus Snape away from Harry by slashing his claws at the end of the book. Buckbeak also features in the Battle of Hogwarts at the end of the Deathly Hallows leading the Hogwarts' Thestrals against Voldemort’s giants.

text: Fang[edit]

text: Fang is a large boarhound (portrayed in the films by a Neapolitan Mastiff) that, aside from his enormous size, appears to be an entirely ordinary dog. While Fang's appearance is intimidating, he is, in Hagrid's words, "a bloody coward." Boisterous and loving with people he knows, he seems to enjoy licking Harry, Ron, or Hermione around the face or ears.

text: In the Philosopher’s Stone he accompanies Harry, Hagrid, Draco, and Hermione into the Forbidden Forest to look for an injured unicorn. In the following book, the Chamber of Secrets, Harry and Ron take Fang into the forest where he is scared stiff of both the gigantic acromantula and Mr Weasley’s flying car. In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, an escaping Death Eater sets fire to Hagrid’s hut while Fang is inside; Hagrid enters the flaming hut, slings Fang over his shoulder, and carries him to safety. In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Fang and Hagrid participate in the Battle of Hogwarts; though Fang's exact involvement is not clear. He is last seen running away after a shattered vase frightens him. It's implied that Fang survives, as Hagrid is not seen mourning him at any time. It's unknown if Fang is still alive when Harry's children come to Hogwarts.

text: Fluffy[edit]

text: Fluffy is a giant three-headed dog provided by Hagrid to guard the trapdoor leading to the underground chamber where the Philosopher's Stone was hidden until the end of Philosopher's Stone. The only known way to get past Fluffy is to lull him to sleep by playing music. Fluffy is based on Cerberus, the three-headed dog from Greek mythology that guards the gates to the underworld. As with Fluffy, Cerberus was lulled to sleep with music by Orpheus.

text: In Philosopher’s Stone, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Neville accidentally run into Fluffy whilst hiding from Peeves, who was attempting to give them away to caretaker Argus Filch, who was searching for them. On Halloween, Harry and Ron witness Snape entering the door to Fluffy’s chamber, and for the next few days having a pronounced limp. Harry also overhears him saying "How are you meant to keep your eyes on all three heads at once?" to Filch. However, it is later revealed that he followed then Hogwarts Defence Against the Dark Arts professor Quirinus Quirrell into the chamber. While Fluffy is guarding the Philosopher’s Stone, Professor Quirrell penetrates Fluffy’s defences by playing a harp, in order to access the trapdoor, while Harry uses a flute that had been given to him by Hagrid.

text: J. K. Rowling later revealed that Fluffy was repatriated to Greece by Dumbledore.[30]

text: Norbert[edit]

text: Norbert is a Norwegian Ridgeback dragon that Hagrid had acquired as an egg from a mysterious, hooded stranger in the Hog's Head, who turned out to be Professor Quirrell. Hagrid helps the dragon hatch from the egg. Norbert becomes very dangerous and much bigger in the weeks following. Norbert bit Ron’s hand, causing him to require medical treatment due to the venom in her fangs.  Harry, Ron, and Hermione finally persuade Hagrid to send the dragon to Ron’s older brother Charlie, who is studying dragons in Romania. In the Deathly Hallows, Charlie reveals to Hagrid that "Norbert" is actually female and had been renamed Norberta. Charlie adds that female Norwegian Ridgeback dragons "are more vicious..." which explained Norbert's biting and dangerous behaviour as a baby.

text: Reception[edit]

text: IGN listed Hagrid as their thirteenth top Harry Potter character, saying that Hagrid had become a surrogate for the audience and that the short scene in the Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire film where he recollects memorable moments with Harry, Hermione and Ron gave them a "cherished memory".[31] IGN’s Joe Utichi also listed Hagrid as his 7th favourite Harry Potter character.[32]

text: In popular culture[edit]

text: Hagrid has appeared in various animated and non-animated parodies of Harry Potter. He was featured in US skit comedy Saturday Night Live, portrayed by Horatio Sanz, in the same episode in which Lindsay Lohan played Hermione.[33] In Alistair McGowan's Big Impression show, Hagrid appeared in a sketch called "Louis Potter and the Philosopher’s Scone", in which he was portrayed by Robbie Coltrane himself.[34] Hagrid is also parodied in Harry Potter and the Secret Chamberpot of Azerbaijan, a story released by Comic Relief in 2003, and he was played by Ronnie Corbett.[35][36] In the Potter Puppet Pals parodies by Neil Cicierega, Hagrid appeared in the episode "Ron's Disease", in which Harry uses Hagrid’s strength to cure Ron from an illness, as well as to beat Hermione and Snape, and to discover Dumbledore’s identity as a "gay android".[37] Hagrid also appears in the parody stage production Harry Potter and the Obnoxious Voice, interacting with Draco Malfoy and a dementor.[38] In one episode of the second series of Tracey Ullman's State of the Union, Tracey Ullman parodies Rowling as bossy and very keen on keeping her creations copyrighted, believing a hobo is impersonating Hagrid.