document_title: Great Pyramid of Giza

question_text: who's buried in the great pyramid of giza

question_tokens: who 's buried in the great pyramid of giza

root

text: Great Pyramid of Giza

text: History and description

text: It is believed[by whom?] the pyramid was built as a tomb for Fourth Dynasty Egyptian pharaoh Khufu (often Hellenicised as "Cheops") and was constructed over a 20-year period. Khufu's vizier, Hemiunu (also called Hemon), is believed by some to be the architect of the Great Pyramid.[3] It is thought that, at construction, the Great Pyramid was originally 280 Egyptian cubits tall (146.5 metres (480.6 ft)), but with erosion and absence of its pyramidion, its present height is 138.8 metres (455.4 ft). Each base side was 440 cubits, 230.4 metres (755.9 ft) long. The mass of the pyramid is estimated at 5.9 million tonnes. The volume, including an internal hillock, is roughly 2,500,000 cubic metres (88,000,000 cu ft).[4]

tag: p

text: Based on these estimates, building the pyramid in 20 years would involve installing approximately 800 tonnes of stone every day. Additionally, since it consists of an estimated 2.3 million blocks, completing the building in 20 years would involve moving an average of more than 12 of the blocks into place each hour, day and night. The first precision measurements of the pyramid were made by Egyptologist Sir Flinders Petrie in 1880–82 and published as The Pyramids and Temples of Gizeh.[5] Almost all reports are based on his measurements. Many of the casing stones and inner chamber blocks of the Great Pyramid fit together with extremely high precision. Based on measurements taken on the northeastern casing stones, the mean opening of the joints is only 0.5 millimetre wide (1/50 of an inch).[6]

text: The pyramid remained the tallest man-made structure in the world for over 3,800 years,[7] unsurpassed until the 160-metre-tall (520 ft) spire of Lincoln Cathedral was completed c. 1300. The accuracy of the pyramid's workmanship is such that the four sides of the base have an average error of only 58 millimetres in length.[8] The base is horizontal and flat to within ±15 mm (0.6 in).[9] The sides of the square base are closely aligned to the four cardinal compass points (within four minutes of arc)[10] based on true north, not magnetic north,[11] and the finished base was squared to a mean corner error of only 12 seconds of arc.[12]

text: The completed design dimensions, as suggested by Petrie's survey and subsequent studies, are estimated to have originally been 280 royal cubits high by 440 cubits long at each of the four sides of its base. The ratio of the perimeter to height of 1760/280 royal cubits equates to 2π to an accuracy of better than 0.05% (corresponding to the well-known approximation of π as 22/7). Some Egyptologists consider this to have been the result of deliberate design proportion. Verner wrote, "We can conclude that although the ancient Egyptians could not precisely define the value of π, in practice they used it".[13] Petrie, author of Pyramids and Temples of Gizeh concluded: "but these relations of areas and of circular ratio are so systematic that we should grant that they were in the builder's design".[14] Others have argued that the Ancient Egyptians had no concept of pi and would not have thought to encode it in their monuments. They believe that the observed pyramid slope may be based on a simple seked slope choice alone, with no regard to the overall size and proportions of the finished building.[15] In 2013 rolls of papyrus called The diary of Merer were discovered written by some of those who delivered stone and other construction materials to Khufu's brother at Giza.[16]

text: Materials

text: The Great Pyramid consists of an estimated 2.3 million blocks which most believe to have been transported from nearby quarries. The Tura limestone used for the casing was quarried across the river. The largest granite stones in the pyramid, found in the "King's" chamber, weigh 25 to 80 tonnes and were transported from Aswan, more than 800 km (500 mi) away. Traditionally, ancient Egyptians cut stone blocks by hammering into them some wooden wedges, which were then soaked with water. As the water was absorbed, the wedges expanded, causing the rock to crack. Once they were cut, they were carried by boat either up or down the Nile River to the pyramid.[17] It is estimated that 5.5 million tonnes of limestone, 8,000 tonnes of granite (imported from Aswan), and 500,000 tonnes of mortar were used in the construction of the Great Pyramid.[18]

text: Casing stones

text: At completion, the Great Pyramid was surfaced by white "casing stones" – slant-faced, but flat-topped, blocks of highly polished white limestone. These were carefully cut to what is approximately a face slope with a seked of 5½ palms to give the required dimensions. Visibly, all that remains is the underlying stepped core structure seen today. In AD 1303, a massive earthquake loosened many of the outer casing stones, which were then carted away by Bahri Sultan An-Nasir Nasir-ad-Din al-Hasan in 1356 to build mosques and fortresses in nearby Cairo. Many more casing stones were removed from the great pyramids by Muhammad Ali Pasha in the early 19th century to build the upper portion of his Alabaster Mosque in Cairo not far from Giza. These limestone casings can still be seen as parts of these structures. Later explorers reported massive piles of rubble at the base of the pyramids left over from the continuing collapse of the casing stones, which were subsequently cleared away during continuing excavations of the site.

text: Nevertheless, a few of the casing stones from the lowest course can be seen to this day in situ around the base of the Great Pyramid, and display the same workmanship and precision that has been reported for centuries. Petrie also found a different orientation in the core and in the casing measuring 193 centimetres ± 25 centimetres. He suggested a redetermination of north was made after the construction of the core, but a mistake was made, and the casing was built with a different orientation.[5] Petrie related the precision of the casing stones as to being "equal to opticians' work of the present day, but on a scale of acres" and "to place such stones in exact contact would be careful work; but to do so with cement in the joints seems almost impossible".[20] It has been suggested it was the mortar (Petrie's "cement") that made this seemingly impossible task possible, providing a level bed, which enabled the masons to set the stones exactly.[21][22]

text: Construction theories

text: Many alternative, often contradictory, theories have been proposed regarding the pyramid's construction techniques.[23] Many disagree on whether the blocks were dragged, lifted, or even rolled into place. The Greeks believed that slave labour was used, but modern discoveries made at nearby workers' camps associated with construction at Giza suggest that it was built instead by tens of thousands of skilled workers. Verner posited that the labour was organized into a hierarchy, consisting of two gangs of 100,000 men, divided into five zaa or phyle of 20,000 men each, which may have been further divided according to the skills of the workers.[24]

text: One mystery of the pyramid's construction is its planning. John Romer suggests that they used the same method that had been used for earlier and later constructions, laying out parts of the plan on the ground at a 1-to-1 scale. He writes that "such a working diagram would also serve to generate the architecture of the pyramid with precision unmatched by any other means".[25] He also argues for a 14-year time span for its construction.[26] A modern construction management study, in association with Mark Lehner and other Egyptologists, estimated that the total project required an average workforce of 14,567 people and a peak workforce of roughly 40,000. Without the use of pulleys, wheels, or iron tools, they used critical path analysis methods, which suggest that the Great Pyramid was completed from start to finish in approximately 10 years.[27]

text: Interior

text: The original entrance to the Great Pyramid is on the north, 17 metres (56 ft) vertically above ground level and 7.29 metres (23.9 ft) east of the centre line of the pyramid. From this original entrance, there is a Descending Passage 0.96 metres (3.1 ft) high and 1.04 metres (3.4 ft) wide, which goes down at an angle of 26° 31'23" through the masonry of the pyramid and then into the bedrock beneath it. After 105.23 metres (345.2 ft), the passage becomes level and continues for an additional 8.84 metres (29.0 ft) to the lower Chamber, which appears not to have been finished. There is a continuation of the horizontal passage in the south wall of the lower chamber; there is also a pit dug in the floor of the chamber. Some Egyptologists suggest that this Lower Chamber was intended to be the original burial chamber, but Pharaoh Khufu later changed his mind and wanted it to be higher up in the pyramid.[28]

text: 28.2 metres (93 ft) from the entrance is a square hole in the roof of the Descending Passage. Originally concealed with a slab of stone, this is the beginning of the Ascending Passage. The Ascending Passage is 39.3 metres (129 ft) long, as wide and high as the Descending Passage and slopes up at almost precisely the same angle to reach the Grand Gallery. The lower end of the Ascending Passage is closed by three huge blocks of granite, each about 1.5 metres (4.9 ft) long. One must use the Robbers' Tunnel (see below) to access the Ascending Passage. At the start of the Grand Gallery on the right-hand side there is a hole cut in the wall. This is the start of a vertical shaft which follows an irregular path through the masonry of the pyramid to join the Descending Passage. Also at the start of the Grand Gallery there is the Horizontal Passage leading to the "Queen's Chamber". The passage is 1.1m (3'8") high for most of its length, but near the chamber there is a step in the floor, after which the passage is 1.73 metres (5.7 ft) high.

text: Queen's Chamber

text: The "Queen's Chamber"[2] is exactly halfway between the north and south faces of the pyramid and measures 5.75 metres (18.9 ft) north to south, 5.23 metres (17.2 ft) east to west, and has a pointed roof with an apex 6.23 metres (20.4 ft) above the floor. At the eastern end of the chamber there is a niche 4.67 metres (15.3 ft) high. The original depth of the niche was 1.04 metres (3.4 ft), but has since been deepened by treasure hunters.[citation needed]

text: In the north and south walls of the Queen's Chamber there are shafts, which unlike those in the King's Chamber that immediately slope upwards (see below), are horizontal for around 2 m (6.6 ft) before sloping upwards. The horizontal distance was cut in 1872 by a British engineer, Waynman Dixon, who believed a shaft similar to those in the King's Chamber must also exist. He was proved right, but because the shafts are not connected to the outer faces of the pyramid or the Queen's Chamber, their purpose is unknown. At the end of one of his shafts, Dixon discovered a ball of black diorite (a type of rock) and a bronze implement of unknown purpose. Both objects are currently in the British Museum.[29]

text: The shafts in the Queen's Chamber were explored in 1993 by the German engineer Rudolf Gantenbrink using a crawler robot he designed, Upuaut 2. After a climb of 65 m (213 ft),[30] he discovered that one of the shafts was blocked by limestone "doors" with two eroded copper "handles". Some years later the National Geographic Society created a similar robot which, in September 2002, drilled a small hole in the southern door, only to find another door behind it.[31] The northern passage, which was difficult to navigate because of twists and turns, was also found to be blocked by a door.[32]

text: Research continued in 2011 with the Djedi Project. Realizing the problem was that the National Geographic Society's camera was only able to see straight ahead of it, they instead used a fiber-optic "micro snake camera" that could see around corners. With this they were able to penetrate the first door of the southern shaft through the hole drilled in 2002, and view all the sides of the small chamber behind it. They discovered hieroglyphs written in red paint. They were also able to scrutinize the inside of the two copper "handles" embedded in the door, and they now believe them to be for decorative purposes. They also found the reverse side of the "door" to be finished and polished, which suggests that it was not put there just to block the shaft from debris, but rather for a more specific reason.[33]

text: Grand Gallery

text: The Grand Gallery continues the slope of the Ascending Passage, but is 8.6 metres (28 ft) high and 46.68 metres (153.1 ft) long. At the base it is 2.06 metres (6.8 ft) wide, but after 2.29 metres (7.5 ft) the blocks of stone in the walls are corbelled inwards by 7.6 centimetres (3.0 in) on each side. There are seven of these steps, so, at the top, the Grand Gallery is only 1.04 metres (3.4 ft) wide. It is roofed by slabs of stone laid at a slightly steeper angle than the floor of the gallery, so that each stone fits into a slot cut in the top of the gallery like the teeth of a ratchet. The purpose was to have each block supported by the wall of the Gallery rather than resting on the block beneath it, which would have resulted in an unacceptable cumulative pressure at the lower end of the Gallery.[citation needed]

text: At the upper end of the Gallery on the right-hand side there is a hole near the roof that opens into a short tunnel by which access can be gained to the lowest of the Relieving Chambers. The other Relieving Chambers were discovered in 1837-1838 by Colonel Howard Vyse and J. S. Perring, who dug tunnels upwards using blasting powder.

text: The floor of the Grand Gallery consists of a shelf or step on either side, 51 centimetres (20 in) wide, leaving a lower ramp 1.04 metres (3.4 ft) wide between them. In the shelves there are 54 slots, 27 on each side matched by vertical and horizontal slots in the walls of the Gallery. These form a cross shape that rises out of the slot in the shelf. The purpose of these slots is not known, but the central gutter in the floor of the Gallery, which is the same width as the Ascending Passage, has led to speculation that the blocking stones were stored in the Grand Gallery and the slots held wooden beams to restrain them from sliding down the passage.[34] This, in turn, has led to the proposal that originally many more than 3 blocking stones were intended, to completely fill the Ascending Passage.[citation needed]

text: At the top of the Grand Gallery, there is a step giving onto a horizontal passage some metres long and approximately 1.02 metres (3.3 ft) in height and width, in which can be detected four slots, three of which were probably intended to hold granite portcullises. Fragments of granite found by Petrie in the Descending Passage may have come from these now-vanished doors.

text: King's Chamber

text: The "King's Chamber"[2] is 20 cubits or 10.47 metres (34.4 ft) from east to west and 10 cubits or 5.234 metres (17.17 ft) north to south. It has a flat roof 11 cubits and 5 digits or 5.852 metres (19 feet 2 inch) above the floor. 0.91 m (3.0 ft) above the floor there are two narrow shafts in the north and south walls (one is now filled by an extractor fan in an attempt to circulate air inside the pyramid). The purpose of these shafts is not clear: they appear to be aligned towards stars or areas of the northern and southern skies, yet one of them follows a dog-leg course through the masonry, indicating no intention to directly sight stars through them. They were long believed by Egyptologists to be "air shafts" for ventilation, but this idea has now been widely abandoned in favour of the shafts serving a ritualistic purpose associated with the ascension of the king’s spirit to the heavens.[35]

text: The King's Chamber is entirely faced with granite. Above the roof, which is formed of nine slabs of stone weighing in total about 400 tons, are five compartments known as Relieving Chambers. The first four, like the King's Chamber, have flat roofs formed by the floor of the chamber above, but the final chamber has a pointed roof. Vyse suspected the presence of upper chambers when he found that he could push a long reed through a crack in the ceiling of the first chamber. From lower to upper, the chambers are known as "Davison's Chamber", "Wellington's Chamber", "Nelson's Chamber", "Lady Arbuthnot's Chamber", and "Campbell's Chamber". It is believed that the compartments were intended to safeguard the King's Chamber from the possibility of a roof collapsing under the weight of stone above the Chamber. As the chambers were not intended to be seen, they were not finished in any way and a few of the stones still retain masons' marks painted on them. One of the stones in Campbell's Chamber bears a mark, apparently the name of a work gang.[36][37]

text: The only object in the King's Chamber is a rectangular granite sarcophagus, one corner of which is broken. The sarcophagus is slightly larger than the Ascending Passage, which indicates that it must have been placed in the Chamber before the roof was put in place. Unlike the fine masonry of the walls of the Chamber, the sarcophagus is roughly finished, with saw marks visible in several places. This is in contrast with the finely finished and decorated sarcophagi found in other pyramids of the same period. Petrie suggested that such a sarcophagus was intended but was lost in the river on the way north from Aswan and a hurriedly made replacement was used instead.

text: Modern entrance

text: Today tourists enter the Great Pyramid via the Robbers' Tunnel, a tunnel purportedly created around AD 820 by Caliph al-Ma'mun's workmen using a battering ram.[38] The tunnel is cut straight through the masonry of the pyramid for approximately 27 metres (89 ft), then turns sharply left to encounter the blocking stones in the Ascending Passage. It is believed that their efforts dislodged the stone fitted in the ceiling of the Descending Passage to hide the entrance to the Ascending Passage and it was the noise of that stone falling and then sliding down the Descending Passage, which alerted them to the need to turn left. Unable to remove these stones, however, the workmen tunnelled up beside them through the softer limestone of the Pyramid until they reached the Ascending Passage. It is possible to enter the Descending Passage from this point, but access is usually forbidden.[39]

text: Pyramid complex

text: The Great Pyramid is surrounded by a complex of several buildings including small pyramids. The Pyramid Temple, which stood on the east side of the pyramid and measured 52.2 metres (171 ft) north to south and 40 metres (130 ft) east to west, has almost entirely disappeared apart from the black basalt paving. There are only a few remnants of the causeway which linked the pyramid with the valley and the Valley Temple. The Valley Temple is buried beneath the village of Nazlet el-Samman; basalt paving and limestone walls have been found but the site has not been excavated.[40][41] The basalt blocks show "clear evidence" of having been cut with some kind of saw with an estimated cutting blade of 15 feet (4.6 m) in length, capable of cutting at a rate of 1.5 inches (38 mm) per minute. John Romer suggests that this "super saw" may have had copper teeth and weighed up to 300 pounds (140 kg). He theorizes that such a saw could have been attached to a wooden trestle and possibly used in conjunction with vegetable oil, cutting sand, emery or pounded quartz to cut the blocks, which would have required the labour of at least a dozen men to operate it.[42]

text: On the south side are the subsidiary pyramids, popularly known as Queens' Pyramids. Three remain standing to nearly full height but the fourth was so ruined that its existence was not suspected until the recent discovery of the first course of stones and the remains of the capstone. Hidden beneath the paving around the pyramid was the tomb of Queen Hetepheres I, sister-wife of Sneferu and mother of Khufu. Discovered by accident by the Reisner expedition, the burial was intact, though the carefully sealed coffin proved to be empty.

text: The Giza pyramid complex, which includes among other structures the pyramids of Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure, is surrounded by a cyclopean stone wall, the Wall of the Crow. Mark Lehner has discovered a worker's town outside of the wall, otherwise known as "The Lost City", dated by pottery styles, seal impressions, and stratigraphy to have been constructed and occupied sometime during the reigns of Khafre (2520–2494 BC) and Menkaure (2490–2472 BC).[43][44] Recent discoveries by Mark Lehner and his team at the town and nearby, including what appears to have been a thriving port, suggest the town and associated living quarters consisting of barracks called "galleries" may not have been for the pyramid workers after all, but rather for the soldiers and sailors who utilized the port. In light of this new discovery, as to where then the pyramid workers may have lived Lehner now suggests the alternative possibility they may have camped on the ramps he believes were used to construct the pyramids or possibly at nearby quarries.[45]

text: In the early 1970s, the Australian archaeologist Karl Kromer excavated a mound in the South Field of the plateau. This mound contained artefacts including mudbrick seals of Khufu, which he identified with an artisans' settlement.[46] Mudbrick buildings just south of Khufu's Valley Temple contained mud sealings of Khufu and have been suggested to be a settlement serving the cult of Khufu after his death.[47] A worker's cemetery used at least between Khufu's reign and the end of the Fifth Dynasty was discovered south of the Wall of the Crow by Zahi Hawass in 1990.[48]

text: Boats

text: There are three boat-shaped pits around the pyramid, of a size and shape to have held complete boats, though so shallow that any superstructure, if there ever was one, must have been removed or disassembled. In May 1954, the Egyptian archaeologist Kamal el-Mallakh discovered a fourth pit, a long, narrow rectangle, still covered with slabs of stone weighing up to 15 tons. Inside were 1,224 pieces of wood, the longest 23 metres (75 ft) long, the shortest 10 centimetres (0.33 ft). These were entrusted to a boat builder, Haj Ahmed Yusuf, who worked out how the pieces fit together. The entire process, including conservation and straightening of the warped wood, took fourteen years.

text: The result is a cedar-wood boat 43.6 metres (143 ft) long, its timbers held together by ropes, which is currently housed in a special boat-shaped, air-conditioned museum beside the pyramid. During construction of this museum, which stands above the boat pit, a second sealed boat pit was discovered. It was deliberately left unopened until 2011 when excavation began on the boat.[49]

text: Looting

text: Although succeeding pyramids were smaller, pyramid building continued until the end of the Middle Kingdom. However, as authors Briar and Hobbs claim, "all the pyramids were robbed" by the New Kingdom, when the construction of royal tombs in a desert valley, now known as the Valley of the Kings, began.[50][51] Joyce Tyldesley states that the Great Pyramid itself "is known to have been opened and emptied by the Middle Kingdom", before the Arab caliph Abdullah al-Mamun entered the pyramid around AD 820.[38]

text: I. E. S. Edwards discusses Strabo's mention that the pyramid "a little way up one side has a stone that may be taken out, which being raised up there is a sloping passage to the foundations". Edwards suggested that the pyramid was entered by robbers after the end of the Old Kingdom and sealed and then reopened more than once until Strabo's door was added. He adds: "If this highly speculative surmise be correct, it is also necessary to assume either that the existence of the door was forgotten or that the entrance was again blocked with facing stones", in order to explain why al-Ma'mun could not find the entrance.[52]

text: He also discusses a story told by Herodotus. Herodotus visited Egypt in the 5th century BC and recounts a story that he was told concerning vaults under the pyramid built on an island where the body of Cheops lies. Edwards notes that the pyramid had "almost certainly been opened and its contents plundered long before the time of Herodotus" and that it might have been closed again during the Twenty-sixth Dynasty of Egypt when other monuments were restored. He suggests that the story told to Herodotus could have been the result of almost two centuries of telling and retelling by Pyramid guides.[53]


document_title: List of Major League Baseball franchise postseason droughts

question_text: who has the longest world series drought now

text: Longest current World Series championship droughts[edit]

text: *team not yet eliminated from 2017 MLB Playoffs

tag: ul

text:
Seasons
Team
Last championship won
Last World Series appearance

69
Cleveland Indians
1948
2016

57
Texas Rangers
Never (franchise began 1961)
2011

55
Houston Astros*
Never (franchise began 1962)
2017

49
Milwaukee Brewers
Never (franchise began 1969)
1982

49
San Diego Padres
Never (franchise began 1969)
1998

49
Washington Nationals
Never (franchise began 1969)
never

41
Seattle Mariners
Never (franchise began 1977)
never

38
Pittsburgh Pirates
1979
1979

34
Baltimore Orioles
1983
1983

33
Detroit Tigers
1984
2012

31
New York Mets
1986
2015

28
Los Angeles Dodgers*
1988
2017

28
Oakland Athletics
1989
1990

27
Cincinnati Reds
1990
1990

26
Minnesota Twins
1991
1991

25
Colorado Rockies
Never (franchise began 1993)
2007

24
Toronto Blue Jays
1993
1993

22
Atlanta Braves
1995
1999

20
Tampa Bay Rays
Never (franchise began 1998)
2008

16
Arizona Diamondbacks
2001
2001

15
Los Angeles Angels
2002
2002

14
Miami Marlins
2003
2003

12
Chicago White Sox
2005
2005

9
Philadelphia Phillies
2008
2009

8
New York Yankees
2009
2009

6
St. Louis Cardinals
2011
2013

4
Boston Red Sox
2013
2013

3
San Francisco Giants
2014
2014

2
Kansas City Royals
2015
2015

1
Chicago Cubs
2016
2016

tag: table

text: Longest World Series championship droughts through history[edit]

text: The first World Series was played in 1903. Note that no World Series was played in 1904 or 1994. This list only shows droughts of 30 or more seasons. Active droughts are listed in bold type.

text:
Seasons
Team
Prev. Title
Next Title

107
Chicago Cubs
1908
2016

87
Chicago White Sox
1917
2005

85
Boston Red Sox
1918
2004

77
Philadelphia Phillies
1903*
1980

69
Cleveland Indians
1948
—

63
St. Louis Browns/Baltimore Orioles
1903*
1966

62
Washington Senators/Minnesota Twins
1924
1987

57
Washington Senators/Texas Rangers
1961*
—

55
Houston Colt .45s/Astros
1962*
—

55
New York/San Francisco Giants
1954
2010

52
Brooklyn Dodgers
1903*
1955

49
Seattle Pilots/Milwaukee Brewers
1969*
—

49
San Diego Padres
1969*
—

49
Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals
1969*
—

42
Boston/Milwaukee Braves
1914
1957

41
Philadelphia/Kansas City/Oakland Athletics
1930
1972

41
Los Angeles-California-Anaheim Angels
1961*
2002

41
Seattle Mariners
1977*
—

38
Pittsburgh Pirates
1979
—

37
Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves
1957
1995

34
Pittsburgh Pirates
1925
1960

34
Cincinnati Reds
1940
1975

34
Baltimore Orioles
1983
—

33
Detroit Tigers
1984
—

32
Detroit Tigers
1903*
1935

31
New York Mets
1986
—

text: * Year does not indicate a title won, but rather the team's first year of existence or the first year of the modern World Series (1903).

text: World Series championship droughts by city/region[edit]

text: This list only includes cities/regions with current Major League Baseball franchises. Years during which a city/region did not field a Major League Baseball team are not counted.

text:
Region
Drought (seasons)
Last World Series title

Cleveland
69
Cleveland Indians, 1948

Washington, D.C.
60*
Washington Senators (original A.L.), 1924

Milwaukee
56**
Milwaukee Braves, 1957

Houston
55‡
None

San Diego
49‡
None

Dallas-Ft. Worth
46‡
None

Seattle
42‡ †
None

Pittsburgh
38
Pittsburgh Pirates, 1979

Baltimore
34
Baltimore Orioles, 1983

Detroit
33
Detroit Tigers, 1984

Cincinnati
27
Cincinnati Reds, 1990

Minneapolis–Saint Paul
26
Minnesota Twins, 1991

Denver
25‡
None

Toronto
24
Toronto Blue Jays, 1993

Atlanta
22
Atlanta Braves, 1995

Tampa-St. Petersburg
20‡
None

Phoenix
16
Arizona Diamondbacks, 2001

Greater Los Angeles Area
14
Anaheim Angels, 2002

Miami-Ft. Lauderdale
14
Florida Marlins, 2003

Philadelphia
9
Philadelphia Phillies, 2008

New York City
8
New York Yankees, 2009

St. Louis
6
St. Louis Cardinals, 2011

Boston
4
Boston Red Sox, 2013

San Francisco Bay Area
3
San Francisco Giants, 2014

Kansas City
2
Kansas City Royals, 2015

Chicago
1
Chicago Cubs, 2016

text: *city without Major League Baseball franchise for 33 seasons (1972–2004)

text: **city without Major League Baseball franchise for 4 seasons (1966–1969)

text: †city without Major League Baseball franchise for 7 seasons (1970–1976)

text: ‡number doesn't indicate a title won, but rather total seasons played.

text: World Series in which neither team had previously won a championship[edit]

text: In these instances, the World Series matchup ensured that one team would win the first championship in its history.

text:
Season
Won
Lost

1980
Philadelphia Phillies
Kansas City Royals

1920
Cleveland Indians
Brooklyn Dodgers

1909
Pittsburgh Pirates
Detroit Tigers

1907
Chicago Cubs
Detroit Tigers

1906*
Chicago White Sox
Chicago Cubs

1905*
New York Giants
Philadelphia Athletics

1903*
Boston Americans
Pittsburgh Pirates

text: *In these cases, each team was making its first World Series appearance.

text: World Series in which both teams had ended pennant droughts of 20-plus seasons[edit]

text:
Season
Won
Drought (seasons)
Lost
Drought (seasons)

2005
Chicago White Sox
45
Houston Astros
43

1948
Cleveland Indians
27
Boston Braves
33

text: World Series in which neither franchise had won a championship in 30-plus seasons[edit]

text: Teams that had never won the World Series are included, even if they were less than 30 seasons old at the time. Bold denotes team that won.

text:
Season
American League
Drought (seasons)
National League
Drought (seasons)

2016
Cleveland Indians
67
Chicago Cubs
107

2010
Texas Rangers
49*
San Francisco Giants
55

2005
Chicago White Sox
87
Houston Astros
43*

2002
Anaheim Angels
41*
San Francisco Giants
47

1997
Cleveland Indians
48
Florida Marlins
4*

1995
Cleveland Indians
46
Atlanta Braves
37

1992
Toronto Blue Jays
15*
Atlanta Braves
34

1980
Kansas City Royals
11*
Philadelphia Phillies
77*

1975
Boston Red Sox
56
Cincinnati Reds
34

1972
Oakland Athletics
40
Cincinnati Reds
31

1920
Cleveland Indians
17*
Brooklyn Dodgers
17*

1909
Detroit Tigers
6*
Pittsburgh Pirates
6*

1907
Detroit Tigers
4*
Chicago Cubs
4*

1906
Chicago White Sox
3*
Chicago Cubs
3*

1905
Philadelphia Athletics
2*
New York Giants
2*

1903
Boston Americans
0*
Pittsburgh Pirates
0*

text: Numbers marked with * indicates that the number is counted from either the franchise's first year of existence or the first year of the modern World Series (1903).

text: Major League pennant droughts[edit]

text: Longest current Major League pennant droughts[edit]

text:
Seasons
Team
Last pennant

49
Washington Nationals
never (franchise started in 1969)

41
Seattle Mariners
never (franchise started in 1977)

38
Pittsburgh Pirates
1979

35
Milwaukee Brewers
1982 (never since joining NL in 1998)

34
Baltimore Orioles
1983

27
Cincinnati Reds
1990

27
Oakland Athletics
1990

26
Minnesota Twins
1991

24
Toronto Blue Jays
1993

19
San Diego Padres
1998

18
Atlanta Braves
1999

16
Arizona Diamondbacks
2001

15
Los Angeles Angels
2002

14
Miami Marlins
2003

12
Chicago White Sox
2005

10
Colorado Rockies
2007

9
Tampa Bay Rays
2008

8
Philadelphia Phillies
2009

8
New York Yankees
2009

6
Texas Rangers
2011

5
Detroit Tigers
2012

4
St. Louis Cardinals
2013

4
Boston Red Sox
2013

3
San Francisco Giants
2014

2
Kansas City Royals
2015

2
New York Mets
2015

1
Cleveland Indians
2016

1
Chicago Cubs
2016

0
Los Angeles Dodgers*
2017

0
Houston Astros*
2017

text: Longest Major League pennant droughts through history[edit]

text: List begins with 1903, about the time the current configuration of National League and American League stabilized and also the year of the first World Series. Note that no pennants were won in 1994 due to strike. This list only shows droughts of 20 or more seasons. Active droughts are listed in bold type.

text:
Seasons
Team
Prev. Pennant
Next Pennant

70
Chicago Cubs
1945
2016

49
Washington Senators/Texas Rangers
1961*
2010

49
Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals
1969*
—

45
Chicago White Sox
1959
2005

43
Houston Colt .45s/Astros
1962*
2005

41
St. Louis Browns
1903*
1944

41
Los Angeles-California-Anaheim Angels
1961*
2002

41
Seattle Mariners
1977*
—

40
Philadelphia/Kansas City/Oakland Athletics
1931
1972

40
Cleveland Indians
1954
1995

39
Chicago White Sox
1919
1959

38
Pittsburgh Pirates
1979
—

35
Milwaukee Brewers
1982
—

34
Baltimore Orioles
1983
—

34
Philadelphia Phillies
1915
1950

33
Boston Braves
1914
1948

32
Pittsburgh Pirates
1927
1960

32
Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves
1958
1991

31
Washington Senators/Minnesota Twins
1933
1965

29
Philadelphia Phillies
1950
1980

28
Kansas City Royals
1985
2014

28
Los Angeles Dodgers
1988
2017

27
Boston Red Sox
1918
1946

27
Cleveland Indians
1920
1948

27
Oakland Athletics
1990
—

27
Cincinnati Reds
1990
—

26
San Francisco Giants
1962
1989

26
Minnesota Twins
1991
—

24
Toronto Blue Jays
1993
—

24
Detroit Tigers
1909
1934

23
St. Louis Cardinals
1903*
1926

22
Detroit Tigers
1945
1968

21
St. Louis Browns/Baltimore Orioles
1944
1966

21
Minnesota Twins
1965
1987

21
Detroit Tigers
1984
2006

21
Washington Senators
1903*
1924

20
Brooklyn Dodgers
1920
1941

20
Cincinnati Reds
1940
1961

20
Boston Red Sox
1946
1967

text: * Year does not indicate a pennant, but rather the team's first year of existence or the first year of the modern World Series (1903).

text: Numbers reflect drought at start of current season.

text: Major League pennant droughts by city/region[edit]

text:
Region
Drought (seasons)
Last pennant

Washington, D.C.
50*
Washington Senators (original A.L.), 1933

Seattle
42** †
None

Pittsburgh
38
Pittsburgh Pirates, 1979

Milwaukee
35
Milwaukee Brewers, 1982 (in A.L.)

Baltimore
34
Baltimore Orioles, 1983

Cincinnati
27
Cincinnati Reds, 1990

Minneapolis–Saint Paul
26
Minnesota Twins, 1991

Toronto
24
Toronto Blue Jays, 1993

San Diego
19
San Diego Padres, 1998

Atlanta
18
Atlanta Braves, 1999

Phoenix
16
Arizona Diamondbacks, 2001

Miami-Ft. Lauderdale
14
Florida Marlins, 2003

Denver
10
Colorado Rockies, 2007

Tampa-St. Petersburg
9
Tampa Bay Rays, 2008

Philadelphia
8
Philadelphia Phillies, 2009

Dallas-Ft. Worth
6
Texas Rangers, 2011

Detroit
5
Detroit Tigers, 2012

St. Louis
4
St. Louis Cardinals, 2013

Boston
4
Boston Red Sox, 2013

San Francisco Bay Area
3
San Francisco Giants, 2014

Kansas City
2
Kansas City Royals, 2015

New York City
2
New York Mets, 2015

Cleveland
1
Cleveland Indians, 2016

Chicago
1
Chicago Cubs, 2016

Houston
0
Houston Astros, 2017

Greater Los Angeles Area
0
Los Angeles Dodgers, 2017

text: **city without Major League Baseball franchise for 7 seasons (1970–1976)

text: †number doesn't indicate a title won, but rather total seasons played.

text: Postseason droughts[edit]

text: Longest current postseason droughts[edit]

text:
Seasons
Team
Last appearance

16
Seattle Mariners
2001 ALCS

14
Miami Marlins
2003 World Series

11
San Diego Padres
2006 NLDS

9
Chicago White Sox
2008 ALDS

6
Philadelphia Phillies
2011 NLDS

6
Milwaukee Brewers
2011 NLCS

4
Cincinnati Reds
2013 NL Wild Card

4
Atlanta Braves
2013 NLDS

4
Tampa Bay Rays
2013 ALDS

3
Oakland Athletics
2014 AL Wild Card

3
Detroit Tigers
2014 ALDS

3
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
2014 ALDS

2
Pittsburgh Pirates
2015 NL Wild Card

2
St. Louis Cardinals
2015 NLDS

2
Kansas City Royals
2015 World Series

1
Baltimore Orioles
2016 AL Wild Card

1
New York Mets
2016 NL Wild Card

1
San Francisco Giants
2016 NLDS

1
Texas Rangers
2016 ALDS

1
Toronto Blue Jays
2016 ALCS

0
Minnesota Twins
2017 AL Wild Card

0
Colorado Rockies
2017 NL Wild Card

0
Cleveland Indians
2017 ALDS

0
Boston Red Sox
2017 ALDS

0
Arizona Diamondbacks
2017 NLDS

0
Washington Nationals
2017 NLDS

0
New York Yankees
2017 ALCS

0
Chicago Cubs
2017 NLCS

0
Houston Astros
2017 World Series

0
Los Angeles Dodgers
2017 World Series

text: Longest postseason droughts in the expanded-postseason era[edit]

text: After the postseason was expanded in 1995 to include eight teams (further expanded in 2012 to ten teams), 18 of the 30 teams qualified within the first five years, and few teams went for long droughts without at least participating in the first round of the postseason. This list only shows droughts of 15 or more seasons that occurred primarily in the expanded-postseason era. Active droughts are listed in bold type.

text:
Seasons
Team
Prev. Postseason Appearance
Next Postseason Appearance

30
Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals
1981
2012

28
Kansas City Royals
1985
2014

25
Milwaukee Brewers
1982
2008

21
Toronto Blue Jays
1993
2015

20
Pittsburgh Pirates
1992
2013

18
Detroit Tigers
1987
2006

16
Seattle Mariners
2001
—

15
California/Anaheim Angels
1986
2002


document_title: Justice League (film)

question_text: who plays wonder woman in the new justice league

text: Justice League (film)

text: Plot

text: Thousands of years ago, Steppenwolf and his legions of Parademons attempt to take over Earth with the combined energies of three Mother Boxes. They are foiled by a unified army that includes the Olympian Gods, Amazons, Atlanteans, mankind, and the Green Lantern Corps. After repelling Steppenwolf's army, the Mother Boxes are separated and hidden in locations on the planet. In the present, mankind is in mourning over Superman, whose death triggers the Mother Boxes to reactivate and Steppenwolf's return to Earth in an effort to regain favor with his master, Darkseid. Steppenwolf aims to gather the artifacts to form "The Unity", which will destroy Earth's ecology and terraform it in the image of Steppenwolf's homeworld.

text: Steppenwolf retrieves the Mother Box from Themyscira, prompting Queen Hippolyta to warn her daughter Diana of Steppenwolf's return. Diana joins Bruce Wayne in his attempt to unite other metahumans to their cause, with Wayne going after Arthur Curry and Barry Allen, while Diana tries to locate Victor Stone. Wayne fails to persuade Curry, but manages to recruit an enthusiastic Allen onto the team. Although Diana fails to convince Stone to join, he agrees to help them locate the threat if he discovers their location. Stone later joins the team after his father Silas, along with several other S.T.A.R. Labs employees, is kidnapped by Steppenwolf seeking to acquire the Mother Box from mankind.

text: Steppenwolf attacks Atlantis to retrieve the next Mother Box, forcing Curry into action. The team receives intel from Commissioner James Gordon leading them to Steppenwolf's army, based in an abandoned facility under Gotham Harbor. Although the group manages to rescue the kidnapped employees, the facility is flooded during combat, which traps the team until Curry helps delay the flood so they can escape. Stone retrieves the last Mother Box, which he had hidden, for the group to analyze. Stone reveals that his father used the Mother Box to rebuild Stone's body after an accident almost cost him his life. Facing overwhelming odds against Steppenwolf's army, Wayne decides to use the Mother Box to resurrect Superman, not only to help them fight off Steppenwolf's invasion, but also to restore hope to mankind. Diana and Curry are hesitant about the idea, but Wayne forms a secret contingency plan in case Superman returns as a nemesis.

text: Clark Kent's body is exhumed and placed in the amniotic fluid of the genesis chamber of the Kryptonian ship alongside the Mother Box, which in turn activates and successfully resurrects Superman. However, Superman's memories have not returned, and he attacks the group after Stone accidentally launches a projectile at him. On the verge of being killed by Superman, Batman enacts his contingency plan: Lois Lane. Superman calms down and leaves with Lane to his family home in Smallville, where he reflects and attempts to recover his memories. With the final Mother Box unguarded, Steppenwolf retrieves it with ease. Without Superman to aid them, the five heroes travel to a village in Russia where Steppenwolf aims to unite the Mother Boxes once again and remake Earth. The team fights their way through the Parademons to reach Steppenwolf, although they are unable to distract him enough for Stone to separate the Mother boxes. Superman arrives and assists Allen in evacuating the city, as well as Stone in separating the Mother Boxes. The team defeats Steppenwolf, who, overcome with fear, is attacked by his own Parademons before they all teleport away.

text: In the aftermath of the battle, Bruce and Diana agree to set up a base of operations for the team, with room for more members. Diana steps back into the public spotlight as a hero; Barry acquires a job in Central City's police department, impressing his father; Victor continues to explore and enhance his abilities with his father in S.T.A.R. Labs; Arthur returns to Atlantis; Batman continues protecting Gotham; and Superman resumes his life as reporter Clark Kent. In a post-credits scene, Lex Luthor escapes from Arkham Asylum and recruits Slade Wilson to form their own league.

text: Cast

text:
Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne / Batman:
A wealthy socialite, and the owner of Wayne Enterprises. He dedicates himself to protecting Gotham City from its criminal underworld as a highly trained, masked vigilante equipped with various tools and weapons.
Henry Cavill as Clark Kent / Superman:
A member of, and inspiration for, the Justice League, a Kryptonian survivor, and a journalist for the Daily Planet based in Metropolis.
Gal Gadot as Diana Prince / Wonder Woman:
An antiquities dealer, acquaintance of Wayne, and an immortal Amazonian warrior, who is the crown princess of Themyscira and daughter of Hippolyta and Zeus. She is endowed with metahuman attributes and abilities inherited from her parents.
Ezra Miller as Barry Allen / The Flash:
A Central City University student, who can move at superhuman speeds with his ability to tap into the Speed Force.
Jason Momoa as Arthur Curry / Aquaman:
The heir to the throne of the undersea nation of Atlantis.[12] His metahuman aquatic abilities and physical attributes originate from his Atlantean physiology.
Ray Fisher as Victor Stone / Cyborg:
A former college athlete who, after being cybernetically reconstructed after a nearly fatal car accident, is turned into a techno-organic being enhanced by reactive, adaptive biomimetic alien technology. His enhancements include the abilities of flight, variable weaponry and technopathy. Fisher portrays the character through the use of motion capture for the cybernetic portion of his body.[13]
Amy Adams as Lois Lane:
An undaunted and compassionate award-winning journalist for the Daily Planet and the love interest for Kent.[14]
Jeremy Irons as Alfred Pennyworth: Wayne's butler, chief of security, and trusted confidant.[15]
Diane Lane as Martha Kent: Kent's adoptive mother.[14]
Connie Nielsen as Hippolyta: Diana's mother and Queen of the Amazons.[14]
J. K. Simmons as James Gordon: The Commissioner of the Gotham City Police Department, and close ally of Batman.[14]
Ciarán Hinds as the voice of Steppenwolf: An alien military officer from Apokolips who leads an army of Parademons and is searching for the three Mother Boxes held on Earth. The character is described as "old, tired" and trying to find a way to escape his role of servitude under Darkseid.[16] Hinds portrayed the villain through use of motion capture and received some advice in the process from Liam Neeson, who had recently done similar work in A Monster Calls.[17]

text: The Olympian Old Gods Zeus, Ares and Artemis are portrayed by fitness model Sergi Constance, stuntman Nick McKinless, and MMA fighter Aurore Lauzeral, respectively.[18][19] All three were required to reach a specific degree of physicality, with Snyder instructing McKinless to sport "veins like worms and paper thin skin". In the finished film, McKinless' face was replaced with David Thewlis's face, and Thewlis received the credit as Ares.[18] Robin Wright reprises her role as Antiope during a flashback sequence. Amber Heard portrays the Atlantean Mera.[14] During a scene depicting Steppenwolf's first invasion of Earth, Julian Lewis Jones appears as an ancient king of men, while Francis Magee portrays an ancient king of Atlantis.[20][21] Joe Morton reprises his role as Silas Stone, Victor Stone's father and S.T.A.R. Labs' head while Billy Crudup appears as Henry Allen, Barry Allen's father. Joe Manganiello and Jesse Eisenberg appear uncredited in a post-credits scene as Slade Wilson / Deathstroke and Lex Luthor, respectively.[22] Michael McElhatton appears as the leader of a group of terrorists who clash with Wonder Woman early in the film,[23] while Holt McCallany makes an uncredited appearance as a burglar.[24] Marc McClure, who portrayed Jimmy Olsen in the Christopher Reeve Superman film series, has a cameo as a police officer.[25] An unidentified Green Lantern appears at the beginning of the film, created by use of CGI and embodied by an uncredited actor. Willem Dafoe and Kiersey Clemons filmed scenes as Nuidis Vulko and Iris West, respectively, although their roles were cut from the final film. Both actors are signed for multiple films and will appear in future installments of the franchise, Aquaman and Flashpoint, respectively.[26][27] Early in production, a scene depicting Green Lanterns Kilowog and Tomar-Re visiting Batman was filmed as another post-credits scene, further teasing Green Lantern Corps. The scene was later scrapped.[28]

text: Production

text: Development

text: In February 2007, it was announced that Warner Bros. had hired husband and wife duo Michele and Kieran Mulroney to write a script for a Justice League film.[29] The news came around the same time that Joss Whedon's long-developed Wonder Woman film was cancelled,[30] as well as The Flash, written and directed by David S. Goyer.[31] Reportedly titled Justice League: Mortal,[32] Michele and Kiernan Mulroney submitted their script to Warner Bros. in June 2007, receiving positive feedback,[33] which prompted the studio to immediately fast track production in the hope of beginning filming before the 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike.[34] Warner Bros. was less willing to proceed with development of a sequel to Superman Returns, having been disappointed with its box office. Brandon Routh was not approached to reprise the role of Superman in Justice League: Mortal,[35] nor was Christian Bale from Batman Begins.[36] Warner Bros. intended for Justice League: Mortal to be the start of a new film franchise, and to branch out into separate sequels and spin-offs.[37] Shortly after filming The Dark Knight,[38] Bale stated in an interview that "It'd be better if it doesn't tread on the toes of what our Batman series is doing," and felt it would make more sense for Warner Bros. to release the film after The Dark Knight Rises.[36] Jason Reitman was the original choice to direct Justice League, but he turned it down, as he considers himself an independent filmmaker and prefers to stay out of big budget superhero films.[39] George Miller signed to direct in September 2007,[34] with Barrie Osbourne producing[40] on a projected $220 million budget.[41]

text: The following month, roughly 40 actors and actresses auditioned for the ensemble superhero roles, among them Joseph Cross, Michael Angarano, Max Thieriot, Minka Kelly, Adrianne Palicki and Scott Porter. Miller had intended to cast younger actors, as he wanted them to "grow" into their roles over the course of several films.[38] D. J. Cotrona was cast as Superman,[37] along with Armie Hammer as Batman.[42] Jessica Biel reportedly declined to play Wonder Woman role after negotiations.[43] The character was also linked to actresses Teresa Palmer and Shannyn Sossamon, along with Mary Elizabeth Winstead, who confirmed that she had auditioned.[44] Ultimately, Megan Gale was cast as Wonder Woman,[45] while Palmer was cast as Talia al Ghul, whom Miller had in mind to act with a Russian accent.[46] The script for Justice League: Mortal would have featured John Stewart as Green Lantern, a role originally offered to Columbus Short.[47] Hip hop recording artist and rapper Common was cast,[48] with Adam Brody as Barry Allen / Flash,[49] and Jay Baruchel as the lead villain, Maxwell Lord.[50] Longtime Miller collaborator Hugh Keays-Byrne had been cast in an unnamed role, rumored to be Martian Manhunter. Santiago Cabrera was eventually revealed to be Aquaman after the film was cancelled.[51] Marit Allen was hired as the original costume designer before her untimely death in November 2007,[52] and the responsibilities were assumed by Weta Workshop.[53]

text: However, the writers strike began that same month and placed the film on hold. Warner Bros. had to let the options lapse for the cast,[54] but development was fast tracked once more in February 2008 when the strike ended. Warner Bros. and Miller wanted to start filming immediately,[55] but production was pushed back three months.[37] Originally, the majority of Justice League: Mortal was to be shot at Fox Studios Australia in Sydney,[41] with other locations scouted nearby at local colleges,[40] and Sydney Heads doubling for Happy Harbor.[32] The Australian Film Commission had a say with casting choices, giving way for George Miller to cast Gale, Palmer and Keays-Bryne, all Australian natives. The production crew was composed entirely of Australians, but the Australian government denied Warner Bros. a 40 percent tax rebate as they felt they had not hired enough Australian actors.[41][56] Miller was frustrated, stating that "A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the Australian film industry is being frittered away because of very lazy thinking. They're throwing away hundreds of millions of dollars of investment that the rest of the world is competing for and, much more significantly, highly skilled creative jobs."[57] Production offices were then moved to Vancouver Film Studios in Canada. Filming was pushed back to July 2008, while Warner Bros was still confident they could produce the film for a summer 2009 release.[58][59]

text: With production delays continuing, and the success of The Dark Knight in July 2008,[60] Warner Bros. decided to focus on the development of individual films featuring the main heroes, allowing director Christopher Nolan to separately complete his Batman trilogy with The Dark Knight Rises in 2012. Gregory Noveck, senior vice president of creative affairs for DC Entertainment, stated, "we're going to make a Justice League movie, whether it's now or 10 years from now. But we're not going to do it and Warners is not going to do it until we know it's right."[61] Actor Adam Brody joked "They [Warner Brothers] just didn't want to cross their streams with a whole bunch of Batmans in the universe."[62] Warner Bros. relaunched development for a solo Green Lantern film, released in 2011 as a critical and financial disappointment. Meanwhile, film adaptations for The Flash and Wonder Woman continued to languish in development, while filming for a Superman reboot commenced in 2011 with Man of Steel, produced by Nolan and written by Batman screenwriter David S. Goyer. In October 2012, following its legal victory over Joe Shuster's estate for the rights to Superman, Warner Bros. announced that it planned to move ahead with the Justice League film.[63] Shortly after filming on Man of Steel was complete, Warner Bros hired Will Beall to write the script for a new Justice League film.[64] Warner Bros. president Jeff Robinov explained that Man of Steel would be "setting the tone for what the movies are going to be like going forward. In that, it's definitely a first step."[65] The film included references to the existence of other superheroes in the DC Universe,[66] and set the tone for a shared fictional universe of DC Comics characters on film.[67] Goyer stated that should Green Lantern appear in a future installment, it would be a rebooted version of the character, unconnected to the 2011 film.[68]

text: With the release of Man of Steel in June 2013, Goyer was hired to write a sequel, as well as a new Justice League, with the Beall draft being scrapped.[69] The sequel was later revealed to be Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, a team-up film featuring Henry Cavill as Superman, Ben Affleck as Batman, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Ezra Miller as The Flash, Jason Momoa as Aquaman, and Ray Fisher as Victor Stone / Cyborg, the latter three in minor roles that became more significant in the Justice League film. The universe is separate from Nolan and Goyer's work on The Dark Knight trilogy, although Nolan was still involved as an executive producer for Batman v Superman.[70] In April 2014, it was announced that Zack Snyder would also direct Goyer's Justice League script.[71] Warner Bros. was reportedly courting Chris Terrio to rewrite Justice League the following July, after having been impressed with his rewrite of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.[72] On October 15, 2014, Warner Bros. announced the film would be released in two parts, with Part One on November 17, 2017, and Part Two on June 14, 2019. Snyder was set to direct both films.[73] In early July 2015, EW revealed that the script for Justice League Part One had been completed by Terrio.[74] Zack Snyder stated that the film would be inspired by the New Gods comic series by Jack Kirby.[75] Although Justice League was initially announced as a two-part film, with the second part set for release two years after the first, Snyder stated in June 2016 that they would be two distinct, separate films and not one film split into two parts, both being stand-alone stories.[76][77]

text: Casting

text: In April 2014, Ray Fisher was cast as Victor Stone / Cyborg. He first cameoed in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, followed by a larger role in Justice League.[78][79] Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Diane Lane and Amy Adams also reprised their roles from Batman v Superman.[73][80] In October 2014, Jason Momoa was cast as Arthur Curry / Aquaman and debuted as the character in Dawn of Justice.[81][82] On October 20, 2014, Momoa told ComicBook.com that the Justice League film would be released first, and that is what they were preparing for. He thought the solo Aquaman film may be Aquaman's origin story.[83] On January 13, 2016, The Hollywood Reporter announced that Amber Heard was in negotiations to appear in the film as Aquaman's love interest Mera.[84] In March 2016, producer Charles Roven said that Green Lantern would not appear in any film before Justice League Part Two, and stated that they "could put Green Lantern in some introduction in Justice League 2, or barring that, a movie after."[85] Also in March, The Hollywood Reporter announced that J. K. Simmons had been cast as Commissioner James Gordon,[86] and Heard was confirmed to join the cast as Mera.[87] Adams also confirmed that she would reprise her role as Lois Lane in both Justice League films.[88][89] By April 2016, Willem Dafoe had been cast in an undisclosed role,[90] later revealed to be Nuidis Vulko,[91] while Cavill confirmed that he would return for both Justice League films.[92] In May 2016, Jeremy Irons confirmed he would appear as Alfred Pennyworth.[15] That same month, Jesse Eisenberg stated that he would reprise his role as Lex Luthor, and in June 2016, confirmed his return in an interview with Shortlist magazine.[93][94] In July 2016, Julian Lewis Jones was cast in an undisclosed role, later revealed to an ancient king of Atlantis.[20] Laurence Fishburne, who portrays Perry White in the DCEU, said he declined to reprise his role in the film due to scheduling conflicts.[95] In April 2017, Michael McElhatton revealed that he had a role in Justice League, which was later revealed to be a domestic terrorist who faces off against Wonder Woman.[23]

text: Filming

text: Principal photography commenced on April 11, 2016, with shooting taking place at Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden, as well as various locations around London and Scotland. Additional filming took place in Chicago, Illinois, Los Angeles, and Djúpavík, in the Westfjords[96] of Iceland.[90][97][98] The old herring factory in Djúpavík was one Iceland filming location (Ben Affleck appeared to be standing near the herring oil tanks in the "Heroes" trailer). Snyder's longtime cinematographer Larry Fong was replaced by Fabian Wagner due to scheduling conflicts.[98] Affleck also served as executive producer.[99] In May 2016, it was revealed that Geoff Johns and Jon Berg would produce the Justice League films, and would also be in charge of the DC Extended Universe, after the largely negative critical reception of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.[100] The same month, Irons stated that the Justice League storyline would be more linear and simple, compared to the theatrical version of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.[101] Johns confirmed on June 3, 2016 that the title of the film is Justice League,[102] and later stated that the film would be "hopeful and optimistic" in comparison to previous DCEU films.[103] Filming wrapped in October 2016.[104][105][106]

text: Post-production

text: In May 2017, Snyder stepped down during post-production of the film to properly deal with the death of his daughter. Joss Whedon, whom Snyder had previously brought on to rewrite some additional scenes, took over to handle post-production duties in Snyder's place.[107] In July 2017, it was announced the film was undergoing two months of reshoots in London and Los Angeles, with Warner Bros. putting about $25 million into them (more than the typical $6–10 million additional filming costs).[108] The reshoots coincided with Cavill's schedule for Mission: Impossible – Fallout, for which he had grown a moustache which he was contracted to keep while filming, so Justice League's VFX team used special effects to digitally remove the moustache in post-production.[109] Warner Bros. later announced that Whedon would receive a screenwriting credit on the film alongside Chris Terrio.[110]

text: Music

text: In March 2016, Hans Zimmer, who co-composed the score for Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, stated that he had officially retired from the "superhero business".[111] Junkie XL, who wrote and composed the soundtrack of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice with Zimmer, was originally scoring the film.[112] In June 2017, Danny Elfman was announced to have replaced Junkie XL.[113] Elfman had previously composed the films Batman and Batman Returns, and the theme music for Batman: The Animated Series. Elfman confirmed that he would use the Batman theme music from the 1989 film for Batman in the film, and would also briefly use John Williams' Superman theme during "a dark, twisted moment" in the film.[114][115] The film features a cover of Leonard Cohen's "Everybody Knows" performed by Sigrid, "Icky Thump" performed by the White Stripes, and a cover of the Beatles' "Come Together" performed by Gary Clark Jr. and Junkie XL.[116]

text: Release

text: Justice League held its world premiere in Beijing on October 26, 2017, and was theatrically released in North America in standard, RealD 3D and IMAX on November 17, 2017.[117] Justice League was released on Digital HD on February 13, 2018, and was released on Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray and DVD on March 13, 2018.[118]

text: Reception

text: Box office

text: Justice League grossed $229 million in the United States and Canada, and $428.9 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $657.9 million, against a production budget of $300 million.[4] It had a worldwide opening of $278.8 million, the 24th biggest of all-time.[119][120] The estimated gross worldwide the film would have had to make in order to break even was around $750 million, and Deadline Hollywood estimated it ended up losing the studio about $60 million.[121][9]

text: In the United States and Canada, industry tracking initially forecast the film debuting to $110–120 million from 4,051 theaters (including 400 IMAX screens).[122] It made $13 million from Thursday night previews, up from the $11 million made by Wonder Woman the previous June.[123] However, after making $38.8 million on its first day (including Thursday previews), weekend projections were lowered to $95 million. It ended up debuting to $93.8 million, down 45% from Batman v Superman's opening of $166 million, and being the first film of the DCEU to open under $100 million. Deadline.com attributed the low figure to lukewarm audience reaction to the film and most of its predecessors, as well as poor critical reception, and partly Warner-owned[not in citation given] film review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes not posting their aggregated score until the day before release, causing speculation and doubt from filmgoers.[124] In its second weekend, the film dropped 56% to $41.1 million, finishing second at the box office, behind newcomer Coco.[125] It was the second-best second weekend hold of the DCEU, behind Wonder Woman's 43%, but the lowest overall gross.[126] In its third week it again finished second behind Coco, grossing $16.7 million.[127]

text: Internationally, the film was projected to debut to $215–235 million for a worldwide opening of $325–355 million.[128] It made $8.5 million on its first day from nine countries, including South Korea, France and Brazil.[123] It ended up having a $185 million international debut from 65 countries, including $57.1 million from China, $9.8 million from the United Kingdom, $9.6 million from Mexico and $8.8 million from South Korea. The film broke a record in the Philippines with a debut of $1.12M (PHP 57.3M), making it the biggest industry opening day for a film there in 2017.[129] In Brazil, the film opened to $14.2 million, the biggest opening in the country's history.[119] Outside North America, the films largest markets were China ($106 million), Brazil ($41 million), Mexico ($24.8 million), and United Kingdom ($24 million).[130]

text: Critical response

text: Justice League received praise for its action sequences and performances (primarily Gadot and Miller) but criticism for the writing, pacing and CGI, as well as the plot (regarded as thin), and the villain (regarded as underdeveloped).[131] On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 40%, based on 313 reviews, with an average rating of 5.3/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Justice League leaps over a number of DC movies, but its single bound isn't enough to shed the murky aesthetic, thin characters, and chaotic action that continue to dog the franchise."[132] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 45 out of 100, based on 52 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[133] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, while PostTrak reported filmgoers gave it an 85% overall positive score (average 4 out of 5 stars) and a 69% "definite recommend".[124][134]

text: Richard Roeper of Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 3.5 out of 4 stars, praising the cast, especially Gadot, and saying "It's a putting-the-band-together origins movie, executed with great fun and energy."[135] Owen Gleiberman of Variety gave the film a positive review and wrote, "Justice League... has been conceived, in each and every frame, to correct the sins of Batman v Superman. It's not just a sequel—it's an act of franchise penance. The movie... is never messy or bombastic. It's light and clean and simple (at times almost too simple), with razory repartee and combat duels that make a point of not going on for too long."[136]

text: Writing for Rolling Stone, Peter Travers gave the film 2.5 out of 4 stars, praising the cast but criticizing the action sequences and writing, saying: "The scenes of the League members together, bickering and bonding, spike the film with humor and genuine feeling, creating a rooting interest in the audience. Without it, the film would crumble."[137] Conversely, Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter, while praising Gadot and Miller, called the film visually ugly and boring, saying, "Fatigue, repetition and a laborious approach to exposition are the keynotes of this affair, which is also notable for how Ben Affleck, donning the bat suit for the second time, looks like he'd rather be almost anywhere else but here."[138]

text: Accolades

text: The film's poster was nominated for "Best Action Poster" by the Golden Trailer Awards in June 2017.[139] In December 2017, Ezra Miller was nominated for "Best Comedic Performance" for his role as Barry Allen by the San Diego Film Critics Society.[140] Ben Affleck received a nomination for "Favorite Movie Actor" by the Kids' Choice Awards.[141][142] Gal Gadot also received a nomination for her performance as "Breakthrough Artist" by Detroit Film Critics Society.[143][144] Justice League was nominated for "Most Disappointing Film" by the Oklahoma Film Critics Circle Awards, and it was tied in second place with The Dark Tower.[145]

text: Sequel

text: A sequel was scheduled to be released in June 2019[73] but has since been delayed to accommodate the release for a standalone Batman film.[146] By March 2017, producer Charles Roven announced that Zack Snyder would return as director.[147] In October 2017, J. K. Simmons stated that the studio is working on a sequel script, alongside The Batman.[148] Shortly after the release of Justice League, Henry Cavill stated that he is under contract with Warner Bros. to play Superman for one more film.[149]

text: In December 2017, it was reported that there were "no immediate plans" for Zack Snyder to direct a Justice League sequel, or any other DC films, with Snyder instead being relegated to an executive producer position. This comes after a reshuffling of film production staff at Warner Bros. due to the film's financial performance.[150]

text: Notes

text: Jump up ^ In home release, RatPac-Dune Entertainment was replaced with Access Entertainment (RatPac's now-owner), following the allegations against RatPac-Dune's CEO, Brett Ratner.[1]

tag: ol


document_title: Nice for What

question_text: what lauryn hill song is in drake's new song

question_tokens: what lauryn hill song is in drake 's new song

text: Nice for What

text: Background[edit]

text: On March 14, 2018, Lauryn Hill's son Joshua Omaru Marley posted a snippet of the song on Snapchat.[3] Drake later confirmed an upcoming Murda Beatz-produced single during an Instagram Live session.[4] On April 5, Drake made a surprise appearance during a Majid Jordan concert in Toronto.[5][6][7] "The reason I'm here tonight is because I'm back in the city finishing my album," he told the audience. "I've got a new single dropping tomorrow night, too, just in case you got some free time."[8][9][10][11]

text: Composition[edit]

text: "Nice for What" is an upbeat bounce song which contains elements of early 2000s R&B,[12][13][14] with a length of three minutes thirty seconds.[15] It samples Lauryn Hill's song "Ex-Factor" (1998), "Drag Rap" by the Showboys (1986), "Get Your Roll On" by Big Tymers (2000), and also features clips from performances by Big Freedia.[16][17][18] Lyrically, the hook of Drake's song samples Lauryn Hill singing about "cutting loose in the midst of a relationship".[19]

text: Music video[edit]

text: Directed by Karena Evans, the accompanying music video focuses on women carrying out various activities, including swimming, dancing, modeling and riding horses.[20] It features guest appearances from, in order of appearance,[21] Olivia Wilde, Misty Copeland, Issa Rae, Rashida Jones, Jourdan Dunn, Tracee Ellis Ross, Tiffany Haddish, Yara Shahidi, Zoe Saldana, Elizabeth and Victoria Lejonhjärta, Letitia Wright, Bria Vinaite, Emma Roberts, Syd, Michelle Rodriguez and Drake himself.[22][23][24][25] Evans called it an honour to work on the video, writing on Instagram that it was "a privilege and a blessing to have told this story with every single one of you revolutionary women, both in front and behind the camera".[26]

text: Critical reception[edit]

text: "Nice for What" received positive reviews from music critics, with many praising its promotion of female empowerment.[27][28] Hugh McIntyre of Forbes regarded the "perfectly-pitched" song as "another perfect delivery from the biggest artist in hip-hop", writing that the "vocal sample helps the track stand out from much of the rest of his discography".[20] Kevin Lozano of Pitchfork awarded the song "Best New Track", praising Drake for "smoothly handling the impeccable production from Murda Beatz", and lauding the song as "a fantastic piece of hip-hop machinery" and "one of Drake's most complete releases in some time".[29]

text: Chris DeVille of Stereogum deemed the song "a big, brash, almost obnoxiously loud New Orleans bounce-inspired production", describing it as "extremely poppy and sounds like a bid for continued commercial dominance".[30]

text: Commercial performance[edit]

text: In the United States, Drake became the first artist to have a new number-one debut replace his former number-one debut ("God's Plan") at the top of the Hot 100. It debuted with 88,000 downloads sold and 60.4 million streams. "Nice for What" became the 30th song in Billboard history to enter at number one. It also became Drake's fifth US number-one song overall and third as a lead artist.[1] The song also became the first song to debut on the Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop chart in the top 10. [31] "Nice for What" topped the Hot 100 for four consecutive weeks before it was dethroned on May 14, 2018 by Childish Gambino's "This Is America".[32][33][34] It then returned for a fifth non-consecutive week at the number one spot on the issue date June 2, 2018.[35] On the issue dated July 14, 2018, "Nice for What" became the first song to reach number one in four nonconsecutive runs. It has topped the Hot 100 for eight nonconsecutive weeks.[36]

text: Personnel[edit]

text: Credits adapted from Tidal and Qobuz.[15][37]

text:
Murda Beatz – production
Blaqnmild – co-production
Noah "40" Shebib – additional production, mixing
Corey Litwin – additional production
Harley Arsenault – mixing assistance
Greg Moffet – mixing assistance
Ronald Moonoo – mixing assistance
Chris Quock – recording engineering assistance
Noel "Gadget" Campbell – mixing
Mike Gaydusek – record engineering
Big Freedia – additional vocals
5thward Weebie – additional vocals
Glenishe "Bobby Jean" Rowe – additional vocals

text: Charts[edit]

text:
Chart (2018)

Peak position

Australia (ARIA)[38]

1

Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[39]

6

Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[40]

20

Belgium (Ultratip Wallonia)[41]

6

Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[42]

1

Canada CHR/Top 40 (Billboard)[43]

3

Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100)[44]

23

Denmark (Tracklisten)[45]

3

Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[46]

13

France (SNEP)[47]

28

Germany (Official German Charts)[48]

9

Greece (IFPI)[49]

3

Hungary (Single Top 40)[50]

29

Hungary (Stream Top 40)[51]

11

Ireland (IRMA)[52]

2

Italy (FIMI)[53]

53

Netherlands (Single Top 100)[54]

6

New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[55]

1

Norway (VG-lista)[56]

5

Portugal (AFP)[57]

7

Scotland (Official Charts Company)[58]

10

Slovakia (Singles Digitál Top 100)[59]

13

Spain (PROMUSICAE)[60]

62

Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[61]

4

Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[62]

7

UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[2]

1

UK R&B (Official Charts Company)[63]

1

US Billboard Hot 100[64]

1

US Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[65]

30

US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[66]

1

US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[67]

11

US Rhythmic (Billboard)[68]

1

text: Certifications[edit]

text:
Region

Certification
Certified units/Sales

Australia (ARIA)[69]

2× Platinum

140,000^

Canada (Music Canada)[70]

4× Platinum

320,000^

Denmark (IFPI Denmark)[71]

Gold

45,000^

New Zealand (RMNZ)[72]

Platinum

30,000*

United Kingdom (BPI)[73]

Platinum

600,000

United States (RIAA)[74]

3× Platinum

378,000[75]

*sales figures based on certification alone^shipments figures based on certification alonesales+streaming figures based on certification alone

text: Release history[edit]

text:
Region

Date

Format

Label

Ref.

Various

April 6, 2018

Digital download

Young MoneyCash Money

[15]

United States

April 10, 2018

Rhythmic contemporary radio

Young MoneyCash MoneyRepublic

[76]


document_title: Siri

question_text: what is the name of the google siri

question_tokens: what is the name of the google siri

text: Siri

text: History[edit]

text: Origins[edit]

text: Siri is a spin-out from the SRI International Artificial Intelligence Center, and is an offshoot of the DARPA-funded CALO project.[2] It was co-founded by Dag Kittlaus, Adam Cheyer, and Tom Gruber.[2]

text: Development[edit]

text: Siri's speech recognition engine is provided by Nuance Communications, a speech technology company.[3] This was not officially acknowledged by Apple nor Nuance for years,[4][5] until Nuance CEO Paul Ricci confirmed the information at a 2011 technology conference.[3] The speech recognition system makes use of sophisticated machine learning techniques, including convolutional neural networks and long short-term memory.[6]

text: Apple's first notion of a digital personal assistant was originally a concept video in 1987, called the "Knowledge Navigator".[7][8]

text: Voice actors[edit]

text: The original American voice of Siri was provided by Susan Bennett in July 2005, unaware that it would eventually be used for the voice assistant.[9] A report from The Verge in September 2013 about voice actors, their work, and machine learning developments, made hints that Allison Dufty was the voice behind Siri,[10][11] though this was disproven when Dufty wrote on her website that she was "absolutely, positively NOT the voice of Siri".[9] Citing growing pressure, Bennett revealed her role as Siri in October, and her claim was proven by Ed Primeau, an American audio forensics expert.[9] Apple has never confirmed the information.[9]

text: The original British male voice was provided by Jon Briggs, a former technology journalist. Having discovered that he was the voice of Siri by watching television, he first spoke only about his role in November 2011, also acknowledging his voice work was done "five or six years ago" without knowing the recordings' final usage form.[12][13]

text: The original Australian voice was provided by Karen Jacobsen, a voice-over artist known in Australia for her work as the "GPS girl".[14]

text: As part of an interview between all three voice actors and The Guardian, Briggs stated that "The original system was recorded for a US company called Scansoft, who were then bought by Nuance. Apple simply licensed it."[14]

text: With iOS 11, Apple auditioned "hundreds of candidates" to find a new female voice, then recorded hours of speech, including different personalities and expressions, and built a new text-to-speech voice based on deep learning technology.[15]

text: Integration[edit]

text: Siri was originally released as a stand-alone application for the iOS operating system in February 2010, and at the time, the developers were also intending to release Siri for Android and BlackBerry devices.[16] Two months later, Apple acquired Siri.[17][18][19] On October 4, 2011, Apple introduced the iPhone 4S with a beta version of Siri.[20][21] After the announcement, Apple removed the existing standalone Siri app from App Store.[22] TechCrunch wrote that, despite the Siri app's support for iPhone 4, its removal from App Store might also have had a financial aspect for the company, in providing an incentive for customers to upgrade devices.[22] Third-party developer Steven Troughton-Smith, however, managed to port Siri to iPhone 4, though without being able to communicate with Apple's servers.[23] A few days later, Troughton-Smith, working with an anonymous person nicknamed "Chpwn", managed to fully hack Siri, enabling its full functionalities on iPhone 4 and iPod Touch devices.[24] Additionally, developers were also able to successfully create and distribute legal ports of Siri to any device capable of running iOS 5, though a proxy server was required for Apple server interaction.[25]

text: Over the years, Apple has expanded the line of officially supported products, including newer iPhone models,[26] as well as iPad support in June 2012,[27] iPod Touch support in September 2012,[28] Apple TV support, and the standalone Siri Remote, in September 2015,[29] Mac and AirPods support in September 2016,[30][31] and HomePod support. Homepod does not currently have a set release date.[32]

text: Features and options[edit]

text: Apple offers a wide range of voice commands to interact with Siri, including, but not limited to:[33]

text:
Phone and Text actions, such as "Call Sarah", "Read my new messages", "Set the timer for 10 minutes", and "Send email to mom"
Check basic information, including "What's the weather like today?" and "How many dollars are in a Euro?"
Schedule events and reminders, including "Schedule a meeting" and "Remind me to"
Handle device settings, such as "Take a picture", "Turn on Wi-Fi", and "Increase the brightness"
Search the Internet, including "Define...", "Find pictures of...", and "Search Twitter for..."
Navigation, including "Take me home", "What's traffic like on the way home?", and "Find driving directions to..."
Entertainment, such as "What basketball games are on today?", "What are some movies playing near me?", and "What's the synopsis of...?"
Engage with iOS-integrated apps, including "Pause Apple Music" and "Like this song"

text: Siri also offers numerous pre-programmed responses to amusing questions. Such questions include "What is the meaning of life?", to which Siri may reply "All evidence to date suggests it's chocolate"; "Why am I here?", to which it may reply "I don't know. Frankly, I've wondered that myself"; and "Will you marry me?", to which it may respond with "My End User Licensing Agreement does not cover marriage. My apologies".[34][35]

text: Initially limited to female voices, Apple announced in June 2013 that Siri would feature a gender option, adding a male voice counterpart.[36]

text: In September 2014, Apple added the ability for users to speak "Hey Siri" to enable the assistant without the requirement of physically handling the device.[37]

text: In September 2015, the "Hey Siri" feature was updated to include individualized voice recognition, a presumed effort to prevent non-owner activation.[38][39]

text: With the announcement of iOS 10 in June 2016, Apple opened up limited third-party developer access to Siri through a dedicated application programming interface (API). The API restricts usage of Siri to engaging with third-party messaging apps, payment apps, ride-sharing apps, and Internet calling apps.[40][41]

text: In iOS 11, Siri is able to handle follow-up questions, supports language translation, and opens up to more third-party actions, including task management.[42][43] Additionally, users are able to type to Siri,[44] and a new, privacy-minded "on-device learning" technique improves Siri's suggestions by privately analyzing personal usage of different iOS applications.[45]

text: Reception[edit]

text: Siri received mixed reviews during its "beta" release as an integrated part of iPhone 4S in October 2011.

text: MG Siegler of TechCrunch wrote that Siri was "great", adding that "The amount of times Siri hasn’t been able to understand and execute my request is astonishingly low". Siegler further praised the potential for Siri after losing the "beta" tag, writing "Just imagine what will happen when Apple partners with other services to expand Siri further. And imagine when they have an API that any developer can use. This really could alter the mobile landscape".[46]

text: Writing for The New York Times, David Pogue also praised Siri, writing that it "thinks for a few seconds, displays a beautifully formatted response and speaks in a calm female voice". Pogue praised Siri's language understanding, stating that "It’s mind-blowing how inexact your utterances can be. Siri understands everything from, “What’s the weather going to be like in Tucson this weekend?” to “Will I need an umbrella tonight?”". Pogue also equally praised Siri's ability to understand context, using the example of "Once, I tried saying, “Make an appointment with Patrick for Thursday at 3.” Siri responded, “Note that you already have an all-day appointment about ‘Boston Trip’ for this Thursday. Shall I schedule this anyway?” Unbelievable".[47]

text: Jacqui Cheng of Ars Technica wrote that Apple's claims of what Siri could do were "bold", and the early demos "even bolder". Cheng wrote that "Though Siri shows real potential, these kinds of high expectations are bound to be disappointed", adding that "Apple makes clear that the product is still in beta—an appropriate label, in our opinion". While praising its ability to "decipher our casual language" and deliver "very specific and accurate result", sometimes even providing additional information, Cheng noted and criticized its restrictions, particularly when the language moved away from "stiffer commands" into more human interactions. One example included the phrase "Send a text to Jason, Clint, Sam, and Lee saying we're having dinner at Silver Cloud", which Siri interpreted as sending a message to Jason only, containing the text "Clint Sam and Lee saying we're having dinner at Silver Cloud". She also noted a lack of proper editability, as saying "Edit message to say: we're at Silver Cloud and you should come find us", generated "Clint Sam and Lee saying we're having dinner at Silver Cloud to say we're at Silver Cloud and you should come find us".[48]

text: Google's executive chairman and former chief, Eric Schmidt, conceded that Siri could pose a "competitive threat" to the company's core search business.[49]

text: Siri was criticized by pro-choice abortion organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and NARAL Pro-Choice America, after users found that Siri could not provide information about the location of birth control or abortion providers nearby, sometimes directing users to pro-life crisis pregnancy centers instead.[50][51][52] Natalie Kerris, a spokeswoman for Apple, told The New York Times that "Our customers want to use Siri to find out all types of information, and while it can find a lot, it doesn’t always find what you want", adding "These are not intentional omissions meant to offend anyone. It simply means that as we bring Siri from beta to a final product, we find places where we can do better, and we will in the coming weeks".[53] In January 2016, Fast Company reported that, in then-recent months, Siri had begun to confuse the word "abortion" with "adoption", citing "health experts" who stated that the situation had "gotten worse". However, at the time of Fast Company's report, the situation had changed slightly, with Siri offering "a more comprehensive list of Planned Parenthood facilities", although "Adoption clinics continue to pop up, but near the bottom of the list."[54][55]

text: Siri has also not been well received by some English speakers with distinctive accents, including Scottish[56] and Americans from Boston or the South.[57]

text: In March 2012, Frank M. Fazio filed a class action lawsuit against Apple on behalf of the people who bought iPhone 4S and felt misled about the capabilities of Siri, alleging its failing to function as depicted in Apple's Siri commercials. Fazio filed the lawsuit in California and claimed that the iPhone 4S was merely a "more expensive iPhone 4" if Siri fails to function as advertised.[58][59] On July 22, 2013, U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken in San Francisco dismissed the suit but said the plaintiffs could amend at a later time. The reason given for dismissal was that plaintiffs did not sufficiently document enough misrepresentations by Apple for the trial to proceed.[60]

text: Perceived lack of innovation[edit]

text: In June 2016, The Verge's Sean O'Kane wrote about the then-upcoming major iOS 10 updates, with a headline stating "Siri's big upgrades won't matter if it can't understand its users". O'Kane wrote that "What Apple didn’t talk about was solving Siri’s biggest, most basic flaws: it’s still not very good at voice recognition, and when it gets it right, the results are often clunky. And these problems look even worse when you consider that Apple now has full-fledged competitors in this space: Amazon’s Alexa, Microsoft’s Cortana, and Google’s Assistant."[61] Also writing for The Verge, Walt Mossberg had previously questioned Apple's efforts in cloud-based services, writing:[62]

text: [...] perhaps the biggest disappointment among Apple's cloud-based services is the one it needs most today, right now: Siri. Before Apple bought it, Siri was on the road to being a robust digital assistant that could do many things, and integrate with many services — even though it was being built by a startup with limited funds and people. After Apple bought Siri, the giant company seemed to treat it as a backwater, restricting it to doing only a few, slowly increasing number of tasks, like telling you the weather, sports scores, movie and restaurant listings, and controlling the device's functions. Its unhappy founders have left Apple to build a new AI service called Viv. And, on too many occasions, Siri either gets things wrong, doesn't know the answer, or can't verbalize it. Instead, it shows you a web search result, even when you're not in a position to read it.

text: In October 2016, Bloomberg reported that Apple had plans to unify the teams behind its various cloud-based services, including a single campus and reorganized cloud computing resources aimed at improving the processing of Siri's queries,[63] though another report from The Verge in June 2017 once again called Siri's voice recognition "bad".[64]

text: In June 2017, The Wall Street Journal published an extensive report on the lack of innovation with Siri following competitors' advancement in the field of voice assistants. Noting that Apple workers' anxiety levels "went up a notch" on the announcement of Amazon's Alexa, the Journal wrote that "Today, Apple is playing catch-up in a product category it invented, increasing worries about whether the technology giant has lost some of its innovation edge". The report cites the primary causes as being Apple's prioritization of user privacy, including randomly-tagged six-month Siri searches, whereas Google and Amazon keep data until actively discarded by the user, and executive power struggles with some employees leaving. Apple declined to comment on the report, while Eddy Cue said that "Apple often uses generic data rather than user data to train its systems and has the ability to improve Siri’s performance for individual users with information kept on their iPhones".[1][65]