Tidbits of Grand Forks - December 2, 2021

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Of Grand Forks • East Grand Forks December 2, 2021

Published by: Wick Publications

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Issue # 1,248

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EELS

by Janet Spencer

• The Latin name for the European eel is Anguilla anguilla from the Latin word meaning eel or snake.

• The European eel has an unusual life cycle that begins and ends in the Sargasso Sea, as detailed by Patrik Svensson in “The Book of Eels.” The Sargasso Sea, named for the Portuguese word meaning seaweed, is a large area off the eastern coast of the U.S. where seaweed grows in abundance, providing food and shelter for sea life, including the eel.

• Eels hatch from eggs laid amid the seaweed.

As larvae they look like a transparent willow leaf less than an inch long, and are commonly referred to as willow leaves. They drift across the Atlantic Ocean on the current of the Gulf Stream, heading towards the coasts of Europe thousands of miles away. They grow larger during the trip which may take up to three years.

By the time they reach Europe, they have transformed into the second phase of life, morphing into a transparent glass eel several inches long.

• From here each eel travels up a random brook or river, turning into a freshwater fish over the next six months as it chooses a pond, lake, swamp, or ditch as its new home. Now the eel enters its third phase of life, becoming a yellow eel which is muscular and strong. It grows up to a couple feet long and weighs up to several pounds.

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Quiz Bits

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6. What does RPM stand for?

7. Which 1987 film contains the catchy line, “May the Are eels fish or are they snakes?

Schwartz be with you.”?

What country consumes 70% 8.

Were the Righteous Brothers of the world’s eel catch? musical duo really related?

In the Disney film “The Little 9.

What was the real name of Mermaid,” what were the name Iron Butterfly’s 1968 song of Ursula’s two eel minions?

“In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida”?

What percent of the world’s population lives in the Northern10. Name the 3 fictional surnames of the male stars on Hemisphere? the sitcom “Friends.”

In what year did East Germany start to build the Berlin Wall?

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EELS (continued):

• Once the eel picks out its new freshwater home, it will stay within a few hundred yards of that spot, sometimes for decades, even up to 50 years. If caught and released elsewhere, it will make a beeline back to that place.

• Eventually, usually after 30 or 40 years, the yellow eel decides it’s time to procreate. It starts an epic journey back to the ocean, returning to the Sargasso Sea. Along the way, it transforms once again for the fourth and final time, turning into a silver eel.

• Up to this point, the eel has never had any reproductive organs. There was no way to tell a male from a female. But as it crosses the ocean, the eel’s digestive system shuts down, sexual organs grow, and it develops reserves of either roe (eggs) or milt (sperm).

• At the rate of up to 30 miles per day, swimming at a depth of up to 3,000 feet deep, it takes at least six months for the eel to make it back to the spawning ground of the Sargasso Sea. Often it takes much longer. Once there, it mates, and dies.

• And yet, no one has ever seen an eel mating. No one has ever seen an adult eel in the Sargasso Sea, either alive or dead.

• Scientists became interested in the eel because of its lack of reproductive organs. An article in a German newspaper in the mid-1800s offered a reward for anyone who found roe in an eel. Many eels were mailed to the research facility but no roe was found.

• In 1876, a researcher sent one of his assistants to Trieste, Italy, to spend an entire month doing nothing but buying eels at the fish market and dissecting them in a search for sexual organs. That research assistant was Sigmund Freud, who was 19 years old at the time. He never found what he was looking for. It wasn’t until 20 years later that a sexually mature male eel was found in the Mediterranean Sea near Sicily. ...continued Full Service Electrical Contractor

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• In 1904 Danish marine biologist Johannes Schmidt set out to discover where the eel went to procreate.

He sailed around the Atlantic, dipping nets into the water and examining the catch looking for willow leaf eels. He deduced that if he could find them in smaller and smaller sizes, he would find the place where they were hatching. He paid trans-Atlantic freighters to dip their nets in the water, mark the location, and deliver the catch to him. He collected the data and closed in on the Sargasso Sea as their point of origin. Then he made a discovery.

• There are two species of eel which are virtually identical. Anguilla anguilla is the species that ends up in European waterways. Anguilla rostrata (with ‘rostrata’ meaning ‘curved’) is the species that ends up in American waterways. In the middle of the ocean, there were equal numbers of each species in its willow leaf phase. But the farther west he went, the more American species there were.

He concluded that both species were breeding in the same spot.

• He found that the American eels grew faster than the European eels, becoming strong enough to break out of the ocean currents that sweep towards Europe. American eels undergo their first metamorphosis, turning into glass eels, after a single year, whereas European eels take three years to do so. The American eels are able to fight their way out of the prevailing currents and head west, going up rivers in the U.S., while the European eels drift with the current which carries them 4,000 miles east.

• In 1914 Johannes Schmidt found the smallest willow leaf eels ever discovered, measuring just a third of an inch long, and this led him to conclude that eels breed in the Sargasso Sea. He published his findings in 1923, summing up 20 years of research. In 1930 he was awarded the Darwin Medal. ...continued

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3. Which pitcher has won the throwing target commonly most Cy Young Awards? called?

SPORTS QUIZ

EELS (continued):

• In 1859 an eight-year-old boy caught an eel near his home in Brantevik, Sweden. He dropped it into a 15-foot well on his property, and covered the well with a stone slab. There was no way for the eel to get out, and no way for other eels to get in. Periodically he moved the slab aside to see if the eel was still there. When he died of old age, the eel was still alive. His children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren monitored the eel too. The eel became famous, known as the Brantevik Eel. In 2009, a Swedish TV show documented that the eel was still alive, pulling it out to measure and photograph it, and putting it back.

In 2014, the owner of the well found the eel dead, having lived 155 years.

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• In 2016, over 700 silver eels were tagged with transmitters and released all over Europe. Data was retrieved from 87 trackers. It showed that eels can swim without stopping or eating for six months. Some eels managed 30 miles a day, while others swam only two. They followed wildly different routes. But of all of them, not a single one could be documented as having made it all the way back to the Sargasso Sea.

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• In 1980 a research expedition caught a load of silver eels off the coast of Ireland that were on their way to the Sargasso Sea to breed. The scientists wanted to know how old they were. Researchers can tell the age of a fish by counting the number of rings on its otolith, which is an organ in its inner ear. They were surprised to find that the eels ranged in age from 8 to 57, yet they were all in the99same developmental stage. No one knows 149 99 149 what triggers this transformation or why it varies 18’ 2 Man Ladder Stand 18’ 2 Man #RE649 Ladder Stand (6669-0742) so much.

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*Answer located further back in this issue.

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by Matilda Charles

Foreign Radio Stations and Language Lessons

Here we are, still stuck mostly at home for another winter. Looking for ways to get out, even if it's only mentally, I've discovered internet radio.

It's easy to get started. I went to Radio.net (with 33,000 stations around the world) and on a whim I typed in Ireland for a search function. That got me 15 stations in Ireland. I tried Canada, and that netted me 44 stations. Searching for France, I found 798 stations. I went with a French talk show aimed at seniors and have been able to test the free French lessons I've been taking online with Duolingo.

If you get hooked on listening to the radio on your computer, you might consider investing in a good pair of speakers. I prefer the wired speakers, as opposed to struggling with Bluetooth connections, and a decent set can be had for less than $25.

I'm still using a pair of 3-inch cube speakers with a very handy volume button that I purchased seven years ago.

As for the free French lessons on Duolingo (duolingo.com), I've decided to start again at the beginning. There are four goal levels: casual, regular, serious and intense, meaning 5, 10, 15 or 20 minutes per day of instruction. Now that I've found that French talk show, not to mention all the other 797 French stations, I'm going to get more serious about learning French.

On Radio.net there was an offer to get a free phone app at the App store or on Google Play, but you can just click the green arrow for connection.

One thing to keep in mind about radio apps for phones or tablets -- they do use data. If you're on a cellphone plan, make sure you are using Wi-Fi, or be aware of how much data you are using. You can always listen on the computer.

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by Freddy Groves

New Hires to Process VA Claims Backlog

The Department of Veterans Affairs has hired 2,000 claims processors to deal with the claims backlog.

They're going to be busy, once they're trained.

As of early October, the VA was sitting on over 200,000 backlogged claims, meaning that of the 600,000 claims in hand, one-third were over 125 days old. In addition, they have now found more than 70,000 claims that must be reviewed after three new presumptives were added for Agent Orange exposure, bringing the total to 270,000 backlogged claims.

The three new presumptives -- Parkinsonism, bladder cancer and hypothyroidism -- have been added to more than a dozen existing ones. Those three conditions had never been approved as presumptives, but now that they are, we have the Nehmer lawsuit of 1986 to thank for the need to review those claims. Nehmer concluded that if you ever filed and were turned down for illnesses that later made the accepted list of presumptives, the VA is automatically required to go back and review your claim. The bonus here is that any disability pay you receive now will be retroactive to the date of your original claim.

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You don't have to refile, but as a precaution, check in with the VA and make sure it didn't lose your original claim. Be certain you're among those whose claim is being looked at.

In addition, there are three new presumptives for airborne particulate exposure -- asthma, rhinitis and sinusitis -- for those who served in the Gulf during a certain period of time. If you've already put in a claim, it will be reviewed.

If you want to keep an eye on how the new claims processors are doing, check www.benefits.va.gov/reports/detailed_claims_data.asp for weekly reports. Note the accuracy-level reports. Those are worrying. Again, don't assume the new processors are reviewing your old claim. Call and find out. © 2021 King Features Synd., Inc.

Pays2Know

by Lucie Winbourne

• After the battle of Waterloo in 1815, scavengers removed the teeth from tens of thousands of dead soldiers for use in dentures. The so-called Waterloo teeth were in such demand because they came from relatively healthy young men.

Refer a Friend or Family Member and You’ll Both Get $75*

• In 2003, there were 86 days of below-freezing weather in Hell, Michigan.

• The U.S. Navy sustainably manages over 50,000 acres of forest in Indiana with white oak trees more than a century old, to replace like for like on the 220-year-old wooden frigate USS Constitution.

• Heavy metal band Black Sabbath's original name was The Polka Tulk Blues Band, after the brand name of a talcum powder used by Ozzy Osbourne's mother.

• Jellyfish are considered biologically immortal.

They don't age and will never die unless they are killed.

• The party game of Twister was originally called Pretzel, but Milton Bradley changed the name in 1965 due to trademark issues.

• Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia is the fear of long words and is thought to develop from the fear of pronouncing long words incorrectly. (Hey, we get it -- we tried.)

• The opposite sides of dice always add up to seven.

• "Deaf flights" were prescribed by doctors to cure hearing loss in the 1920s and '30s. Stunt pilots would take unsuspecting passengers up in planes and terrify them with loops, barrel rolls and dives.

• J.R.R. Tolkien was nominated by fellow author C.S. Lewis for the 1961 Nobel Prize in Literature, but was overlooked because the jury said the quality of his storytelling wasn't good.

• Philadelphia cream cheese was actually created in New York. *** Thought for the Day: "Yearning for the seemingly impossible is the path to human progress." -- Bryant H. McGill ©2021 King Features Syndicate, Inc.

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WONDERFUL WORDS

NAMES OF COMPANIES

• Steve Jobs wanted a homey-sounding name for his company, much in contrast to other firms with cold, clinical names. He’d spent several months working in an apple orchard, and suggested “Apple” as a company name. Co-founder Steve Wozniak liked it because it got them ahead of Atari in the phone book.

• The Japanese word “Atari” means “your game pieces are in danger of being captured” similar to the word “check” in chess.

• The north face of mountains in the Northern Hemisphere is usually the coldest and hardest face of the mountain to climb. North Face founders chose this as the corporate name to reflect the firm’s mission to protect explorers facing extreme conditions.

• Aflac: American Family Life Assurance Co. • Pierre Omidyar started a company called Echo Bay Technology Group just because he liked the name, but when he tried to register the domain, it was already taken. He shortened it to eBay.com instead.

• Jeff Bezos wanted to call his company Cadabra, after abracadabra, but it sounded too much like “cadaver.”

He chose Amazon instead, the biggest river in the world, because it started with an “A” to get him to the front of the listings, and sounded exotic.

• Pepsi has its roots in the word “dyspepsia” meaning indigestion because the inventor wanted to imply that it was a healthy drink that could aid digestion.

• Taco Bell has nothing to do with bells and everything to do with founder Glen Bell.

• Microsoft manufactures software for microcomputers.

• BMW is the initials of Bayerische Motoren Werke meaning Bavarian Motor Works.

Answer

Answer

Weekly SUDOKU

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King CROSSWORD

• Nike is the Greek goddess of victory.

• Instagram is a combination of “instant” and “telegram” but the true test of the name was that it was easy to spell.

• Datsun sprang from the initials of the company financiers, named Den, Aoyama, and Takeuchi, and was originally called simply DAT. Then the company made a smaller car, and in Japanese “son” means “loss” referring to loss of size of the car: Datson.

When the firm was purchased by Nissan, it was changed to Datsun.

• Bell Atlantic renamed itself Verizon, a combination of the Latin “veritas” for truth, and “horizon.”

• In 1965, a coach for the University of Florida’s football team asked university doctors why so many of their players were suffering from heat-related illnesses. The doctors concluded that it was due to the player’s loss of electrolytes during workouts.

A team concocted a new drink loaded with electrolytes to replace what the team sweated out. Because the university’s mascot was an alligator, they named it Gatorade.

• A new method of communicating wirelessly was originally going to be called “Sky Peer-to-Peer” which was trimmed down to “Skyper” but that domain name was already spoken for. It was shortened to simply Skype.

• GEICO: Government Employees Insurance Company.

• A family whose last name was Nakash started a company. Brothers Joe, Ralph, and David, along with David’s son Avi, combined the initials of their first names, along with the “sh” sound of their last name: Jordache.

• A chain of convenience stores called Tote’m changed their name in 1946 to advertise their operating hours: 7-Eleven.

• Hyundai means “the present age” or “modernity” in Korean.

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#1 Mail a check to: Santa Claus Girls 1726 S. Washington St. • #81 Grand Forks, ND 58201

In addition to these items, each family receives: • Wrapping Paper • Tape • Crayons • Large Pizza Certificate

#2 Donate Online: www.SantaClausGirls.com

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*Answer located further back in this issue.

© 2021 King Features Syndicate. All rights reserved.

King Features Weekly Service ©2021 King Features Syndicate, Inc. All rights reserved.

© 2021 King Features Synd., Inc.

(Answers located further back)

November 22, 2021

• Cookie sheets make great temporary mud and moisture trays for dirty shoes. Stash one at the entry to your home, and you will have less dirt tracked across your floors.

• “To make your drains fresh-smelling, shake a half-cup of baking soda into the drain. Then pour 2 cups of vinegar that you have warmed on the stove. It will froth and bubble. When it’s done, run the hot water and give it a little scrub.” — R.C. in Idaho • Blood pressure can be affected by many things, and seeing the doctor is one of them. Instead, request that your blood pressure be taken by a nurse or physician’s assistant. Having a full bladder also can make your pressure reading higher, as can positioning your arm below heart level.

• “Keep knitting yarn in check with empty tissue boxes. Set your yarn ball inside the box, and let the string lead out of the top. When not in use, tape the string to the side of the box. Boxes can be stacked and stored for future projects.” — C.W. in Indiana • “Try this baking tip from my mother: When you have a recipe that calls for dry spices (cinnamon, ginger, ground clove, etc.), cream them with the butter instead of sifting them with the dry ingredients. I do feel like they become infused in the recipe better.”

— A. in Illinois • Visit the dollar store for low-cost toys to use on car or airplane trips. You can get several busy toys and dole them out one at a time. Most parents will attest to what a lifesaver this can be.

Send your tips to Now Here’s a Tip, 628 Virginia Drive, Orlando, FL 32803.

S E RV I C E BITS Town & Country Barbershop Full Service Barber Shop Walk-In Only (701) 772-5091

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Service Shoe Shop Expert Boot & Shoe Repair & More

• Canvas Tarp & Tent Repair • Sports Equipment Repair • Saddle & Tack Repair • Suitcase and Purse Repair • Coat & Jacket Repair • Orthopedic Build Ups • Zipper Repair • Shoe Shines

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Sales & Installation

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• On Dec. 11, 1872, already appearing as a well-known figure of the Wild West in popular dime novels, Buffalo Bill Cody makes his first stage appearance in a Chicago-based production of "The Scouts of the Prairie."

• On Dec. 12, 1901, Italian physicist and radio pioneer Guglielmo Marconi succeeds in sending the first radio transmission across the Atlantic Ocean, disproving detractors who said the curvature of the earth would limit transmission to 200 miles or less.

• On Dec. 6, 1917, a devastating blast occurs when the Mont Blanc, a French munitions ship, explodes after colliding with another vessel in Halifax harbor in Nova Scotia. The Mont Blanc was packed with 2,300 tons of picric acid, 200 tons of TNT and 35 tons of high-octane gasoline.

CERTIFIED INSPECTOR

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• On Dec. 7, 1941, a swarm of 360 Japanese warplanes descends on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii in a ferocious early morning assault. The surprise attack devastated the U.S. Pacific fleet and drew the United States into World War II. • On Dec. 9, 1950, Harry Gold, who confessed to serving as a courier of top-secret information on the atomic bomb, is sentenced to 30 years in prison. Gold implicated his brother-in-law and sister, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, who were later executed for espionage.

• On Dec. 10, 1967, soul legend Otis Redding dies in a plane crash in Wisconsin. "(Sittin' on) The Dock of the Bay" would be released in its "unfinished" form several weeks later. The whistled verse was a placeholder for additional lyrics that Redding had yet to write.

• On Dec. 8, 1982, "Sophie's Choice," starring Meryl Streep as a Holocaust survivor, opens in theaters. The "choice" refers to a terrible decision Streep's character is forced to make about which of her two children will live or die while in a concentration camp. © 2021 Hearst Communications, Inc.

5th Annual

GAMES

Thursday, December 16, 2021

GFC vs RR (JV) • 5:00 pm • Gambucci GF KnightRiders vs EGF • 5:15 pm • Purpur GFC vs RR (Varsity) • 7:30 pm • Purpur • T-Shirts • Chuck-a-Puck • Cash Raffle • Various raffle items

Grand Forks Serving Local Small Businesses for Nearly 50 Years Want Help Starting Your Own Small Business?

Go to www.score.org and Request a Mentor

A team of experienced business men and women want to help you explore your idea and make it happen.

• Free and Confidential •

Call: 701-746-5851 • Website: www.grandforks.score.org Follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

DERECHO

• A derecho (“deh-REY-cho”) is widespread line of intense windstorms and thunderstorms which moves quickly across great distances and is characterized by damaging winds. The name is Spanish meaning “straight ahead” referring to the fact that the storm system moves relentlessly forward without swirling like tornadoes or hurricanes.

• The term was first coined in 1888 by a physics professor but fell out of use. It was resurrected by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) a century later. It entered the public lexicon in 2012, after one of the worst derechos in history cut a swath of destruction 700 miles from Ohio to the mid-Atlantic coast, killing 22 people.

• Derechos are most common in central and eastern regions of the U.S. in late spring and early summer. 70% of all derechos occur between the months of May through August.

• They are characterized by a wall of wind that can travel hundreds of miles at high speeds. They form in the same way ordinary thunderstorms form, with the basic principle being that warm air is able to hold more moisture than cool air, and that warm air rises into the upper atmosphere, where it cools and drops its moisture. With a derecho, however, the downdraft is so strong due to wind shear in squall lines that it spreads out in all directions.

• When a cluster of fierce downburst winds in the center of a storm races ahead of the rest of the storm, it creates what’s called a “bow echo.” This bowing of the storm front forces even more warm air into the atmosphere, intensifying the storm.

When a series of bow echoes moves across more than 250 miles with wind gusts of more than 58 mph, with pockets of up to 75 mph, it is officially classified as a derecho. ...continued

Solution on Next Page

DERECHO (continued):

• Downburst clusters of wind caused by derechos can range from four to six miles long, containing smaller pockets of extreme wind called microbursts and burst swaths. A microburst may only be about 150 to 450 feet long, but they are concentrated like the winds of a tornado and can exceed 100 mph. After a derecho, pockets of massive destruction can sit next to areas that escape unscathed. Hail is common in a derecho, as are tornadoes.

DIFFERENCES:: DIFFERENCES 1. Bandanna is different. 2. Star on glove is missing.

3. Leaves are added. 4. Sleeve is shorter.

5. Sneakers are different. 6. Hedge is taller. © 2020 King Features Synd., All rights reserved.

• On August 10, 2020, a derecho swept across the Midwest from Nebraska and South Dakota to Indiana and Ohio, traveling 770 miles in 14 hours and knocking out power for more than a million people.

• The storm front traveled at an average speed of 55 mph. Areas hit by the storm system suffered sustained high winds for periods of 30 to 45 minutes in what was described as an “inland hurricane.”

• Iowa was the hardest-hit state. Over 40% of the state’s corn and soybean crop, the core of Iowa’s economy, was severely damaged by the storm, whose winds reached 110-140 mph.

This was equivalent to winds in a Category 3 or 4 hurricane.

• Swaths of 90 to 100 mph winds were between 30 and 50 miles wide at times.

• Cedar Rapids was one of the hardest hit cities in the state. More than 800 buildings suffered partial collapse, including 20 schools. Half of the city’s trees were lost. Some areas were without power for weeks.

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• The storm inflicted $11 billion worth of damage to the region, making it the second most costly natural disaster in U.S. history, surpassed only

by Hurricane Laura that blasted Louisiana in August of 2020.

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Quiz Answers

1. Fish 2. Japan 3. Flotsam & Jetsam 4. 90% 5. 1961 6. Revolutions per minute.

7. “Spaceballs” 8. No 9. “In the Garden of Eden.”

10. (Ross) Gellar (Chandler) Bing (Joey) Tribbiani

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Sports Answers 1. Dan 3. Edwin Moses Saleaumua 4. Bowling 2. 5 5. Kill shots 3. Roger Clemens (7)

TRUCK ACCESSORIES

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Turnoverball™ Gooseneck Hitch

Other Hitch Styles Available

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All-Weather Floor Mats

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