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Algae

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"Alga" redirects here. For places called Alga, see Alga (disambiguation). For other uses, see Algae (disambiguation).

Algae Fossil range: Mesoproterozoic–present[1]

Had'n

Archean

Proterozoic

Pha.

A variety of algae growing on the sea bed in shallow waters

A variety of algae growing on the sea bed in shallow waters

Scientific classification

Domain: Eukaryota

Included groups

Archaeplastida Chlorophyta (green algae) Rhodophyta (red algae) Glaucophyta Charophyta

Rhizaria, Excavata Chlorarachniophytes Euglenids

Chromista, Alveolata Heterokonts Bacillariophyceae (Diatoms) Axodines Bolidomonas Eustigmatophyceae Phaeophyceae (brown algae) Chrysophyceae (golden algae) Raphidophyceae Synurophyceae Xanthophyceae (yellow-green algae)

Cryptophyta Dinoflagellata Haptophyta

(Cyanobacteria) (blue-green algae)

Excluded groups

(Cyanobacteria) (blue-green algae) Protista

The lineage of algae according to Thomas Cavalier-Smith. The exact number and placement of endosymbiotic events is currently unknown, so this diagram can be taken only as a general guide.[2][3] It represents the most parsimonious way of explaining the three types of endosymbiotic origins of plastids. These types include the endosymbiotic events of cyanobacteria, red algae and green algae, leading to the hypothesis of the supergroups Archaeplastida, Chromalveolata and Cabozoa respectively. However, the monophyly of Cabozoa has been refuted and the monophylies of Archaeplastida and Chromalveolata are currently strongly challenged.[citation needed] Endosymbiotic events are noted by dotted lines. Algae (/'æld?i?/ or /'ælgi?/; singular alga /'ælg?/) is a very large and diverse group of eukaryotic organisms, ranging from unicellular genera such as Chlorella and the diatoms to multicellular forms such as the giant kelp, a large brown alga that may grow up to 50 meters in length. Most are autotrophic and lack many of the distinct cell and tissue types found in land plants such as stomata, xylem and phloem. The largest and most complex marine algae are called seaweeds, while the most complex freshwater forms are the Charophyta, a division of algae that includes Spirogyra and the stoneworts.

There is no generally accepted definition of algae. One definition is that algae "have chlorophyll as their primary photosynthetic pigment and lack a sterile covering of cells around their reproductive cells".[4] Other authors exclude all prokaryotes[5] and thus do not consider cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) as algae.[6]

Algae constitute a polyphyletic group[5] since they do not include a common ancestor, and although their plastids seem to have a single origin, from cyanobacteria,[2] they were acquired in different ways. Green algae are examples of algae that have primary chloroplasts derived from endosymbiotic cyanobacteria. Diatoms are examples of algae with secondary chloroplasts derived from an endosymbiotic red alga.[7]

Algae exhibit a wide range of reproductive strategies, from simple asexual cell division to complex forms of sexual reproduction.[8]

Algae lack the various structures that characterize land plants, such as the phyllids (leaf-like structures) of bryophytes, rhizoids in nonvascular plants, and the roots, leaves, and other organs that are found in tracheophytes (vascular plants). Most are phototrophic, although some groups[which?] contain members that are mixotrophic, deriving energy both from photosynthesis and uptake of organic carbon either by osmotrophy, myzotrophy, or phagotrophy. Some unicellular species of green algae, many golden algae, euglenids, dinoflagellates and other algae have become heterotrophs (also called colorless or apochlorotic algae), sometimes parasitic, relying entirely on external energy sources and have limited or no photosynthetic apparatus.[9][10] Some other heterotrophic organisms, like the apicomplexans, are also derived from cells whose ancestors possessed plastids, but are not traditionally considered as algae. Algae have photosynthetic machinery ultimately derived from cyanobacteria that produce oxygen as a by-product of photosynthesis, unlike other photosynthetic bacteria such as purple and green sulfur bacteria. Fossilized filamentous algae from the Vindhya basin have been dated back to 1.6 to 1.7 billion years ago.[11]

Contents [hide] 1 Etymology and study 2 Classification 3 Relationship to land plants 4 Morphology 5 Physiology 6 Symbiotic algae 6.1 Lichens 6.2 Coral reefs 6.3 Sea sponges

7 Life-cycle 8 Numbers 9 Distribution 10 Ecology 11 Cultural associations 12 Uses 12.1 Agar 12.2 Alginates 12.3 Energy source 12.4 Fertilizer 12.5 Nutrition 12.6 Pollution control 12.7 Bioremediation 12.8 Pigments 12.9 Stabilizing substances

13 See also 14 References 15 Bibliography 15.1 General 15.2 Regional

16 External links

Etymology and study[edit]

The singular alga is the Latin word for "seaweed" and retains that meaning in English.[12] The etymology is obscure. Although some speculate that it is related to Latin algere, "be cold",[13] there is no known reason to associate seaweed with temperature. A more likely source is alliga, "binding, entwining."[14]

The Ancient Greek word for seaweed was f???? (fukos or phykos), which could mean either the seaweed (probably red algae) or a red dye derived from it. The Latinization, fucus, meant primarily the cosmetic rouge. The etymology is uncertain, but a strong candidate has long been some word related to the Biblical ??? (puk), "paint" (if not that word itself), a cosmetic eye-shadow used by the ancient Egyptians and other inhabitants of the eastern Mediterranean. It could be any color: black, red, green, blue.[15]

Accordingly, the modern study of marine and freshwater, algae is called either phycology or algology, depending on whether the Greek or Latin root is used. The name Fucus appears in a number of taxa.

Classification[edit]

Further information: wikispecies:Algae

False-color Scanning electron micrograph of the unicellular coccolithophore Gephyrocapsa oceanica Most algae contain chloroplasts that are similar in structure to cyanobacteria. Chloroplasts contain circular DNA like that in cyanobacteria and presumably represent reduced endosymbiotic cyanobacteria. However, the exact origin of the chloroplasts is different among separate lineages of algae, reflecting their acquisition during different endosymbiotic events. The table below describes the composition of the three major groups of algae. Their lineage relationships are shown in the figure in the upper right. Many of these groups contain some members that are no longer photosynthetic. Some retain plastids, but not chloroplasts, while others have lost plastids entirely.

Phylogeny based on plastid[16] not nucleocytoplasmic genealogy:

Cyanobacteria

Glaucophytes

rhodoplasts

Rhodophytes

Heterokonts

Cryptophytes

Haptophytes

chloroplasts

Euglenophytes

Chlorophytes

Charophytes

Land plants (Embryophyta)

Chlorarachniophytes

Supergroup affiliation

Members

Endosymbiont

Summary

Primoplantae/ Archaeplastida Chlorophyta Rhodophyta Glaucophyta Cyanobacteria These algae have primary chloroplasts, i.e. the chloroplasts are surrounded by two membranes and probably developed through a single endosymbiotic event. The chloroplasts of red algae have chlorophylls a and c (often), and phycobilins, while those of green algae have chloroplasts with chlorophyll a and b without phycobilins. Land plants are pigmented similarly to green algae and probably developed from them, and thus Chlorophyta is a sister taxon to the plants; sometimes Chlorophyta, Charophyta and land plants are grouped together as Viridiplantae. Excavata and Rhizaria Chlorarachniophytes Euglenids Green algae These groups have green chloroplasts containing chlorophylls a and b.[17] Their chloroplasts are surrounded by four and three membranes, respectively, and were probably retained from ingested green algae.

Chlorarachniophytes, which belong to the phylum Cercozoa, contain a small nucleomorph, which is a relict of the algae's nucleus.

Euglenids, which belong to the phylum Euglenozoa, live primarily in freshwater and have chloroplasts with only three membranes. It has been suggested that the endosymbiotic green algae were acquired through myzocytosis rather than phagocytosis. Chromista and Alveolata Heterokonts Haptophyta Cryptomonads Dinoflagellates Red algae These groups have chloroplasts containing chlorophylls a and c, and phycobilins.The shape varies from plant to plant. they may be of discoid, plate-like, reticulate, cup-shaped, spiral or ribbon shaped. They have one or more pyrenoids to preserve protein and starch. The latter chlorophyll type is not known from any prokaryotes or primary chloroplasts, but genetic similarities with red algae suggest a relationship there.[18]

In the first three of these groups (Chromista), the chloroplast has four membranes, retaining a nucleomorph in Cryptomonads, and they likely share a common pigmented ancestor, although other evidence casts doubt on whether the Heterokonts, Haptophyta, and Cryptomonads are in fact more closely related to each other than to other groups.[3][19]

The typical dinoflagellate chloroplast has three membranes, but there is considerable diversity in chloroplasts within the group, and it appears there were a number of endosymbiotic events.[2] The Apicomplexa, a group of closely related parasites, also have plastids called apicoplasts. Apicoplasts are not photosynthetic but appear to have a common origin with Dinoflagellate chloroplasts.[2]

Title page of Gmelin's Historia Fucorum, dated 1768 Linnaeus, in Species Plantarum (1753),[20] the starting point for modern botanical nomenclature, recognized 14 genera of algae, of which only 4 are currently considered among algae.[21] In Systema Naturae, Linnaeus described the genera Volvox and Corallina, among the animals.

In 1768, Samuel Gottlieb Gmelin (1744–1774) published the Historia Fucorum, the first work dedicated to marine algae and the first book on marine biology to use the then new binomial nomenclature of Linnaeus. It included elaborate illustrations of seaweed and marine algae on folded leaves.[22][23]

W.H.Harvey (1811—1866) and Lamouroux (1813)[24] were the first to divide macroscopic algae into four divisions based on their pigmentation. This is the first use of a biochemical criterion in plant systematics. Harvey's four divisions are: red algae (Rhodospermae), brown algae (Melanospermae), green algae (Chlorospermae) and Diatomaceae.[25][26]

At this time, microscopic algae were discovered and reported by a different group of workers (e.g., O. F. Müller and Ehrenberg) studying the Infusoria (microscopic organisms). Unlike macroalgae, which were clearly viewed as plants, microalgae were frequently considered animals because they are often motile.[27] Even the non-motile (coccoid) microalgae were sometimes merely seen as stages of the life cycle of plants, macroalgae or animals.[28][29]

Although used as a taxonomic category in some pre-Darwinian classifications, e.g., Linnaeus (1753), de Jussieu (1789), Horaninow (1843), Agassiz (1859), Wilson & Cassin (1864), in further classifications, the "algae" are seen as an artificial, polyphyletic group.

Throughout 20th century, most classifications treated as divisions or classes of algae the following groups: cyanophytes, rhodophytes, chrysophytes, xanthophytes, bacillariophytes, phaeophytes, pyrrhophytes (cryptophytes and dinophytes), euglenophytes and chlorophytes. Later, many new groups were discovered (e.g., Bolidophyceae), and others were splintered from older groups: charophytes and glaucophytes (from chlorophytes), many heterokontophytes (e.g., synurophytes from chrysophytes, or eustigmatophytes from xanthophytes), haptophytes (from chrysophytes) and chlorarachniophytes (from xanthophytes).

With the abandonment of plant-animal dichotomous classification, most groups of algae (sometimes all) were included in Protista, later also abandoned in favour of Eukaryota. However, as a legacy of the older plant life scheme, some groups that were also treated as protozoans in the past still have duplicated classifications (see ambiregnal protists).

Some parasitic algae (e.g., the green algae Prototheca and Helicosporidium, parasites of metazoans, or Cephaleuros, parasites of plants) were originally classified as fungi, sporozoans or protistans of incertae sedis,[30] while others (e.g., the green algae Phyllosiphon and Rhodochytrium, parasites of plants, or the red algae Pterocladiophila and Gelidiocolax mammillatus, parasites of other red algae, or the dinoflagellates Oodinium, parasites of fish) had their relationship with algae conjectured early. In other cases, some groups were originally characterized as parasitic algae (e.g., Chlorochytrium), but later were seen as endophytic algae.[31] Furthermore, groups like the apicomplexans are also parasites derived from ancestors that possessed plastids, but are not included in any group traditionally seen as algae.

Relationship to land plants[edit]

The first land plants probably evolved from shallow freshwater charophyte algae much like Chara almost 500 million years ago. These probably had an isomorphic alternation of generations and were probably filamentous. Fossils of isolated land plant spores suggest land plants may have been around as long as 475 million years ago.[32][33]

Morphology[edit]

The kelp forest exhibit at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. A three-dimensional, multicellular thallus A range of algal morphologies are exhibited, and convergence of features in unrelated groups is common. The only groups to exhibit three-dimensional multicellular thalli are the reds and browns, and some chlorophytes.[34] Apical growth is constrained to subsets of these groups: the florideophyte reds, various browns, and the charophytes.[34] The form of charophytes is quite different from those of reds and browns, because they have distinct nodes, separated by internode 'stems'; whorls of branches reminiscent of the horsetails occur at the nodes.[34] Conceptacles are another polyphyletic trait; they appear in the coralline algae and the Hildenbrandiales, as well as the browns.[34]

Most of the simpler algae are unicellular flagellates or amoeboids, but colonial and non-motile forms have developed independently among several of the groups. Some of the more common organizational levels, more than one of which may occur in the life cycle of a species, are Colonial: small, regular groups of motile cells Capsoid: individual non-motile cells embedded in mucilage Coccoid: individual non-motile cells with cell walls Palmelloid: non-motile cells embedded in mucilage Filamentous: a string of non-motile cells connected together, sometimes branching Parenchymatous: cells forming a thallus with partial differentiation of tissues

In three lines even higher levels of organization have been reached, with full tissue differentiation. These are the brown algae,[35]—some of which may reach 50 m in length (kelps)[36]—the red algae,[37] and the green algae.[38] The most complex forms are found among the green algae (see Charales and Charophyta), in a lineage that eventually led to the higher land plants. The point where these non-algal plants begin and algae stop is usually taken to be the presence of reproductive organs with protective cell layers, a characteristic not found in the other alga groups.

Physiology[edit]

Many algae, particularly members of the Characeae,[39] have served as model experimental organisms to understand the mechanisms of the water permeability of membranes, osmoregulation, turgor regulation, salt tolerance, cytoplasmic streaming, and the generation of action potentials.

Phytohormones are found not only in higher plants, but in algae too.[40]

Symbiotic algae[edit]

Some species of algae form symbiotic relationships with other organisms. In these symbioses, the algae supply photosynthates (organic substances) to the host organism providing protection to the algal cells. The host organism derives some or all of its energy requirements from the algae. Examples are as follows.

Lichens[edit]

Main article: Lichens

Rock lichens in Ireland Lichens are defined by the International Association for Lichenology to be "an association of a fungus and a photosynthetic symbiont resulting in a stable vegetative body having a specific structure."[41] The fungi, or mycobionts, are mainly from the Ascomycota with a few from the Basidiomycota. They are not found alone in nature but when they began to associate is not known.[42] One mycobiont associates with the same phycobiont species, rarely two, from the green algae, except that alternatively the mycobiont may associate with a species of cyanobacteria (hence "photobiont" is the more accurate term). A photobiont may be associated with many different mycobionts or may live independently; accordingly, lichens are named and classified as fungal species.[43] The association is termed a morphogenesis because the lichen has a form and capabilities not possessed by the symbiont species alone (they can be experimentally isolated). It is possible that the photobiont triggers otherwise latent genes in the mycobiont.[44]

Coral reefs[edit]

Main articles: Coral, Coral reef and Symbiodinium

Floridian coral reef Coral reefs are accumulated from the calcareous exoskeletons of marine invertebrates of the order Scleractinia (stony corals). These animals metabolize sugar and oxygen to obtain energy for their cell-building processes, including secretion of the exoskeleton, with water and carbon dioxide as byproducts. Dinoflagellates (algal protists) are often endosymbionts in the cells of the coral-forming marine invertebrates, where they accelerate host-cell metabolism by generating immediately available sugar and oxygen through photosynthesis using incident light and the carbon dioxide produced by the host. Reef-building stony corals (hermatypic corals) require endosymbiotic algae from the genus Symbiodinium to be in a healthy condition.[45] The loss of Symbiodinium from the host is known as coral bleaching, a condition which leads to the deterioration of a reef.

Sea sponges[edit]

Main article: Sea sponge

Green algae live close to the surface of some sponges, for example, breadcrumb sponge (Halichondria panicea). The alga is thus protected from predators; the sponge is provided with oxygen and sugars which can account for 50 to 80% of sponge growth in some species.[46]

Life-cycle[edit]

Rhodophyta, Chlorophyta and Heterokontophyta, the three main algal phyla, have life-cycles which show considerable variation and complexity. In general there is an asexual phase where the seaweed's cells are diploid, a sexual phase where the cells are haploid followed by fusion of the male and female gametes. Asexual reproduction permits efficient population increases, but less variation is possible. Commonly in sexual reproduction of unicellular and colonial algae, two specialized sexually compatible haploid gametes make physical contact and fuse to form a zygote. To ensure successful mating, the development and release of gametes is highly synchronized and regulated and pheromones may play a key role in these processes.[47] Sexual reproduction allows more variation and provides the benefit of efficient recombinational repair of DNA damages during meiosis, a key stage of the sexual cycle.[48] However, sexual reproduction is more costly than asexual reproduction.[49] Meiosis has been shown to occur in many different species of algae.[50]

For more details on this topic, see Conceptacle.

Numbers[edit]

Algae on coastal rocks at Shihtiping in Taiwan The Algal Collection of the US National Herbarium (located in the National Museum of Natural History) consists of approximately 320,500 dried specimens, which, although not exhaustive (no exhaustive collection exists), gives an idea of the order of magnitude of the number of algal species (that number remains unknown).[51] Estimates vary widely. For example, according to one standard textbook,[52] in the British Isles the UK Biodiversity Steering Group Report estimated there to be 20000 algal species in the UK. Another checklist reports only about 5000 species. Regarding the difference of about 15000 species, the text concludes: "It will require many detailed field surveys before it is possible to provide a reliable estimate of the total number of species ..."

Regional and group estimates have been made as well: 5000–5500 species of red algae worldwide "some 1300 in Australian Seas"[53] 400 seaweed species for the western coastline of South Africa,[54] and 212 species from the coast of KwaZulu-Natal.[55] Some of these are duplicates as the range extends across both coasts, and the total recorded is probably about 500 species. Most of these are listed in List of seaweeds of South Africa. These exclude phytoplankton and crustose corallines. 669 marine species from California (US)[56] 642 in the check-list of Britain and Ireland[57]

and so on, but lacking any scientific basis or reliable sources, these numbers have no more credibility than the British ones mentioned above. Most estimates also omit microscopic algae, such as phytoplankton.

The most recent estimate suggests a total number of 72,500 algal species worldwide.[58]

Distribution[edit]

The distribution of algal species has been fairly well studied since the founding of phytogeography in the mid-19th century AD.[59] Algae spread mainly by the dispersal of spores analogously to the dispersal of Plantae by seeds and spores. Spores are everywhere in all parts of the Earth: the waters fresh and marine, the atmosphere, free-floating and in precipitation or mixed with dust, the humus and in other organisms, such as humans. Whether a spore is to grow into an organism depends on the combination of the species and the environmental conditions of where the spore lands.

The spores of fresh-water algae are dispersed mainly by running water and wind, as well as by living carriers.[60] The bodies of water into which they are transported are chemically selective.[clarification needed] Marine spores are spread by currents. Ocean water is temperature selective, resulting in phytogeographic zones, regions and provinces.[61]

To some degree the distribution of algae is subject to floristic discontinuities caused by geographical features, such as Antarctica, long distances of ocean or general land masses. It is therefore possible to identify species occurring by locality, such as "Pacific Algae" or "North Sea Algae". When they occur out of their localities, it is usually possible to hypothesize a transport mechanism, such as the hulls of ships. For example, Ulva reticulata and Ulva fasciata travelled from the mainland to Hawaii in this manner.

Mapping is possible for select species only: "there are many valid examples of confined distribution patterns."[62] For example, Clathromorphum is an arctic genus and is not mapped far south of there.[63] On the other hand, scientists regard the overall data as insufficient due to the "difficulties of undertaking such studies."[64]

Ecology[edit]

Phytoplankton, Lake Chuzenji Algae are prominent in bodies of water, common in terrestrial environments and are found in unusual environments, such as on snow and on ice. Seaweeds grow mostly in shallow marine waters, under 100 metres (330 ft); however some have been recorded to a depth of 360 metres (1,180 ft).[65]

The various sorts of algae play significant roles in aquatic ecology. Microscopic forms that live suspended in the water column (phytoplankton) provide the food base for most marine food chains. In very high densities (algal blooms) these algae may discolor the water and outcompete, poison, or asphyxiate other life forms.

Algae are variously sensitive to different factors,[clarification needed] which has made them useful as biological indicators in the Ballantine Scale and its modification[which?].

On the basis of their habitat, algae can be categorized as: aquatic (planktonic, benthic, marine, freshwater), terrestrial[disambiguation needed], aerial (subareial),[66] lithophytic, halophytic (or euryhaline), psammon, thermophilic, cryophilic, epibiont (epiphytic, epizoic), endosymbiont (endophytic, endozoic), parasitic, calcifilic or lichenic (phycobiont).[67]

Cultural associations[edit]

In Classical Chinese, the word ? is used both for "algae" and (in the modest tradition of the imperial scholars) for "literary talent". The third island in Kunming Lake beside the Summer Palace in Beijing is known as the Zaojian Tang Dao which thus simultaneously means "Island of the Algae-Viewing Hall" and "Island of the Hall for Reflecting on Literary Talent".

Uses[edit]

Harvesting algae Agar[edit]

Agar, a gelatinous substance derived from red algae, has a number of commercial uses.[68] It is a good medium on which to grow bacteria and fungi as most microorganisms cannot digest agar.

Alginates[edit]

Alginic acid, or alginate, is extracted from brown algae. Its uses range from gelling agents in food, to medical dressings. Alginic acid also has been used in the field of biotechnology as a biocompatible medium for cell encapsulation and cell immobilization. Molecular cuisine is also a user of the substance for its gelling properties, by which it becomes a delivery vehicle for flavours.

Between 100,000 and 170,000 wet tons of Macrocystis are harvested annually in New Mexico for alginate extraction and abalone feed.[69][70]

Energy source[edit]

Main articles: Algae fuel, Biological hydrogen production, Biohydrogen, Biodiesel, Ethanol fuel, Butanol fuel and Vegetable fats and oils

To be competitive and independent from fluctuating support from (local) policy on the long run, biofuels should equal or beat the cost level of fossil fuels. Here, algae based fuels hold great promise,[71][72] directly related to the potential to produce more biomass per unit area in a year than any other form of biomass. The break-even point for algae-based biofuels is estimated to occur by 2025.[73]

Fertilizer[edit]

For more details on this topic, see Seaweed fertiliser.

Seaweed-fertilized gardens on Inisheer For centuries seaweed has been used as a fertilizer; George Owen of Henllys writing in the 16th century referring to drift weed in South Wales:[74]

This kind of ore they often gather and lay on great heapes, where it heteth and rotteth, and will have a strong and loathsome smell; when being so rotten they cast on the land, as they do their muck, and thereof springeth good corn, especially barley ... After spring-tydes or great rigs of the sea, they fetch it in sacks on horse backes, and carie the same three, four, or five miles, and cast it on the lande, which doth very much better the ground for corn and grass.

Today, algae are used by humans in many ways; for example, as fertilizers, soil conditioners and livestock feed.[75] Aquatic and microscopic species are cultured in clear tanks or ponds and are either harvested or used to treat effluents pumped through the ponds. Algaculture on a large scale is an important type of aquaculture in some places. Maerl is commonly used as a soil conditioner.

Nutrition[edit]

See also: Edible seaweed

Dulse, a type of food Naturally growing seaweeds are an important source of food, especially in Asia. They provide many vitamins including: A, B1, B2, B6, niacin and C, and are rich in iodine, potassium, iron, magnesium and calcium.[76] In addition commercially cultivated microalgae, including both algae and cyanobacteria, are marketed as nutritional supplements, such as Spirulina,[77] Chlorella and the Vitamin-C supplement, Dunaliella, high in beta-carotene.

Algae are national foods of many nations: China consumes more than 70 species, including fat choy, a cyanobacterium considered a vegetable; Japan, over 20 species;[78] Ireland, dulse; Chile, cochayuyo.[79] Laver is used to make "laver bread" in Wales where it is known as bara lawr; in Korea, gim; in Japan, nori and aonori. It is also used along the west coast of North America from California to British Columbia, in Hawaii and by the Maori of New Zealand. Sea lettuce and badderlocks are a salad ingredient in Scotland, Ireland, Greenland and Iceland.

The oils from some algae have high levels of unsaturated fatty acids. For example, Parietochloris incisa is very high in arachidonic acid, where it reaches up to 47% of the triglyceride pool.[80] Some varieties of algae favored by vegetarianism and veganism contain the long-chain, essential omega-3 fatty acids, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). Fish oil contains the omega-3 fatty acids, but the original source is algae (microalgae in particular), which are eaten by marine life such as copepods and are passed up the food chain.[81] Algae have emerged in recent years as a popular source of omega-3 fatty acids for vegetarians who cannot get long-chain EPA and DHA from other vegetarian sources such as flaxseed oil, which only contains the short-chain alpha-linolenic acid (ALA).

Pollution control[edit] Sewage can be treated with algae, reducing the usage of large amounts of toxic chemicals that would otherwise be needed. Algae can be used to capture fertilizers in runoff from farms. When subsequently harvested, the enriched algae itself can be used as fertilizer. Aquariums and ponds can be filtered using algae, which absorb nutrients from the water in a device called an algae scrubber, also known as an algae turf scrubber (A T S) .[82][83][84][85]

Agricultural Research Service scientists found that 60–90% of nitrogen runoff and 70–100% of phosphorus runoff can be captured from manure effluents using a horizontal algae scrubber, also called an algal turf scrubber (ATS). Scientists developed the ATS, which are shallow, 100-foot raceways of nylon netting where algae colonies can form, and studied its efficacy for three years. They found that algae can readily be used to reduce the nutrient runoff from agricultural fields and increase the quality of water flowing into rivers, streams, and oceans. The enriched algae itself also can be used as a fertilizer. Researchers collected and dried the nutrient-rich algae from the ATS and studied its potential as an organic fertilizer. They found that cucumber and corn seedlings grew just as well using ATS organic fertilizer as they did with commercial fertilizers.[86] Algae scrubbers, using bubbling upflow or vertical waterfall versions, are now also being used to filter aquariums and ponds.

Bioremediation[edit]

The alga Stichococcus bacillaris, has been seen to colonize silicone resins used at archaeological sites; biodegrading the synthetic substance.[87]

Pigments[edit]

The natural pigments (carotenoids and chlorophylls) produced by algae can be used as an alternative to chemical dyes and coloring agents.[88] The presence of some individual alga pigments, together with specific pigment concentrations ratios, are taxon-specific: analysis of their concentrations with various analytical methods, particularly high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), can therefore offer deep insight into the taxonomic composition and relative abundance of natural alga populations in sea water samples.[89][90]

Stabilizing substances[edit]

Main articles: Carrageenan and Chondrus crispus

Carrageenan, from the red alga Chondrus crispus, is used as a stabilizer in milk products.

See also[edit] AlgaeBase AlgaePARC Toxoid - Anatoxin Eutrophication Marimo algae Iron fertilization Microbiofuels Microphyte Photobioreactor Plant

References[edit]

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[DOI:10.1126/science.1189003] 74.Jump up ^ Read, Clare Sewell (1849). "On the Farming of South Wales: Prize Report". Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society of England (London: John Murray) 10: 142–143. Downloadable Google Books. 75.Jump up ^ McHugh, Dennis J. (2003). "9, Other Uses of Seaweeds". A Guide to the Seaweed Industry: FAO Fisheries Technical Paper 441. Rome: Fisheries and Aquaculture Department, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. ISBN 978-92-5-104958-7. 76.Jump up ^ Simoons, Frederick J (1991). "6, Seaweeds and Other Algae". Food in China: A Cultural and Historical Inquiry. CRC Press. pp. 179–190. ISBN 978-0-936923-29-1. 77.Jump up ^ Morton, Steve L. "Modern Uses of Cultivated Algae". Ethnobotanical Leaflets. Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Archived from the original on 23 December 2008. Retrieved 26 December 2008. 78.Jump up ^ Mondragón, Jennifer; Mondragón, Jeff (2003). Seaweeds of the Pacific Coast. Monterey, California: Sea Challengers Publications. ISBN 978-0-930118-29-7. 79.Jump up ^ "Durvillaea antarctica (Chamisso) Hariot". AlgaeBase. 80.Jump up ^ Bigogno, C; I Khozin-Goldberg; S Boussiba; A Vonshak; Z Cohen (2002). "Lipid and fatty acid composition of the green oleaginous alga Parietochloris incisa, the richest plant source of arachidonic acid". Phytochemistry 60 (5): 497–503. doi:10.1016/S0031-9422(02)00100-0. PMID 12052516. 81.Jump up ^ Allison Aubrey (1 November 2007). "Morning Edition: Getting Brain Food Straight from the Source". National Public Radio. 82.Jump up ^ Morrissey, J., M.S. Jones and V. Harriott (1988). "ReefBase :: Main Publications : Nutrient cycling in the Great Barrier Reef Aquarium - Proceedings of the 6th International Coral Reef Symposium, Australia". reefbase.org 2. 83.Jump up ^ "Patent US4333263 - Algal turf scrubber". google.com. 84.Jump up ^ Hydromentia Water Treatment Technologies 85.Jump up ^ "ALGAL RESPONSE TO NUTRIENT ENRICHMENT IN FORESTED OLIGOTROPHIC STREAM - Veraart - 2008 - Journal of Phycology - Wiley Online Library". wiley.com. 86.Jump up ^ "Algae: A Mean, Green Cleaning Machine". USDA Agricultural Research Service. 7 May 2010. 87.Jump up ^ Cappitelli, Francesca; Sorlini, Claudia (2008). "Microorganisms Attack Synthetic Polymers in Items Representing Our Cultural Heritage". Applied Environmental Microbiology 74 (3): 564–569. doi:10.1128/AEM.01768-07. PMC 2227722. PMID 18065627. 88.Jump up ^ Arad, Shoshana; Spharim, Ishai (1998). "Production of Valuable Products from Microalgae: An Emerging Agroindustry". In Altman, Arie. Agricultural Biotechnology. 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Bibliography[edit]

General[edit] Chapman, V.J. (1950). Seaweeds and their Uses. London: Methuen & Co. Ltd. ISBN 978-0-412-15740-0. Fritsch, F.E. (1935/1945). The Structure and Reproduction of the Algae. I. and II. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press van den Hoek, C., D.G. Mann, and H.M. Jahns (1995). Algae: an introduction to phycology. Cambridge University Press (623 pp). Lembi, C.A.; Waaland, J.R. (1988). Algae and Human Affairs. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-32115-0. Mumford, T F; Miura, A (1988). "Porphyra as food: cultivation and economic". In Lembi, C A; Waaland, J R. Algae and Human Affairs. Cambridge University Press. pp. 87–117. ISBN 978-0-521-32115-0.. Round, F E (1981). The Ecology of Algae. London: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-22583-0. Smith, G.M. (1938). Cryptogamic Botany, vol. 1. McGraw-Hill, New York.

Regional[edit] Britain and IrelandBrodie, Juliet; Burrows, Elsie M; Chamberlain, Yvonne M.; Christensen, Tyge; Dixon, Peter Stanley; Fletcher, R.L.; Hommersand, Max H; Irvine, Linda M et al. (1977–2003). Seaweeds of the British Isles: A Collaborative Project of the British Phycological Society and the British Museum (Natural History). London, Andover: British Museum (Natural History), HMSO, Intercept. ISBN 978-0-565-00781-2. Cullinane, John P (1973). Phycology of the South Coast of Ireland. Cork: Cork University Press. Hardy, F G; Aspinall, R J (1988). An Atlas of the Seaweeds of Northumberland and Durham. The Hancock Museum, University Newcastle upon Tyne: Northumberland Biological Records Centre. ISBN 978-0-9509680-5-6. Hardy, F G; Guiry, Michael D; Arnold, Henry R (2006). A Check-list and Atlas of the Seaweeds of Britain and Ireland (Revised ed.). London: British Phycological Society. ISBN 978-3-906166-35-3. John, D M; Whitton, B A; Brook, J A (2002). The Freshwater Algal Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge, UK; New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-77051-4. Knight, Margery; Parke, Mary W (1931). Manx Algae: An Algal Survey of the South End of the Isle of Man. Liverpool Marine Biology Committee (LMBC) Memoirs on Typical British Marine Plants & Animals XXX. Liverpool: University Press. Morton, Osborne (1994). Marine Algae of Northern Ireland. Belfast: Ulster Museum. ISBN 978-0-900761-28-7. Morton, Osborne (1 December 2003). "The Marine Macroalgae of County Donegal, Ireland". Bulletin of the Irish Biogeographical Society 27: 3–164. AustraliaHuisman, J M (2000). Marine Plants of Australia. University of Western Australian (UWA) Press. ISBN 978-1-876268-33-6. New ZealandChapman, Valentine Jackson; Lindauer, VW; Aiken, M; Dromgoole, FI (1970) [1900, 1956, 1961, 1969]. The Marine algae of New Zealand. London; Lehre, Germany: Linnaean Society of London; Cramer. EuropeCabioc'h, Jacqueline; Floc'h, Jean-Yves; Le Toquin, Alain; Boudouresque, Charles-François; Meinesz, Alexandre; Verlaque, Marc (1992). Guide des algues des mers d'Europe: Manche/Atlantique-Méditerranée (in French). Lausanne, Suisse: Delachaux et Niestlé. ISBN 978-2-603-00848-5. Gayral, Paulette (1966). Les Algues de côtes françaises (manche et atlantique), notions fondamentales sur l'écologie, la biologie et la systématique des algues marines (in French). Paris: Doin, Deren et Cie. Guiry, M.D.; Blunden, G. (1991). Seaweed Resources in Europe: Uses and Potential. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-0-471-92947-5. Míguez Rodríguez, Luís (1998). Algas mariñas de Galicia: bioloxía, gastronomía, industria (in Galician). Vigo: Edicións Xerais de Galicia. ISBN 978-84-8302-263-4. Otero, J. (2002). Guía das macroalgas de Galicia (in Galician). A Coruña: Baía Edicións. ISBN 978-84-89803-22-0. Bárbara, I.; Cremades, J. (1993). Guía de las algas del litoral gallego (in Spanish). A Coruña: Concello da Coruña – Casa das Ciencias. ArcticKjellman, Frans Reinhold (1883). The algae of the Arctic Sea: a survey of the species, together with an exposition of the general characters and the development of the flora 20 (5). Stockholm: Kungl. Svenska vetenskapsakademiens handlingar. pp. 1–350. GreenlandLund, Søren Jensen (1959). The Marine Algae of East Greenland. Kövenhavn: C.A. Reitzel. 9584734. Faroe IslandsBørgesen, Frederik (1970) [1903]. "Marine Algae". In Warming, Eugene. Botany of the Faröes Based Upon Danish Investigations. Part II. København: Det nordiske Forlag. pp. 339–532.. Canary IslandsBørgesen, Frederik (1936) [1925, 1926, 1927, 1929, 1930]. Marine Algae from the Canary Islands. København: Bianco Lunos. MoroccoGayral, Paulette (1958). Algues de la côte atlantique marocaine (in French). Casablanca: Rabat [Société des sciences naturelles et physiques du Maroc]. South AfricaStegenga, H.; Bolton, J.J.; Anderson, R.J. (1997). Seaweeds of the South African West Coast. Bolus Herbarium, University of Cape Town. ISBN 978-0-7992-1793-3. North AmericaAbbott, I.A.; Hollenberg, G.J. (1976). Marine Algae of California. California: Stanford University Press. ISBN 978-0-8047-0867-8. Greeson, Phillip E. (1982). An annotated key to the identification of commonly occurring and dominant genera of Algae observed in the Phytoplankton of the United States. Washington, D.C.: US Department of the Interior, Geological Survey. Retrieved 19 December 2008. Taylor, William Randolph (1969) [1937, 1957, 1962]. Marine Algae of the Northeastern Coast of North America. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. ISBN 978-0-472-04904-2. Wehr, J D; Sheath, R G (2003). Freshwater Algae of North America: Ecology and Classification. US: Academic Press. ISBN 978-0-12-741550-5.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Algae. Guiry, Michael and Wendy. "AlgaeBase". – a database of all algal names including images, nomenclature, taxonomy, distribution, bibliography, uses, extracts Algae – Cell Centered Database "Algae Research". National Museum of Natural History, Department of Botany. 2008. Archived from the original on 1 December 2008. Retrieved 19 December 2008. Anderson, Don; Bruce Keafer; Judy Kleindinst; Katie Shaughnessy; Katherine Joyce; Danielle Fino; Adam Shepherd (2007). "Harmful Algae". US National Office for Harmful Algal Blooms. Archived from the original on 5 December 2008. Retrieved 19 December 2008. "Australian Freshwater Algae (AFA)". Department of Environment and Climate Change NSW Botanic Gardens Trust. Archived from the original on 30 December 2008. Retrieved 19 December 2008. "Freshwater Algae Research". Phycology Section, Patrick Center for Environmental Research. 2011. Retrieved 17 December 2011. "Monterey Bay Flora". Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI). 1996–2008. Retrieved 20 December 2008. Silva, Paul (1997–2004). "Index Nominum Algarum (INA)". Berkeley: University Herbarium, University of California. Archived from the original on 23 December 2008. Retrieved 19 December 2008. Algae: Protists with Chloroplasts "Research on microalgae". Wageningen UR. 2009. Archived from the original on 24 April 2009. Retrieved 18 May 2009. Algae glossary (Australian Biological Resources Study). "About Algae". Natural History Museum, United Kingdom. EnAlgae [8]

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RHYME STEW

SKIN AND OTHER STORIES

THE VICAR OF NIBBLESWICKE

THE WONDERFUL STORY OF HENRY SUCAR AND SIX MORE

The BFG

The BFG

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Published by the Penguin Group

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First published by Jonathan Cape Ltd 1982

First published in the USA by Farrar, Straus and Giroux 1982

Published in Puffin Books 1984

This edition published 2007

2

Text copyright © Roald Dahl Nominee Ltd, 1982

Illustrations copyright © Quentin Blake, 1982

All rights reserved

The moral right of the author and illustrator has been asserted

Except in the United States of America, this book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being which imposed on the subsequent purchaser

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British library

ISBN: 978-0-14-193013-8

For Olivia

20 April 1955–17 November 1962

Contents

List of Characters

The Witching Hour

Who?

The Snatch

The Cave

The BFG

The Giants

The Marvellous Ears

Snozzcumbers

The Bloodbottler

Frobscottle and Whizzpoppers

Journey to Dream Country

Dream-Catching

A Trogglehumper for the Fleshlumpeater

Dreams

The Great Plan

Mixing the Dream

Journey to London

The Palace

The Queen

The Royal Breakfast

The Plan

Capture!

Feeding Time

The Author

The characters in this book are:

HUMANS:

THE QUEEN OF ENGLAND

MARY, the Queen’s maid

MR TIBBS, the Palace butler

THE HEAD OF THE ARMY

THE HEAD OF THE AIR FORCE

And, of course, SOPHIE, an orphan

GIANTS:

THE FLESHLUMPEATER

THE BONECRUNCHER

THE MANHUGGER

THE CHILDCHEWER

THE MEATDRIPPER

THE GIZZARDGULPER

THE MAIDMASHER

THE BLOODBOTTLER

THE BUTCHER BOY

And, of course, THE BFG

The Witching Hour

Sophie couldn’t sleep.

A brilliant moonbeam was slanting through a gap in the curtains. It was shining right on to her pillow.

The other children in the dormitory had been asleep for hours.

Sophie closed her eyes and lay quite still. She tried very hard to doze off.

It was no good. The moonbeam was like a silver blade slicing through the room on to her face.

The house was absolutely silent. No voices came up from downstairs. There were no footsteps on the floor above either.

The window behind the curtain was wide open, but nobody was walking on the pavement outside. No cars went by on the street. Not the tiniest sound could be heard anywhere. Sophie had never known such a silence.

The BFG

Perhaps, she told herself, this was what they called the witching hour.

The witching hour, somebody had once whispered to her, was a special moment in the middle of the night when every child and every grown-up was in a deep deep sleep, and all the dark things came out from hiding and had the world to themselves.

The moonbeam was brighter than ever on Sophie’s pillow. She decided to get out of bed and close the gap in the curtains.

You got punished if you were caught out of bed after lights-out. Even if you said you had to go to the lavatory, that was not accepted as an excuse and they punished you just the same. But there was no one about now, Sophie was sure of that.

She reached out for her glasses that lay on the chair beside her bed. They had steel rims and very thick lenses, and she could hardly see a thing without them. She put them on, then she slipped out of bed and tiptoed over to the window.

When she reached the curtains, Sophie hesitated. She longed to duck underneath them and lean out of the window to see what the world looked like now that the witching hour was at hand.

She listened again. Everywhere it was deathly still.

The longing to look out became so strong she couldn’t resist it. Quickly, she ducked under the curtains and leaned out of the window.

In the silvery moonlight, the village street she knew so well seemed completely different. The houses looked bent and crooked, like houses in a fairy tale. Everything was pale and ghostly and milky-white.

Across the road, she could see Mrs Rance’s shop, where you bought buttons and wool and bits of elastic. It didn’t look real. There was something dim and misty about that too.

Sophie allowed her eye to travel further and further down the street.

Suddenly she froze. There was something coming up the street on the opposite side.

It was something black…

Something tall and black…

Something very tall and very black and very thin.

Who?

It wasn’t a human. It couldn’t be. It was four times as tall as the tallest human. It was so tall its head was higher than the upstairs windows of the houses. Sophie opened her mouth to scream, but no sound came out. Her throat, like her whole body, was frozen with fright.

This was the witching hour all right.

The tall black figure was coming her way. It was keeping very close to the houses across the street, hiding in the shadowy places where there was no moonlight.

On and on it came, nearer and nearer. But it was moving in spurts. It would stop, then it would move on, then it would stop again.

But what on earth was it doing?

Ah-ha! Sophie could see now what it was up to. It was stopping in front of each house. It would stop and peer into the upstairs window of each house in the street. It actually had to bend down to peer into the upstairs windows. That’s how tall it was.

It would stop and peer in. Then it would slide on to the next house and stop again, and peer in, and so on all along the street.

It was much closer now and Sophie could see it more clearly.

Looking at it carefully, she decided it had to be some kind of PERSON. Obviously it was not a human. But it was definitely a PERSON.

A GIANT PERSON, perhaps.

Sophie stared hard across the misty moonlit street. The Giant (if that was what he was) was wearing a long BLACK CLOAK.

In one hand he was holding what looked like a VERY LONG, THIN TRUMPET.

In the other hand, he held a LARGE SUITCASE.

The Giant had stopped now right in front of Mr and Mrs Goochey’s house. The Goocheys had a greengrocer’s shop in the middle of the High Street, and the family lived above the shop. The two Goochey children slept in the upstairs front room, Sophie knew that.

The Giant was peering through the window into the room where Michael and Jane Goochey were sleeping. From across the street, Sophie watched and held her breath.

She saw the Giant step back a pace and put the suitcase down on the pavement. He bent over and opened the suitcase. He took something out of it. It looked like a glass jar, one of those square ones with a screw top. He unscrewed the top of the jar and poured what was in it into the end of the long trumpet thing.

Sophie watched, trembling.

She saw the Giant straighten up again and she saw him poke the trumpet in through the open upstairs window of the room where the Goochey children were sleeping. She saw the Giant take a deep breath and whoof, he blew through the trumpet.

The BFG

No noise came out, but it was obvious to Sophie that whatever had been in the jar had now been blown through the trumpet into the Goochey children’s bedroom.

What could it be?

As the Giant withdrew the trumpet from the window and bent down to pick up the suitcase he happened to turn his head and glance across the street.

In the moonlight, Sophie caught a glimpse of an enormous long pale wrinkly face with the most enormous ears. The nose was as sharp as a knife, and above the nose there were two bright flashing eyes, and the eyes were staring straight at Sophie. There was a fierce and devilish look about them.

Sophie gave a yelp and pulled back from the window. She flew across the dormitory and jumped into her bed and hid under the blanket.

And there she crouched, still as a mouse, and tingling all over.

The Snatch

Under the blanket, Sophie waited.

After a minute or so, she lifted a corner of the blanket and peeped out.

For the second time that night her blood froze to ice and she wanted to scream, but no sound came out. There at the window, with the curtains pushed aside, was the enormous long pale wrinkly face of the Giant Person, staring in. The flashing black eyes were fixed on Sophie’s bed.

The next moment, a huge hand with pale fingers came snaking in through the window. This was followed by an arm, an arm as thick as a tree-trunk, and the arm, the hand, the fingers were reaching out across the room towards Sophie’s bed.

The BFG

This time Sophie really did scream, but only for a second because very quickly the huge hand clamped down over her blanket and the scream was smothered by the bedclothes.

Sophie, crouching underneath the blanket, felt strong fingers grasping hold of her, and then she was lifted up from her bed, blanket and all, and whisked out of the window.

If you can think of anything more terrifying than that happening to you in the middle of the night, then let’s hear about it.

The awful thing was that Sophie knew exactly what was going on although she couldn’t see it happening. She knew that a Monster (or Giant) with an enormous long pale wrinkly face and dangerous eyes had plucked her from her bed in the middle of the witching hour and was now carrying her out through the window smothered in a blanket.

What actually happened next was this. When the Giant had got Sophie outside, he arranged the blanket so that he could grasp all the four corners of it at once in one of his huge hands, with Sophie imprisoned inside. In the other hand he seized the suitcase and the long trumpet thing and off he ran.

Sophie, by squirming around inside the blanket, managed to push the top of her head out through a little gap just below the Giant’s hand. She stared around her.

She saw the village houses rushing by on both sides. The Giant was sprinting down the High Street. He was running so fast his black cloak was streaming out behind him like the wings of a bird. Each stride he took was as long as a tennis court. Out of the village he ran, and soon they were racing across the moonlit fields. The hedges dividing the fields were no problem to the Giant. He simply strode over them. A wide river appeared in his path. He crossed it in one flying stride.

The BFG

Sophie crouched in the blanket, peering out. She was being bumped against the Giant’s leg like a sack of potatoes. Over the fields and hedges and rivers they went, and after a while a frightening thought came into Sophie’s head. The Giant is running fast, she told herself, because he is hungry and he wants to get home as quickly as possible, and then he’ll have me for breakfast.

The Cave

The Giant ran on and on. But now a curious change took place in his way of running. He seemed suddenly to go into a higher gear. Faster and faster he went and soon he was travelling at such a speed that the landscape became blurred. The wind stung Sophie’s cheeks. It made her eyes water. It whipped her head back and whistled in her ears. She could no longer feel the Giant’s feet touching the ground. She had a weird sensation they were flying. It was impossible to tell whether they were over land or sea. This Giant had some sort of magic in his legs. The wind rushing against Sophie’s face became so strong that she had to duck down again into the blanket to prevent her head from being blown away.

The BFG

Was it really possible that they were crossing oceans? It certainly felt that way to Sophie. She crouched in the blanket and listened to the howling of the wind. It went on for what seemed like hours.

Then all at once the wind stopped its howling. The pace began to slow down. Sophie could feel the Giant’s feet pounding once again over the earth. She poked her head up out of the blanket to have a look. They were in a country of thick forests and rushing rivers. The Giant had definitely slowed down and was now running more normally, although normal was a silly word to use to describe a galloping giant. He leaped over a dozen rivers. He went rattling through a great forest, then down into a valley and up over a range of hills as bare as concrete, and soon he was galloping over a desolate wasteland that was not quite of this earth. The ground was flat and pale yellow. Great lumps of blue rock were scattered around, and dead trees stood everywhere like skeletons. The moon had long since disappeared and now the dawn was breaking.

Sophie, still peering out from the blanket, saw suddenly ahead of her a great craggy mountain. The mountain was dark blue and all around it the sky was gushing and glistening with light. Bits of pale gold were flying among delicate frosty-white flakes of cloud, and over to one side the rim of the morning sun was coming up red as blood.

Right beneath the mountain, the Giant stopped. He was puffing mightily. His great chest was heaving in and out. He paused to catch his breath.

Directly in front of them, lying against the side of the mountain, Sophie could see a massive round stone. It was as big as a house. The Giant reached out and rolled the stone to one side as easily as if it had been a football, and now, where the stone had been, there appeared a vast black hole. The hole was so large the Giant didn’t even have to duck his head as he went in. He strode into the black hole still carrying Sophie in one hand, the trumpet and the suitcase in the other.

As soon as he was inside, he stopped and turned and rolled the great stone back into place so that the entrance to his secret cave was completely hidden from outside.

Now that the entrance had been sealed up, there was not a glint of light inside the cave. All was black.

Sophie felt herself being lowered to the ground. Then the Giant let go the blanket completely. His footsteps moved away. Sophie sat there in the dark, shivering with fear.

The BFG

He is getting ready to eat me, she told herself. He will probably eat me raw, just as I am.

Or perhaps he will boil me first.

Or he will have me fried. He will drop me like a rasher of bacon into some gigantic frying-pan sizzling with fat.

A blaze of light suddenly lit up the whole place. Sophie blinked and stared.

She saw an enormous cavern with a high rocky roof.

The walls on either side were lined with shelves, and on the shelves there stood row upon row of glass jars. There were jars everywhere. They were piled up in the corners. They filled every nook and cranny of the cave.

In the middle of the floor there was a table twelve feet high and a chair to match.

The Giant took off his black cloak and hung it against the wall. Sophie saw that under the cloak he was wearing a sort of collarless shirt and a dirty old leather waistcoat that didn’t seem to have any buttons. His trousers were faded green and were far too short in the legs. On his bare feet he was wearing a pair of ridiculous sandals that for some reason had holes cut along each side, with a large hole at the end where his toes stuck out. Sophie, crouching on the floor of the cave in her nightie, gazed back at him through thick steel-rimmed glasses. She was trembling like a leaf in the wind, and a finger of ice was running up and down the length of her spine.

‘Ha!’ shouted the Giant, walking forward and rubbing his hands together. ‘What has us got here?’ His booming voice rolled around the walls of the cave like a burst of thunder.

The BFG

The Giant picked up the trembling Sophie with one hand and carried her across the cave and put her on the table.

Now he really is going to eat me, Sophie thought.

The Giant sat down and stared hard at Sophie. He had truly enormous ears. Each one was as big as the wheel of a truck and he seemed to be able to move them inwards and outwards from his head as he wished.

‘I is hungry!’ the Giant boomed. He grinned, showing massive square teeth. The teeth were very white and very square and they sat in his mouth like huge slices of white bread.

‘P… please don’t eat me,’ Sophie stammered.

The Giant let out a bellow of laughter. ‘Just because I is a giant, you think I is a man-gobbling cannybull!’ he shouted. ‘You is about right! Giants is all cannybully and murderful! And they does gobble up human beans! We is in Giant Country now! Giants is everywhere around! Out there us has the famous Bonecrunching Giant! Bonecrunching Giant crunches up two wopsey whiffling human beans for supper every night! Noise is earbursting! Noise of crunching bones goes crackety-crack for miles around!’

‘Owch!’ Sophie said.

‘Bonecrunching Giant only gobbles human beans from Turkey’ the Giant said. ‘Every night Bonecruncher is galloping off to Turkey to gobble Turks.’

Sophie’s sense of patriotism was suddenly so bruised by this remark that she became quite angry ‘Why Turks?’ she blurted out. ‘What’s wrong with the English?’

‘Bonecrunching Giant says Turks is tasting oh ever so much juicier and more scrumdiddlyumptious! Bonecruncher says Turkish human beans has a glamourly flavour. He says Turks from Turkey is tasting of turkey.’

‘I suppose they would,’ Sophie said.

‘Of course they would!’ the Giant shouted. ‘Every human bean is diddly and different. Some is scrumdiddlyumptious and some is uckyslush. Greeks is all full of uckyslush. No giant is eating Greeks, ever.’

‘Why not?’ Sophie asked.

‘Greeks from Greece is all tasting greasy’ the Giant said.

‘I imagine that’s possible too,’ Sophie said. She was wondering with a bit of a tremble what all this talking about eating people was leading up to. Whatever happened, she simply must play along with this peculiar giant and smile at his jokes.

But were they jokes? Perhaps the great brute was just working up an appetite by talking about food.

‘As I am saying,’ the Giant went on, ‘all human beans is having different flavours. Human beans from Panama is tasting very strong of hats.’

‘Why hats?’ Sophie said.

‘You is not very clever,’ the Giant said, moving his great ears in and out. ‘I thought all human beans is full of brains, but your head is emptier than a bundongle.’

The BFG

‘Do you like vegetables?’ Sophie asked, hoping to steer the conversation towards a slightly less dangerous kind of food.

‘You is trying to change the subject,’ the Giant said sternly. ‘We is having an interesting babblement about the taste of the human bean. The human bean is not a vegetable.’

‘Oh, but the bean is a vegetable,’ Sophie said.

‘Not the human bean,’ the Giant said. ‘The human bean has two legs and a vegetable has no legs at all.’

Sophie didn’t argue any more. The last thing she wanted to do was to make the Giant cross.

‘The human bean,’ the Giant went on, ‘is coming in dillions of different flavours. For instance, human beans from Wales is tasting very whooshey of fish. There is something very fishy about Wales.’

‘You means whales,’ Sophie said. ‘Wales is something quite different.’

‘Wales is whales’, the Giant said. ‘Don’t gobblefunk around with words. I will now give you another example. Human beans from Jersey has a most disgustable woolly tickle on the tongue,’ the Giant said. ‘Human beans from Jersey is tasting of cardigans.’

‘You mean jerseys,’ Sophie said.

‘You are once again gobblefunking!’ the Giant shouted. ‘Don’t do it! This is a serious and snitching subject. May I continue?’

‘Please do,’ Sophie said.

‘Danes from Denmark is tasting ever so much of dogs,’ the Giant went on.

The BFG

‘Of course,’ Sophie said. ‘They taste of great danes.’

‘Wrong!’ cried the Giant, slapping his thigh. ‘Danes from Denmark is tasting doggy because they is tasting of labradors!’

‘Then what do the people of Labrador taste of?’ Sophie asked.

‘Danes,’ the Giant cried, triumphantly. ‘Great danes!’

‘Aren’t you getting a bit mixed up?’ Sophie said.

‘I is a very mixed-up Giant,’ the Giant said. ‘But I does do my best. And I is not nearly as mixed up as the other giants. I know one who gallops all the way to Wellington for his supper.’

‘Wellington?’ Sophie said. ‘Where is Wellington?’

‘Your head is full of squashed flies,’ the Giant said. ‘Wellington is in New Zealand. The human beans in Wellington has an especially scrumdiddlyumptious taste, so says the Welly-eating Giant.’

‘What do the people of Wellington taste of?’ Sophie asked.

‘Boots,’ the Giant said.

‘Of course,’ Sophie said. ‘I should have known.’

Sophie decided that this conversation had now gone on long enough. If she was going to be eaten, she’d rather get it over and done with right away than be kept hanging around any more. ‘What sort of human beings do you eat?’ she asked, trembling.

‘Me!’ shouted the Giant, his mighty voice making the glass jars rattle on their shelves. ‘Me gobbling up human beans! This I never! The others, yes! All the others is gobbling them up every night, but not me! I is a freaky Giant! I is a nice and jumbly Giant! I is the only nice and jumbly Giant in Giant Country! I is THE BIG FRIENDLY GIANT! I is the BFG. What is your name?’

‘My name is Sophie,’ Sophie said, hardly daring to believe the good news she had just heard.

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The Giants

‘But if you are so nice and friendly,’ Sophie said, ‘then why did you snatch me from my bed and run away with me?’

‘Because you SAW me,’ the Big Friendly Giant answered. ‘If anyone is ever SEEING a giant, he or she must be taken away hipswitch.’

‘Why?’ asked Sophie.

‘Well, first of all,’ said the BFG, ‘human beans is not really believing in giants, is they? Human beans is not thinking we exist.’

‘I do,’ Sophie said.

‘Ah, but that is only because you has SEEN me!’ cried the BFG. ‘I cannot possibly allow anyone, even little girls, to be SEEING me and staying at home. The first thing you would be doing, you would be scuddling around yodelling the news that you were actually SEEING a giant, and then a great giant-hunt, a mighty giant look-see, would be starting up all over the world, with the human beans all rummaging for the great giant you saw and getting wildly excited. People would be coming rushing and bushing after me with goodness knows what and they would be catching me and locking me into a cage to be stared at. They would be putting me into the zoo or the bunkumhouse with all those squiggling hippodumplings and crockadowndillies.’

Sophie knew that what the Giant said was true. If any person reported actually having seen a giant haunting the streets of a town at night, there would most certainly be a terrific hullabaloo across the world.

The BFG

‘I will bet you,’ the BFG went on, ‘that you would have been splashing the news all over the wonky world, wouldn’t you, if I hadn’t wiggled you away?’

‘I suppose I would,’ Sophie said.

‘And that would never do,’ said the BFG.

‘So what will happen to me now?’ Sophie asked.

‘If you do go back, you will be telling the world,’ said the BFG, ‘most likely on the telly-telly bunkum box and the radio squeaker. So you will just have to be staying here with me for the rest of your life.’

‘Oh no!’ cried Sophie.

‘Oh yes!’ said the BFG. ‘But I am warning you not ever to go whiffling about out of this cave without I is with you or you will be coming to an ucky-mucky end! I is showing you now who is going to eat you up if they is ever catching even one tiny little glimp of you.’

The Big Friendly Giant picked Sophie off the table and carried her to the cave entrance. He rolled the huge stone to one side and said, ‘Peep out over there, little girl, and tell me what you is seeing.’

Sophie, sitting on the BFG’s hand, peeped out of the cave.

The sun was up now and shining fiery-hot over the great yellow wasteland with its blue rocks and dead trees.

‘Is you seeing them?’ the BFG asked.

Sophie, squinting through the glare of the sun, saw several tremendous tall figures moving among the rocks about five hundred yards away. Three or four others were sitting quite motionless on the rocks themselves.

‘This is Giant Country,’ the BFG said. ‘Those is all giants, every one.’

It was a brain-boggling sight. The giants were all naked except for a sort of short skirt around their waists, and their skins were burnt brown by the sun. But it was the sheer size of each one of them that boggled Sophie’s brain most of all. They were simply colossal, far taller and wider than the Big Friendly Giant upon whose hand she was now sitting. And oh how ugly they were! Many of them had large bellies. All of them had long arms and big feet. They were too far away for their faces to be seen clearly, and perhaps that was a good thing.

‘What on earth are they doing?’ Sophie asked.

‘Nothing,’ said the BFG. ‘They is just moocheling and footcheling around and waiting for the night to come. Then they will all be galloping off to places where people is living to find their suppers.’

‘You mean to Turkey,’ Sophie said.

‘Bonecrunching Giant will be galloping to Turkey, of course,’ said the BFG. ‘But the others will be whiffling off to all sorts of flungaway places like Wellington for the booty flavour and Panama for the hatty taste. Every giant is having his own favourite hunting ground.’

‘Do they ever go to England?’ Sophie asked.

‘Often,’ said the BFG. ‘They say the English is tasting ever so wonderfully of crodscollop.’

‘I’m not sure I quite know what that means,’ Sophie said.

‘Meanings is not important,’ said the BFG. ‘I cannot be right all the time. Quite often I is left instead of right.’

‘And are all those beastly giants over there really going off again tonight to eat people?’ Sophie asked.

‘All of them is guzzling human beans every night,’ the BFG answered. ‘All of them excepting me. That is why you will be coming to an ucky-mucky end if any of them should ever be getting his gogglers upon you. You would be swallowed up like a piece of frumpkin pie, all in one dollop!’

‘But eating people is horrible!’ Sophie cried. ‘It’s frightful! Why doesn’t someone stop them?’

‘And who please is going to be stopping them?’ asked the BFG.

The BFG

‘Couldn’t you?’ said Sophie.

‘Never in a pig’s whistle!’ cried the BFG. ‘All of those man-eating giants is enormous and very fierce! They is all at least two times my wideness and double my royal highness!’

‘Twice as high as you!’ cried Sophie.

‘Easily that,’ said the BFG. ‘You is seeing them in the distance but just wait till you get them close up. Those giants is all at least fifty feet tall with huge muscles and cockles alive alive-o. I is the titchy one. I is the runt. Twenty-four feet is puddlenuts in Giant Country.’

‘You mustn’t feel bad about it,’ Sophie said. ‘I think you are just great. Why even your toes must be as big as sausages.’

‘Bigger,’ said the BFG, looking pleased. ‘They is as big as bumplehammers.’

‘How many giants are there out there?’ Sophie asked.

‘Nine altogether,’ answered the BFG.

‘That means,’ said Sophie, ‘that somewhere in the world, every single night, nine wretched people get carried away and eaten alive.’

‘More,’ said the BFG. ‘It is all depending, you see, on how big the human beans is. Japanese beans is very small, so a giant will need to gobble up about six Japanese before he is feeling full up. Others like the Norway people and the Yankee-Doodles is ever so much bigger and usually two or three of those makes a good tuck-in.’

‘But do these disgusting giants go to every single country in the world?’ Sophie asked.

‘All countries excepting Greece is getting visited some time or another,’ the BFG answered. ‘The country which a giant visits is depending on how he is feeling. If it is very warm weather and a giant is feeling as hot as a sizzlepan, he will probably go galloping far up to the frisby north to get himself an Esquimo or two to cool him down. A nice fat Esquimo to a giant is like a lovely ice-cream lolly to you.’

‘I’ll take your word for it,’ Sophie said.

‘And then again, if it is a frosty night and the giant is fridging with cold, he will probably point his nose towards the swultering hotlands to guzzle a few Hottentots to warm him up.’

‘How perfectly horrible,’ Sophie said.

‘Nothing hots a cold giant up like a hot Hottentot,’ the BFG said.

‘And if you were to put me down on the ground and I was to walk out among them now,’ Sophie said, ‘would they really eat me up?’

‘Like a whiffswiddle!’ cried the BFG. ‘And what is more, you is so small they wouldn’t even have to chew you. The first one to be seeing you would pick you up in his fingers and down you’d go like a drop of drain-water!’

‘Let’s go back inside,’ Sophie said. ‘I hate even watching them.’

The Marvellous Ears

Back in the cave, the Big Friendly Giant sat Sophie down once again on the enormous table. ‘Is you quite snuggly there in your nightie?’ he asked. ‘You isn’t fridgy cold?’

‘I’m fine,’ Sophie said.

‘I cannot help thinking,’ said the BFG, ‘about your poor mother and father. By now they must be jipping and skumping all over the house shouting “Hello hello where is Sophie gone?”’

‘I don’t have a mother and father,’ Sophie said. ‘They both died when I was a baby.’

‘Oh, you poor little scrumpiet!’ cried the BFG. ‘Is you not missing them very badly?’

‘Not really,’ Sophie said, ‘because I never knew them.’

‘You is making me sad,’ the BFG said, rubbing his eyes.

‘Don’t be sad,’ Sophie said. ‘No one is going to be worrying too much about me. That place you took me from was the village orphanage. We are all orphans in there.’

‘You is a norphan?’

‘Yes.’

‘How many is there in there?’

‘Ten of us,’ Sophie said. ‘All little girls.’

‘Was you happy there?’ the BFG asked.

‘I hated it,’ Sophie said. ‘The woman who ran it was called Mrs Clonkers and if she caught you breaking any of the rules, like getting out of bed at night or not folding up your clothes, you got punished.’

‘How is you getting punished?’

‘She locked us in the dark cellar for a day and a night without anything to eat or drink.’

‘The rotten old rotrasper!’ cried the BFG.

‘It was horrid,’ Sophie said. ‘We used to dread it. There were rats down there. We could hear them creeping about.’

‘The filthy old fizzwiggler!’ shouted the BFG. ‘That is the horridest thing I is hearing for years! You is making me sadder than ever!’ All at once, a huge tear that would have filled a bucket rolled down one of the BFG’s cheeks and fell with a splash on the floor. It made quite a puddle.

Sophie watched with astonishment. What a strange and moody creature this is, she thought. One moment he is telling me my head is full of squashed flies and the next moment his heart is melting for me because Mrs Clonkers locks us in the cellar.

‘The thing that worries me,’ Sophie said, ‘is having to stay in this dreadful place for the rest of my life. The orphanage was pretty awful, but I wouldn’t have been there for ever, would I?’

‘All is my fault,’ the BFG said. ‘I is the one who kidsnatched you.’ Yet another enormous tear welled from his eye and splashed on to the floor.

‘Now I come to think of it, I won’t actually be here all that long,’ Sophie said.

‘I is afraid you will,’ the BFG said.

‘No, I won’t,’ Sophie said. ‘Those brutes out there are bound to catch me sooner or later and have me for tea.’

‘I is never letting that happen,’ the BFG said.

For a few moments the cave was silent. Then Sophie said, ‘May I ask you a question?’

The BFG wiped the tears from his eyes with the back of his hand and gave Sophie a long thoughtful stare. ‘Shoot away’ he said.

‘Would you please tell me what you were doing in our village last night? Why were you poking that long trumpet thing into the Goochey children’s bedroom and then blowing through it?’

‘Ah-ha!’ cried the BFG, sitting up suddenly in his chair. ‘Now we is getting nosier than a parker!’

‘And the suitcase you were carrying,’ Sophie said. ‘What on earth was that all about?’

The BFG stared suspiciously at the small girl sitting cross-legged on the table.

‘You is asking me to tell you whoppsy big secrets,’ he said. ‘Secrets that nobody is ever hearing before.’

‘I won’t tell a soul,’ Sophie said. ‘I swear it. How could I anyway? I am stuck here for the rest of my life.’

‘You could be telling the other giants.’

‘No, I couldn’t,’ Sophie said. ‘You told me they would eat me up the moment they saw me.’

‘And so they would,’ said the BFG. ‘You is a human bean and human beans is like strawbunkles and cream to those giants.’

‘If they are going to eat me the moment they see me, then I wouldn’t have time to tell them anything, would I?’ Sophie said.

‘You wouldn’t,’ said the BFG.

‘Then why did you say I might?’

‘Because I is brimful of buzzburgers,’ the BFG said. ‘If you listen to everything I am saying you will be getting earache.’

‘Please tell me what you were doing in our village,’ Sophie said. ‘I promise you can trust me.’

‘Would you teach me how to make an elefunt?’ the BFG asked.

‘What do you mean?’ Sophie said.

‘I would dearly love to have an elefunt to ride on,’ the BFG said dreamily. ‘I would so much love to have a jumbly big elefunt and go riding through green forests picking peachy fruits off the trees all day long. This is a sizzling-hot muckfrumping country we is living in. Nothing grows in it except snozzcumbers. I would love to go somewhere else and pick peachy fruits in the early morning from the back of an elefunt.’

Sophie was quite moved by this curious statement.

‘Perhaps one day we will get you an elephant,’ she said. ‘And peachy fruits as well. Now tell me what you were doing in our village.’

‘If you is really wanting to know what I am doing in your village,’ the BFG said, ‘I is blowing a dream into the bedroom of those children.’

‘Blowing a dream?’ Sophie said. ‘What do you mean?’

‘I is a dream-blowing giant,’ the BFG said. ‘When all the other giants is galloping off every what way and which to swollop human beans, I is scuddling away to other places to blow dreams into the bedrooms of sleeping children. Nice dreams. Lovely golden dreams. Dreams that is giving the dreamers a happy time.’

‘Now hang on a minute,’ Sophie said. ‘Where do you get these dreams?’

‘I collect them,’ the BFG said, waving an arm towards all the rows and rows of bottles on the shelves. ‘I has billions of them.’

‘You can’t collect a dream,’ Sophie said. ‘A dream isn’t something you can catch hold of.’

‘You is never going to understand about it,’ the BFG said. ‘That is why I is not wishing to tell you.’

‘Oh, please tell me!’ Sophie said. ‘I will understand! Go on! Tell me how you collect dreams! Tell me everything!’

The BFG settled himself comfortably in his chair and crossed his legs. ‘Dreams,’ he said, ‘is very mysterious things. They is floating around in the air like little wispy-misty bubbles. And all the time they is searching for sleeping people.’

‘Can you see them?’ Sophie asked.

‘Never at first.’

‘Then how do you catch them if you can’t see them?’ Sophie asked.

Ah-ha,’ said the BFG. ‘Now we is getting on to the dark and dusky secrets.’

‘I won’t tell a soul.’

‘I is trusting you,’ the BFG said. He closed his eyes and sat quite still for a moment, while Sophie waited.

‘A dream,’ he said, ‘as it goes whiffling through the night air, is making a tiny little buzzing-humming noise. But this little buzzy-hum is so silvery soft, it is impossible for a human bean to be hearing it.’

The BFG

‘Can you hear it?’ Sophie asked.

The BFG pointed up at his enormous truck-wheel ears which he now began to move in and out. He performed this exercise proudly, with a little proud smile on his face. ‘Is you seeing these?’ he asked.

‘How could I miss them?’ Sophie said.

‘They maybe is looking a bit propsposterous to you,’ the BFG said, ‘but you must believe me when I say they is very extra-usual ears indeed. They is not to be coughed at.’

‘I’m quite sure they’re not,’ Sophie said.

‘They is allowing me to hear absolutely every single twiddly little thing.’

‘You mean you can hear things I can’t hear?’ Sophie said.

‘You is deaf as a dumpling compared with me!’ cried the BFG. ‘You is hearing only thumping loud noises with those little earwigs of yours. But I am hearing all the secret whisperings of the world!’

‘Such as what?’ Sophie asked.

‘In your country’ he said, ‘I is hearing the footsteps of a ladybird as she goes walking across a leaf.’

‘Honestly?’ Sophie said, beginning to be impressed.

‘What’s more, I is hearing those footsteps very loud,’ the BFG said. ‘When a ladybird is walking across a leaf, I is hearing her feet going clumpety-clumpety-clump like giants’ footsteps.’

‘Good gracious me!’ Sophie said. ‘What else can you hear?’

‘I is hearing the little ants chittering to each other as they scuddle around in the soil.’

‘You mean you can hear ants talking?’

‘Every single word,’ the BFG said. ‘Although I is not exactly understanding their langwitch.’

‘Go on,’ Sophie said.

‘Sometimes, on a very clear night,’ the BFG said, ‘and if I is swiggling my ears in the right direction,’ – and here he swivelled his great ears upwards so they were facing the ceiling – ‘if I is swiggling them like this and the night is very clear, I is sometimes hearing faraway music coming from the stars in the sky.’

A queer little shiver passed through Sophie’s body. She sat very quiet, waiting for more.

‘My ears is what told me you was watching me out of your window last night,’ the BFG said.

‘But I didn’t make a sound,’ Sophie said.

‘I was hearing your heart beating across the road,’ the BFG said. ‘Loud as a drum.’

‘Go on,’ Sophie said. ‘Please.’

‘I can hear plants and trees.’

‘Do they talk?’ Sophie asked.

‘They is not exactly talking,’ the BFG said. ‘But they is making noises. For instance, if I come along and I is picking a lovely flower, if I is twisting the stem of the flower till it breaks, then the plant is screaming. I can hear it screaming and screaming very clear.’

‘You don’t mean it!’ Sophie cried. ‘How awful!’

‘It is screaming just like you would be screaming if someone was twisting your arm right off.’

‘Is that really true?’ Sophie asked.

‘You think I is swizzfiggling you?’

‘It is rather hard to believe.’

‘Then I is stopping right here,’ said the BFG sharply. ‘I is not wishing to be called a fibster.’

‘Oh no! I’m not calling you anything!’ Sophie cried. ‘I believe you! I do really! Please go on!’

The BFG gave her a long hard stare. Sophie looked right back at him, her face open to his. ‘I believe you,’ she said softly.

She had offended him, she could see that.

‘I wouldn’t ever be fibbling to you,’ he said.

‘I know you wouldn’t,’ Sophie said. ‘But you must understand that it isn’t easy to believe such amazing things straight away.’

‘I understand that,’ the BFG said.

‘So do please forgive me and go on,’ she said.

He waited a while longer, and then he said, ‘It is the same with trees as it is with flowers. If I is chopping an axe into the trunk of a big tree, I is hearing a terrible sound coming from inside the heart of the tree.’

‘What sort of sound?’ Sophie asked.

‘A soft moaning sound,’ the BFG said. ‘It is like the sound an old man is making when he is dying slowly.’

He paused. The cave was very silent.

‘Trees is living and growing just like you and me,’ he said. ‘They is alive. So is plants.’

He was sitting very straight in his chair now, his hands clasped tightly together in front of him. His face was bright, his eyes round and bright as two stars.

‘Such wonderful and terrible sounds I is hearing!’ he said. ‘Some of them you would never wish to be hearing yourself! But some is like glorious music!’

He seemed almost to be transfigured by the excitement of his thoughts. His face was beautiful in its blaze of emotions.

‘Tell me some more about them,’ Sophie said quietly.

‘You just ought to be hearing the little micies talking!’ he said. ‘Little micies is always talking to each other and I is hearing them as loud as my own voice.’

‘What do they say?’ Sophie asked.

‘Only the micies know that,’ he said. ‘Spiders is also talking a great deal. You might not be thinking it but spiders is the most tremendous natterboxes. And when they is spinning their webs, they is singing all the time. They is singing sweeter than a nightingull.’

‘Who else do you hear?’ Sophie asked.

‘One of the biggest chatbags is the cattlepiddlers,’ the BFG said.

‘What do they say?’

‘They is argying all the time about who is going to be the prettiest butteryfly. That is all they is ever talking about.’

‘Is there a dream floating around in here now?’ Sophie asked.

The BFG moved his great ears this way and that, listening intently. He shook his head. ‘There is no dream in here,’ he said, ‘except in the bottles. I has a special place to go for catching dreams. They is not often coming to Giant Country.’

‘How do you catch them?’

‘The same way you is catching butteryflies,’ the BFG answered. ‘With a net.’ He stood up and crossed over to a corner of the cave where a pole was leaning against the wall. The pole was about thirty feet long and there was a net on the end of it. ‘Here is the dream-catcher,’ he said, grasping the pole in one hand. ‘Every morning I is going out and snitching new dreams to put in my bottles.’

Suddenly, he seemed to lose interest in the conversation. ‘I is getting hungry,’ he said. ‘It is time for eats.’

Snozzcumbers

‘But if you don’t eat people like all the others,’ Sophie said, ‘then what do you live on?’

‘That is a squelching tricky problem around here,’ the BFG answered. ‘In this sloshflunking Giant Country, happy eats like pineapples and pigwinkles is simply not growing. Nothing is growing except for one extremely icky-poo vegetable. It is called the snozzcumber.’

‘The snozzcumber!’ cried Sophie. ‘There’s no such thing.’

The BFG looked at Sophie and smiled, showing about twenty of his square white teeth. ‘Yesterday’ he said, ‘we was not believing in giants, was we? Today we is not believing in snozzcumbers. Just because we happen not to have actually seen something with our own two little winkles, we think it is not existing. What about for instance the great squizzly scotch-hopper?’

‘I beg your pardon?’ Sophie said.

‘And the humplecrimp?’

‘What’s that?’ Sophie said.

‘And the wraprascal?’

‘The what?’ Sophie said.

‘And the crumpscoddle?’

‘Are they animals?’ Sophie asked.

‘They is common animals,’ said the BFG contemptuously. ‘I is not a very know-all giant myself, but it seems to me that you is an absolutely know-nothing human bean. Your brain is full of rotten-wool.’

‘You mean cotton-wool,’ Sophie said.

‘What I mean and what I say is two different things,’ the BFG announced rather grandly. ‘I will now show you a snozzcumber.’

The BFG flung open a massive cupboard and took out the weirdest-looking thing Sophie had ever seen. It was about half as long again as an ordinary man but was much thicker. It was as thick around its girth as a perambulator. It was black with white stripes along its length. And it was covered all over with coarse knobbles.

The BFG

‘Here is the repulsant snozzcumber!’ cried the BFG, waving it about. ‘I squoggle it! I mispise it! I dispunge it! But because I is refusing to gobble up human beans like the other giants, I must spend my life guzzling up icky-poo snozzcumbers instead. If I don’t, I will be nothing but skin and groans.’

‘You mean skin and bons,’ Sophie said.

‘I know it is bones,’ the BFG said. ‘But please understand that I cannot be helping it if I sometimes is saying things a little squiggly. I is trying my very best all the time.’ The Big Friendly Giant looked suddenly so forlorn that Sophie got quite upset.

‘I’m sorry’ she said. ‘I didn’t mean to be rude.’

‘There never was any schools to teach me talking in Giant Country,’ the BFG said sadly.

‘But couldn’t your mother have taught you?’ Sophie asked.

‘My mother!’ cried the BFG. ‘Giants don’t have mothers! Surely you is knowing that.’

‘I did not know that,’ Sophie said.

‘Whoever heard of a woman giant!’ shouted the BFG, waving the snozzcumber around his head like a lasso. ‘There never was a woman giant! And there never will be one. Giants is always men!’

Sophie felt herself getting a little muddled. ‘In that case,’ she said, ‘how were you born?’

‘Giants isn’t born,’ the BFG answered. ‘Giants appears and that’s all there is to it. They simply appears, the same way as the sun and the stars.’

‘And when did you appear?’ Sophie asked.

‘Now how on earth could I be knowing a thing like that?’ said the BFG. ‘It was so long ago I couldn’t count.’

‘You mean you don’t even know how old you are?’

‘No giant is knowing that,’ the BFG said. ‘All I is knowing about myself is that I is very old, very very old and crumply Perhaps as old as the earth.’

‘What happens when a giant dies?’ Sophie asked.

‘Giants is never dying,’ the BFG answered. ‘Sometimes and quite suddenly, a giant is disappearing and nobody is ever knowing where he goes to. But mostly us giants is simply going on and on like whiffsy time-twiddlers.’

The BFG was still holding the awesome snozzcumber in his right hand, and now he put one end into his mouth and bit off a huge hunk of it. He started crunching it up and the noise he made was like the crunching of lumps of ice.

‘It’s filthing!’ he spluttered, speaking with his mouth full and spraying large pieces of snozzcumber like bullets in Sophie’s direction. Sophie hopped around on the table-top, ducking out of the way.

‘It’s disgusterous!’ the BFG gurgled. ‘It’s sickable! It’s rotsome! It’s maggotwise! Try it yourself, this foulsome snozzcumber!’

‘No, thank you,’ Sophie said, backing away.

‘It’s all you’re going to be guzzling around here from now on so you might as well get used to it,’ said the BFG. ‘Go on, you snipsy little winkle, have a go!’

Sophie took a small nibble. ‘Uggggggggh!’ she spluttered. ‘Oh no! Oh gosh! Oh help!’ She spat it out quickly. ‘It tastes of frogskins!’ she gasped. ‘And rotten fish!’

‘Worse than that!’ cried the BFG, roaring with laughter. ‘To me it is tasting of clockcoaches and slime-wanglers!’

The BFG

‘Do we really have to eat it?’ Sophie said.

‘You do unless you is wanting to become so thin you will be disappearing into a thick ear.’

‘Into thin air,’ Sophie said. ‘A thick ear is something quite different.’

Once again that sad winsome look came into the BFG’s eyes. ‘Words,’ he said, ‘is oh such a twitch-tickling problem to me all my life. So you must simply try to be patient and stop squibbling. As I am telling you before, I know exactly what words I am wanting to say, but somehow or other they is always getting squiff-squiddled around.’

‘That happens to everyone,’ Sophie said.

‘Not like it happens to me,’ the BFG said. ‘I is speaking the most terrible wigglish.’

‘I think you speak beautifully’ Sophie said.

‘You do?’ cried the BFG, suddenly brightening. ‘You really do?’

‘Simply beautifully’ Sophie repeated.

‘Well, that is the nicest present anybody is ever giving me in my whole life!’ cried the BFG. ‘Are you sure you is not twiddling my leg?’

The BFG

‘Of course not,’ Sophie said. ‘I just love the way you talk.’

‘How wondercrump!’ cried the BFG, still beaming. ‘How whoopsey-splunkers! How absolutely squiffling! I is all of a stutter.’

‘Listen,’ Sophie said. ‘We don’t have to eat snozzcumbers. In the fields around our village there are all sorts of lovely vegetables like cauliflowers and carrots. Why don’t you get some of those next time you go visiting?’

The BFG raised his great head proudly in the air. ‘I is a very honourable giant,’ he said. ‘I would rather be chewing up rotsome snozzcumbers than snitching things from other people.’

‘You stole me,’ Sophie said.

‘I did not steal you very much,’ said the BFG, smiling gently. ‘After all, you is only a tiny little girl.’

The Bloodbottler

Suddenly, a tremendous thumping noise came from outside the cave entrance and a voice like thunder shouted, ‘Runt! Is you there, Runt? I is hearing you jabbeling! Who is you jabbeling to, Runt?’

‘Look out!’ cried the BFG. ‘It’s the Bloodbottler!’ But before he had finished speaking, the stone was rolled aside and a fifty-foot giant, more than twice as tall and wide as the BFG, came striding into the cave. He was naked except for a dirty little piece of cloth around his bottom.

Sophie was on the table-top. The enormous partly eaten snozzcumber was lying near her. She ducked behind it.

The creature came clumping into the cave and stood towering over the BFG. ‘Who was you jabbeling to in here just now?’ he boomed.

‘I is jabbeling to myself,’ the BFG answered.

‘Pilfflefizz!’ shouted the Bloodbottler. ‘Bugswallop!’ he boomed. ‘You is talking to a human bean, that’s what I is thinking!’

‘No no!’ cried the BFG.

‘Yus yus!’ boomed the Bloodbottler. ‘I is guessing you has snitched away a human bean and brought it back to your bunghole as a pet! So now I is winkling it out and guzzling it as extra snacks before my supper!’

The poor BFG was very nervous. ‘There’s n-no one in here,’ he stammered. ‘W-why don’t you Heave me alone?’

The BFG

The Bloodbottler pointed a finger as large as a tree-trunk at the BFG. ‘Runty little scumscrewer!’ he shouted. ‘Piffling little swishfiggler! Squimpy little bottle-wart! Prunty little pogswizzler! I is now going to search the primroses!’ He grabbed the BFG by the arm. ‘And you is going to help me do it. Us together is going to winkle out this tasteful little human bean!’ he shouted.

The BFG had intended to whisk Sophie off the table as soon as he got the chance and hide her behind his back, but now there was no hope of doing this. Sophie peered around the chewed-off end of the enormous snozzcumber, watching the two giants as they moved away down the cave. The Bloodbottler was a gruesome sight. His skin was reddish-brown. There was black hair sprouting on his chest and arms and on his stomach. The hair on his head was long and dark and tangled. His foul face was round and squashy-looking. The eyes were tiny black holes. The nose was small and flat. But the mouth was huge. It spread right across the face almost ear to ear, and it had lips that were like two gigantic purple frankfurters lying one on top of the other. Craggy yellow teeth stuck out between the two purple frankfurter lips, and rivers of spit ran down over the chin.

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It was not in the least difficult to believe that this ghastly brute ate men, women and children every night.

The Bloodbottler, still holding the BFG by the arm, was examining the rows and rows of bottles. ‘You and your pibbling bottles!’ he shouted. ‘What is you putting in them?’

‘Nothing that would interest you,’ the BFG answered. ‘You is only interested in guzzling human beans.’

‘And you is dotty as a dogswoggler!’ cried the Bloodbottler.

Soon the Bloodbottler would be coming back, Sophie told herself, and he was bound to search the table-top. But she couldn’t possibly jump off the table. It was twelve feet high. She’d break a leg. The snozzcumber, although it was as thick as a perambulator, was not going to hide her if the Bloodbottler picked it up. She examined the chewed-off end. It had large seeds in the middle, each one as big as a melon. They were embedded in soft slimy stuff. Taking care to stay out of sight, Sophie reached forward and scooped away half a dozen of these seeds. This left a hole in the middle of the snozzcumber large enough for her to crouch in so long as she rolled herself up into a ball. She crawled into it. It was a wet and slimy hiding-place, but what did that matter if it was going to save her from being eaten.

The Bloodbottler and the BFG were coming back towards the table now. The BFG was nearly fainting with fear. Any moment, he was telling himself, Sophie would be discovered and eaten.

Suddenly, the Bloodbottler grabbed the half-eaten snozzcumber. The BFG stared at the bare table. Sophie, where is you? he thought desperately. You cannot possibly be jumpelling off that high table, so where is you hiding, Sophie?

‘So this is the filthing rotsome glubbage you is eating!’ boomed the Bloodbottler, holding up the partly eaten snozzcumber. ‘You must be cockles to be guzzling such rubbsquash!’

For a moment, the Bloodbottler seemed to have forgotten about his search for Sophie. The BFG decided to lead him further off the track. ‘That is the scrumdiddlyumptious snozzcumber,’ he said. ‘I is guzzling it gleefully every night and day. Is you never trying a snozzcumber, Bloodbottler?’

‘Human beans is juicier,’ the Bloodbottler said.

‘You is talking rommytot,’ the BFG said, growing braver by the second. He was thinking that if only he could get the Bloodbottler to take one bite of the repulsive vegetable, the sheer foulness of its flavour would send him bellowing out of the cave. ‘I is happy to let you sample it,’ the BFG went on. ‘But please, when you see how truly glumptious it is, do not be guzzling the whole thing. Leave me a little snitchet for my supper.’

The Bloodbottler stared suspiciously with small piggy eyes at the snozzcumber.

Sophie, crouching inside the chewed-off end, began to tremble all over.

‘You is not switchfiddling me, is you?’ said the Bloodbottler.

‘Never!’ cried the BFG passionately. ‘Take a bite and I am positive you will be shouting out oh how scrum-diddlyumptious this wonderveg is!’

The BFG could see the greedy Bloodbottler’s mouth beginning to water more than ever at the prospect of extra food. ‘Vegitibbles is very good for you,’ he went on. ‘It is not healthsome always to be eating meaty things.’

‘Just this once,’ the Bloodbottler said, ‘I is going to taste these rotsome eats of yours. But I is warning you that if it is filthsome, I is smashing it over your sludgy little head!’

He picked up the snozzcumber.

He began raising it on its long journey to his mouth, some fifty feet up in the air.

Sophie wanted to scream Don’t! But that would have been an even more certain death. Crouching among the slimy seeds, she felt herself being lifted up and up and up.

Suddenly, there was a crunch as the Bloodbottler bit a huge hunk off the end. Sophie saw his yellow teeth clamping together, a few inches from her head. Then there was utter darkness. She was in his mouth. She caught a whiff of his evil-smelling breath. It stank of bad meat. She waited for the teeth to go crunch once more. She prayed that she would be killed quickly.

‘Eeeeeowtch!’ roared the Bloodbottler. ‘Ughbwelch! Ieeeech!’ And then he spat.

All of the great lumps of snozzcumber that were in his mouth, as well as Sophie herself, went shooting out across the cave.

If Sophie had struck the stony wall of the cave, she would most certainly have been killed. Instead, she hit the soft folds of the BFG’s black cloak hanging against the wall. She dropped to the ground, half-stunned. She crawled under the hem of the cloak and there she crouched.

‘You little swinebuggler!’ roared the Bloodbottler. ‘You little pigswiller!’ He rushed at the BFG and smashed what was left of the snozzcumber over his head. Fragments of the filthy vegetable splashed all over the cave.

The BFG

‘You is not loving it?’ the BFG asked innocently, rubbing his head.

‘Loving it!’ yelled the Bloodbottler. ‘That is the most disgusterous taste that is ever clutching my teeth! You must be buggies to be swalloping slutch like that! Every night you could be galloping off happy as a hamburger and gobbling juicy human beans!’

‘Eating human beans is wrong and evil,’ the BFG said.

‘It is guzzly and glumptious!’ shouted the Bloodbottler. ‘And tonight I is galloping off to Chile to swobble a few human Chile beans. Is you wishing to know why I is choosing Chile?’

‘I is not wishing to know anything,’ the BFG said, very dignified.

‘I is choosing Chile,’ the Bloodbottler said, ‘because I is fed up with the taste of Esquimos. It is important I has plenty of cold eats in this scuddling hot weather, and the next coldest thing to an Esquimo is a Chile bean. Human beans from Chile is very chilly.’

‘Horrible,’ the BFG said. ‘You ought to be ashamed.’

‘Other giants is all saying they is wanting to gallop off to England tonight to guzzle school-chiddlers,’ the Bloodbottler said. ‘I is very fond indeed of English school-chiddlers. They has a nice inky-booky flavour. Perhaps I will change my mind and go to England with them.’

‘You is disgusting,’ the BFG said.

‘And you is an insult to the giant peoples!’ shouted the Bloodbottler. ‘You is not fit to be a giant! You is a squinky little squiddler! You is a pibbling little pitsqueak! You is a… cream puffnut!’

With that, the horrible Bloodbottling Giant strode out of the cave. The BFG ran to the cave entrance and quickly rolled the stone back into place.

‘Sophie,’ he whispered. ‘Sophie, where is you, Sophie?’

Sophie emerged from under the hem of the black cloak. ‘I’m here,’ she said.

The BFG picked her up and held her tenderly in the palm of his hand. ‘Oh, I is so happy to be finding you all in one lump!’ he said.

‘I was in his mouth,’ Sophie said.

‘You was what!’ cried the BFG.

Sophie told him what had happened.

‘And there I was telling him to eat the filthsome snozzcumber and you was all the time inside it!’ the BFG cried.

‘Not much fun,’ Sophie said.

‘Just look at you, you poor little chiddler!’ cried the BFG. ‘You is all covered in snozzcumber and giant spit.’ He set about cleaning her up as best he could. ‘I is hating those other giants more than ever now,’ he said. ‘You know what I should like?’

‘What?’ Sophie said.

‘I should like to find a way of disappearing them, every single one.’

‘I’d be glad to help you,’ Sophie said. ‘Let me see if I can’t think up a way of doing it.’

The BFG

Frobscottle and

Whizzpoppers

By now Sophie was beginning to feel not only extremely hungry, but very thirsty as well. Had she been at home she would have finished her breakfast long ago.

‘Are you sure there’s nothing else to eat around here except those disgusting smelly snozzcumbers?’ she asked.

‘Not even a fizzwinkel,’ answered the Big Friendly Giant.

‘In that case, may I please have a little water?’ she said.

‘Water?’ said the BFG, frowning mightily. ‘What is water?’

‘We drink it,’ Sophie said. ‘What do you drink?’

‘Frobscottle,’ announced the BFG. ‘All giants is drinking frobscottle.’

‘Is it as nasty as your snozzcumbers?’ Sophie asked.

‘Nasty!’ cried the BFG. ‘Never is it nasty! Frobscottle is sweet and jumbly!’ He got up from his chair and went to a second huge cupboard. He opened it and took out a glass bottle that must have been six feet tall. The liquid inside it was pale green, and the bottle was half full.

‘Here is frobscottle!’ he cried, holding the bottle up proud and high, as though it contained some rare wine. ‘Delumptious fizzy frobscottle!’ he shouted. He gave it a shake and the green stuff began to fizz like mad.

‘But look! It’s fizzing the wrong way!’ Sophie cried. And indeed it was. The bubbles, instead of travelling upwards and bursting on the surface, were shooting downwards and bursting at the bottom. A pale green frothy fizz was forming at the bottom of the bottle.

The BFG

‘What on earth is you meaning the wrong way?’ asked the BFG.

‘In our fizzy drinks,’ Sophie said, ‘the bubbles always go up and burst at the top.’

‘Upwards is the wrong way!’ cried the BFG. ‘You mustn’t ever be having the bubbles going upwards! That the most flushbunking rubbish I ever is hearing!’

‘Why do you say that?’ Sophie asked.

‘You is asking me why?’ cried the BFG, waving the enormous bottle around as though he were conducting an orchestra. ‘You is actually meaning to tell me you cannot see why it is a scrotty mistake to have the bubbles flying up instead of down?’

‘You said it was flushbunking. Now you say it’s scrotty. Which is it?’ Sophie asked politely.

‘Both!’ cried the BFG. ‘It is a flushbunking and a scrotty mistake to let the bubbles go upwards! If you can’t see why, you must be as quacky as a duckhound! By ringo, your head must be so full of frogsquinkers and buzz-wangles, I is frittered if I know how you can think at all!’

‘Why shouldn’t the bubbles go upward?’ Sophie asked.

‘I will explain,’ said the BFG. ‘But tell me first what name is you calling your frobscottle by?’

‘One is Coke,’ Sophie said. ‘Another is Pepsi. There are lots of them.’

‘And the bubbles is all going up?’

‘They all go up,’ Sophie said.

‘Catasterous!’ cried the BFG. ‘Upgoing bubbles is a catasterous disastrophe!’

‘Will you please tell me why?’ Sophie said.

‘If you will listen carefully I will try to explain,’ said the BFG. ‘But your brain is so full of bugwhiffles, I doubt you will ever understand.’

‘I’ll do my best,’ Sophie said patiently.

‘Very well, then. When you is drinking this cokey drink of yours,’ said the BFG, ‘it is going straight down into your tummy. Is that right? Or is it left?’

‘It’s right,’ Sophie said.

‘And the bubbles is going also into your tummy. Right or left?’

‘Right again,’ Sophie said.

‘And the bubbles is fizzing upwards?’

‘Of course,’ Sophie said.

‘Which means,’ said the BFG, ‘that they will all come swishwiffling up your throat and out of your mouth and make a foulsome belchy burp!’

‘That is often true,’ Sophie said. ‘But what’s wrong with a little burp now and again? It’s sort of fun.’

‘Burping is filthsome,’ the BFG said. ‘Us giants is never doing it.’

‘But with your drink,’ Sophie said, ‘what was it you called it?’

‘Frobscottle,’ said the BFG.

‘With frobscottle,’ Sophie said, ‘the bubbles in your tummy will be going downwards and that could have a far nastier result.’

‘Why nasty?’ asked the BFG, frowning.

‘Because,’ Sophie said, blushing a little, ‘if they go down instead of up, they’ll be coming out somewhere else with an even louder and ruder noise.’

‘A whizzpopper!’ cried the BFG, beaming at her. ‘Us giants is making whizzpoppers all the time! Whizzpopping is a sign of happiness. It is music in our ears! You surely is not telling me that a little whizzpopping is forbidden among human beans?’

‘It is considered extremely rude,’ Sophie said.

‘But you is whizzpopping, is you not, now and again?’ asked the BFG.

‘Everyone is whizzpopping, if that’s what you call it,’ Sophie said. ‘Kings and Queens are whizzpopping. Presidents are whizzpopping. Glamorous film stars are whizzpopping. Little babies are whizzpopping. But where I come from, it is not polite to talk about it.’

‘Redunculous!’ said the BFG. ‘If everyone is making whizzpoppers, then why not talk about it? We is now having a swiggle of this delicious frobscottle and you will see the happy result.’ The BFG shook the bottle vigorously. The pale green stuff fizzed and bubbled. He removed the cork and took a tremendous gurgling swig.

‘It’s glummy!’ he cried. ‘I love it!’

For a few moments, the Big Friendly Giant stood quite still, and a look of absolute ecstasy began to spread over his long wrinkly face. Then suddenly the heavens opened and he let fly with a series of the loudest and rudest noises Sophie had ever heard in her life. They reverberated around the walls of the cave like thunder and the glass jars rattled on their shelves. But most astonishing of all, the force of the explosions actually lifted the enormous giant clear off his feet, like a rocket.

‘Whoopee!’ he cried, when he came down to earth again. ‘Now that is whizzpopping for you!’

Sophie burst out laughing. She couldn’t help it.

‘Have some yourself!’ cried the BFG, tipping the neck of the enormous bottle towards her.

‘Don’t you have a cup?’ Sophie said.

‘No cups. Only bottle.’

Sophie opened her mouth, and very gently the BFG tipped the bottle forward and poured some of the fabulous frobscottle down her throat.

And oh gosh, how delicious it was! It was sweet and refreshing. It tasted of vanilla and cream, with just the faintest trace of raspberries on the edge of the flavour. And the bubbles were wonderful. Sophie could actually feel them bouncing and bursting all around her tummy. It was an amazing sensation. It felt as though hundreds of tiny people were dancing a jig inside her and tickling her with their toes. It was lovely.

The BFG

‘It’s lovely!’ she cried.

‘Just wait,’ said the BFG, flapping his ears.

Sophie could feel the bubbles travelling lower and lower down her tummy, and then suddenly, inevitably… the explosion came. The trumpets sounded and she too made the walls of the cavern ring with the sound of music and thunder.

‘Bravo!’ shouted the BFG, waving the bottle. ‘You is very good for a beginner! Let’s have some more!’

Journey to Dream Country

After the mad frobscottle party was over, Sophie settled herself again on top of the enormous table.

‘You is feeling better now?’ asked the Big Friendly Giant.

‘Much better, thank you,’ Sophie said.

‘Whenever I is feeling a bit scrotty,’ the BFG said, ‘a few gollops of frobscottle is always making me hopscotchy again.’

‘I must say it’s quite an experience,’ Sophie said.

‘It’s a razztwizzler,’ the BFG said. ‘It’s gloriumptious.’ He turned away and strode across the cave and picked up his dream-catching net. ‘I is galloping off now,’ he said, ‘to catch some more whoppsy-whiffling dreams for my collection. I is doing this every day without missing. Is you wishing to come with me?’

‘Not me, thank you very much!’ Sophie said. ‘Not with those other giants lurking outside!’

‘I is snuggling you very cosy into the pocket of my waistcoat,’ the BFG said. ‘Then no one is seeing you.’

Before Sophie could protest, he had picked her up off the table and popped her into the waistcoat pocket. There was plenty of room in there. ‘Is you wishing for a little hole to peep out from?’ he asked her.

‘There’s one here already’ she said. She had found a small hole in the pocket, and when she put one eye close to it, she could see out very well indeed. She watched the BFG as he bent down and filled his suitcase with empty glass jars. He closed the lid, picked up the suitcase in one hand, took the pole with the net on the end in the other hand, and marched towards the entrance of the cave.

As soon as he was outside, the BFG set off across the great hot yellow wasteland where the blue rocks lay and the dead trees stood and where all the other giants were skulking about.

Sophie, squatting low on her heels in the pocket of the leather waistcoat, had one eye glued to the little hole. She saw the group of enormous giants about three hundred yards ahead.

‘Hold your breaths!’ the BFG whispered down to her. ‘Cross your figglers! Here we go! We is going right past all these other giants! Is you seeing that whopping great one, the one nearest to us?’

‘I see him,’ Sophie whispered back, quivering.

‘That is the horriblest of them all. And the biggest of them all. He is called the Fleshlumpeating Giant.’

‘I don’t want to hear about him,’ Sophie said.

‘He is fifty-four feet high,’ the BFG said softly as he jogged along. ‘And he is swolloping human beans like they is sugar-lumps, two or three at a time.’

‘You’re making me nervous,’ Sophie said.

‘I is nervous myself,’ the BFG whispered. ‘I always gets as jumpsy as a joghopper when the Fleshlumpeating Giant is around.’

‘Keep away from him,’ Sophie pleaded.

‘Not possible,’ the BFG answered. ‘He is galloping easily two times as quicksy as me.’

‘Shall we turn back?’ Sophie said.

‘Turning back is worse,’ the BFG said. ‘If they is seeing me running away, they is all giving chase and throwing rocks.’

‘They would never eat you though, would they?’ Sophie asked.

‘Giants is never guzzling other giants,’ the BFG said. ‘They is fighting and squarreling a lot with each other, but never guzzling. Human beans is more tasty to them.’

The giants had already spotted the BFG and all heads were turned, watching him as he jogged forward. He was aiming to pass well to the right of the group.

Through her little peep-hole, Sophie saw the Fleshlumpeating Giant moving over to intercept them. He didn’t hurry. He just loped over casually to a point where the BFG would have to pass. The others loped after him. Sophie counted nine of them altogether and she recognized the Bloodbottler in the middle of them. They were bored. They had nothing to do until nightfall. There was an air of menace about them as they loped slowly across the plain with long lolloping strides, heading for the BFG.

‘Here comes the runty one!’ boomed the Fleshlumpeater. ‘Ho-ho there, runty one! Where is you splatch-winkling away to in such a hefty hurry?’ He shot out an enormous arm and grabbed the BFG by the hair. The BFG didn’t struggle. He simply stopped and stood quite still and said, ‘Be so kind as to be letting go of my hair, Fleshlumpeater.’

The Fleshlumpeater released him and stepped back a pace. The other giants stood around, waiting for the fun to start.

‘Now then, you little grobsquiffler!’ boomed the Fleshlumpeater. ‘We is all of us wanting to know where you is galloping off to every day in the daytime. Nobody ought to be galloping off to anywhere until it is getting dark. The human beans could easily be spotting you and starting a giant hunt and we is not wanting that to happen, is we not?’

‘We is not!’ shouted the other giants. ‘Go back to your cave, runty one!’

‘I is not galloping to any human bean country,’ the BFG said. ‘I is going to other places.’

‘I is thinking,’ said the Fleshlumpeater, ‘that you is catching human beans and keeping them as pets!’

‘Right you is!’ cried the Bloodbottler. ‘Just now I is hearing him chittering away to one of them in his cave!’

‘You is welcome to go and search my cave from frack to bunt,’ the BFG answered. ‘You can go looking into every crook and nanny. There is no human beans or stringy beans or runner beans or jelly beans or any other beans in here.’

Sophie crouched still as a mouse inside the BFG’s pocket. She hardly dared breathe. She was terrified she might sneeze. The slightest sound or movement would give her away. Through the tiny peep-hole she watched the giants clustering around the poor BFG. How revolting they were! All of them had piggy little eyes and enormous mouths with thick sausage lips. When the Fleshlumpeater was speaking, she got a glimpse of his tongue. It was jet black, like a slab of black steak. Every one of them was more than twice as tall as the BFG.

Suddenly, the Fleshlumpeater shot out two enormous hands and grabbed the BFG around the waist. He tossed him high in the air and shouted, ‘Catch him, Manhugger!’

The Manhugger caught him. The other giants spread out quickly in a large circle, each giant about twenty yards from his neighbour, preparing for the game they were going to play. Now the Manhugger threw the BFG high and far, shouting ‘Catch him, Bonecruncher!’

The Bonecruncher ran forward and caught the tumbling BFG and immediately swung him up again. ‘Catch him, Childchewer!’ he shouted.

And so it went on. The giants were playing ball with the BFG, vying with each other to see who could throw him the highest. Sophie dug her nails into the sides of the pocket, trying to prevent herself from tumbling out when she was upside down. She felt as though she were in a barrel going over the Niagara Falls. And all the time there was the fearful danger that one of the giants would fail to catch the BFG and he would go crashing to the ground.

The BFG

‘Catch him, Meatdripper!’…

‘Catch him, Gizzardgulper!’…

‘Catch him, Maidmasher!’…

‘Catch him, Bloodbottler!’…

‘Catch him!… Catch him!… Catch him!…’

In the end, they got bored with this game. They dumped the poor BFG on the ground. He was dazed and shattered. They gave him a few kicks and shouted, ‘Run, you little runt! Let us be seeing how fast you is galloping!’ The BFG ran. What else could he do? The giants picked up rocks and hurled them after him. He managed to dodge them. ‘Ruddy little runt!’ they shouted. ‘Troggy little twit! Shrivelly little shrimp! Mucky little midget! Squaggy little squib! Grobby little grub!’

At last the BFG got clear of them all and in another couple of minutes the pack of giants was out of sight over the horizon. Sophie popped her head up from the pocket. ‘I didn’t like that,’ she said.

‘Phew!’ said the BFG. ‘Phew and far between! They was in a nasty crotching mood today, was they not! I is sorry you was having such a whirlgig time.’

‘No worse than you,’ Sophie said. ‘Would they ever really hurt you?’

‘I isn’t ever trusting them,’ the BFG said.

‘How do they actually catch the humans they eat?’ Sophie asked.

‘They is usually just sticking an arm in through the bedroom window and snitching them from their beds,’ the BFG said.

‘Like you did to me.’

‘Ah, but I isn’t eating you,’ the BFG said.

‘How else do they catch them?’ Sophie asked.

‘Sometimes,’ the BFG said, ‘they is swimmeling in from the sea like fishies with only their heads showing above the water, and then out comes a big hairy hand and grabbles someone off the beach.’

‘Children as well?’

‘Often chiddlers,’ the BFG said. ‘Little chiddlers who is building sandcastles on the beach. That is who the swimmeling ones are after. Little chiddlers is not so tough to eat as old grandmamma, so says the Childchewing Giant.’

As they talked, the BFG was galloping fast over the land. Sophie was standing right up in his waistcoat pocket now and holding on to the edge with both hands. Her head and shoulders were in the open and the wind was blowing in her hair.

‘How else do they catch people?’ she asked.

‘All of them is having their own special ways of catching the human bean,’ the BFG said. ‘The Meatdripping Giant is preferring to pretend he is a big tree growing in the park. He is standing in the park in the dusky evening and he is holding great big branches over his head, and there he is waiting until some happy families is coming to have a picnic under the spreading tree. The Meatdripping Giant is watching them as they lay out their little picnic. But in the end it is the Meatdripper who is having the picnic.’

‘It’s too awful!’ Sophie cried.

‘The Gizzardgulping Giant is a city lover,’ the BFG went on. ‘The Gizzardgulper is lying high up between the roofs of houses in the big cities. He is lying there snuggy as a sniggler and watching the human beans walking on the street below, and when he sees one that looks like it has a whoppsy-good flavour, he grabs it. He is simply reaching down and snitching it off the street like a monkey taking a nut. He says it is nice to be able to pick and choose what you is having for your supper. He says it is like choosing from a menu.’

‘Don’t people see him doing it?’ Sophie asked.

‘Never is they seeing him. Do not forget it is dusky-dark at this time. Also, the Gizzardgulper has a very fast arm. His arm is going up and down quicker than squinkers.’

‘But if all these people are disappearing every night, surely there’s some sort of an outcry?’ Sophie said.

‘The world is a whopping big place,’ the BFG said. ‘It has a hundred different countries. The giants is clever. They is careful not to be skididdling off to the same country too often. They is always switchfiddling around.’

‘Even so… ‘ Sophie said.

‘Do not forget,’ the BFG said, ‘that human beans is disappearing everywhere all the time even without the giants is guzzling them up. Human beans is killing each other much quicker than the giants is doing it.’

‘But they don’t eat each other,’ Sophie said.

‘Giants isn’t eating each other either,’ the BFG said. ‘Nor is giants killing each other. Giants is not very lovely, but they is not killing each other. Nor is crockadowndillies killing other crockadowndillies. Nor is pussy-cats killing pussycats.’

‘They kill mice,’ Sophie said.

‘Ah, but they is not killing their own kind,’ the BFG said. ‘Human beans is the only animals that is killing their own kind.’

‘Don’t poisonous snakes kill each other?’ Sophie asked. She was searching desperately for another creature that behaved as badly as the human.

‘Even poisnowse snakes is never killing each other,’ the BFG said. ‘Nor is the most fearsome creatures like tigers and rhinostossterisses. None of them is ever killing their own kind. Has you ever thought about that?’

Sophie kept silent.

‘I is not understanding human beans at all,’ the BFG said. ‘You is a human bean and you is saying it is grizzling and horrigust for giants to be eating human beans. Right or left?’

‘Right,’ Sophie said.

‘But human beans is squishing each other all the time,’ the BFG said. ‘They is shootling guns and going up in aerioplanes to drop their bombs on each other’s heads every week. Human beans is always killing other human beans.’

He was right. Of course he was right and Sophie knew it. She was beginning to wonder whether humans were actually any better than giants. ‘Even so,’ she said, defending her own race, ‘I think it’s rotten that those foul giants should go off every night to eat humans. Humans have never done them any harm.’

‘That is what the little piggy-wig is saying every day’ the BFG answered. ‘He is saying, “I has never done any harm to the human bean so why should he be eating me?” ’

‘Oh dear,’ Sophie said.

‘The human beans is making rules to suit themselves,’ the BFG went on. ‘But the rules they is making do not suit the little piggy-wiggies. Am I right or left?’

‘Right,’ Sophie said.

‘Giants is also making rules. Their rules is not suiting the human beans. Everybody is making his own rules to suit himself.’

‘But you don’t like it that those beastly giants are eating humans every night, do you?’ Sophie asked.

‘I do not,’ the BFG answered firmly. ‘One right is not making two lefts. Is you quite cosy down there in my pocket?’

‘I’m fine,’ Sophie said.

Then suddenly, once again, the BFG went into that magical top gear of his. He began hurtling forward with phenomenal leaps. His speed was unbelievable. The landscape became blurred and again Sophie had to duck down out of the whistling gale to save her head from being blown off her shoulders. She crouched in the pocket and listened to the wind screaming past. It came knifing in through the tiny peep-hole in the pocket and whooshed around her like a hurricane.

But this time the BFG didn’t stay in top gear long. It seemed as though he had had some barrier to cross, a vast mountain perhaps or an ocean or a great desert, but having crossed it, he once again slowed down to his normal gallop and Sophie was able to pop her head up and look out once more at the view.

She noticed immediately that they were now in an altogether paler country. The sun had disappeared above a film of vapour. The air was becoming cooler every minute. The land was flat and treeless and there seemed to be no colour in it at all.

Every minute, the mist became thicker. The air became colder still and everything became paler and paler until soon there was nothing but grey and white all around them. They were in a country of swirling mists and ghostly vapours. There was some sort of grass underfoot but it was not green. It was ashy grey. There was no sign of a living creature and no sound at all except for the soft thud of the BFG’s footsteps as he hurtled on through the fog.

Suddenly he stopped. ‘We is here at last!’ he announced. He bent down and lifted Sophie from his pocket and put her on the ground. She was still in her nightie and her feet were bare. She shivered and stared around her at the swirling mists and ghostly vapours.

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‘Where are we?’ she asked.

‘We is in Dream Country,’ the BFG said. ‘This is where all dreams is beginning.’

Dream-Catching

The Big Friendly Giant put the suitcase on the ground. He bent down low so that his enormous face was close to Sophie’s. ‘From now on, we is keeping as still as winky little micies,’ he whispered.

Sophie nodded. The misty vapour swirled around her. It made her cheeks damp and left dewdrops in her hair.

The BFG opened the suitcase and took out several empty glass jars. He set them ready on the ground, with their screw tops removed. Then he stood up very straight. His head was now high up in the swirling mist and it kept disappearing, then appearing again. He was holding the long net in his right hand.

Sophie, staring upwards, saw through the mist that his colossal ears were beginning to swivel out from his head. They began waving gently to and fro.

Suddenly the BFG pounced. He leaped high in the air and swung the net through the mist with a great swishing sweep of his arm. ‘Got him!’ he cried. ‘Ajar! Ajar! Quick quick quick!’ Sophie picked up a jar and held it up to him. He grabbed hold of it. He lowered the net. Very carefully he tipped something absolutely invisible from the net into the jar. He dropped the net and swiftly clapped one hand over the jar. ‘The top!’ he whispered. ‘The jar top quick!’ Sophie picked up the screw top and handed it to him. He screwed it on tight and the jar was closed. The BFG was very excited. He held the jar close to one ear and listened intently.

‘It’s a winksquiffler!’ he whispered with a thrill in his voice. ‘It’s… it’s… it’s… it’s even better. It’s a phizzwizard! It’s a golden phizzwizard!’

Sophie stared at him.

‘Oh my, oh my!’ he said, holding the jar in front of him. ‘This will be giving some little tottler a very happy night when I is blowing it in!’

‘Is it really a good one?’ Sophie asked.

‘ A good one?’ he cried. ‘It’s a golden phizzwizard! It is not often I is getting one of these!’ He handed the jar to Sophie and said, ‘Please be still as a starfish now. I is thinking there may be a whole swarm of phizzwizards up here today. And do kindly stop breathing. You is terribly noisy down there.’

‘I haven’t moved a muscle,’ Sophie said.

‘Then don’t,’ the BFG answered sharply. Once again he stood up tall in the mist, holding his net at the ready. Then came the long silence, the waiting, the listening, and at last, with surprising suddenness came the leap and the swish of the net.

‘Another jar!’ he cried. ‘Quick quick quick!’

When the second dream was safely in the jar and the top was screwed down, the BFG held it to his ear.

‘Oh no!’ he cried. ‘Oh mince my maggots! Oh swipe my swoggles!’

‘What’s the matter?’ Sophie asked.

‘It’s a trogglehumper!’ he shouted. His voice was filled with fury and anguish. ‘Oh, save our solos!’ he cried. ‘Deliver us from weasels! The devil is dancing on my dibbler!’

The BFG

‘What are you talking about?’ Sophie said. The BFG was getting more distressed every moment.

‘Oh, bash my eyebones!’ he cried, waving the jar in the air. ‘I come all this way to get lovely golden dreams and what is I catching?’

‘What are you catching?’ Sophie said.

‘I is catching a frightsome trogglehumper!’ he cried. ‘This is a bad bad dream! It is worse than a bad dream! It is a nightmare!’

‘Oh dear,’ Sophie said. ‘What will you do with that?’

‘I is never never letting it go!’ the BFG cried. ‘If I do, then some poor little totder will be having the most curdbloodling time! This one is a real kicksy bog-thumper! I is exploding it as soon as I get home!’

‘Nightmares are horrible,’ Sophie said. ‘I had one once and I woke up sweating all over.’

‘With this one you would be waking up screaming all over!’ the BFG said. ‘This one would make your teeth stand on end! If this one got into you, your blood would be freezing to icicles and your skin would go creeping across the floor!’

‘Is it as bad as that?’

‘It’s worse!’ cried the BFG. ‘This is a real whoppsy grobswitcher!’

‘You said it was a trogglehumper,’ Sophie told him.

‘It is a trogglehumper!’ cried the exasperated BFG. ‘But it is also a bogthumper and a grobswitcher! It is all three riddled into one! Oh, I is so glad I is clutching it tight. Ah, you wicked beastie, you!’ he cried, holding up the jar and staring into it. ‘Never more is you going to be bunkdoodling the poor little human-beaney totders!’

Sophie, who was also staring into the glass jar, cried out, ‘I can see it! There’s something in there!’

‘Of course there is something in there,’ the BFG said. ‘You is looking at a frightsome trogglehumper.’

‘But you told me dreams were invisible.’

‘They is always invisible until they is captured,’ the BFG told her. ‘After that they is losing a little of their invisibility. We is seeing this one very clearly.’

Inside the jar Sophie could see the faint scarlet outline of something that looked like a mixture between a blob of gas and a bubble of jelly. It was moving violently, thrashing against the sides of the jar and forever changing shape.

The BFG

‘It’s wiggling all over the place!’ Sophie cried. ‘It’s fighting to get out! It’ll bash itself to bits!’

‘The nastier the dream, the angrier it is getting when it is in prison,’ the BFG said. ‘It is the same as with wild animals. If an animal is very fierce and you is putting it in a cage, it will make a tremendous rumpledumpus. If it is a nice animal like a cockatootloo or a foggle-frump, it will sit quietly. Dreams is exactly the same. This one is a nasty fierce bogrotting nightmare. Just look at him splashing himself against the glass!’

‘It’s quite frightening!’ Sophie cried.

‘I would be hating to get this one inside me on a darksome night,’ the BFG said.

‘So would I!’ Sophie said.

The BFG started putting the bottles back into the suitcase.

‘Is that all?’ Sophie asked. ‘Are we going?’

‘I is so upset by this trogglehumping bogthumping grobswitcher,’ the BFG said, ‘that I is not wishing to go on. Dream-catching is finished for today.’

Soon Sophie was back in the waistcoat pocket and the BFG was racing home as fast as he could go. When, at last, they emerged out of the mist and came again on to the hot yellow wasteland, all the other giants were sprawled out on the ground, fast asleep.

A Trogglehumper for

the Fleshlumpeater

‘They is always having fifty winks before they goes scumpering off to hunt human beans in the evening,’ the BFG said. He stopped for a few moments to let Sophie have a better look. ‘Giants is only sleeping every then and now,’ he said. ‘Not nearly as much as human beans. Human beans is crazy for sleeping. Is it ever occurring to you that a human bean who is fifty is spending about twenty years sleeping fast?’

‘I must admit that never occurred to me,’ Sophie said.

‘You should allow it to occur to you,’ the BFG said. ‘Imagine it please. This human bean who says he is fifty has been fast asleep for twenty years and is not even knowing where he is! Not even doing anything! Not even thinking!’

‘It’s a funny thought,’ Sophie said.

‘Exunckly,’ the BFG said. ‘So what I is trying to explain to you is that a human bean who says he is fifty is not fifty, he is only thirty.’

‘What about me?’ Sophie said. ‘I am eight.’

‘You is not eight at all,’ the BFG said. ‘Human bean babies and little chiddlers is spending half their time sleeping, so you is only four.’

‘I’m eight,’ Sophie said.

‘You may think you is eight,’ the BFG said, ‘but you has only spent four years of your life with your little eyes open. You is only four and please stop higgling me. Titchy little snapperwhippers like you should not be higgling around with an old sage and onions who is hundreds of years more than you.’

‘How much do giants sleep?’ Sophie asked.

‘They is never wasting much time snozzling,’ the BFG said. ‘Two or three hours is enough.’

‘When do you sleep?’ Sophie asked.

‘Even less,’ the BFG answered. ‘I is sleeping only once in a blue baboon.’

Sophie, peeping out from her pocket, examined the nine sleeping giants. They looked even more grotesque now than when they were awake. Sprawled out across the yellow plain, they covered an area about the size of a football field. Most of them were lying on their backs with their enormous mouths wide open, and they were snoring like foghorns. The noise was awful.

Suddenly the BFG gave a jump in the air. ‘By gumfrog!’ he cried. ‘I is just having the most whoppsy-whiffling idea!’

‘What?’ Sophie said.

‘Wait!’ he cried. ‘Hold your horsefeathers! Keep your skirt on! Just you wait to see what I is going to bring about!’ He galloped off fast to his cave with Sophie hanging on tight to the rim of the pocket. He rolled back the stone. He entered the cave. He was very excited. He was moving quickly. ‘You stay where you is in my pocket, huggybee,’ he said. ‘We is doing this lovely bit of buckswashling both together.’ He laid aside the dream-catching net but hung on to the suitcase. He ran across to the other side of the cave and grabbed the long trumpet thing, the one he had been carrying when Sophie had first seen him in the village. With the suitcase in one hand and the trumpet in the other, he dashed out of the cave.

What is he up to now? Sophie wondered.

‘Peep your head up good,’ the BFG said, ‘then you will get a fine winkle of what is going on.’

When the BFG came near to the sleeping giants, he slowed his pace. He began moving softly. He crept on his toes towards the ugly brutes. They were still snoring loudly. They looked repulsive, filthy, diabolical. The BFG tip-toed around them. He went past the Gizzardgulper, the Bloodbottler, the Meatdripper, the Childchewer. Then he stopped. He had reached the Fleshlumpeater. He pointed at him, then he looked down at Sophie and gave her a big wink.

He knelt on the ground and very quietly he opened the suitcase. He took out of it the glass jar containing the terrible nightmarish trogglehumper.

At that point, Sophie guessed what was going to happen next.

Owch, she thought. This could be rather dangerous. She crouched lower in the pocket so that only the top of her head and her eyes were showing. She wanted to be ready to duck out of sight very fast should anything go wrong.

They were about ten feet away from the Fleshlumpeater’s face. The snoring-snorting noise he was making was disgusting. Every now and again a big bubble of spit formed between his two open lips and men it would burst with a splash and cover his face with saliva.

Taking infinite care, the BFG unscrewed the top of the glass jar and tipped the squiggling squirming faintly scarlet trogglehumper into the wide end of his long trumpet. He put the other end of the trumpet to his lips. He aimed the instrument directly at the Fleshlumpeater’s face. He took a deep breath, puffed out his cheeks and then whoof! He blew!

Sophie saw a flash of pale red go darting towards the giant’s face. For a split second it hovered above the face. Then it was gone. It seemed to have been sucked up the giant’s nose, but it had all happened so quickly, Sophie couldn’t be sure.

‘We had better be skiddling away quick to where it is safe,’ the BFG whispered. He trotted off for about a hundred yards, then he stopped. He crouched low to the earth. ‘Now,’ he said, ‘we is waiting for the gun and flames to begin.’

The BFG

They didn’t have long to wait.

The air was suddenly pierced by the most fearful roar Sophie had ever heard, and she saw the Fleshlumpeater’s body, all fifty-four feet of it, rise up off the ground and fall back again with a thump. Then it began to wriggle and twist and bounce about in the most violent fashion. It was quite frightening to watch.

‘Eeeow!’ roared the Fleshlumpeater. ‘Ayeee! Oooow!’

‘He’s still asleep,’ the BFG whispered. ‘The terrible trogglehumping nightmare is beginning to hit him.’

‘Serves him right,’ Sophie said. She could feel no sympathy for this great brute who ate children as though they were sugar-lumps.

The BFG

‘Save us!’ screamed the Fleshlumpeater, thrashing about madly. ‘He is after me! He is getting me!’

The thrashing of limbs and the waving of arms became more violent by the second. It was an awesome thing to watch such a massive creature having such mighty convulsions.

‘It’s Jack!’ bellowed the Fleshlumpeater. ‘It’s the grueful gruncious Jack! Jack is after me! Jack is wack-crackling me! Jack is spikesticking me! Jack is splash-plunking me! It is the terrible frightswipingjack!’ The Fleshlumpeater was writhing about over the ground like some colossal tortured snake. ‘Oh, spare me, Jack!’ he yelled. ‘Don’t hurt me, Jack!’

‘Who is this Jack he’s on about?’ Sophie whispered.

‘Jack is the only human bean all giants is frightened of,’ the BFG told her. ‘They is all absolutely terrified of Jack. They is all hearing that Jack is a famous giant-killer.’

‘Save me!’ screamed the Fleshlumpeater. ‘Have mercy on this poor little giant! The beanstalk! He is coming at me with his terrible spikesticking beanstalk! Take it away! I is begging you, Jack, I is praying you not to touch me with your terrible spikesticking beanstalk!’

‘Us giants,’ the BFG whispered, ‘is not knowing very much about this dreaded human bean called Jack. We is knowing only that he is a famous giant-killer and that he is owning something called a beanstalk. We is knowing also that the beanstalk is a fearsome thing and Jack is using it to kill giants.’

Sophie couldn’t stop smiling.

‘What is you griggling at?’ the BFG asked her, slightly nettled.

‘I’ll tell youk later,’ Sophie said.

The BFG

The BFG

The awful nightmare had now gripped the great brute to such an extent that he was tying his whole body into knots. ‘Do not do it, Jack!’ he screeched. ‘I was not eating you, Jack! I is never eating human beans! I swear I has never gobbled a single human bean in all my wholesome life!’

‘Liar,’ said the BFG.

Just then, one of the Fleshlumpeater’s flailing fists caught the still-fast-asleep Meatdripping Giant smack in the mouth. At the same time, one of his furiously thrashing legs kicked the snoring Gizzardgulping Giant right in the guts. Both the injured giants woke up and leaped to their feet.

‘He is swiping me right in the mouth!’ yelled the Meatdripper.

‘He is bungswoggling me smack in the guts!’ shouted the Gizzardgulper.

The two of them rushed at the Fleshlumpeater and began pounding him with their fists and feet. The wretched Fleshlumpeater woke up with a bang. He awoke straight from one nightmare into another. He roared into battle, and in the bellowing thumping rough and tumble that followed, one sleeping giant after another either got stepped upon or kicked. Soon, all nine of them were on their feet having the most almighty free-for-all. They punched and kicked and scratched and bit and butted each other as hard as they could. Blood flowed. Noses went crunch. Teeth fell out like hailstones. The giants roared and screamed and cursed, and for many minutes the noise of battle rolled across the yellow plain.

The BFG smiled a big wide smile of absolute pleasure. ‘I is loving it when they is all having a good tough and rumble,’ he said.

‘They’ll kill each other,’ Sophie said.

‘Never,’ the BFG answered. ‘Those beasts is always bishing and walloping at one another. Soon it will be getting dusky and they will be galloping off to fill their tummies.’

‘They’re coarse and foul and filthy,’ Sophie said. ‘I hate them!’

As the BFG headed back to the cave, he said quietly, ‘We certainly was putting that nightmare to good use though, wasn’t we?’

‘Excellent use,’ Sophie said. ‘Well done you.’

Dreams

The Big Friendly Giant was seated at the great table in his cave and he was doing his homework.

Sophie sat cross-legged on the table-top near by, watching him at work.

The glass jar containing the one and only good dream they had caught that day stood between them.

The BFG, with great care and patience, was printing something on a piece of paper with an enormous pencil.

‘What are you writing?’ Sophie asked him.

‘Every dream is having its special label on the bottle,’ the BFG said. ‘How else could I be finding the one I am wanting in a hurry?’

‘But can you really and truly tell what sort of a dream it’s going to be simply by listening to it?’ Sophie asked.

‘I can,’ the BFG said, not looking up.

‘But how? Is it by the way it hums and buzzes?’

‘You is less or more right,’ the BFG said. ‘Every dream in the world is making a different sort of buzzy-hum music. And these grand swashboggling ears of mine is able to read that music.’

‘By music, do you mean tunes?’

‘I is not meaning tunes.’

‘Then what do you mean?’

‘Human beans is having their own music, right or left?’

‘Right,’ Sophie said. ‘Lots of music.’

The BFG

‘And sometimes human beans is very overcome when they is hearing wonderous music. They is getting shivers down their spindels. Right or left?’

‘Right,’ Sophie said.

‘So the music is saying something to them. It is sending a message. I do not think the human beans is knowing what that message is, but they is loving it just the same.’

‘That’s about right,’ Sophie said.

‘But because of these jumpsquiffling ears of mine,’ the BFG said, ‘I is not only able to hear the music that dreams is making but I is understanding it also.’

‘What do you mean understanding it?’ Sophie said.

‘I can read it,’ the BFG said. ‘It talks to me. It is like a langwitch.’

‘I find that just a little hard to believe,’ Sophie said.

‘I’ll bet you is also finding it hard to believe in quogwinkles,’ the BFG said, ‘and how they is visiting us from the stars.’

‘Of course I don’t believe that,’ Sophie said.

The BFG regarded her gravely with those huge eyes of his. ‘I hope you will forgive me,’ he said, ‘if I tell you that human beans is thinking they is very clever, but they is not. They is nearly all of them notmuchers and squeakpips.’

‘I beg your pardon,’ Sophie said.

‘The matter with human beans,’ the BFG went on, ‘is that they is absolutely refusing to believe in anything unless they is actually seeing it right in front of their own schnozzles. Of course quogwinkles is existing. I is meeting them oftenly. I is even chittering to them.’ He turned away contemptuously from Sophie and resumed his writing. Sophie moved over to read what he had written so far. The letters were printed big and bold, but were not very well formed. Here is what it said:

THIS DREAM IS ABOUT HOW I IS SAVING MY TEECHER FROM DROWNING. I IS DIVING INTO THE RIVER FROM A HIGH BRIDGE AND I IS DRAGGING MY TEECHER TO THE BANK AND THEN I IS GIVING HIM THE KISS OF DEATH…

The BFG

‘The kiss of what?’ Sophie asked.

The BFG stopped writing and raised his head slowly. His eyes rested on Sophie’s face. ‘I is telling you once before,’ he said quietly, ‘that I is never having a chance to go to school. I is full of mistakes. They is not my fault. I do my best. You is a lovely little girl, but please remember that you is not exactly Miss Knoweverything yourself.’

‘I’m sorry’ Sophie said. ‘I really am. It is very rude of me to keep correcting you.’

The BFG gazed at her for a while longer, then he bent his head again to his slow laborious writing.

‘Tell me honestly,’ Sophie said. ‘If you blew this dream into my bedroom when I was asleep, would I really and truly start dreaming about how I saved my teacher from drowning by diving off the bridge?’

‘More,’ the BFG said. ‘A lot more. But I cannot be squibbling the whole gropefluncking dream on a titchy bit of paper. Of course there is more.’

The BFG laid down his pencil and placed one massive ear close to the jar. For about thirty seconds he listened intently. ‘Yes,’ he said, nodding his great head solemnly up and down. ‘This dream is continuing very nice. It has a very dory-hunky ending.’

‘How does it end?’ Sophie said. ‘Please tell me.’

‘You would be dreaming,’ the BFG said, ‘that the morning after you is saving the teacher from the river, you is arriving at school and you is seeing all the five hundred pupils sitting in the assembly hall, and all the teachers as well, and the head teacher is then standing up and saying, “I is wanting the whole school to give three cheers for Sophie because she is so brave and is saving the life of our fine arithmatic teacher, Mr Figgins, who was unfortunately pushed off the bridge into the river by our gym-teacher, Miss Amelia Upscotch. So three cheers for Sophie!” And the whole school is then cheering like mad and shouting bravo well done, and, for ever after that, even when you is getting your sums all gungswizzled and muggled up, Mr Figgins is always giving you ten out of ten and writing Good Work Sophie in your exercise book. Then you is waking up.’

‘I like that dream,’ Sophie said.

‘Of course you like it,’ the BFG said. ‘It is a phizzwizard.’ He licked the back of the label and stuck it on the jar. ‘I is usually writing a bit more than this on the labels,’ he said. ‘But you is watching me and making me jumpsy.’

‘I’ll go and sit somewhere else,’ Sophie said.

‘Don’t go,’ he said. ‘Look in the jar carefully and I think you will be seeing this dream.’

Sophie peered into the jar and there, sure enough, she saw the faint translucent outline of something about the size of a hen’s egg. There was just a touch of colour in it, a pale sea-green, soft and shimmering and very beautiful. There it lay, this small oblong sea-green jellyish thing, at the bottom of the jar, quite peaceful, but pulsing gendy, the whole of it moving in and out ever so slightly, as though it were breathing.

‘It’s moving!’ Sophie cried. ‘It’s alive!’

‘Of course it’s alive.’

‘What will you feed it on?’ Sophie asked.

‘It is not needing any food,’ the BFG told her.

‘That’s cruel,’ Sophie said. ‘Everything alive needs food of some sort. Even trees and plants.’

‘The north wind is alive,’ the BFG said. ‘It is moving. It touches you on the cheek and on the hands. But nobody is feeding it.’

Sophie was silent. This extraordinary giant was disturbing her ideas. He seemed to be leading her towards mysteries that were beyond her understanding.

‘A dream is not needing anything,’ the BFG went on. ‘If it is a good one, it is waiting peaceably for ever until it is released and allowed to do its job. If it is a bad one, it is always fighting to get out.’

The BFG stood up and walked over to one of the many shelves and placed the latest jar among the thousands of others.

‘Please can I see some of the other dreams?’ Sophie asked him.

The BFG hesitated. ‘Nobody is ever seeing them before,’ he said. ‘But perhaps after all I is letting you have a little peep.’ He picked her up off the table and stood her on the palm of one of his huge hands. He carried her towards the shelves. ‘Over here is some of the good dreams,’ he said. ‘The phizzwizards.’

‘Would you hold me closer so I can read the labels,’ Sophie said.

‘My labels is only telling bits of it,’ the BFG said. ‘The dreams is usually much longer. The labels is just to remind me.’

Sophie started to read the labels. The first one seemed long enough to her. It went right round the jar, and as she read it, she had to keep turning the jar. This is what it said:

TODAY I IS SITTING IN CLASS AND I DISCOVER THAT IF I IS STARING VERY HARD AT MY TEECHER IN A SPHESHAL WAY, I IS ABLE TO PUT HER TO SLEEP. SO I KEEP STARING AT HER AND IN THE END HER HEAD DROPS ON TO HER DESK AND SHE GOES FAST TO SLEEP AND SNORKLES LOUDLY. THEN IN MARCHES THE HEAD TEECHER AND HE SHOUTS ‘WAKE UP MISS PLUMRIDGE! HOW DARE YOU GO TO SLEEP IN CLASS! GO FETCH YOUR HAT AND COTE AND LEAVE THIS SCHOOL FOR EVER! YOU IS SACKED!’ BUT IN A JIFFY I IS PUTTING THE HEAD TEECHER TO SLEEP AS WELL, AND HE JUST CRUMPLES SLOWLY TO THE FLOOR LIKE A LUMP OF JELLY AND THERE HE LIES ALL IN A HEAP AND STARTS SNORKELLING EVEN LOWDER THAN MISS PLUMRIDGE. AND THEN I IS HEARING MY MUMMY’S VOICE SAYING WAKE UP YOUR BREKFUST IS REDDY.

The BFG

‘What a funny dream,’ Sophie said.

‘It’s a ringbeller,’ the BFG said. ‘It’s whoppsy.’

Inside the jar, just below the edge of the label, Sophie could see the putting-to-sleep dream lying peacefully on the bottom, pulsing gently, sea-green like the other one, but perhaps a trifle larger.

‘Do you have separate dreams for boys and for girls?’ Sophie asked.

‘Of course,’ the BFG said. ‘If I is giving a girl’s dream to a boy, even if it was a really whoppsy girl’s dream, the boy would be waking up and thinking what a rotbungling grinksludging old dream that was.’

‘Boys would,’ Sophie said.

‘These here is all girls’ dreams on this shelf,’ the BFG said.

‘Can I read a boy’s dream?’

‘You can,’ the BFG said, and he lifted her to a higher shelf. The label on the nearest boy’s-dream jar read as follows:

The BFG

I IS MAKING MYSELF A MARVELUS PAIR OF SUCTION BOOTS AND WHEN I PUT THEM ON I IS ABEL TO WALK STRATE UP THE KITSHUN WALL AND ACROSS THE CEILING., WELL, I IS WALKING UPSIDE DOWN ON THE CEILING WEN MY BIG SISTER COMES IN AND SHE IS STARTING TO YELL AT ME AS SHE ALWAYS DOES, YELLING WOT ON EARTH IS YOU DOING UP THERE WALKING ON THE CEILING AND I LOOKS DOWN AT HER AND I SMILES AND I SAYS I TOLD YOU YOU WAS DRIVING ME UP THE WALL AND NOW YOU HAS DONE IT.

‘I find that one rather silly,’ Sophie said.

‘Boys wouldn’t,’ the BFG said, grinning. ‘It’s another ringbeller. Perhaps you has seen enough now.’

‘Let me read another boy’s one,’ Sophie said.

The next label said:

THE TELLYFONE RINGS IN OUR HOUSE AND MY FATHER PICKS IT UP AND SAYS IN HIS VERY IMPORTANT TELLYFONE VOICE ‘SIMPKINS SPEAKING’. THEN HIS FACE GOES WHITE AND HIS VOICE GOES ALL FUNNY AND HE SAYS ‘WHAT! WHO?’ AND THEN HE SAYS ‘YES SIR I UNDERSTAND SIR BUT SURELY IT IS ME YOU IS WISHING TO SPEKE TO SIR NOT MY LITTLE SON?’ MY FATHER’S FACE IS GOING FROM WHITE TO DARK PURPEL AND HE IS GULPING LIKE HE HAS A LOBSTER STUCK IN HIS THROTE AND THEN AT LAST HE IS SAYING ‘YES SIR VERY WELL SIR I WILL GET HIM SIR’ AND HE TURNS TO ME AND HE SAYS IN A RATHER RESPECK-FUL VOICE ‘IS YOU KNOWING THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES?’ AND I SAYS ‘NO BUT I EXPECT HE IS HEARING ABOUT ME.’ THEN I IS HAVING A LONG TALK ON THE FONE AND SAYING THINGS LIKE ‘LET ME TAKE CARE OF IT, MR PRESIDENT. YOU’LL BUNGLE IT ALL UP IF YOU DO IT YOUR WAY’. AND MY FATHER’S EYES IS GOGGLING RIGHT OUT OF HIS HEAD AND THAT IS WHEN I IS HEARING MY FATHER’S REAL VOICE SAYING GET UP YOU LAZY SLOB OR YOU WILL BE LATE FOR SKOOL.

The BFG

‘Boys are crazy,’ Sophie said. ‘Let me read this next one.’ Sophie started reading the next label:

I IS HAVING A BATH AND I IS DISCOVERING THAT IF I PRESS QUITE HARD ON MY TUMMY BUTTON A FUNNY FEELING COMES OVER ME AND SUDDENLEY MY LEGS IS NOT THERE NOR IS MY ARMS. IN FACT I HAS BECOME ABSOLOOTLY INVISIBLE ALL OVER. I IS STILL THERE BUT NO ONE CAN SEE ME NOT EVEN MYSELF. SO MY MUMMY COMES IN AND SAYS ‘WHERE IS THAT CHILD! HE WAS IN THE BATH A MINIT AGO AND HE CAN’T POSSIBLY HAVE WASHED HIMSELF PROPERLY!’ SO I SAYS ‘HERE I IS’ AND SHE SAYS ‘WHERE?’ AND I SAYS ‘HERE’ AND SHE SAYS ‘WHERE?’ AND I SAYS ‘HERE!’ AND SHE YELLS ‘HENRY! COME UP QUICK!’ AND WHEN MY DADDY RUSHES IN I IS WASHING MYSELF AND MY DADDY SEES THE SOAP FLOATING AROUND IN THE AIR BUT OF CORSE HE IS NOT SEEING ME AND HE SHOUTS ‘WHERE ARE YOU BOY?’ AND I SAYS ‘HERE’ AND HE SAYS ‘WHERE?’ AND I SAYS ‘HERE’ AND HE SAYS ‘WHERE?’ AND I SAYS ‘HERE!’ AND HE SAYS ‘THE SOAP, BOY! THE SOAP! IT’S FLYING IN THE AIR!’ THEN I PRESS MY TUMMY BUTTOXN AGAIN AND NOW I IS VISIBLE. MY DADDY IS SQUIFFY WITH EXCITEMENT AND HE SAYS ‘YOU IS THE INVISIBLE BOY!’ AND I SAYS ‘NOW I IS GOING TO HAVE SOME FUN,’ SO WHEN I IS OUT OF THE BATH AND I HAVE DRIED MYSELF I PUT ON MY DRESSING-GOWN AND SLIPPERS AND I PRESS MY TUMMY BUTTON AGAIN TO BECOME INVISIBLE AND I GO DOWN INTO THE TOWN AND WALK IN THE STREETS. OF CORSE ONLY ME IS INVISIBLE BUT NOT THE THINGS I IS WEARING SO WHEN PEEPLE IS SEEING A DRESSING-GOWN AND SLIPPERS FLOATING ALONG THE STREET WITH NOBODY IN IT THERE IS A PANIC WITH EVERYBODY YELLING ‘A GHOST! A GHOST!’ AND PEEPLE IS SCREAMING LEFT AND RIGHT AND BIG STRONG POLICEMEN IS RUNNING FOR THEIR LIVES AND BEST OF ALL I SEE MR GRUMMIT MY ALGEBRA TEECHER COMING OUT OF A PUB AND I FLOAT UP TO HIM AND SAY ‘BOO!’ AND HE LETS OUT A FRIGHTSOME HOWL AND DASHES BACK INTO THE PUB AND THEN I IS WAKING UP AND FEELING HAPPY AS A WHIFFSQUIDDLER.

The BFG

‘Pretty ridiculous,’ Sophie said. All the same, she couldn’t resist reaching down and pressing her own tummy button to see if it worked. Nothing happened.

‘Dreams is very mystical things,’ the BFG said. ‘Human beans is not understanding them at all. Not even their brainiest prossefors is understanding them. Has you seen enough?’

‘Just this last one,’ Sophie said. ‘This one here.’

She started reading:

I HAS RITTEN A BOOK AND IT IS SO EXCITING NOBODY CAN PUT IT DOWN. AS SOON AS YOU HAS RED THE FIRST LINE YOU IS SO HOOKED ON IT YOU CANNOT STOP UNTIL THE LAST PAGE. IN ALL THE CITIES PEEPLE IS WALKING IN THE STREETS BUMPING INTO EACH OTHER BECAUSE THEIR FACES IS BURIED IN MY BOOK AND DENTISTS IS READING IT AND TRYING TO FILL TEETHS AT THE SAME TIME BUT NOBODY MINDS BECAUSE THEY IS ALL READING IT TOO IN THE DENTIST’S CHAIR. DRIVERS IS READING IT WHILE DRIVING AND CARS IS CRASHING ALL OVER THE COUNTRY. BRAIN SURGEONS IS READING IT WHILE THEY IS OPERATING ON BRAINS AND AIRLINE PILOTS IS READING IT AND GOING TO TIMBUCTOO INSTEAD OF LONDON. FOOTBALL PLAYERS IS READING IT ON THE FIELD BECAUSE THEY CAN’T PUT IT DOWN AND SO IS OLIMPICK RUNNERS WHILE THEY IS RUNNING. EVERYBODY HAS TO SEE WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT IN MY BOOK AND WHEN I WAKE UP I IS STILL TINGLING WITH EXCITEMENT AT BEING THE GREATEST RITER THE WORLD HAS EVER KNOWN UNTIL MY MUMMY COMES IN AND SAYS I WAS LOOKING AT YOUR ENGLISH EXERCISE BOOK LAST NITE AND REALLY YOUR SPELLING IS ATROSHUS SO IS YOUR PUNTULASHON.

The BFG

‘That’s enough for now,’ the BFG said. ‘There is diluons more but my arm is getting tired holding you up.’

‘What are all those over there?’ Sophie said. ‘Why have they got such tiny labels?’

‘That,’ the BFG said, ‘is because one day I is catching so many dreams I is not having the time or energy to write out long labels. But there is enough to remind me.’

‘Can I look?’ Sophie said.

The long-suffering BFG carried her across to the jars she was pointing to. Sophie read them rapidly, one after the other:

I IS CLIMBING MOUNT EVERAST WITH JUST MY PUSSY-CAT FOR CUMPANY.

The BFG

I IS INVENTING A CAR THAT RUNS ON TOOTHPASTE.

The BFG

I IS ABLE TO MAKE THE ELEKTRIK LITES GO ON AND OFF JUST BY WISHING IT.

The BFG

I IS ONLY AN EIGHT YEAR OLD LITTLE BOY BUT I IS GROWING A SPLENDID BUSHY BEARD AND ALL THE OTHER BOYS IS JALOUS.

The BFG

I IS ABEL TO JUMP OUT OF ANY HIGH WINDOW AND FLOTE DOWN SAFELY.

The BFG

I HAS A PET BEE THAT MAKES ROCK AND ROLL MUSIK WHEN IT FLIES.

The BFG

‘What amazes me,’ Sophie said, ‘is how you ever learned to write in the first place.’

‘Ah,’ said the BFG. ‘I has been wondering how long it is before you is asking me that.’

‘Considering you never went to school, I think it’s quite marvellous,’ Sophie said. ‘How did you learn?’

The BFG crossed the cave and opened a tiny secret door in the wall. He took out a book, very old and tattered. By human standards, it was an ordinary sized book, but it looked like a postage stamp in his huge hand.

‘One night,’ he said, ‘I is blowing a dream through a window and I sees this book lying on the little boy’s bedroom table. I wanted it so very badly, you understand. But I is refusing to steal it. I would never do that.’

‘So how did you get it?’ Sophie asked.

‘I borrowed it,’ the BFG said, smiling a little. ‘Just for a short time I borrowed it.’

‘How long have you had it?’ Sophie asked.

The BFG

‘Perhaps only about eighty years,’ the BFG said. ‘Soon I shall be putting it back.’

‘And that’s how you taught yourself to write?’ Sophie asked him.

‘I is reading it hundreds of times,’ the BFG said. ‘And I is still reading it and teaching new words to myself and how to write them. It is the most scrum-diddlyumptious story.’

Sophie took the book out of his hand. ‘Nicholas Nickleby,’ she read aloud.

‘By Dahl’s Chickens,’ the BFG said.

‘By who?’ Sophie said.

Just then, there came a tremendous noise of galloping feet from outside the cave. ‘What’s that?’ Sophie cried.

‘That is all the giants zippfizzing off to another country to guzzle human beans,’ the BFG said. He quickly popped Sophie into his waistcoat pocket, then hurried to the cave entrance and rolled back the stone.

Sophie, peeping out of her spy-hole, saw all nine of the fearsome giants coming past at full gallop.

‘Where is you off to tonight?’ shouted the BFG.

‘We is all of us flushbunking off to England tonight,’ answered the Fleshlumpeater as they went galloping past. ‘England is a luctuous land and we is fancying a few nice little English chiddlers.’

‘I,’ shouted the Maidmasher, ‘is knowing where there is a gigglehouse for girls and I is guzzling myself full as a frothblower!’

‘And I knows where there is a bogglebox for boys!’ shouted the Gizzardgulper. ‘All I has to do is reach in and grab myself a handful! English boys is tasting extra lickswishy!’

In a few seconds, the nine galloping giants were out of sight.

‘What did he mean?’ Sophie said, poking her head out of the pocket. ‘What is a gigglehouse for girls?’

‘He is meaning a girls’ school,’ the BFG said. ‘He will be eating them by the bundle.’

‘Oh no!’ cried Sophie.

‘And boys from a boys’ school,’ said the BFG.

‘It mustn’t happen!’ Sophie cried out. ‘We’ve got to stop them! We can’t just sit here and do nothing!’

‘There’s not a thing we can do,’ the BFG said. ‘We is helpless as horsefeathers.’ He sat down on a large craggy blue rock near the entrance to his cave. He took Sophie from his pocket and put her beside him on the rock. ‘It is now quite safe for you to be outside until they is coming back,’ he said.

The sun had dipped below the horizon and it was getting dark.

The Great Plan

‘We’ve absolutely got to stop them!’ Sophie cried. ‘Put me back in your pocket quick and we’ll chase after them and warn everyone in England they’re coming.’

‘Redunculus and um-possiple,’ the BFG said. ‘They is going two times as fast as me and they is finishing their guzzle before we is halfway.’

‘But we can’t just sit here doing nothing!’ Sophie cried. ‘How many girls and boys are they going to eat tonight?’

‘Many’ the BFG said. ‘The Fleshlumpeating Giant alone has a most squadding whoppsy appetite.’

‘Will he snatch them out of their beds while they’re sleeping?’

‘Like peas out of a poddle,’ the BFG said.

‘I can’t bear to think of it!’ Sophie cried.

‘Then don’t,’ the BFG said. ‘For years and years I is sitting here on this very rock every night after night when they is galloping away, and I is feeling so sad for all the human beans they is going to gobble up. But I has had to get used to it. There is nothing I can do. If I wasn’t a titchy little runty giant only twenty-four feet high then I would be stopping them. But that is absolutely out of the window.’

‘Do you always know where they’re going?’ Sophie asked.

‘Always,’ the BFG said. ‘Every night they is yelling at me as they go booding past. The other day they was yelling “We is off to Mrs Sippi and Miss Souri to guzzle them both!”’

‘Disgusting,’ Sophie said. ‘I hate them.’

She and the Big Friendly Giant sat quietly side by side on the blue rock in the gathering dusk. Sophie had never felt so helpless in her life. After a while, she stood up and cried out, ‘I can’t stand it! Just think of those poor girls and boys who are going to be eaten alive in a few hours’ time! We can’t just sit here and do nothing! We’ve got to go after those brutes!’

‘No,’ the BFG said.

‘We must!’ Sophie cried. ‘Why won’t you go?’

The BFG sighed and shook his head firmly. ‘I has told you five or six times,’ he said, ‘and the third will be the last. I is never showing myself to human beans.’

‘Why ever not?’

‘If I do, they will be putting me in the zoo with all the jiggyraffes and cattypiddlers.’

‘Nonsense,’ Sophie said.

‘And they will be sending you straight back to a norphanage,’ the BFG went on. ‘Grown-up human beans is not famous for their kindnesses. They is all squifflerotters and grinksludgers.’

‘That simply isn’t true!’ Sophie cried angrily. ‘Some of them are very kind indeed.’

‘Who?’ the BFG said. ‘Name one.’

‘The Queen of England,’ Sophie said. ‘You can’t call her a squifflerotter or a grinksludger.’

‘Well…’ the BFG said.

‘You can’t call her a squeakpip or a notmucher either,’ Sophie said, getting angrier and angrier.

‘The Fleshlumpeater is longing dearly to guzzle her up,’ the BFG said, smiling a little now.

The BFG

‘Who, the Queen?’ Sophie cried, aghast.

‘Yes,’ the BFG answered. ‘Fleshlumpeater says he is never eating a queen and he thinks perhaps she has an especially scrumdiddlyumptious flavour.’

‘How dare he!’ Sophie cried.

‘But Fleshlumpeater says there is too many soldiers around her Palace and he dursent try it.’

‘He’d better not!’ Sophie said.

‘He is also saying he would like very much to guzzle one of the soldiers in his pretty red suit but he is worried about those big black furry hats they is wearing. He thinks they might be sticking in his diroat.’

‘I hope he chokes,’ Sophie said.

‘Fleshlumpeater is a very careful giant,’ the BFG said.

Sophie was silent for a few moments. Then suddenly, in a voice filled with excitement, she cried out, ‘I’ve got it! By golly, I think I’ve got it!’

‘Got what?’ asked the BFG.

‘The answer!’ cried Sophie. ‘We’ll go to the Queen! It’s a terrific idea! If I went and told the Queen about those disgusting man-eating giants, I’m sure she’d do something about it!’

The BFG looked down at her sadly and shook his head. ‘She is never believing you,’ he said. ‘Never in a month of Mondays.’

‘I think she would.’

‘Never,’ the BFG said. ‘It is sounding such a wonky tall story, the Queen will be laughing and saying “What awful rubbsquash!” ’

‘She would not!’

‘Of course she would,’ the BFG said. ‘I has told you before that human beans is simply not believing in giants.’

‘Then it’s up to us to find a way of making her believe in them,’ Sophie said.

‘And how is you getting in to see the Queen anyway?’ the BFG asked.

‘Now hold on a sec,’ Sophie said. ‘Just you hold on a sec because I’ve got another idea.’

‘Your ideas is full of crodswoggle,’ the BFG said.

‘Not this one,’ Sophie said. ‘You say that if we tell the Queen, she would never believe us?’

‘I is certain she wouldn’t,’ the BFG said.

‘But we aren’t going to tell her!’ Sophie said excitedly. ‘We don’t have to tell her! We’ll make her dream it!’

‘That is an even more frothbungling suggestion,’ the BFG said. ‘Dreams is lots of fun but nobody is believing in dreams either. You is only believing in a dream while you is actually dreaming it. But as soon as you is waking up you is saying “Oh thank goodness it was only a dream”.’

‘Don’t you worry about that part of it,’ Sophie said. ‘I can fix that.’

‘Never can you fix it,’ the BFG said.

‘I can! I swear I can! But first of all, let me ask you a very important question. Here it is. Can you make a person dream absolutely anything in the world?’

‘Anything you like,’ the BFG said proudly.

‘If I said I wanted to dream that I was in a flying bathtub with silver wings, could you make me dream it?’

‘I could,’ the BFG said.

‘But how?’ Sophie said. ‘You obviously don’t have exactly that dream in your collection.’

‘I do not,’ the BFG said. ‘But I could soon be mixing it up.’

‘How could you mix it up?’

‘It is a little bit like mixing a cake,’ the BFG said. ‘If you is putting the right amounts of all the different things into it, you is making the cake come out any way you want, sugary, splongy curranty, Christmassy or grobswitchy. It is the same with dreams.’

‘Go on,’ Sophie said.

‘I has diluons of dreams on my shelfs, right or left?’

‘Right,’ Sophie said.

‘I has dreams about bathtubs, lots of them. I has dreams about silver wings. I has dreams about flying. So all I has to do is mix those dreams together in the proper way and I is very quickly making a dream where you is flying in a bathtub with silver wings.’

‘I see what you mean,’ Sophie said. ‘But I didn’t know you could mix one dream with another.’

‘Dreams like being mixed,’ the BFG answered. ‘They is getting very lonesome all by themselves in those glassy bottles.’

‘Right,’ Sophie said. ‘Now then, do you have dreams about the Queen of England?’

‘Lots of them,’ the BFG said.

‘And about giants?’

‘Of course,’ the BFG said.

‘And about giants eating people?’

‘Swiggles of them,’ the BFG said.

‘And about little girls like me?’

‘Those is commonest of all,’ the BFG said. ‘I has bottles and bottles of dreams about little girls.’

‘And you could mix them all up just as I want you to?’ Sophie asked, getting more and more excited.

‘Of course,’ the BFG said. ‘But how is this helping us! I think you is barking up the wrong dog.’

‘Now hold on,’ Sophie said. ‘Listen carefully. I want you to mix a dream which you will blow into the Queen of England’s bedroom when she is asleep. And this is how it will go.’

‘Now hang on a mintick,’ the BFG said. ‘How is I possibly going to get near enough to the Queen of England’s bedroom to blow in my dream? You is talking dumbsilly.’

‘I’ll tell you that later,’ Sophie said. ‘For the moment please listen carefully. Here is the dream I want you to mix. Are you paying attention?’

‘Very close,’ the BFG said.

‘I want the Queen to dream that nine disgusting giants, each one about fifty feet tall, are galloping to England in the night. She must dream their names as well. What are their names again?’

‘Fleshlumpeater,’ the BFG said. ‘Manhugger. Bonecruncher. Ghildchewer. Meatdripper, Gizzard-gulper. Maidmasher. Bloodbottler. And the Butcher Boy.’

‘Let her dream all those names,’ Sophie said. ‘And let her dream that they will be creeping into England in the depths of the witching hour and snatching little boys and girls from their beds. Let her dream that they will be reaching into the bedroom windows and pulling the little boys and girls out of their beds and then…’ Sophie paused. ‘Do they eat them on the spot or do they carry them away first?’ she asked.

‘They is usually just popping them straight into their mouths like popcorn,’ the BFG said.

‘Put that in the dream,’ Sophie said. ‘And then… then the dream must say that when their tummies are full, they will go galloping back to Giant Country where no one can find them.’

‘Is that all?’ the BFG said.

‘Certainly not,’ Sophie said. ‘You must then explain to the Queen in her dream that there is a Big Friendly Giant who can tell her where all those beasts are living, so that she can send her soldiers and her armies to capture them once and for all. And now let her dream one last and very important thing. Let her dream that there is a little girl called Sophie sitting on her window-sill who will tell her where the Big Friendly Giant is hiding.’

‘Where is he hiding?’ asked the BFG.

‘We’ll come to that later,’ Sophie said. ‘So the Queen dreams her dream, right?’

‘Right,’ the BFG said.

‘Then she wakes up and the first thing she thinks is oh what a horrid dream. I’m so glad it was only a dream. And then she looks up from her pillow and what does she see?’

‘What does she see?’ the BFG asked.

‘She sees a little girl called Sophie sitting on her window-sill, right there in real life before her very eyes.’

‘How is you going to be sitting on the Queen’s window-sill, may I beg?’ the BFG said.

‘You are going to put me there,’ Sophie said. ‘And that’s the lovely part about it. If someone dreams that there is a little girl sitting on her window-sill and men she wakes up and sees that the little girl really is sitting there, that is a dream come true, is it not?’

‘I is beginning to see where you is driving to,’ the BFG said. ‘If the Queen is knowing that part of her dream is true, then perhaps she is believing the rest of it is true as well.’

‘That’s about it,’ Sophie said. ‘But I shall have to convince her of that myself.’

‘You said you is wanting the dream to say there is a Big Friendly Giant who is also going to talk to the Queen?’

‘Absolutely’ Sophie said. ‘You must. You are the only one who can tell her where to find the other giants.’

‘How is I meeting the Queen?’ asked the BFG. ‘I is not wanting to be shooted at by her soldiers.’

‘The soldiers are only in the front of the Palace,’ Sophie said. ‘At the back there is a huge garden and there are no soldiers in there at all. There is a very high wall with spikes on it around the garden to stop people climbing in. But you could simply walk over that.’

‘How is you knowing all this about the Queen’s Palace?’ the BFG asked.

‘Last year I was in a different orphanage,’ Sophie said. ‘It was in London and we used to go for walks all around there.’

‘Is you helping me to find this Palace?’ the BFG asked. ‘I has never dared to go hide and sneaking around London in my life.’

‘I’ll show you the way’ Sophie said confidently.

‘I is frightened of London,’ the BFG said.

‘Don’t be,’ Sophie said. ‘It’s full of tiny dark streets and there are very few people about in the witching hour.’

The BFG picked Sophie up between one finger and a thumb and placed her gently on the palm of the other hand. ‘Is the Queen’s Palace very big?’ he asked.

‘Huge,’ Sophie said.

The BFG

‘Then how is we finding the right bedroom?’

‘That’s up to you,’ Sophie said. ‘You’re supposed to be an expert at that sort of thing.’

‘And you is absolutely sure the Queen will not put me in a zoo with all the cattypiddlers?’

‘Of course she won’t,’ Sophie said. ‘You’ll be a hero. And you’ll never have to eat snozzcumbers again.’

Sophie saw the BFG’s eyes widen. He licked his lips.

‘You mean it?’ he said. ‘You really mean it? No more disgustive snozzcumbers?’

‘You couldn’t get one if you wanted to,’ Sophie said. ‘Humans don’t grow them.’

That did it. The BFG got to his feet. ‘When is you wanting me to mix this special dream?’ he asked.

‘Now,’ Sophie said. ‘At once.’

‘When is we going to see the Queen?’ he said.

‘Tonight,’ Sophie said. ‘As soon as you’ve mixed the dream.’

‘Tonight?’ the BFG cried. ‘Why such a flushbunking flurry?’

‘If we can’t save tonight’s children, we can anyway save tomorrow’s,’ Sophie said. ‘What is more, I’m getting famished. I haven’t had a thing to eat for twenty-four hours.’

‘Then we had better get crackling,’ the BFG said, moving back towards the cave.

Sophie kissed him on the tip of his thumb. ‘I knew you’d do it!’ she said. ‘Come on! Let’s hurry!’

Mixing the Dream

It was dark now. The night had already begun. The BFG, with Sophie sitting on his hand, hurried into the cave and put on those brilliant blinding lights that seemed to come from nowhere. He placed Sophie on the table. ‘Stay there please,’ he said, ‘and no chittering. I is needing to listen only to silence when I is mixing up such a knotty plexicated dream as this.’

He hurried away from her. He got out an enormous empty glass jar that was the size of a washing machine. He clutched it to his chest and hurried towards the shelves on which stood the thousands and thousands of smaller jars containing the captured dreams.

‘Dreams about giants,’ he muttered to himself as he searched the labels. ‘The giants is guzzling human beans… no, not that one… nor that one… here’s one!… And here’s another!…’ He grabbed the jars and unscrewed the tops. He tipped the dreams into the enormous jar he was clutching and as each one went in, Sophie caught a glimpse of a small sea-green blob tumbling from one jar into the other.

The BFG hurried towards another shelf. ‘Now,’ he muttered, ‘I is wanting dreams about gigglehouses for girls… and about boggleboxes for boys.’ He was becoming very tense now. Sophie could almost see the excitement bubbling inside him as he scurried back and forth among his beloved jars. There must have been fifty thousand dreams altogether up there on the shelves, but he seemed to know almost exactly where every one of them was. ‘Dreams about a little girl,’ he muttered. ‘And dreams about me… about the BFG… come on, come on, hurry up, get on with it… now where in the wonky world is I keeping those?…’

The BFG

And so it went on. In about half an hour the BFG had found all the dreams he wanted and had tipped them into the one huge jar. He put the jar on the table. Sophie sat watching him but said nothing. Inside the big jar, lying on the bottom of it, she could clearly see about fifty of those oval sea-green jellyish shapes, all pulsing gently in and out, some lying on top of others, but each one still a quite separate individual dream.

‘Now we is mixing them,’ the BFG announced. He went to the cupboard where he kept his bottles of frobscottle, and from it he took out a gigantic egg-beater. It was one of those that has a handle which you turn, and down below there are a lot of overlapping blades that go whizzing round. He inserted the bottom end of this contraption into the big jar where the dreams were lying. ‘Watch,’ he said. He started turning the handle very fast.

Flashes of green and blue exploded inside the jar. The dreams were being whisked into a sea-green froth.

‘The poor things!’ Sophie cried.

‘They is not feeling it,’ the BFG said as he turned the handle. ‘Dreams is not like human beans or animals. They has no brains. They is made of zozimus.’

The BFG

After about a minute, the BFG stopped whisking. The whole bottle was now full to the brim with large bubbles. They were almost exactly like the bubbles we ourselves blow from soapy water, except that these had even brighter and more beautiful colours swimming on their surfaces.

‘Keep watching,’ the BFG said.

Quite slowly, the topmost bubble rose up through the neck of the jar and floated away. A second one followed. Then a third and a fourth. Soon the cave was filled with hundreds of beautifully coloured bubbles, all drifting gently through the air. It was truly a wonderful sight. As Sophie watched them, they all started floating towards the cave entrance, which was still open.

‘They’re going out,’ Sophie whispered.

‘Of course,’ the BFG said.

‘Where to?’

‘Those is all little tiny dream-bits that I isn’t using,’ the BFG said. ‘They is going back to the misty country to join up with proper dreams.’

‘It’s all a bit beyond me,’ Sophie said.

‘Dreams is full of mystery and magic,’ the BFG said. ‘Do not try to understand them. Look in the big bottle and you will now see the dream you is wanting for the Queen.’

Sophie turned and stared into the great jar. On the bottom of it, something was thrashing around wildly, bouncing up and down and flinging itself against the walls of the jar. ‘Good heavens!’ she cried. ‘Is that it?’

‘That’s it,’ the BFG said proudly.

‘But it’s… it’s horrible!’ Sophie cried. ‘It’s jumping about! It wants to get out!’

‘That’s because it’s a trogglehumper,’ the BFG said. ‘It’s a nightmare.’

‘Oh, but I don’t want you to give the Queen a nightmare!’ Sophie cried.

‘If she is dreaming about giants guzzling up little boys and girls, then what is you expecting it to be except a nightmare?’ the BFG said.

‘Oh, no!’ Sophie cried.

‘Oh, yes,’ the BFG said. ‘A dream where you is seeing little chiddlers being eaten is about the most frightsome trogglehumping dream you can get. It’s a kicksy bog-thumper. It’s a whoppsy grobswitcher. It is all of them riddled into one. It is as bad as that dream I blew into the Fleshlumpeater this afternoon. It is worse.’

Sophie stared down at the fearful nightmare dream that was still thrashing away in the huge glass jar. It was much larger than the others. It was about the size and shape of, shall we say, a turkey’s egg. It was jellyish. It had tinges of bright scarlet deep inside it. There was something terrible about the way it was throwing itself against the sides of the jar.

The BFG

‘I don’t want to give the Queen a nightmare,’ Sophie said.

‘I is thinking,’ the BFG said, ‘that your Queen will be happy to have a nightmare if having a nightmare is going to save a lot of human beans from being gobbled up by filthsome giants. Is I right or is I left?’

‘I suppose you’re right,’ Sophie said. ‘It’s got to be done.’

‘She will soon be getting over it,’ the BFG said.

‘Have you put all the other important things into it?’ Sophie asked.

‘When I is blowing that dream into the Queen’s bedroom,’ the BFG said, ‘she will be dreaming every single little thingalingaling you is asking me to make her dream.’

‘About me sitting on the window-sill?’

‘That part is very strong.’

‘And about a Big Friendly Giant?’

‘I is putting in a nice long gobbit about him,’ the BFG said. As he spoke, he picked up one of his smaller jars and very quickly tipped the struggling thrashing trogglehumper out of the large jar into the small one. Then he screwed the lid tightly on to the small jar.

‘That’s it,’ he announced. ‘We is now ready.’ He fetched his suitcase and put the small jar into it.

‘Why bother to take a great big suitcase when you’ve only got one jar?’ Sophie said. ‘You could put the jar in your pocket.’

The BFG looked down at her and smiled. ‘By goggles,’ he said, taking the jar out of the suitcase, ‘your head is not quite so full of grimesludge after all! I can see you is not born last week.’

‘Thank you, kind sir,’ Sophie said, making a little curtsy from the table-top.

‘Is you ready to leave?’ the BFG asked.

‘I’m ready!’ Sophie cried. Her heart was beginning to thump at the thought of what they were about to do. It really was a wild and crazy thing. Perhaps they would both be thrown into prison.

The BFG was putting on his great black cloak.

He tucked the jar into a pocket in his cloak. He picked up his long trumpet-like dream-blower. Then he turned and looked at Sophie, who was still on the table-top. ‘The dream-bottle is in my pocket,’ he said. ‘Is you going to sit in there with it during the travel?’

‘Never!’ cried Sophie. ‘I refuse to sit next to that beastly thing!’

‘Then where is you going to sit?’ the BFG asked her.

Sophie looked him over for a few moments. Then she said, ‘If you would be kind enough to swivel one of your lovely big ears so that it is lying flat like a dish, that would make a very cosy place for me to sit.’

‘By gumbo, that is a squackling good idea!’ the BFG said.

Slowly, he swivelled his huge right ear until it was like a great shell facing the heavens. He lifted Sophie up and placed her into it. The ear itself, which was about the size of a large tea-tray, was full of the same channels and crinkles as a human ear. It was extremely comfortable.

‘I hope I don’t fall down your earhole,’ Sophie said, edging away from the large hole just beside her.

‘Be very careful not to do that,’ the BFG said. ‘You would be giving me a cronking earache.’

The nice thing about being there was that she could whisper directly into his ear.

‘You is tickling me a bit,’ the BFG said. ‘Please do not jiggle about.’

‘I’ll try not to,’ Sophie said. ‘Are we ready?’

‘Oweeee!’ yelled the BFG. ‘Don’t do that!’

‘I didn’t do anything,’ Sophie said.

‘You is talking too loud! You is forgetting that I is hearing every little thingalingaling fifty times louder than usual and there you is shouting away right inside my ear!’

‘Oh gosh,’ Sophie murmured. ‘I forgot that.’

‘Your voice is sounding like thunder and thrumpets!’

‘I’m so sorry’ Sophie whispered. ‘Is that better?’

‘No!’ cried the BFG. ‘It sounds as though you is shootling off a bunderbluss!’

‘Then how can I talk to you?’ Sophie whispered.

‘Don’t!’ cried the poor BFG. ‘Please don’t! Each word is like you is dropping buzzbombs in my earhole!’

Sophie tried speaking right under her breath. ‘Is this better?’ she said. She spoke so softly she couldn’t even hear her own voice.

‘That’s better,’ the BFG said. ‘Now I is hearing you very nicely. What is it you is trying to say to me just now?’

‘I was saying are we ready?’

‘We is off!’ cried the BFG, heading for the cave entrance. ‘We is off to meet Her Majester the Queen!’

Outside the cave, he rolled the large round stone back into place and set off at a tremendous gallop.

Journey to London

The great yellow wasteland lay dim and milky in the moonlight as the Big Friendly Giant went galloping across it.

Sophie, still wearing only her nightie, was reclining comfortably in a crevice of the BFG’s right ear. She was actually in the outer rim of the ear, near the top, where the edge of the ear folds over, and this folding-over bit made a sort of roof for her and gave her wonderful protection against the rushing wind. What is more, she was lying on skin that was soft and warm and almost velvety. Nobody, she told herself, had ever travelled in greater comfort.

The BFG

Sophie peeped over the rim of the ear and watched the desolate landscape of Giant Country go whizzing by. They were certainly moving fast. The BFG went bouncing off the ground as though there were rockets in his toes and each stride he took lifted him about a hundred feet into the air. But he had not yet gone into that whizzing top gear of his, when die ground became blurred by speed and the wind howled and his feet didn’t seem to be touching anything but air. That would come later.

Sophie had not slept for a long time. She was very tired. She was also warm and comfortable. She dozed off.

She didn’t know how long she slept, but when she woke up again and looked out over the edge of the ear, the landscape had changed completely. They were in a green country now, with mountains and forests. It was still dark but the moon was shining as brightly as ever.

Suddenly and without slowing his pace, the BFG turned his head sharply to the left. For the first time during the entire journey he spoke a few words. ‘Look quick-quick over there,’ he said, pointing his long trumpet.

Sophie looked in the direction he was pointing. Through the murky darkness all she saw at first was a great cloud of dust about three hundred yards away.

‘Those is the other giants all galloping back home after their guzzle,’ the BFG said.

Then Sophie saw them. In the light of the moon, she saw all nine of those monstrous half-naked brutes thundering across the landscape together. They were galloping in a pack, their necks craned forward, their arms bent at the elbows, and worst of all, their stomachs bulging. The strides they took were incredible. Their speed was unbelievable. Their feet pounded and thundered on the ground and left a great sheet of dust behind them. But in ten seconds they were gone.

The BFG

‘A lot of little girlsies and boysies is no longer sleeping in their beds tonight,’ the BFG said.

Sophie felt quite ill.

But this grim encounter made her more than ever determined to go through with her mission.

It must have been about an hour or so later that the BFG began to slow his pace. ‘We is in England now,’ he said suddenly.

Dark though it was, Sophie could see that they were in a country of green fields with neat hedges in between the fields. There were hills with trees all over them and occasionally there were roads with the lights of cars moving along. Each time they came to a road, the BFG was over it and away, and no motorist could possibly have seen anything except a quick black shadow flashing overhead.

All at once, a curious orange-coloured glow appeared in the night sky ahead of them.

‘We is coming close to London,’ the BFG said.

He slowed to a trot. He began looking about cautiously.

Groups of houses were now appearing on all sides. But there were still no lights in their windows. It was too early for anyone to be getting up yet.

‘Someone’s bound to see us,’ Sophie said.

‘Never is they seeing me,’ the BFG said confidently. ‘You is forgetting that I is doing this sort of thing for years and years and years. No human bean is ever catching even the smallest wink of me.’

‘I did,’ Sophie whispered.

‘Ah,’ he said. ‘Yes. But you was the very first.’

During the next half-hour, things moved so swiftly and so silently that Sophie, crouching in the giant’s ear, was unable to understand exactly what was going on. They were in streets. There were houses everywhere. Sometimes there were shops. There were bright lamps in the streets. There were quite a few people about and there were cars with lights on. But nobody ever noticed the BFG. It was impossible to understand quite how he did it. There was a kind of magic in his movements. He seemed to melt into the shadows. He would glide – that was the only word to describe his way of moving – he would glide noiselessly from one dark place to another, always moving, always gliding forward through the streets of London, his black cloak blending with the shadows of the night.

It is quite possible that one or two late-night wanderers might have thought they saw a tall black shadow skimming swiftly down a murky sidestreet, but even if they had, they would never have believed their own eyes. They would have dismissed it as an illusion and blamed themselves for seeing things that weren’t there.

Sophie and the BFG came at last to a large place full of trees. There was a road running through it, and a lake. There were no people in this place and the BFG stopped for the first time since they had set out from his cave many hours before.

‘What’s the matter?’ Sophie whispered in her under-the-breath voice.

‘I is in a bit of a puddle,’ he said.

‘You’re doing marvellously,’ Sophie whispered.

‘No, I isn’t,’ he said. ‘I is now completely boggled. I is lost.’

‘But why?’

‘Because we is meant to be in the middle of London and suddenly we is in green pastures.’

‘Don’t be silly,’ Sophie whispered. ‘This is the middle of London. It’s called Hyde Park. I know exactly where we are.’

‘You is joking.’

‘I’m not. I swear I’m not. We’re almost there.’

‘You mean we is nearly at the Queen’s Palace?’ cried the BFG.

The BFG

‘It’s just across the road,’ Sophie whispered. ‘This is where I take over.’

‘Which way?’ the BFG asked.

‘Straight ahead.’

The BFG trotted forward through the deserted park.

‘Now stop.’

The BFG stopped.

‘You see that huge roundabout ahead of us just outside the Park?’ Sophie whispered.

‘I see it.’

‘That is Hyde Park Corner.’

Even now, when it was still an hour before dawn, there was quite a lot of traffic moving around Hyde Park Corner.

Then Sophie whispered, ‘In the middle of the roundabout there is an enormous stone arch with a statue of a horse and rider on top of it. Can you see that?’

The BFG peered through the trees. ‘I is seeing it,’ he said.

‘Do you think that if you took a very fast run at it, you could jump clear over Hyde Park Corner, over the arch and over the horse and rider and land on the pavement the other side?’

‘Easy,’ the BFG said.

‘You’re sure? You’re absolutely sure?’

‘I promise,’ the BFG said.

‘Whatever you do, you mustn’t land in the middle of Hyde Park Corner.’

‘Don’t get so flussed,’ the BFG said. ‘To me that is a snitchy little jump. There’s not a thingalingaling to it.’

‘Then go!’ Sophie whispered.

The BFG broke into a full gallop. He went scorching across the Park and just before he reached the railings that divided it from the street, he took off. It was a gigantic leap. He flew high over Hyde Park Corner and landed as softly as a cat on the pavement the other side.

The BFG

‘Well done!’ Sophie whispered. ‘Now quick! Over that wall!’

Directly in front of them, bordering the pavement, there was a brick wall with fearsome-looking spikes all along the top of it. A swift crouch, a little leap and the BFG was over it.

‘We’re there!’ Sophie whispered excitedly. ‘We’re in the Queen’s back garden!’

The Palace

‘By gumdrops!’ whispered the Big Friendly Giant. ‘Is this really it?’

‘There’s the Palace,’ Sophie whispered back.

Not more than a hundred yards away, through the tall trees in the garden, across the mown lawns and the tidy flower-beds, the massive shape of the Palace itself loomed through the darkness. It was made of whitish stone. The sheer size of it staggered the BFG.

‘But this place is having a hundred bedrooms at least!’ he said.

‘Easily, I should think,’ Sophie whispered.

‘Then I is boggled,’ the BFG said. ‘How is I possibly finding the one where the Queen is sleeping?’

‘Let’s go a bit closer and have a look,’ Sophie whispered.

The BFG glided forward among the trees. Suddenly he stopped dead. The great ear in which Sophie was sitting began to swivel round. ‘Hey!’ Sophie whispered. ‘You’re going to tip me out!’

‘Ssshh!’ the BFG whispered back. ‘I is hearing something!’ He stopped behind a clump of bushes. He waited. The ear was till swinging this way and that. Sophie had to hang on tight to the side of it to save herself from tumbling out. The BFG pointed through a gap in the bushes, and there, not more than fifty yards away, she saw a man padding softly across the lawn. He had a guard-dog with him on a leash.

The BFG stayed as still as a stone. So did Sophie. The man and the dog walked on and disappeared into the darkness.

‘You was telling me they has no soldiers in the back garden,’ the BFG whispered.

‘He wasn’t a soldier,’ Sophie whispered. ‘He was some sort of a watchman. We’ll have to be careful!’

‘I is not too worried,’ the BFG said. ‘These wacksey big ears of mine is picking up even the noise of a man breathing the other side of this garden.’

‘How much longer before it begins to get light?’ Sophie whispered.

‘Very short,’ the BFG said. ‘We must go pell-mell for leather now!’

He glided forward through the vast garden, and once again Sophie noticed how he seemed to melt into the shadows wherever he went. His feet made no sound at all, even when he was walking on gravel.

Suddenly, they were right up close against the back wall of the great Palace. The BFG’s head was level with the upper windows one flight up, and Sophie, sitting in his ear, had the same view. In all the windows on that floor the curtains seemed to be drawn. There were no lights showing anywhere. In the distance they could hear the muted sound of traffic going round Hyde Park Corner.

The BFG stopped and put his other ear, the one Sophie wasn’t sitting in, close to the first window.

‘No,’ he whispered.

‘What are you listening for?’ Sophie whispered back.

‘For breathing,’ the BFG whispered. ‘I is able to tell if it is a man human bean or a lady by the breathing-voice. We has a man in there. Snortling a little bit, too.’

He glided on, flattening his tall, thin, black-cloaked body against the side of the building. He came to the next window. He listened.

‘No,’ he whispered.

He moved on.

‘This room is empty,’ he whispered.

He listened in at several more windows, but at each one he shook his head and moved on.

When he came to the window in the very centre of the Palace, he listened but did not move on. ‘Ho-ho,’ he whispered. ‘We has a lady sleeping in there.’

Sophie felt a little quiver go running down her spine. ‘But who?’ she whispered back.

The BFG put a finger to his lips for silence. He reached up through the open window and parted the curtains every so slightly.

The orange glow from the night-sky over London crept into the room and cast a glimmer of light on to its walls. It was a large room. A lovely room. A rich carpet. Gilded chairs. A dressing-table. A bed. And on the pillow of the bed lay the head of a sleeping woman.

Sophie suddenly found herself looking at a face she had seen on stamps and coins and in the newspapers all her life.

For a few seconds she was speechless.

‘Is that her?’ the BFG whispered.

‘Yes,’ Sophie whispered back.

The BFG wasted no time. First, and very carefully, he started to raise the lower half of the large window. The BFG was an expert on windows. He had opened thousands of them over the years to blow his dreams into children’s bedrooms. Some windows got stuck. Some were wobbly. Some creaked. He was pleased to find that the Queen’s window slid upward like silk. He pushed up the lower half as far as it would go so as to leave a place on the sill for Sophie to sit.

Next, he closed the crack in the curtains.

Then, with finger and thumb, he lifted Sophie out of his ear and placed her on the window-ledge with her legs dangling just inside the room, but behind the curtains.

‘Now don’t you go tip-toppling backwards,’ the BFG whispered. ‘You must always be holding on tight with both hands to the inside of the window-sill.’

Sophie did as he said.

It was summertime in London and the night was not cold, but don’t forget that Sophie was wearing only her thin nightie. She would have given anything for a dressing-gown, not just to keep her warm but to hide the whiteness of her nightie from watchful eyes in the garden below.

The BFG was taking the glass jar from the pocket of his cloak. He unscrewed the lid. Now, very cautiously, he poured the precious dream into the wide end of his trumpet. He steered the trumpet through the curtains, far into the room, aiming it at the place where he knew the bed to be. He took a deep breath. He puffed out his cheeks and pooff, he blew.

The BFG

Now he was withdrawing the trumpet, sliding it out very very carefully, like a thermometer.

‘Is you all right sitting there?’ he whispered.

‘Yes,’ Sophie murmured. She was quite terrified, but determined not to show it. She looked down over her shoulder. The ground seemed miles away. It was a nasty drop.

‘How long will the dream take to work?’ Sophie whispered.

‘Some takes an hour,’ the BFG whispered back. ‘Some is quicker. Some is slower still. But it is sure to find her in the end.’

Sophie said nothing.

‘I is going off to wait in the garden,’ the BFG whispered. ‘When you is wanting me, just call out my name and I is coming very quick.’

‘Will you hear me?’ Sophie whispered.

‘You is forgetting these,’ the BFG whispered, smiling and pointing to his great ears.

‘Goodbye,’ Sophie whispered.

Suddenly, unexpectedly, the BFG leaned forward and kissed her gently on the cheek.

Sophie felt like crying.

When she turned to look at him, he was already gone. He had simply melted away into the dark garden.

The BFG

The Queen

Dawn came at last, and the rim of a lemon-coloured sun rose up behind the roof-tops somewhere behind Victoria Station.

A while later, Sophie felt a little of its warmth on her back and was grateful.

In the distance, she heard a church clock striking. She counted the strikes. There were seven.

She found it almost impossible to believe that she, Sophie, a little orphan of no real importance in the world, was at this moment actually sitting high above the ground on the window-sill of the Queen of England’s bedroom, with the Queen herself asleep in there behind the curtain not more than five yards away.

The very idea of it was absurd.

No one had ever done such a thing before.

It was a terrifying thing to be doing.

What would happen if the dream didn’t work?

No one, least of all the Queen, would believe a word of her story.

It seemed possible that nobody had ever woken up to find a small child sitting behind the curtains on his or her window-sill.

The Queen was bound to get a shock.

Who wouldn’t?

With all the patience of a small girl who has something important to wait for, Sophie sat motionless on the window-sill.

How much longer? she wondered.

What time do Queens wake up?

Faint stirrings and distant sounds came to her from deep inside the belly of the Palace.

Then, all at once, beyond the curtains, she heard the voice of the sleeper in the bedroom. It was a slightly blurred sleep-talker’s voice. ‘Oh no!’ it cried out. ‘No! Don’t – Someone stop them! – Don’t let them do it! – I can’t bear it! – Oh please stop them! – It’s horrible! – Oh, it’s ghastly! – No! No! No!…’

She is having the dream, Sophie told herself. It must be really horrid. I feel so sorry for her. But it has to be done.

After that, there were a few moans. Then there was a long silence.

Sophie waited. She looked over her shoulder. She was terrified that she would see the man with the dog down in the garden staring up at her. But the garden was deserted. A pale summer mist hung over it like smoke. It was an enormous garden, very beautiful, with a large funny-shaped lake at the far end. There was an island in the lake and there were ducks swimming on the water.

Inside the room, beyond the curtains, Sophie suddenly heard what was obviously a knock on the door. She heard the doorknob being turned. She heard someone entering the room.

‘Good morning, Your Majesty,’ a woman was saying. It was the voice of an oldish person.

There was a pause and then a slight rattle of china and silver.

‘Will you have your tray on the bed, ma’am, or on the table?’

‘Oh Mary! Something awful has just happened!’ This was a voice Sophie had heard many times on radio and television, especially on Christmas Day. It was a very well-known voice.

‘Whatever is it, ma’am?’

‘I’ve just had the most frightful dream! It was a nightmare! It was awful!’

‘Oh, I am sorry, ma’am. But don’t be distressed. You’re awake now and it will go away. It was only a dream, ma’am.’

‘Do you know what I dreamed, Mary? I dreamed that girls and boys were being snatched out of their beds at boarding-school and were being eaten by the most ghastly giants! The giants were putting their arms in through the dormitory windows and plucking the children out with their fingers! One lot from a girls’ school and another from a boys’ school! It was all so… so vivid, Mary! it was so real!’

There was a silence. Sophie waited. She was quivering with excitement. But why the silence? Why didn’t the other one, the maid, why didn’t she say something?

‘What on earth’s the matter, Mary?’ the famous voice was saying.

There was another silence.

‘Mary! You’ve gone as white as a sheet! Are you feeling ill?’

There was suddenly a crash and a clatter of crockery which could only have meant that the tray the maid was carrying had fallen out of her hands.

‘Mary!’ the famous voice was saying rather sharply. ‘I think you’d better sit down at once! You look as though you’re going to faint! You really mustn’t take it so hard just because I’ve had an awful dream.’

‘That… that… that isn’t the reason, ma’am.’ The maid’s voice was quivering terribly.

‘Then for heaven’s sake what is the reason?’

‘I’m very sorry about the tray, ma’am.’

‘Oh, don’t worry about the tray. But what on earth was it that made you drop it? Why did you go white as a ghost all of a sudden?’

‘You haven’t seen the papers yet, have you, ma’am?’

‘No, what do they say?’

Sophie heard the rustling of a newspaper as it was being handed over.

‘It’s like the very dream you had in the night, ma’am.’

‘Rubbish, Mary. Where is it?’

‘On the front page, ma’am. It’s the big headlines.’

‘Great Scott!’ cried the famous voice. ‘Eighteen girls vanish mysteriously from their beds at Roedean School! Fourteen boys disappear from Eton! Bones are found underneath dormitory windows!’

Then there was a pause punctuated by gasps from the famous voice as the newspaper article was clearly being read and digested.

‘Oh, how ghastly!’ the famous voice cried out. ‘It’s absolutely frightful! Bones under the windows! What can have happened? Oh, those poor children!’

‘But ma’am… don’t you see, ma’am…’

‘See what, Mary?’

‘Those children were taken away almost exactly as you dreamed it, ma’am!’

‘Not by giants, Mary’

‘No, ma’am. But the bit about the girls and boys disappearing from their dormitories, you dreamed it so clearly and then it actually happened. That’s why I came over all queer, ma’am.’

‘I’m coming over a bit queer myself, Mary.’

‘It gives me the shakes, ma’am, when something like that happens, it really does.’

‘I don’t blame you, Mary.’

‘I shall get you some more breakfast, ma’am, and have this mess cleared up.’

‘No! Don’t go, Mary! Stay here a moment!’

Sophie wished she could see into the room, but she didn’t dare touch the curtains. The famous voice began speaking again. ‘I really did dream about those children, Mary. It was clear as crystal.’

‘I know you did, ma’am.’

‘I don’t know how giants got into it. That was rubbish.’

‘Shall I draw the curtains, ma’am, then we shall all feel better. It’s a lovely day.’

‘Please do.’

With a swish, the great curtains were pulled aside.

The maid screamed.

Sophie froze to the window-ledge.

The Queen, sitting up in her bed with The Times on her lap, glanced up sharply. Now it was her turn to freeze. She didn’t scream as the maid had done. Queens are too self-controlled for that. She simply sat there staring wide-eyed and white-faced at the small girl who was perched on her window-sill in a nightie.

Sophie was petrified.

The BFG

Curiously enough, the Queen looked petrified, too. One would have expected her to look surprised, as you or I would have done had we discovered a small girl sitting on our window-sill first thing in the morning. But the Queen didn’t look surprised. She looked genuinely frightened.

The maid, a middle-aged woman with a funny cap on the top of her head, was the first to recover. ‘What in the name of heaven do you think you’re doing in here?’ she shouted angrily to Sophie.

Sophie looked beseechingly towards the Queen for help.

The Queen was still staring at Sophie. Gaping at her would be more accurate. Her mouth was slightly open, her eyes were round and wide as two saucers, and the whole of that famous rather lovely face was filled with disbelief.

‘Now listen here, young lady, how on earth did you get into this room?’ the maid shouted furiously.

‘I don’t believe it,’ the Queen was murmuring. ‘I simply don’t believe it.’

‘I’ll take her out, ma’am, at once,’ the maid was saying.

‘No, Mary! No, don’t do that!’ The Queen spoke so sharply that the maid was quite taken aback. She turned and stared at the Queen. What on earth had come over her? It looked as though she was in a state of shock.

The BFG

‘Are you all right, ma’am?’ the maid was saying.

When the Queen spoke again, it was in a strange strangled sort of whisper. ‘Tell me, Mary,’ she said, ‘tell me quite truthfully, is there really a little girl sitting on my window-sill, or am I still dreaming?’

‘She is sitting there all right, ma’am, as clear as daylight, but heaven only knows how she got there! Your Majesty is certainly not dreaming it this time!’

‘But that’s exactly what I did dream!’ the Queen cried out. ‘I dreamed that as well! I dreamed there would be a little girl sitting on my window-sill in her nightie and she would talk to me!’

The maid, with her hands clasped across her starched white bosom, was staring at her mistress with a look of absolute disbelief on her face. The situation was getting beyond her. She was lost. She had not been trained to cope with this kind of madness.

‘Are you real?’ the Queen said to Sophie.

‘Y-y-yes, Your Majesty,’ Sophie murmured.

‘What is your name?’

‘Sophie, Your Majesty.’

‘And how did you get up on to my window-sill? No, don’t answer that! Hang on a moment! I dreamed that part of it, too! I dreamed that a giant put you there!’

‘He did, Your Majesty’ Sophie said.

The maid gave a howl of anguish and clasped her hands over her face.

‘Control yourself, Mary’ the Queen said sharply. Then to Sophie she said, ‘You are not serious about the giant, are you?’

The BFG

‘Oh yes, Your Majesty. He’s out there in the garden now.’

‘Is he indeed,’ the Queen said. The sheer absurdity of it all was helping her to regain her composure. ‘So he’s in the garden, is he?’ she said, smiling a little.

‘He is a good giant, Your Majesty’ Sophie said. ‘You need not be frightened of him.’

‘I’m delighted to hear it,’ said the Queen, still smiling.

‘He is my best friend, Your Majesty.’

‘How nice,’ the Queen said.

‘He’s a lovely giant, Your Majesty.’

‘I’m quite sure he is,’ the Queen said. ‘But why have you and this giant come to see me?’

‘I think you have dreamed that part of it, too, Your Majesty’ Sophie said calmly.

That pulled the Queen up short.

It took the smile right off her face.

She certainly had dreamed that part of it. She was remembering now how, at the end of her dream, it had said that a little girl and a big friendly giant would come and show her how to find the nine horrible man-eating giants.

But be careful, the Queen told herself. Keep very calm. Because this is surely not very far from the place where madness begins.

‘You did dream that, didn’t you, Your Majesty?’ Sophie said.

The maid was out of it now. She just stood there goggling.

‘Yes,’ the Queen murmured. ‘Yes, now you come to mention it, I did. But how do you know what I dreamed?’

‘Oh, that’s a long story, Your Majesty’ Sophie said. ‘Would you like me to call the Big Friendly Giant?’

The Queen looked at the child. The child looked straight back at the Queen, her face open and quite serious. The Queen simply didn’t know what to make of it. Was someone pulling her leg? she wondered.

‘Shall I call him for you?’ Sophie went on. ‘You’ll like him very much.’

The Queen took a deep breath. She was glad no one except her faithful old Mary was here to see what was going on. ‘Very well,’ she said. ‘You may call your giant. No, wait a moment. Mary, pull yourself together and give me my dressing-gown and slippers.’

The maid did as she was told. The Queen got out of bed and put on a pale pink dressing-gown and slippers.

‘You may call him now,’ the Queen said.

Sophie turned her head towards the garden and called out, ‘BFG! Her Majesty the Queen would like to see you!’

The Queen crossed over to the window and stood beside Sophie.

‘Come down off that ledge,’ she said. ‘You’re going to fall backwards any moment.’

Sophie jumped down into the room and stood beside the Queen at the open window. Mary, the maid, stood behind them. Her hands were now planted firmly on her hips and there was a look on her face which seemed to say, ‘I want no part of this fiasco.’

‘I don’t see any giant,’ the Queen said.

‘Please wait,’ Sophie said.

‘Shall I take her away now, ma’am?’ the maid said.

‘Take her downstairs and give her some breakfast,’ the Queen said.

Just then, there was a rustle in the bushes beside the lake.

Then out he came!

Twenty-four feet tall, wearing his black cloak with the grace of a nobleman, still carrying his long trumpet in one hand, he strode magnificently across the Palace lawn towards the window.

The maid screamed.

The Queen gasped.

Sophie waved.

The BFG took his time. He was very dignified in his approach. When he was close to the window where the three of them were standing, he stopped and made a slow graceful bow. His head, after he had straightened up again, was almost exactly level with the watchers at the window.

The BFG

‘Your Majester,’ he said. ‘I is your humbug servant.’ He bowed again.

Considering she was meeting a giant for the first time in her life, the Queen remained astonishingly self-composed. ‘We are very pleased to meet you,’ she said.

Down below, a gardener was coming across the lawn with a wheelbarrow. He caught sight of the BFG’s legs over to his left. His gaze travelled slowly upwards along the entire height of the enormous body. He gripped the handles of the wheelbarrow. He swayed. He tottered. Then he keeled over on the grass in a dead faint. Nobody noticed him.

The BFG

‘Oh, Majester!’ cried the BFG. ‘Oh, Queen! Oh, Monacher! Oh, Golden Sovereign! Oh, Ruler! Oh, Ruler of Straight Lines! Oh, Sultana! I is come here with my little friend Sophie… to give you a…’ The BFG hesitated, searching for the word.

‘To give me what?’ the Queen said.

‘A sistance,’ the BFG said, beaming.

The Queen looked puzzled.

‘He sometimes speaks a bit funny, Your Majesty,’ Sophie said. ‘He never went to school.’

The BFG

‘Then we must send him to school,’ the Queen said. ‘We have some very good schools in this country.’

‘I has great secrets to tell Your Majester,’ the BFG said.

‘I should be delighted to hear them,’ the Queen said. ‘But not in my dressing-gown.’

‘Shall you wish to get dressed, ma’am?’ the maid said.

‘Have either of you had breakfast?’ the Queen said.

‘Oh, could we?’ Sophie cried. ‘Oh, please! I haven’t eaten a thing since yesterday!’

‘I was about to have mine,’ the Queen said, ‘but Mary dropped it.’

The maid gulped.

‘I imagine we have more food in the Palace,’ the Queen said, speaking to the BFG. ‘Perhaps you and your little friend would care to join me.’

‘Will it be repulsant snozzcumbers, Majester?’ the BFG asked.

‘Will it be what?’ the Queen said.

‘Stinky snozzcumbers,’ the BFG said.

‘What is he talking about?’ the Queen said. ‘It sounds like a rude word to me.’ She turned to the maid and said, ‘Mary, ask them to serve breakfast for three in the… I think it had better be in the Ballroom. That has the highest ceiling.’ To the BFG, she said, ‘I’m afraid you will have to go through the door on your hands and knees. I shall send someone to show you the way.’

The BFG reached up and lifted Sophie out of the window. ‘You and I is leaving Her Majester alone to get dressed,’ he said.

‘No, leave the little girl here with me,’ the Queen said. ‘We’ll have to find something for her to put on. She can’t have breakfast in her nightie.’

The BFG returned Sophie to the bedroom.

‘Can we have sausages, Your Majesty?’ Sophie said. ‘And bacon and fried eggs?’

‘I think that might be managed,’ the Queen answered, smiling.

‘Just you wait till you taste it!’ Sophie said to the BFG. ‘No more snozzcumbers from now on!’

The Royal Breakfast

There was a frantic scurry among the Palace servants when orders were received from the Queen that a twenty-four-foot giant must be seated with Her Majesty in the Great Ballroom within the next half-hour.

The butler, an imposing personage named Mr Tibbs, was in supreme command of all the Palace servants and he did the best he could in the short time available. A man does not rise to become the Queen’s butler unless he is gifted with extraordinary ingenuity, adaptability, versatility, dexterity, cunning, sophistication, sagacity, discretion and a host of other talents that neither you nor I possess. Mr Tibbs had them all. He was in the butler’s pantry sipping an early morning glass of light ale when the order reached him. In a split second he had made the following calculations in his head: if a normal six-foot man requires a three-foot-high table to eat off, a twenty-four-foot giant will require a twelve-foot-high table.

And if a six-foot man requires a chair with a two-foot-high seat, a twenty-four-foot giant will require a chair with an eight-foot-high seat.

Everything, Mr Tibbs told himself, must be multiplied by four. Two breakfast eggs must become eight. Four rashers of bacon must become sixteen. Three pieces of toast must become twelve, and so on. These calculations about food were immediately passed on to Monsieur Papillion, the royal chef.

Mr Tibbs skimmed into the Ballroom (butlers don’t walk, they skim over the ground) followed by a whole army of footmen. The footmen all wore knee-breeches and every one of them displayed beautifully rounded calves and ankles. There is no way you can become a royal footman unless you have a well-turned ankle. It is the first thing they look at when you are interviewed.

‘Push the grand piano into the centre of the room,’ Mr Tibbs whispered. Butlers never raise their voices above the softest whisper.

Four footmen moved the piano.

‘Now fetch a large chest-of-drawers and put it on top of the piano,’ Mr Tibbs whispered.

Three other footmen fetched a very fine Chippendale mahogany chest-of-drawers and placed it on top of the piano.

‘That will be his chair,’ Mr Tibbs whispered. ‘It is exactly eight feet off the ground. Now we shall make a table upon which this gentleman may eat his breakfast in comfort. Fetch me four very tall grandfather clocks. There are plenty of them around the Palace. Let each clock be twelve feet high.’

Sixteen footmen spread out around the Palace to find the clocks. They were not easy to carry and required four footmen to each one.

‘Place the four clocks in a rectangle eight feet by four alongside the grand piano,’ Mr Tibbs whispered.

The footmen did so.

The BFG

‘Now fetch me the young Prince’s ping-pong table,’ Mr Tibbs whispered.

The ping-pong table was carried in.

‘Unscrew its legs and take them away,’ Mr Tibbs whispered. This was done.

‘Now place the ping-pong table on top of the four grandfather clocks,’ Mr Tibbs whispered. To manage this, the footmen had to stand on step-ladders.

Mr Tibbs stood back to survey the new furniture. ‘None of it is in the classic style,’ he whispered, ‘but it will have to do.’ He gave orders that a damask tablecloth should be draped over the ping-pong table, and in the end it looked really quite elegant after all.

At this point, Mr Tibbs was seen to hesitate. The footmen all stared at him, aghast. Butlers never hesitate, not even when they are faced with the most impossible problems. It is their job to be totally decisive at all times.

‘Knives and forks and spoons,’ Mr Tibbs was heard to mutter. ‘Our cutlery will be like little pins in his hands.’

But Mr Tibbs didn’t hesitate for long. ‘Tell the head gardener,’ he whispered, ‘that I require immediately a brand-new unused garden fork and also a spade. And for a knife we shall use the great sword hanging on the wall in the morning-room. But clean the sword well first. It was last used to cut off the head of King Charles the First and there may still be a little dried blood on the blade.’

When all this had been accomplished, Mr Tibbs stood near the centre of the Ballroom casting his expert butler’s eye over the scene. Had he forgotten anything? He certainly had. What about a coffee cup for the large gentleman?

‘Fetch me,’ he whispered, ‘the biggest jug you can find in the kitchen.’

A splendid one-gallon porcelain water-jug was brought in and placed on the giant’s table beside the garden fork and the garden spade and the great sword.

So much for the giant.

Mr Tibbs then had the footmen move a small delicate table and two chairs alongside the giant’s table. This was for the Queen and for Sophie. The fact that the giant’s table and chair towered far above the smaller table simply could not be helped.

All these arrangements were only just completed when the Queen, now fully dressed in a trim skirt and cashmere cardigan, entered the Ballroom holding Sophie by the hand. A pretty blue dress that had once belonged to one of the Princesses had been found for Sophie, and to make her look prettier still, the Queen had picked up a superb sapphire brooch from her dressing-table and had pinned it on the left side of Sophie’s chest. The Big Friendly Giant followed behind them, but he had an awful job getting through the door. He had to squeeze himself through on his hands and knees, with two footmen pushing him from behind and two pulling from the front. But he got through in the end. He had removed his black cloak and got rid of his trumpet, and was now wearing his ordinary simple clothes.

As he walked across the Ballroom he had to stoop quite a lot to avoid hitting the ceiling. Because of this he failed to notice an enormous crystal chandelier. Crash went his head right into the chandelier. A shower of glass fell upon the poor BFG. ‘Gunghummers and bogs winkles!’ he cried. ‘What was that?’

‘It was Louis the Fifteenth,’ the Queen said, looking slightly put out.

‘He’s never been in a house before,’ Sophie said.

Mr Tibbs scowled. He directed four footmen to clear up the mess, then, with a disdainful little wave of the hand, he indicated to the giant that he should seat himself on top of the chest-of-drawers on top of the grand piano.

‘What a phizz-whizzing flushbunking seat!’ cried the BFG. ‘I is going to be bug as a snug in a rug up here.’

‘Does he always speak like that?’ the Queen asked.

‘Quite often,’ Sophie said. ‘He gets tangled up with his words.’

The BFG sat down on the chest-of-drawers-piano and gazed in wonder around the Great Ballroom. ‘By gumdrops!’ he cried. ‘What a spliffling whoppsy room we is in! It is so gigantuous I is needing bicirculers and telescoops to see what is going on at the other end!’

The BFG

Footmen arrived carrying silver trays with fried eggs, bacon, sausages and fried potatoes.

At this point, Mr Tibbs suddenly realized that in order to serve the BFG at his twelve-foot-high grandfather-clock table, he would have to climb to the top of one of the tall step-ladders. What’s more, he must do it balancing a huge warm plate on the palm of one hand and holding a gigantic silver coffee-pot in the other. A normal man would have flinched at the thought of it. But good butlers never flinch. Up he went, up and up and up, while the Queen and Sophie watched him with great interest. It is possible they were both secretly hoping he would lose his balance and go crashing to the floor. But good butlers never crash.

At the top of the ladder, Mr Tibbs, balancing like an acrobat, poured the BFG’s coffee and placed the enormous plate before him. On the plate there were eight eggs, twelve sausages, sixteen rashers of bacon and a heap of fried potatoes.

The BFG

The BFG

‘What is this please, Your Majester?’ the BFG asked, peering down at the Queen.

‘He has never eaten anything except snozzcumbers before in his life,’ Sophie explained. ‘They taste revolting.’

‘They don’t seem to have stunted his growth,’ the Queen said.

The BFG grabbed the garden spade and scooped up all the eggs, sausages, bacon and potatoes in one go and shovelled them into his enormous mouth.

‘By goggles!’ he cried. ‘This stuff is making snozzcumbers taste like swatchwallop!’

The Queen glanced up, frowning. Mr Tibbs looked down at his toes and his lips moved in silent prayer.

‘That was only one titchy little bite,’ the BFG said. ‘Is you having any more of this delunctious grubble in your cupboard, Majester?’

‘Tibbs,’ the Queen said, showing true regal hospitality, ‘fetch the gentleman another dozen fried eggs and a dozen sausages.’

Mr Tibbs swam out of the room muttering unspeakable words to himself and wiping his brow with a white handkerchief.

The BFG lifted the huge jug and took a swallow. ‘Owch!’ he cried, blowing a mouthful across the Ballroom. ‘Please, what is this horrible swigpill I is drinking, Majester?’

‘It’s coffee,’ the Queen told him. ‘Freshly roasted.’

‘It’s filthsome!’ the BFG cried out. ‘Where is the frobscottle?’

‘The what?’ the Queen asked.

‘Delumptious fizzy frobscottle,’ the BFG answered. ‘Everyone must be drinking frobscottle with breakfast, Majester. Then we can all be whizzpopping happily together afterwards.’

‘What does he mean?’ the Queen said, frowning at Sophie. ‘What is whizzpopping?’

Sophie kept a very straight face. ‘BFG,’ she said, ‘there is no frobscottle here and whizzpopping is strictly forbidden!’

‘What!’ cried the BFG. ‘No frobscottle? No whizzpopping? No glumptious music? No boom-boom-boom?’

‘Absolutely not,’ Sophie told him firmly.

‘If he wants to sing, please don’t stop him,’ the Queen said.

‘He doesn’t want to sing,’ Sophie said.

‘He said he wants to make music,’ the Queen went on. ‘Shall I send for a violin?’

‘No, Your Majesty’ Sophie said. ‘He’s only joking.’

A sly little smile crossed the BFG’s face. ‘Listen,’ he said, peering down at Sophie, ‘if they isn’t having any frobscottle here in the Palace, I can still go whizzpopping perfectly well without it if I is trying hard enough.’

‘No!’ cried Sophie. ‘Don’t! You’re not to! I beg you!’

‘Music is very good for the digestion,’ the Queen said. ‘When I’m up in Scotland, they play the bagpipes outside the window while I’m eating. Do play something.’

‘I has Her Majester’s permission!’ cried the BFG, and all at once he let fly with a whizzpopper that sounded as though a bomb had exploded in the room.

The Queen jumped.

‘Whoopee!’ shouted the BFG. ‘That is better than bagglepipes, is it not, Majester?’

It took the Queen a few seconds to get over the shock. ‘I prefer the bagpipes,’ she said. But she couldn’t stop herself smiling.

During the next twenty minutes, a whole relay of footmen were kept busy hurrying to and from the kitchen carrying third helpings and fourth helpings and fifth helpings of fried eggs and sausages for the ravenous and delighted BFG.

When the BFG had consumed his seventy-second fried egg, Mr Tibbs sidled up to the Queen. He bent low from the waist and whispered in her ear, ‘Chef sends his apologies, Your Majesty, and he says he has no more eggs in the kitchen.’

‘What’s wrong with the hens?’ the Queen said.

‘Nothing’s wrong with the hens, Your Majesty,’ Mr Tibbs whispered.

‘Then tell them to lay more,’ the Queen said. She looked up at the BFG. ‘Have some toast and marmalade while you’re waiting,’ she said to him.

‘The toast is finished,’ Mr Tibbs whispered, ‘and chef says there is no more bread.’

‘Tell him to bake more,’ the Queen said.

While all this was going on, Sophie had been telling the Queen everything, absolutely everything about her visit to Giant Country. The Queen listened, appalled. When Sophie had finished, the Queen looked up at the BFG, who was sitting high above her. He was now eating a sponge-cake.

‘Big Friendly Giant,’ she said, ‘last night those man-eating brutes came to England. Can you remember where they went the night before?’

The BFG put a whole round sponge-cake into his mouth and chewed it slowly while he thought about this question. ‘Yes, Majester,’ he said. ‘I do think I is remembering where they said they was going the night before last. They was galloping off to Sweden for the Sweden sour taste.’

‘Fetch me a telephone,’ the Queen commanded.

Mr Tibbs placed the instrument on the table. The Queen lifted the receiver. ‘Get me the King of Sweden,’ she said.

‘Good morning,’ the Queen said. ‘Is everything all right in Sweden?’

‘Everything is terrible!’ the King of Sweden answered. ‘There is panic in the capital! Two nights ago, twenty-six of my loyal subjects disappeared! My whole country is in a panic!’

‘Your twenty-six loyal subjects were all eaten by giants,’ the Queen said. ‘Apparently they like the taste of Swedes.’

‘Why do they like the taste of Swedes?’ the King asked.

‘Because the Swedes of Sweden have a sweet and sour taste. So says the BFG,’ the Queen said.

‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ the King said, growing testy. ‘It’s hardly a joking matter when one’s loyal subjects are being eaten like popcorn.’

‘They’ve eaten mine as well,’ the Queen said.

‘Who’s they, for heaven’s sake?’ the King asked.

‘Giants,’ the Queen said.

‘Look here,’ the King said, ‘are you feeling all right?’

‘It’s been a rough morning,’ the Queen said. ‘First I had a horrid nightmare, then the maid dropped my breakfast and now I’ve got a giant on the piano.’

‘You need a doctor quick!’ cried the King.

‘I’ll be all right,’ the Queen said. ‘I must go now. Thanks for your help.’ She replaced the receiver.

‘Your BFG is right,’ the Queen said to Sophie. ‘Those nine man-eating brutes did go to Sweden.’

‘It’s horrible,’ Sophie said. ‘Please stop them, Your Majesty.’

‘I’d like to make one more check before I call out the troops,’ the Queen said. Once more, she looked up at the BFG. He was eating doughnuts now, popping them into his mouth ten at a time, like peas. ‘Think hard, BFG,’ she said. ‘Where did those horrid giants say they were galloping off to three nights ago?’

The BFG thought long and hard.

‘Ho-ho!’ he cried at last. ‘Yes, I is remembering!’

‘Where?’ asked the Queen.

‘One was off to Baghdad,’ the BFG said. ‘As they is galloping past my cave, Fleshlumpeater is waving his arms and shouting at me, “I is off to Baghdad and I is going to Baghdad and mum and every one of their ten children as well!” ’

Once more, the Queen lifted the receiver. ‘Get me the Lord Mayor of Baghdad,’ she said. ‘If they don’t have a Lord Mayor, get me the next best thing.’

In five seconds, a voice was on the line. ‘Here is the Sultan of Baghdad speaking,’ the voice said.

‘Listen, Sultan,’ the Queen said. ‘Did anything unpleasant happen in your city three nights ago?’

‘Every night unpleasant things are happening in Baghdad,’ the Sultan said. ‘We are chopping off people’s heads like you are chopping parsley.’

‘I’ve never chopped parsley in my life,’ the Queen said. ‘I want to know if anyone has disappeared recently in Baghdad?’

‘Only my uncle, Caliph Haroun al Rashid,’ the Sultan said. ‘He disappeared from his bed three nights ago together with his wife and ten children.’

‘There you is!’ cried the BFG, whose wonderful ears enabled him to hear what the Sultan was saying to the Queen on the telephone. ‘Fleshlumpeater did that one! He went off to Baghdad to bag dad and mum and all the little kiddles!’

The Queen replaced the receiver. ‘That proves it,’ she said, looking up at the BFG. ‘Your story is apparently quite true. Summon the Head of the Army and the Head of the Air Force immediately!’

The Plan

The Head of the Army and the Head of the Air Force stood at attention beside the Queen’s breakfast table. Sophie was still in her seat and the BFG was still high up on his crazy perch.

It took the Queen only five minutes to explain the situation to the military men.

‘I knew there was something like this going on, Your Majesty’ the Head of the Army said. ‘For the last ten years we have been getting reports from nearly every country in the world about people disappearing mysteriously in the night. We had one only the other day from Panama…’

‘For the hatty taste!’ cried the BFG.

‘And one from Wellington, in New Zealand,’ said the Head of the Army.

‘For the booty flavour!’ cried the BFG.

‘What is he talking about?’ said the Head of the Air Force.

‘Work it out for yourself,’ the Queen said. ‘What time is it? Ten a.m. In eight hours those nine bloodthirsty brutes will be galloping off to gobble up another couple of dozen unfortunate wretches. They have to be stopped. We must act fast.’

‘We’ll bomb the blighters!’ shouted the Head of the Air Force.

‘We’ll mow them down with machine-guns!’ cried the Head of the Army.

‘I do not approve of murder,’ the Queen said.

‘But they are murderers themselves!’ cried the Head of the Army.

‘That is no reason why we should follow their example,’ the Queen said. ‘Two wrongs don’t make a right.’

‘And two rights don’t make a left!’ cried the BFG.

‘We must bring them back alive,’ the Queen said.

‘How?’ the two military men said together. ‘They are all fifty feet high. They’d knock us down like ninepins!’

‘Wait!’ cried the BFG. ‘Hold your horseflies! Keep your skirts on! I think I has the answer to the maiden’s hair!’

‘Let him speak,’ the Queen said.

‘Every afternoon,’ the BFG said, ‘all these giants is in the Land of Noddy.’

‘I can’t understand a word this feller says,’ the Head of the Army snapped. ‘Why doesn’t he speak clearly?’

‘He means the Land of Nod,’ Sophie said. ‘It’s pretty obvious.’

‘Exunckly!’ cried the BFG. ‘Every afternoon all these nine giants is lying on the ground snoozling away in a very deep sleep. They is always resting like that before they is galloping off to guzzle another helping of human beans.’

‘Go on,’ they said. ‘So what?’

‘So what you soldiers has to do is to creep up to the giants while they is still in the Land of Noddy and tie their arms and legs with mighty ropes and whunking chains.’

‘Brilliant,’ the Queen said.

‘That’s all very well,’ said the Head of the Army. ‘But how do we get the brutes back here? We can’t load fifty-foot giants on to trucks! Shoot ‘em on the spot, that’s what I say!’

The BFG looked down from his lofty perch and said, this time to the Head of the Air Force, ‘You is having bellypoppers, is you not?’

‘Is he being rude?’ the Head of the Air Force said.

‘He means helicopters,’ Sophie told him.

‘Then why doesn’t he say so? Of course we have helicopters.’

‘Whoppsy big bellypoppers?’ asked the BFG.

‘Very big ones,’ the Head of the Air Force said proudly. ‘But no helicopter is big enough to get a giant like that inside it.’

‘You do not put him inside,’ the BFG said. ‘You sling him underneath the belly of your bellypopper and carry him like a porteedo.’

‘Like a what?’ said the Head of the Air Force.

‘Like a torpedo,’ Sophie said.

‘Gould you do that, Air Marshal?’ the Queen asked.

The BFG

The BFG

‘Well, I suppose we could,’ the Head of the Air Force admitted grudgingly.

‘Then get cracking!’ the Queen said. ‘You’ll need nine helicopters, one for each giant.’

‘Where is this place?’ the Air Force man said to the BFG. ‘I presume you can pinpoint it on the map?’

‘Pinpoint?’ said the BFG. ‘Map? I is never hearing these words before. Is this Air Force bean talking slush-bungle?’

The Air Marshal’s face turned the colour of a ripe plum. He was not used to being told he was talking slushbungle. The Queen, with her usual admirable tact and good sense, came to the rescue. ‘BFG,’ she said, ‘can you tell us more or less where this Giant Country is?’

‘No, Majester,’ the BFG said. ‘Not on my nelly.’

‘Then we’re jiggered!’ cried the Army General.

‘This is ridiculous!’ cried the Air Marshal.

‘You must not be giving up so easy’ the BFG said calmly. ‘The first titchy bobsticle you meet and you begin shouting you is biffsquiggled.’

The Army General was no more used to being insulted than the Air Marshal. His face began to swell with fury and his cheeks blew out until they looked like two huge ripe tomatoes. ‘Your Majesty!’ he cried. ‘We are dealing with a lunatic! I want nothing more to do with this ridiculous operation!’

The Queen, who was used to the tantrums of her senior officials, ignored him completely. ‘BFG,’ she said, ‘would you please tell these rather dim-witted characters exactly what to do.’

‘A pleasure, Majester,’ said the BFG. ‘Now listen to me carefully, you two bootbogglers.’

The military men began to twitch, but they stayed put.

‘I is not having the foggiest idea where Giant Country is in the world,’ the BFG said, ‘but I is always able to gallop there. I is galloping forthwards and backwards from Giant Country every night to blow my dreams into little chiddlers’ bedrooms. I is knowing the way very well. So all you is having to do is this. Put your nine big bellyhoppers up in the air and let them follow me as I is galloping along.’

‘How long will the journey take?’ the Queen asked.

‘If we is leaving now,’ the BFG said, ‘we will be arriving just as the giants is having their afternoon snozzle.’

‘Splendid,’ said the Queen. Then turning to the two military men, she said, ‘Prepare to leave immediately.’

The Head of the Army, who was feeling pretty miffed by the whole business, said, ‘That’s all very well, Your Majesty, but what are we going to do with the blighters once we’ve got them back?’

‘Don’t you worry about that,’ the Queen told him. ‘We’ll be ready for them. Hurry up, now! Off you go!’

‘If it pleases Your Majesty,’ Sophie said, ‘I should like to ride with the BFG, to keep him company.’

‘Where will you sit?’ asked the Queen.

‘In his ear,’ Sophie said. ‘Show them, BFG.’

The BFG got down from his high chair. He picked Sophie up in his fingers. He swivelled his huge right ear until it was parallel with the ground, then he placed Sophie gently inside it.

The Heads of the Army and the Air Force stood there goggling. The Queen smiled. ‘You really are rather a wonderful giant,’ she said.

‘Majester,’ the BFG said, ‘I is wishing to ask a very special thing from you.’

‘What is it?’ the Queen said.

‘Could I please bring back here in the bellypoppers all my collection of dreams? They is taking me years and years to collect and I is not wanting to lose them.’

‘Why of course,’ the Queen said. ‘I wish you a safe journey.’

Capture!

The BFG

The BFG had made thousands of journeys to and from Giant Country over the years, but he had never in his life made one quite like this, with nine huge helicopters roaring along just over his head. He had never before travelled in broad daylight either. He hadn’t dared to. But this was different. Now he was doing it for the Queen of England herself and he was frightened of nobody.

As he galloped across the British Isles with the helicopters thundering above him, people stood and gaped and wondered what on earth was going on. They had never seen the likes of it before. And they never would again.

Every now and then, the pilots of the helicopters would catch a glimpse of a small girl wearing glasses crouching in the giant’s right ear and waving to them. They always waved back. The pilots marvelled at the giant’s speed and at the way he leaped across wide rivers and over huge houses.

But they hadn’t seen anything yet.

‘Be careful to hang on tight!’ the BFG said. ‘We is going fast as a fizzlecrump!’ The BFG changed into his famous top gear and all at once he began to fly forward as though there were springs in his legs and rockets in his toes. He went skimming over the earth like some magical hop-skip-and-jumper with his feet hardly ever touching the ground. As usual, Sophie had to crouch low in the crevice of his ear to save herself from being swept clean away.

The nine pilots in their helicopters suddenly realized they were being left behind. The giant was streaking ahead. They opened their throttles to full speed, and even then they were only just able to keep up.

In the leading machine, the Head of the Air Force was sitting beside the pilot. He had a world atlas on his knees and he kept staring first at the atlas, then at the ground below, trying to figure out where they were going. Frantically he turned the pages of the atlas. ‘Where the devil are we going?’ he cried.

‘I haven’t the foggiest idea,’ the pilot answered. ‘The Queen’s orders were to follow the giant and that’s exactly what I’m doing.’

The pilot was a young Air Force officer with a bushy moustache. He was very proud of his moustache. He was also quite fearless and he loved adventure. He thought this was a super adventure. ‘It’s fun going to new places,’ he said.

‘New places!’ shouted the Head of the Air Force. ‘What the blazes d’you mean new places?’

The BFG

‘This place we’re flying over now isn’t in the atlas, is it?’ the pilot said, grinning.

‘You’re darn right it isn’t in the atlas!’ cried the Head of the Air Force. ‘We’ve flown clear off the last page!’

‘I expect that old giant knows where he’s going,’ the young pilot said.

‘He’s leading us to disaster!’ cried the Head of the Air Force. He was shaking with fear. In the seat behind him sat the Head of the Army, who was even more terrified.

‘You don’t mean to tell me we’ve gone right out of the atlas?’ he cried, leaning forward to look.

‘That’s exactly what I am telling you!’ cried the Air Force man. ‘Look for yourself. Here’s the very last map in the whole flaming atlas! We went off that over an hour ago!’ He turned the page. As in all atlases, there were two completely blank pages at the very end. ‘So now we must be somewhere here,’ he said, putting a finger on one of the blank pages.

‘Where’s here?’ cried the Head of the Army.

The young pilot was still grinning broadly. He said to them, ‘That’s why they always put two blank pages at the back of the atlas. They’re for new countries. You’re meant to fill them in yourself.’

The Head of the Air Force glanced down at the ground below. ‘Just look at this godforsaken desert!’ he cried. ‘All the trees are dead and all the rocks are blue!’

‘The giant has stopped,’ the young pilot said. ‘He’s waving us down.’

The pilots throttled back the engines and all nine helicopters landed safely on the great yellow wasteland. Then each of them lowered a ramp from its belly. Nine jeeps, one from each helicopter, were driven down the ramps. Each jeep contained six soldiers and a vast quantity of thick rope and heavy chains.

‘I don’t see any giants,’ the Head of the Army said.

‘The giants is all just out of sight over there,’ the BFG told him. ‘But if you is taking these sloshbuckling noisy bellypoppers any closer, all the giants is waking up at once and then pop goes the weasel.’

‘So you want us to proceed by jeep?’ the Head of the Army said.

‘Yes,’ the BFG said. ‘But you must all be very very hushy quiet. No roaring of motors. No shouting. No mucking about. No piggery-jokery.’

The BFG, with Sophie still in his ear, trotted forward and the jeeps followed close behind.

Suddenly the most dreadful rumbling noise was heard by everyone. The Head of the Army went pea-green in the face. ‘Those are guns!’ he cried. ‘There is a battle raging somewhere up ahead of us! Turn back, the lot of you! Let’s get out of here!’

‘Pigspiffle!’ the BFG said. ‘Those noises is not guns.’

‘Of course they’re guns!’ shouted the Head of the Army. ‘I am a military man and I know a gun when I hear one! Turn back!’

‘Those is just the giants snortling in their sleep,’ the BFG said. ‘I is a giant myself and I know a giant’s snortle when I is hearing one.’

‘Are you quite sure?’ the Army man said anxiously.

‘Positive,’ the BFG said.

‘Proceed cautiously’ the Army man ordered.

They all moved on.

Then they saw them!

Even at a distance, they were enough to scare the daylights out of the soldiers. But when they got close and saw what the giants really looked like, they began to sweat with fear. Nine fearsome, ugly, half-naked, fifty-feet-long brutes lay sprawled over the ground in various grotesque attitudes of sleep, and the sound of their snoring was indeed like gunfire in a battle.

The BFG

The BFG raised a hand. The jeeps all stopped. The soldiers got out.

‘What happens if one of them wakes up?’ whispered the Head of the Army, his knees knocking together from fear.

‘If any one of them is waking up, he will gobble you down before you can say knack jife,’ the BFG answered, grinning hugely. ‘Me is the only one what won’t be gobbled up because giants is never eating giants. Me and Sophie is the only safe ones because I is hiding her if that happens.’

The Head of the Army took several paces to the rear. So did the Head of the Air Force. They climbed rather quickly back into their jeep, ready to make a fast getaway if necessary. ‘Go forward, men!’ the Head of the Army said. ‘Go forward and do your duty bravely!’

The soldiers crept forward with their ropes and chains. All of them were trembling mightily. None dared speak a word.

The BFG, with Sophie now sitting on the palm of his hand, stood near by watching the operation.

To give the soldiers their due, they were extremely courageous. There were six well-trained efficient men working on each giant and within ten minutes eight out of the nine giants had been trussed up like chickens and were still snoring contentedly. The ninth, who happened to be the Fleshlumpeater, was causing trouble for the soldiers because he was lying with his right arm tucked underneath his enormous body. It was impossible to tie his wrists and arms together without first getting that arm out from underneath him.

Very very cautiously, the six soldiers who were working on the Fleshlumpeater began to pull at the huge arm, trying to release it. The Fleshlumpeater opened his tiny piggy black eyes.

‘Which of you foulpesters is wiggling my arm?’ he bellowed. ‘Is that you, you rotsome Manhugger?’

Suddenly he saw the soldiers. In a flash, he was sitting up. He looked around him. He saw more soldiers. With a roar, he leaped to his feet. The soldiers, petrified with fear, froze where they were. They had no weapons with them. The Head of the Army put his jeep into reverse.

‘Human beans!’ the Fleshlumpeater yelled. ‘What is all you flushbunking rotsome half-baked beans doing in our country?’ He made a grab at a soldier and swept him up in his hand.

‘I is having early suppers today!’ he shouted, holding the poor squirming soldier at arm’s length and roaring with laughter.

The BFG

Sophie, standing on the palm of the BFG’s hand, was watching horrorstruck. ‘Do something!’ she cried. ‘Quick, before he eats him!’

‘Put that human bean down!’ the BFG shouted.

The Fleshlumpeater turned and stared at the BFG. ‘What is you doing here with all these grotty twiglets!’ he bellowed. ‘You is making me very suspichy!’

The BFG made a rush at the Fleshlumpeater, but the colossal fifty-four-foot-high giant simply knocked him over with a flick of his free arm. At the same time, Sophie fell off the BFG’s palm on to the ground. Her mind was racing. She must do something! She must! She must! She remembered the sapphire brooch the Queen had pinned on to her chest. Quickly, she undid it.

‘I is guzzling you nice and slow!’ the Fleshlumpeater was saying to the soldier in his hand. ‘Then I is guzzling ten or twenty more of you midgy little maggots down there! You is not getting away from me because I is galloping fifty times faster than you!’

Sophie ran up behind the Fleshlumpeater. She was holding the brooch between her fingers. When she was right up close to the great naked hairy legs, she rammed the three-inch-long pin of the brooch as hard as she could into the Fleshlumpeater’s right ankle. It went deep into the flesh and stayed there.

The BFG

The giant gave a roar of pain and jumped high in the air. He dropped the soldier and made a grab for his ankle.

The BFG, knowing what a coward the Fleshlumpeater was, saw his chance. ‘You is bitten by a snake!’ he shouted. ‘I seed it biting you! It was a frightsome poisnowse viper! It was a dreadly dungerous vindscreen viper!’

‘Save our souls!’ bellowed the Fleshlumpeater. ‘Sound the crumpets! I is bitten by a septicous venomsome vindscreen viper!’ He flopped to the ground and sat there howling his head off and clutching his ankle with both hands. His fingers felt the brooch. ‘The teeth of the dreadly viper is still sticking into me!’ he yelled. ‘I is feeling the teeth sticking into my anklet!’

The BFG saw his second chance. ‘We must be getting those viper’s teeth out at once!’ he cried. ‘Otherwise you is deader than duck-soup! I is helping you!’

The BFG knelt down beside the Fleshlumpeater. ‘You must grab your anklet very tight with both hands!’ he ordered. ‘That will stop the poisnowse juices from the venomsome viper going up your leg and into your heart!’

The Fleshlumpeater grabbed his ankle with both hands.

‘Now close your eyes and grittle your teeth and look up to heaven and say your prayers while I is taking out the teeth of the venomsome viper,’ the BFG said.

The terrified Fleshlumpeater did exactly as he was told.

The BFG signalled for some rope. A soldier rushed it over to him. With both the Fleshlumpeater’s hands gripping his ankle, it was a simple matter for the BFG to tie the ankles and hands together with a tight knot.

The BFG

‘I is pulling out the frightsome viper’s teeth!’ the BFG said as he pulled the knot tight.

‘Do it quickly!’ shouted the Fleshlumpeater, ‘before I is pizzened to death!’

‘There we is,’ said the BFG, standing up. ‘You can look now.’

When the Fleshlumpeater saw that he was trussed up like a turkey, he gave a yell so loud that the heavens trembled. He rolled and he wriggled, he fought and he figgled, he squirmed and he squiggled. But there was not a thing he could do.

‘Well done you!’ Sophie cried.

‘Well done you!’ said the BFG, smiling down at the little girl. ‘You is saving all of our lives!’

‘Will you please get that brooch back for me,’ Sophie said. ‘It belongs to the Queen.’

The BFG pulled the beautiful brooch out of the Fleshlumpeater’s ankle. The Fleshlumpeater howled. The BFG wiped the pin and handed it back to Sophie.

Curiously, not one of the other eight snoring giants had woken up during this shimozzle. ‘When you is only sleeping one or two hours a day, you is sleeping extra doubly deep,’ the BFG explained.

The Head of the Army and the Air Force drove forward once again in their jeep. ‘Her Majesty will be very pleased with me,’ the Head of the Army said. ‘I shall probably get a medal. What’s the next move?’

‘Now you is all driving over to my cave to load up my bottles of dreams,’ the BFG said.

‘We can’t waste time with that rubbish,’ the Army General said.

‘It is the Queen’s order,’ Sophie said. She was now back on the BFG’s hand.

So the nine jeeps drove across to the BFG’s cave and the great dream-loading operation began. There were fifty thousand jars in all to be loaded up, more than five thousand to each jeep, and it took over an hour to finish the job.

While the soldiers were loading the dreams, the BFG and Sophie disappeared over the mountains on a mysterious errand. When they came back, the BFG had a sack the size of a small house slung over his shoulder.

‘What’s that you’ve got in there?’ the Head of the Army demanded to know.

‘Curiosity is killing the rat,’ the BFG said, and he turned away from the silly man.

When he was sure that all his precious dreams had been safely loaded on to the jeeps, the BFG said, ‘Now we is driving back to the bellypoppers and picking up the frightsome giants.’

The jeeps drove back to the helicopters. The fifty thousand dreams were carried carefully, jar by jar, on to the helicopters. The soldiers climbed back on board, but the BFG and Sophie stayed on the ground. Then they all returned to where the nine giants were lying.

It was a fine sight to see them, these great air machines hovering over the trussed-up giants. It was an even finer sight to see the giants being woken up by the terrific thundering of the engines overhead, and the finest sight of all was to observe those nine hideous brutes squirming and twisting about on the ground like a mass of mighty snakes as they tried to free themselves from their ropes and chains.

The BFG

‘I is flushbunkled!’ roared the Fleshlumpeater.

‘I is splitzwiggled!’ yelled the Ghildchewer.

‘I is swogswalloped!’ bellowed the Bonecruncher.

‘I is goosegruggled!’ howled the Manhugger.

‘I is gunzleswiped!’ shouted the Meatdripper.

‘I is fluckgungled!’ screamed the Maidmasher.

‘I is slopgroggled!’ squawked the Gizzardgulper.

‘I is crodsquinkled!’ yowled the Bloodbottler.

‘I is bopmuggered!’ screeched the Butcher Boy.

The nine giant-carrying helicopters each chose a separate giant and hovered directly over him. Very strong steel hawsers with hooks on the ends of them were lowered from the front and rear of each helicopter. The BFG quickly secured the hooks to the giants’ chains, one hook near the legs and the other near the arms. Then very slowly, the giants were winched up into the air, parallel with the ground. The giants roared and bellowed, but there was nothing they could do.

The BFG, with Sophie once more resting comfortably in his ear, set off at a gallop for England. The helicopters all banked around and followed after him.

It was an amazing spectacle, those nine helicopters winging through the sky, each with a trussed-up fifty-foot-long giant slung underneath it. The giants themselves must have found it an interesting experience. They never stopped bellowing, but their howls were drowned by the noise of the engines.

When it began to get dark, the helicopters switched on powerful searchlights and trained them on to the galloping giant so as to keep him in sight. They flew right through the night and arrived in England just as dawn was breaking.

Feeding Time

While the giants were being captured, a tremendous bustle and hustle was going on back home in England. Every earth-digger and mechanical contrivance in the country had been mobilized to dig the colossal hole in which the nine giants were to be permanently imprisoned.

Ten thousand men and ten thousand machines worked ceaselessly through the night under powerful arc-lights, and the massive task was completed only just in time.

The hole itself was about twice the size of a football field and five hundred feet deep. The walls were perpendicular and engineers had calculated that there was no way a giant could escape once he was put in. Even if all nine giants were to stand on each other’s shoulders, the topmost giant would still be some fifty feet from the top of the hole.

The nine giant-carrying helicopters hovered over the massive pit. The giants, one by one, were lowered to the floor. But they were still trussed up and now came the tricky business of releasing them from their bonds. Nobody wanted to go down and do this because the moment a giant was freed, he would be sure to turn on the wretched person who had freed him and gobble him up.

As usual, the BFG had the answer. ‘I has told you before,’ he said, ‘giants is never eating giants, so I is going down and I shall untie them myself before you can say rack jobinson.’

The BFG

With thousands of fascinated spectators, including the Queen, peering down into the pit, the BFG was lowered on a rope. One by one, he released the giants. They stood up, stretched their stiffened limbs and started leaping about in fury.

‘Why is they putting us down here in this grobsludging hole?’ they shouted at the BFG.

‘Because you is guzzling human beans,’ the BFG answered. ‘I is always warning you not to do it and you is never taking the titchiest bit of notice.’

‘In that case,’ the Fleshlumpeater bellowed, ‘I think we is guzzling you instead!’

The BFG grabbed the dangling rope and was hoisted out of the pit just in time.

The great bulging sack he had brought back with him from Giant Country lay at the top of the pit.

‘What’s in there?’ the Queen asked him.

The BFG put an arm into the sack and pulled out a gigantic black and white striped object the size of a man.

‘Snozzcumbers!’ he cried. ‘This is the repulsant snozzcumber, Majester, and that is all we is going to give these disgustive giants from now on!’

‘May I taste it?’ the Queen asked.

‘Don’t, Majester, don’t!’ cried the BFG. ‘It is tasting of trogfilth and pigsquibble!’ With that he tossed the snozzcumber down to the giants below. ‘There’s your supper!’ he shouted. ‘Have a munch on that!’ He fished out more snozzcumbers from the sack and threw them down. The giants below howled and cursed. The BFG laughed. ‘It serves them right left and centre!’ he said.

The BFG

‘What will we feed them on when the snozzcumbers are all used up?’ the Queen asked him.

‘They is never being used up, Majester,’ the BFG answered, smiling. ‘I is also bringing in this sack a whole bungle of snozzcumber plants which I is giving, with your permission, to the royal gardener to put in the soil. Then we is having an everlasting supply of this repulsant food to feed these thirstbloody giants on.’

‘What a clever fellow you are,’ the Queen said. ‘You are not very well educated but you are really nobody’s fool, I can see that.’

The Author

Every country in the world that had in the past been visited by the foul man-eating giants sent telegrams of congratulations and thanks to the BFG and to Sophie. Kings and Presidents and Prime Ministers and Rulers of every kind showered the enormous giant and the little girl with compliments and thank-yous, as well as all sorts of medals and presents.

The Ruler of India sent the BFG a magnificent elephant, the very tiling he had been wishing for all his life.

The King of Arabia sent them a camel each.

The Lama of Tibet sent them a llama each.

Wellington sent them one hundred pairs of wellies each.

Panama sent them beautiful hats.

The King of Sweden sent them a barrelful of sweet and sour pork.

The BFG

Jersey sent them pullovers.

There was no end to the gratitude of the world.

The Queen herself gave orders that a special house with tremendous high ceilings and enormous doors should immediately be built in Windsor Great Park, next to her own castle, for the BFG to live in. And a pretty little cottage was put up next door for Sophie. The BFG’s house was to have a special dream-storing room with hundreds of shelves in it where he could put his beloved bottles. What is more, he was given the title of The Royal Dream-Blower. He was allowed to go galloping off to any place in England on any night of the year to blow his splendid phizzwizards in through the windows to sleeping children. And letters poured into his house by the million from children begging him to pay them a visit.

Meanwhile, tourists from all over the globe came flocking to gaze down in wonder at the nine horrendous man-eating giants in the great pit. They came especially at feeding-time, when the snozzcumbers were being thrown down to them by the keeper, and it was a pleasure to listen to the howls and growls of horror coming up from the pit as the giants began to chew upon the filthiest-tasting vegetable on earth.

There was only one disaster. Three silly men who had drunk too much beer for lunch decided to climb over the high fence surrounding the pit, and of course they fell in. There were yells of delight from the giants below, followed by the crunching of bones. The head keeper immediately put up a big notice on the fence saying, IT IS FORBIDDEN TO FEED THE GIANTS. And after that, there were no more disasters.

The BFG

The BFG expressed a wish to learn how to speak properly, and Sophie herself, who loved him as she would a father, volunteered to give him lessons every day. She even taught him how to spell and to write sentences, and he turned out to be a splendid intelligent pupil. In his spare time, he read books. He became a tremendous reader. He read all of Charles Dickens (whom he no longer called Dahl’s Chickens), and all of Shakespeare and literally thousands of other books. He also started to write essays about his own past life. When Sophie read some of them, she said, ‘These are very good. I think perhaps one day you could become a real writer.’

The BFG

‘Oh, I would love that!’ cried the BFG. ‘Do you think I could?’

‘I know you could,’ Sophie said. ‘Why don’t you start by writing a book about you and me?’

‘Very well,’ the BFG said. ‘I’ll give it a try.’

So he did. He worked hard on it and in the end he completed it. Rather shyly, he showed it to the Queen. The Queen read it aloud to her grandchildren. Then the Queen said, ‘I think we ought to get this book printed properly and published so that other children can read it.’ This was arranged, but because the BFG was a very modest giant he wouldn’t put his own name on it. He used somebody else’s name instead.

The BFG

But where, you might ask, is this book that the BFG wrote?

It’s right here. You’ve just finished reading it.

home | my bookshelf | Dahl Roald | The BFG |     ???? ??????   ???? ????    ?????? ??????    ????????? ?????

????? ?????????????: 8 ??????? ??????? 4.4 ?? 5

??????? ??? ????? -???????????????? ??????????????????????

???????????????? Can you live on Mercury?

No, you can't live on Mercury. First of all, there's no water and no air to breathe - not even poisonous air. Mercury is missing something called an atmosphere. You can think of an atmosphere as a protective shield of stuff (like gasses) that surrounds a planet. The reason that Mercury doesn't have an atmosphere is that it's just not massive enough - not big enough to have a gravity strong enough to hold gasses close to it. (Just check out how much you would weigh there to get an idea about the gravity thing.) Also, it's way too hot in the daytime and, surprisingly, way too cold at night! How can it be cold at night when it's so close to the Sun? One of the jobs of an atmosphere is to hold in the warmth of the daytime. Since Mercury doesn't have an atmosphere, it is exposed to the cold of space every night... and the nights are really long! It's really cold out in space!

Asker's rating & comment 5 out of 5mmmk thanks 3

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Ananda answered 7 years ago

no, cause we can not live and take care of our beloved earth, how can we live on mercury??? how r we supposed to live on any other planet, sometimes we cannot live in our own country, house, the question should be can we live life!, can we just live life ! if we can not live it here and now, we can not live it else where

Hashish

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This article is about the cannabis preparation. For the village in Iran, see Hashish, Iran. For other uses, see Hash.

Hashish

Hashish from Pakistan circa 1976.jpg Two blocks of Hashish from Pakistan (1976), each block weighs 8 OZ (226 grams) and is embossed with a gold seal to indicate which farm the hashish originated from in Pakistan. Under the hashish is USD denomination currency notes.

Botanical Hashish

Source plant(s) Cannabis sativa, Cannabis sativa forma indica, Cannabis ruderalis

Part(s) of plant trichome

Geographic origin Central and South Asia.[1]

Active ingredients Tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabidiol, cannabinol, tetrahydrocannabivarin

Legal status

AU: Prohibited (S9) CA: Schedule II UK: Class B US: Schedule I UN: Narcotic Schedule I

Two blocks of Hashish from Pakistan (1976), each block weighs 8 OZ (226 grams) and is embossed with a gold seal to indicate which farm the hashish originated from in Pakistan. Under the hashish is USD denomination currency notes.

1.5 grams pressed hashish

One gram "bubble melt" Cannabis indica hashish Hashish, or hash, is a cannabis product composed of compressed or purified preparations of stalked resin glands, called trichomes. It contains the same active ingredients—such as tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and other cannabinoids—but often in higher concentrations than unsifted buds or leaves.

Hashish may be solid or resinous depending on the preparation; pressed hashish is usually solid, whereas water-purified hashish—often called "bubble melt hash"—is often a paste-like substance with varying hardness and pliability, its color most commonly light to dark brown can vary to seethrough glass varying toward yellow/tan, black or red. This all depends on the process and amount of solvent left over.[2]

Contents [hide] 1 History 2 Use 3 Manufacturing processes 4 Quality 5 See also 6 References 7 Further reading 8 External links

History[edit]

The name hashish comes from the Arabic word ( ???? ) which means grass. It is believed that massive hashish production for international trade originated in Morocco during the 1960s, where the cannabis plant was widely available. Before the coming of the first hippies from the Hippie Hashish Trail, only small pieces of Lebanese hashish were found in Morocco.[3] However, hemp has been reported from a cultural setting on Taiwan as long ago as 10,000 BC., and "[t]he earliest human use of Cannabis appears to have occurred in the steppe regions of Central Asia or in China."[4]

Northern India has a long social tradition in the production of hashish, known locally as charas, which is believed to be the same plant resin as was burned in the ceremonial booz rooz of Ancient Persia.[5] Cannabis indica grows wild almost everywhere on the Indian sub-continent, and special strains have been particularly cultivated for production of ganja and hashish particularly in West Bengal, Rajasthan and the Himalayas.[citation needed]

In 1596, Dutchman Jan Huyghen van Linschoten spent three pages on "Bangue" (bhang) in his historic work documenting his journeys in the East. He particularly mentioned the Egyptian Hashish.[6] He said, "Bangue is likewise much used in Turkie and Egypt, and is made in three sorts, having also three names. The first by the Egyptians is called Assis (Hashish (Arab.)), which is the poulder of Hemp, or of Hemp leaves, which is water made in paste or dough, they would eat five peeces, (each) as big as a Chestnut (or larger); This is used by the common people, because it is of a small price, and it is no wonder, that such vertue proceedeth from the Hempe, for that according to Galens opinion, Hempe excessively filleth the head."

The word assassin has its root from the Arabic word Hashshashin ( ???????, hashshashiyin, also Hashishin, Hashashiyyin),[7] and shares its etymological roots with the Arabic term ?ashish.

Use[edit]

It is consumed by being heated in a pipe, hookah, bong, bubbler, vaporizer, hot knife (placed between the tips of two heated knife blades), smoked in joints, mixed with cannabis buds or tobacco, smoked as bottle tokes ("brewing bots", "bucket bongs") or cooked in food, especially sweets.

Manufacturing processes[edit]

File:Récolte de la résine de cannabis, Uttarakhand, Inde.ogv Play media

Making cannabis resin, Uttarakhand, India Hashish is made from cannabinoid-rich glandular hairs known as trichomes, as well as varying amounts of cannabis flower and leaf fragments. The flowers of a mature female plant contain the most trichomes, though trichomes are also found on other parts of the plant. Certain strains of cannabis are cultivated specifically for their ability to produce large amounts of trichomes. The resin reservoirs of the trichomes, sometimes erroneously called pollen (vendors often use the euphemism "pollen catchers" to describe screened kief-grinders in order to skirt paraphernalia selling laws), are separated from the plant through various methods.

Mechanical separation methods use physical action to remove the trichomes from the plant, such as sieving through a screen by hand or in motorized tumblers. This technique is known as "drysifting". The resulting powder, referred to as "kief" or "drysift", is compressed with the aid of heat into blocks of hashish; if pure, the kief will become gooey and pliable. When a high level of pure THC is present, the end product will be almost transparent and will start to melt at the point of human contact. Ice-water separation is another mechanical method of isolating trichomes. The clarity of the final product determines quality of the final product. Nowadays, new techniques have been developed, such as heat and pressure separations, static-electricity sieving or acoustical dry sieving.[8]

Chemical separation methods generally use a solvent such as ethanol, butane[citation needed] or hexane to dissolve the lipophilic desirable resin. Remaining plant materials are filtered out of the solution and sent to the compost. The solvent is then evaporated, or boiled off (purged) leaving behind the desirable resins, called honey oil, "hash oil", or just "oil". Honey oil still contains waxes and essential oils and can be further purified by vacuum distillation to yield "red oil". The product of chemical separations is more commonly referred to as "honey oil." This oil is not really hashish, as the latter name covers trichomes that are extracted by sieving. This leaves most of the glands intact.

Quality[edit]

Tiny pieces of leaf matter may be accidentally or even purposefully added; adulterants introduced when the hash is being produced will reduce the purity of the material and often resulting in green finished product. The tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content of hashish comes in wide ranges from almost none to 65% and that of hash oil from 30–90%.[9]

See also[edit]

Portal icon Cannabis portal Charles Baudelaire, French author who wrote the 1860 book, Les paradis artificiels, about the state of being under the influence of opium and hashish Club des Hashischins, 1840s Parisian group dedicated to the exploration of drug-induced experiences, notably with hashish Fitz Hugh Ludlow, American author best known for his autobiographical book, The Hasheesh Eater (1857)

References[edit]

1.Jump up ^ Mahmoud A. ElSohly (2007). Marijuana and the Cannabinoids. Springer. p. 8. ISBN 978-1-59259-947-9. 2.Jump up ^ Guide To The Different Types Of Hash From Around The World 3.Jump up ^ Hashish! by Robert Connell Clarke, ISBN 0-929349-05-9 4.Jump up ^ Merlin, M. D. 2003 "Archaeological evidence for the tradition of psychoactive plant use in the Old World," Economic Botany 57 (3): 295-323. Table 1 (re Taiwan) and p. 312 (quotation). http://link.springer.com/article/10.1663/0013-0001%282003%29057%5B0295:AEFTTO%5D2.0.CO%3B2. Rtvd 2014.02.22. 5.Jump up ^ Usaybia, Abu; Notes on Uyunu al-Anba fi Tabaquat al-Atibba, Berkeley: University of California Press, 1965. 6.Jump up ^ Burnell, Arthur Coke & Tiele, P.A (1885). The voyage of John Huyghen van Linschoten to the East Indies. from the old English translation of 1598: the first book, containing his description of the East. London: The Hakluyt Society. pp. 115–117. Full text at Internet Archive. Chapter on Bangue. 7.Jump up ^ American Speech – McCarthy, Kevin M. Volume 48, pp. 77–83 8.Jump up ^ Skunk Pharma Search, Acoustical dry sieving 9.Jump up ^ Inciardi, James A. (1992). The War on Drugs II. Mountain View, CA: Mayfield Publishing Company. p. 19. ISBN 1-55934-016-9.

Further reading[edit] Hashish! by Robert Connell Clarke, ISBN 0-929349-05-9 The Hasheesh Eater by Fitz Hugh Ludlow; first edition 1857 Starkes, Michael. Marijuana Potency. Berkeley, California: And/Or Press, 1977. Chapter 6 "Extraction of THC and Preparation of Hash Oil" pp. 111–122. ISBN 0-915904-27-6.

External links[edit]

Look up hashish in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikisource has the text of the 1905 New International Encyclopedia article Hashish.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hashish. Bibliography of scholarly histories on cannabis and hashish Hashish Making and Varieties

[hide] v · t · e

Cannabis plant, Cannabis marijuana

General

Autoflowering cannabis · Cannabis (indica ·  ruderalis ·  sativa ·  Difference between C. indica and C. sativa) · Cannabis flower essential oil · Cultivation · Synthetic cannabis · Thai stick

Cannabis strains

Pure indica G-13 indica phenotype

Hybrid Indica with subset strains BC Bud · Kush · Northern Lights

Pure sativa Acapulco Gold · Malawi Gold

Hybrid Sativa with subset strains Charlotte's Web · Diesel · Haze · Jack Herer · Skunk · Sour · Sour Diesel

Usage

General Marijuana Anonymous (MA) · Medical cannabis · History of medical cannabis · Religious and spiritual use (Chalice)

Hemp Hanfparade · Hempcrete · List of hemp diseases · Hemp for Victory · Hemp Industries Association · Hemp jewelry · Hemp oil · The Emperor Wears No Clothes

Preparations

Kief · Charas · Tincture

Extracts by potency

Hash oil · Bubble hash · Hashish

Consumption

Bhang · Cannabis foods · Cannabis smoking · Cannabis tea · Vaporizing

Phytocannabinoids

Cannabidiol (CBD) · Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)

Effects

Cannabis in pregnancy · Endocannabinoid system · Long-term · Dependence

Culture

420 · Cannabis Culture · Films · High Times · Cannabis Cup · Music

Pro-Cannabis organizations

ACT · AMMA · ASA · Buyers Club · CCRMG · CLEAR · CRC · DPA · FCA · GMM · LEAP · MAPS · MPP · NCIA · NORML · POT · SAFER · Social Club · SSDP

Use demographics

Adult lifetime use by country · Annual use by country

Politics

General Bootleggers and Baptists · Drug testing · Global Marijuana March · Legality (Legality by country ·  Legal and medical status ·  Legal history in the United States) · Marijuana Control, Regulation, and Education Act · Marihuana Tax Act of 1937

Major legal reforms UK: Return to class B · Uruguay: Law No. 19172 · USA: Decriminalization of non-medical use (Places that have decriminalized non-medical use ·  Removal from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act)

Politicians and parties Cannabis political parties · List of British politicians who admit to cannabis use · List of U.S. politicians who admit to cannabis use

Lawsuits ADPF 187 · Kyllo v. United States (thermal imaging)

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Why cant you live on Jupiter?

would you be able to live on Jupiter if not could u give all reasons why

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Best AnswerAsker's Choice DLM answered 6 years ago

all the reasons? No, but I can provide a handful.

1. Lack of surface. It's a tremendous sphere of condensed atmosphere, with a possible rocky or liquid metallic core. Nothing to stand on.

2. Lack of O2. We cannot breathe it's air.

3. Gravitational pressure. Way too strong for human bones to maintain structure.

4. "surface" temperature. Even if the core is rocky, and you could stand on it, it's rather hot at that location. Like, bone-meltingly hot.

5. Vitamin D... The Jovian distance from the sun means, unless you are eating vitamin d, you are getting virtually none. The fact that the atmosphere reflects almost all of the sunlight and lets virtually none in, means your already stressed bones are going to need more calcium and vitamin d (typically from the sun) to stay stable. And that doesn't take into account that the amount of sunlight with all of its properties is diminshed by a factor of about 25 at Jupiters distance.

6. Lack of food and water. (Self explainatory)

Asker's rating & comment 5 out of 5Thanks

This was a year 5 question, we managed to list a few items between us, grateful with yours and the many positive responses.

Cheers 1

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pmbraam answered 6 years ago

Jupiter is gas giant. The biggest one in our solar system, next to Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. As the name already says, it is very very big. Because it is so big, it is very heavy (has a lot of mass). It is 2.5 times heavier then the total weight of all other planets in our solar system together. That means a lot of gravity: it would crush before you even reach it's atmosphere.

Also, it is made of gas. Mostly hydrogen and helium, almost nothing else. So no 'air' to breath, no water to drink, etc. Actually it is mostly made from the same stuff as the sun. If it would have been (slightly) bigger, Jupiter would have been a star instead of a planet.

Currently, scientist are still debating whether Jupiter is a very large planet or a very small star (a small brown dwarf) that has been unfortunate enough not start nuclear fusion (the burning of a star).

Source(s):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jupiter

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Elizabeth H answered 6 years ago

Jupiter is a gas planet. the entire atmospheric structure is about 1000 km thick, but there does not appear to be any distinct boundary between the atmosphere and what lies below. Apparently it just gets denser until it reaches a total liquid state. you definitely could not live on Jupiter

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Relief answered 6 years ago

1: it has a very very high gravity which makes can't walk. 2: no clear oxygen and water. 3: it has many storms which are much stronger than earth's. 4: a very long day, U might freeze at night. and many other reasons...

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Mr. Skippy answered 6 years ago

You can live there if you want. No one is going to give you a free ride there, though. You'll have to walk there. Is it possible that we can live in Mars?

Mars, the forth planet in the solar system.

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Best Answer orbitaldata answered 7 years ago

Yes. There are enough of the required constituents for human life available, but they are locked up in the rocks and probable permafrost beneath the surface in several places now known. However, life there would not be anything like it is here.

It is speculated that there are areas below the surface that could be turned into functional habitats that would protect humans from ultraviolet and other harmful radiation. As for living on the surface, that is also possible, but only for short duration missions until subsurface habitats could be constructed and supplied.

J.

http://www.jrichardjacobs.net

"The speed of the brain is inversely proportional to the speed of the mouth squared."

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Ricky Romulus Huot answered 10 months ago

Yes, Mars is the Fourth Planet in the solar system, beside Mars is located in the Goldilocks Zone (Habitable Zone, Billion of years ago, Planet Mars just like planet earth, Warm, Life supported planet, because of it size, Mars's Core cooled, and it magnetic field is weakening due to the cooled process of it Core, and the solar flare is penetrating the Martian Atmosphere and make Atmospheric escape, so the Mars today is dead, Mars also have the right ingredient to survive on the planet mainly Oxygen. but Mars have only 0.02% of Oxygen while earth have 21% of Oxygen, the most thing that complicated is it Gravity. Mars size is the small compare to Earth or Venus, but i think we can live with it Gravity. the Process the new face of Mars is Terraforming the Planet, made it Earth-like again. but warming the atmosphere, just like we do it on earth, polluted the air with greenhouse effect.

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surya ramanathan s answered 7 years ago

1. surface gravity ratio of 38% ........ok as is

2. Atmosphere of Mars 1% earth ....needs something like clear plastic dome to hold normal earth pressure.

3. water can be mined from the ice at the poles or dust cover ice plates.

4. The length of the mars day is 30 minutes longer than on earth.........ok as is

5. There are 668 Martian days in a Martian year.........ok as is

6. The only significant weather phenomena on Mars are dust storms and strong winds. These dust storms can obscure the sun for very long periods of time, sometimes exceeding several weeks.

7. Not much sunlight. We need to concentrate it for our use.

HENCE I CONCLUDE SAYING THAT U CAN LIVE ON MARS BUT ONLY UNDERGROUND OR IN CAVES !!!!!!!!!!

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poldi answered 7 years ago

In Mars - you mean in underground caves or something? Sure, with enough air, water, food, and power.

And everyone here knows that Mars is the FOURTH planet in our solar system - there is no such thing as a "forth" planet. The word "forth" means something completely different.

If you mean could we live ON Mars, sure we could. We'd have to get there (only unmanned probes and landers have been there so far). Then we'd have to: - find a way to protect ourselves from solar and cosmic radiation (Mars has no electromagnetic field the way Earth does to shield the surface from radiation). - find water we can get to, or import our own. - find a way to create air for us to breathe - the atmosphere of Mars is too thin and almost all carbon dioxide. - find a way to grow food, or import it. We'd have no problem with power - since the atmosphere is so thin solar panels would work well. Mars is farther from the sun so it gets less light per square meter than on Earth, but there are no clouds to block the light. The only impediment to unlimited solar power are the numerous (and long-lasting) dust storms (the most recent ones seriously threatened the 2 rovers).

So basically yes we could live there, but it would take a lot of material and supplies to keep a colony alive (at least for a few decades).

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eilaog answered 7 years ago

at this point no as humans we cannot live on mars but there is thought that we can pump greenhouse gases into the atmosphere could heat the planet and unfreeze the planet thus gases will be released and slowly produce o2, carbon-dioxide and increase the atmosphere to a livable level o2 will start to rain and form water on the surface so that plants and microscopic life will be able to survive but this could take thousands of years for the planet could support human life

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Earl D answered 7 years ago

IN Mars in a sealed environment yes, ON MARS no.

Experts say the gravity is not sufficient for terraforming.

Inside, in a cave or building with sealed walls and air taken from Earth, yes.

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DrAnders_pHd answered 7 years ago

Yes but only in pressurized structures. The martian atmosphere would kill a human almost instantly.

Why can't we live on mars?

I was just wondering... What makes mars uninhabitable???

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Best Answer mithunbista answered 6 years ago

There are several reasons why we can't live on mars

1) Its too cold, the mean temperature is -50.8 F, remember that 32 F is the temp at which water turns to ice. 2) The atmospheric pressure is very less to that of Earth, which means if you go out on mars surface without a space suit, you eyes, body will swell up due to less atm pressure, much like Arnold in total recall. 3) Don't have as much water as compared to Earth. 4) 0.2% oxygen. To sustain life 20-22% is required, as in Earth. 5) No magnetic field to block out harmful cosmic radiation. A cause of skin cancer.  6) No vegetation, no food If we were to design a structure and make its environment as that of earth, it would be possible to live in mars. The current human technology are not advanced enough to realize this or huge amount of money may be required.

I hope this answers your question?

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Sexy Homer answered 6 years ago

1. No ozone layer, so no protection from UV rays. 2. Not enough oxygen (the atmosphere is actually poisonous CO2). 3. No magnetic field to block out that pesky & deadly cosmic radiation. 4. Air pressure is too low (liquid water, such as our blood, would boil away). 5. Way too cold. 6. The soil seems incapable of supporting life. 7. No food (see # 6). 8. No liquid water sources, and probably only a small amount of water ice near the poles.

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phred01 answered 6 years ago

The main problem with Mars is it has little or no protective magnetic field which on earth protects our atmosphere from being stripped away by the solar wind. With a very thin atmosphere most of the water has been lost and without atmospheric blanket it is very cold. To achieve Terra forming is like a pie in the sky

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Anthony answered 1 year ago

maybe because the surface is too salty and it deosn't have enough water to sustain life,even thoughthere are polar ice caps Is it possible for humans to live on Mercury? Some points I found out: It has similarity to the Moon (we went there) It has ice in polar craters It isn't as hot as Venus It has solar energy It has valuable resources as Some points I found out:

It has similarity to the Moon (we went there) It has ice in polar craters It isn't as hot as Venus It has solar energy It has valuable resources as helium-3 It has considerable gravity Some parts are cold. It has magnetic field

Answers (9)Relevance Dr. Chopper edited 2 months ago While it's true Mercury possesses ice deep within its craters where sunlight doesn't reach, this is also true of all rocky bodies with deep craters, from asteroids, to Mars to our own Moon. And while Mercury may not be AS HOT as Venus, that statement is misleading because it still reaches temperatures in excess of 800 degree F. And while it is colder in the darker regions, it is incredibly cold; lower than -350 degrees F. Temperatures, one way or the other, do not offer any distinct advantage in colonization efforts.

The solar energy available is not necessarily a good thing. Mercury is the most susceptible planet to the dangers of solar flares and radiation, which would wreck havoc on human health and electromagnetic technology. And while Mercury does possess a magnetic field, it is only 1% as strong as Earth's yet would have to filter out even more radiation than Earth's magnetic field does.

It's also true that Mercury has reserves of helium-3, but so does the Moon, which is obviously so much closer and therefor so much easier and cheaper to access.

Mercury has about 38% Earth's gravity, compared to the Moon, which has only about 16-17% of Earth's gravity. But Mars also has 38% of Earth's gravity (although Mars is larger, Mercury is more dense).

The bottom line is that while colonization may eventually be possible on any terrestrial body, Mercury included, there would have to be some incredible, extraordinary reason why Mercury would be chosen over the alternatives. Trace levels of water-ice, gravity and Helium-3 are not significant enough reasons. 11 Comment George Patton edited 2 months ago Yes. In underground habitats. Though in reality there would be no benefit. Of course a "day" on Mercury is over 58 Earth days long. Not much shorter than Mercury's year. So you'd only need to be sheltered from the Sun during the roughly 29 day long "daytime". For the 29ish day long night you could be out on the surface exploring, doing experiments, whatever. The tech needed for that wouldn't be much different than what was needed on the Moon. It has been proposed that we could use materials on Mercury to build huge solar farms then beam that energy elsewhere in the solar system using microwaves. But there would be no reason why that whole thing couldn't be automated. Who knows though, one day we might send some people there, during the 29 day long night, to plant the flag and explore some. But they'd be exposed to a he** of a lot of radiation just getting there. I can't imagine anyone wanting to "live" there though. Even after space exploration gets to the point that we're sending people all over the solar system. Why? 10 Comment E = Mc² answered 2 months ago 1. We did go to the moon, but in no way can we live on the moon.

2. Your point...

3. It is still scorching hot.

4. This is quite ambiguous. It doesn't emit solar energy, but it does receive solar energy.

5. Yes, but Mercury's atmosphere is quite negligible.

6. Not necessarily. The acceleration due to gravity on Mercury is approximately 1/3 of the acceleration due to gravity on Earth.

7. Very, very cold. Too cold for human life.

8. Essentially useless given the very, very infinitesimal atmosphere it possesses. Source(s): My cerebral cortex. 14 4 comments R MOORE answered 2 months ago A Slow moving habitat on Mercury's terminator would be the way to go, and scouts on the dark side could look for water, underground too would provide protection, and the poles look promising for water ice. Why not indeed? Anything is possible. Source(s): Stay curious. 10 Comment poldi answered 2 months ago It has some things we need, but not all. We would still need an airtight habitat to live in, an uninterruptable power supply, a way to provide liquid water (the water in the craters is not liquid and can't just be piped to another location). Its an engineering problem, similar to living on any planet. 10 Comment james o answered 2 months ago Of course we can live on Mercury. We would need to have an environment that protected our air supply and kept us at an optimum temperature, supplied us with essentials of life such as food. Getting all of that to Mercury, while technically possible, would be prohibitively expensive right now.

Someone says we can't live on Mercury? Well, using that logic, we can't live on most of the earth's surface right now either!

@ E = Mc² ==> You might know the formula E = Mc², my friend, but they have not taught you to think, have they? 20 Comment quantumclaustrophobe answered 2 months ago Well, it would be a struggle, similar to that as we'd have on the moon - but without that 'safety' of being only 1/4 million miles away. 20 Comment

Anonymous answered 2 months ago It would be suitable to live in someway I've never thought about it

Can you live on neptune why or why not?

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Best Answer A Canadian Atheist answered 3 years ago

Not at all. Too cold, and the atmosphere is almost completely made up of inert gases.

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? answered 3 years ago

People cannot live on Neptune because it has no solid surface, only a molten core of liquid rock, water and ammonia. Also, it's four thousand mile thick atmosphere of hydrogen, helium and methane has temperature ranges from negative 360 degrees Fahrenheit to 900 degees Fahrenheit, winds of up to 1,200 miles per hour and chunks of molten debris whirling about. It's gravity is 114% that of Earth, and that is about the best that can be said for it, as that would add little to your weight in the second or two you would live unprotected.

Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_can%27t_pe...

Source(s):

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_can%27t_pe...

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Your Word is a light to my roadway answered 3 years ago

Many many reasons why you can't live on Neptune! First and foremost, it doesn't have a breathable atmosphere, too cold, it's gravity is so strong the atmosphere would crush you, and the planet is made up entirely of gases, there is no soil. Why can't humans live on Pluto? This is a write-up i had to do for school on why we shouldn't live on pluto, even if we had the technology to. hope it helps :) WHY NOT TO LIVE ON PLUTO In my opinion, people should not live on Pluto. There are many reasons for why I think this, a few of them being the size, the temperature, the light, and the food. Pluto is so small, that if people were to colonize it, there would be no space! People wouldn't be able to have their own yard (not that they'd want one on Pluto) and everyone would be very cramped up. Now, you might say, well not everyone from Earth is going to live on Pluto. But, although this is true, it is most likely that the majority of people will go live on Pluto. This is because it is new, and adventure, and everyone would think it was great, so everyone would go there. And then everyone would be disappointed because they wouldn't be able to walk without running into someone. The next problem is the temperature. Although we may have the technology to live on Pluto, it doesn't mean that the technology would be ideal. For example, would you like to wear a space suit everyday? You would have no choice of what to wear, and it would be a pain having to go to the washroom! Plus, to keep our houses warm, we would have to use an enormous amount of energy to even get our houses to freezing point! Think of all the pollution! Our Earth has gotten polluted from only using our heaters in certain countries, at certain times of years. Think about how much pollution there would be if every house had its heater on everyday cranked up 1000 times the amount that it usually is! Some people would say, you could use a better type of energy, for example, solar energy. The problem with that is, there is no sunlight on Pluto! Pluto would be so incredibly dark, that there is no way you could get any sunlight to heat up your home with. Which leads me on to the next problem. There is no natural light on Pluto. It is so far away from the sun that it barely gets any of the Sun's heat, or light. Again, there would be a problem with the electricity. Not only would we have to light our homes, we would most likely need to light the streets! Otherwise, we would just live in the dark, we wouldn't be able to see outside, and there would be no walking the dog, going for a run, playing hockey on the street, or anything like that, because we wouldn't be able to see. All outdoor sports would be finished. It is possible though, that you could use technology to build huge lights that would light up great amounts of space outside. But, think of how much energy that would use! And you wouldn't be able to get it from any hydro lines, because there is no water, rivers, or waterfalls. Also, there would be no fossil fuels, because there are no plants or animals discovered that have lived on Pluto, to fossilize. The only possible source of energy is wind, but that is very select, because what if it wasn't windy? You wouldn't be able to see. So you could only go outside on windy days. And, that's a bit unfortunate, because windy days on Pluto are VERY windy., so would you really want to be inside anyways? Therefore, having no light would be a serious issue with living on Pluto. The last issue would be the food. Obviously fruits and vegetables would not be able to be grown on Pluto. Also, unless animals were somehow shipped to Pluto, and were kept in a heated building, we would also have no meat. Therefore, the only way to get food to people living on Pluto would be to take it by a spaceship. This would be kind of hard, considering it takes many years to get there, and all the food would go bad in a couple of days. This means the only food we would really be able to eat would be canned items that won't go bad too fast, like canned pasta, beans, or packaged foods like dry pasta, and chocolate. Therefore, we would not be getting a variety of food and would become unhealthy fairly quickly. Also, what would we drink? There is no water on Pluto, and milk goes bad really easily. So, the only thing we could do would be to ship soda and pop across the universe, and that is not healthy! So therefore, people living on Pluto would get no nutritional food. These are the reasons that people SHOULD NOT live on Pluto. Why Can't People Live on Saturn? Saturn is considered is a gas giant. Saturn is merely gases held together by gravity, it does not have a surface. The gases are 96% hydrogen and 3% helium, and small traces of other gases not including oxygen, which all living things need to be able to breath. There is no surface until you go many many miles below this gas. Any life there will be floating. Here, there is no oxygen to breathe nor water or food. And its too cold. It does not have wind, atmosphere, heat, water, or oxygen. Saturn certainly is an unhabitable planet.

5 reasons why humans cant live on Uranus.?

i know this is a really stupid question but i really need help if you could type of like a paragraph on why humans can live on Uranus it would really help me! (I have three ...show more

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Best AnswerAsker's Choice Nicky G answered 8 years ago

well for one thing, my anus has way too much of a gravitational pull. lol. jk.

1. seriously though. uranus does have a much greater gravitational pull and would probibly be too much for us.

2. also the atmosphere is far to different from ours and we would not be able to breath the air.

3. the temperature is too cold and we would freeze to death

4. there is no liquid water so we would all die fo thirst in less than a week.

5. and there is nothing there for us to eat so if we didnt die of thirst, we would all still die of hungar.

one thing i would like to add that most of these people aparently do no know though. yes uranus is a gas planet. but after sending probs into space scientists have learned that far beneth the gassy exterior of the planet is a core either made of solid ground or liquid. so it is not souly gas.

Asker's rating & comment 4 out of 5Thanks plus you gave reasons on why we cant live there! 2

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neutron answered 8 years ago

1. uranus' composition --> it's made of gases not rock like the earth. 2. the low temperatures. 3. the gravity. 4. the atmosphere. 5. the winds.

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jwissick answered 8 years ago

1) There is no surface. It is a gas giant. 2) There is no Oxygen in a breathable form. 3) The gravity of the planet would crush out skeletons. 4) There is no water in a usable form. 5) The radiation would kill us.

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bravozulu answered 8 years ago

Uranus is a gas planet and we would have to float. There is little oxygen. The gravity is too strong. It is too far from the sun and thus very cold. The winds on Uranus are insanely strong. (not trying to be silly)

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eastacademic answered 8 years ago

Its really far from the sun - we need that. (living temperature zone, our dependence on plants etc.

atmosphere - hydrogen helium and methane. doesnt work for me.

wheres the water man?

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Bullet Magnet answered 8 years ago

It's far too cold. The atmosphere is inhospitable- temperature, pressure and composition. The planet has no solid ground. The gravity is too strong. The winds are too strong. The terrible, terrible jet-lag.

Hmm could you really live comfortably on a planet surface hot enough to melt Lead?

The sulfuric rain would be unpleasant too, as others have pointed out though it evaporates before it ever reaches the surface.

In Victorian times people thought it was possible to live on Venus because they couldn't see the surface, so it was argued what kind of landscape produced lots of steam, and they thought Venus was covered in swamps.

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DrAnders_pHd answered 7 years ago

No human can live on Venus.

Even as late as the seventies it was believed, and argued by scientists like Carl Sagan, that Venus was covered with a huge ocean and that the clouds are water clouds like earths. But several probes revealed the smoldering truth: Venus has an atmosphere that is 90 times as dense as earth consisting of 96% CO2. And the surface temperature is 750 degrees K. A soviet probe, that was built like a pressure cooker, survived on the surface for less than an hour before it was either crushed or simply melted. And it traveled through the thick sulfuric acid haze that makes up the clouds. In short: landing on the surface of Venus is a suicide mission no matter if you are human or machine. And both would die horribly...

-edit- But there is no sulfuric acid rain on Venus. Venus is too hot for it to condense and so it remains high up in the atmosphere (where it is colder) as tiny droplets.

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screaming monk answered 7 years ago

It would be difficult to deal with the heat, but the heat energy itself could be harnessed to power sophisticated air conditioned (cooled) living conditions.

It just might be possible for heat buildup on Earth to occur past a tipping point, whereby there is a runaway chain reaction: Heat melts the reflective white of the poles causing release of, the ultimate greenhouse agent--- water vapour, trapping more heat and melting away more white snow and ice!

We are not much farther from the Sun than Venus!

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Ben answered 7 years ago

No. The atmosphere is thick and rich in Carbon Dioxide, making it impossible to breathe. Also, a greenhouse effect created by the Carbon Dioxide rich atmosphere makes surface temperatures on Venus exceed 450 °C.

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Zeta Reticuli answered 7 years ago

Surface temperatures get up to around 900 degrees, it rains sulphuric acid (..highly caustic stuff..), and surface air pressure is about the same as you'd find at the bottom of the ocean. Whaddaya think? Could we live there without some very radical forms of protection?

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lil1 answered 7 years ago

No because Venus is far too hot as it is near to the sun, dense and there is also no water for humans to live on.

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Milo answered 7 years ago Is It Possible to Live on Venus?

For us as humans to live there? Not on our own, no. Is it possible that there is or was some form of life there? Don't know. Life has been found here on Earth in some very inhospitable places so maybe I guess.

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Christian C answered 7 years ago

No, The Surface Is Up To 1000ºc.

and the clouds are made of sulphuric acid.

Why cant we live on venus?

1.if we could live on another planetw at would it be and why 2.why cant we live on venus?

.

Best Answer powershaker answered 6 years ago

The main reason we cannot live on Venus is because of the temperature. Temperatures range from 900F+/- 50F (about 500°C +/- 32°C) at the surface. Another reason is the gases on Venus. Its atmosphere has carbon dioxide (95%), nitrogen, sulfuric acid, and traces of other elements. It's not an oxygenated and life sustaining planet. On the surface is a rocky, dusty, waterless expanse of mountains, canyons, and plains, with a 200-mile river of hardened lava. It is not the kind of place to build your house and live comfortably. :) Venus is covered with thick clouds that create the greenhouse effect - making it very hot.

Venus has no moons. Therefore, oceans would not be possible. Our oceans and tides on earth are extremely important to living things. No other planet in our Milky Way boasts or replicates Earth's plethora of suitable and life sustaining features. More than anything, the other planets only act as a shield to catch stray meteors, asteroids and comets that may have negatively impacted earth. Take Jupiter for instance? There have been many instances where Jupiter has saved planet Earth from certain death.

Source:

http://www.aerospaceguide.net/planet/pla...

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Other Answers (13) Relevance

jp answered 6 years ago

the thing about mars is its a dead planet, it USED to be an Earth, alive, warm and boiling with seismic and volcanic activity. eventually the core solidified, and slowed. it now has no protective magnetic field.

though with some technological help, we could make it easier to support ourselves on mars using the reservoirs of water in its ice caps.

and we could wait for venus to cool down, harden, and oxygenize, but that would take too long and its too close to the sun without a magnetic field.

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Mike H answered 6 years ago

Well planet Earth is the most habitable planet for life, that we know of. To have life there needs to be water, oxygen, suitable climate, among other minor factors. Venus doesn't have any of those characteristics, thus being inhabitable for life.

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Saqib Fazal answered 6 years ago

Venus's atmosphere is compose of greenhouse gase The atmospheric pressure in venus is strong enough to fracture our bones. Rainfall in venus consists of sulphuric acid. Venus contains a lot of volcanos which eject sulphur dioxide There is absence of water. It is too hot there

There is NO planet in our solar system which can be inhabited.But saturn's moon titan contains a suitable atmosphere and jupiter's moon europa might contain solid water

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AntiApollyon answered 6 years ago

1. mars, it is the only planet we know of which is even remotely habitable. 2. The sulfuric acid and 900 degree temperatures on Venus would probably kill us rather quickly.

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Mrudul S answered 6 years ago

Venus is very hot for us to stay there

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Adham answered 11 months ago

Mars is the only planet we could survive.Jupiter is usually too cold. around -240 degrees celsius.WAY too cold.And venus is too close to the sun and covered in poisonous gas so no...Earth,the Moon, Phobos and Deimos(the two moons of Mars), and Mars.Oh and Pluto........JK.Pluto's is probably around -1000 degrees. o_O

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ctb425 answered 6 years ago

Many scientists believe Mars could be terraformed over time to support us.

Venus is simply too damn hot though, among other things.

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Mimiya answered 1 year ago

Because of the temperature.If we live in Venus we will die.Only tiny volcanos live in there.

hope this would help

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Jacky answered 1 year ago

no because the temperture and also the gases on Venus

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Could We Live on Jupiter?

by Fraser Cain  on May 14, 2015

When humans finally travel into space, where will we live? Will we ever be able to colonize gas giants like Jupiter?

NASA and Elon Musk have plans to get your ass to Mars.

It’s not impossible to imagine humans living and working on the Red Planet. Maybe they’ll be crusty asteroid miners making their fortune digging precious minerals out of the inexhaustible supply of space rocks. Pray they don’t dig too deeply. We should go ask Kuato, that creepy little guy knows everything! Except he’s always trying to get you to touch his funny little hands. Pass.

Venus looks like it’s a pretty great place to live, if we stick to the clouds in floating sky cities, plying the jet streams in our steampunk dirigibles. It’ll be fun, but first, does anyone know how to attach a cog to a top hat? Venus, here we come!

We should stay away from the surface, though, that place’ll kill you dead. We’re guessing a crispy shell holding in a gooey center, at least for the first few moments. Once we sort the living in space deal, is there anywhere we won’t be able to go?

A "true color" image of the surface of Jupiter's moon Europa as seen by the Galileo spacecraft. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SETI Institute A “true color” image of the surface of Jupiter’s moon Europa as seen by the Galileo spacecraft. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SETI Institute

We could create underwater cities on Europa or Ganymede, in the vast oceans with the exotic hopefully unarmed, peaceful, vegetarian Jovian whales.Like Jupiter? Could we live there?

Jupiter is the most massive planet in the Solar System. It has a diameter of almost 140,000 kilometers and it’s made mostly of hydrogen and helium; the same materials of the Sun. It has more than 317 times the mass of the Earth, providing its enormous gravity.

If you could stand on the cloud tops of Jupiter, you would experience 2.5 times the gravity that you experience on Earth. Then you’d fall to your death, because it’s a gas planet, made of hydrogen, the lightest element in the Universe. You can’t stand on gas, rookie.

If you tried to bring your Venusian Vernian exploratorium ballooncraft for a jaunt across the skies of Jupiter, it would sink like a copper bowler with lead goggles.

The only thing that’s lighter than hydrogen is hot hydrogen. Let’s say you could make a balloon, and fill it with superheated hydrogen and float around the cloud tops of Jupiter suffering the crushing gravity. Is there anything else that might kill you?

Did you leave Earth? Then of course there is. Everything is going to kill you, always. You might want to write that on the brass plaque next to your ship’s wheel with the carving of Shiva in the center there, Captain Baron Cogsworth Copperglass.

Jupiter's Great Red Spot and Ganymede's Shadow. Image Credit: NASA/ESA/A. Simon (Goddard Space Flight Center) Jupiter’s Great Red Spot and Ganymede’s Shadow. Image Credit: NASA/ESA/A. Simon (Goddard Space Flight Center)

Jupiter is surrounded by an enormous magnetic field, ten times more powerful than Earth’s. It traps particles and then whips them around like an accelerator. This radiation is a million times more powerful than the Earth’s Van Allen belts. Our big human meat roasting concern during the Apollo days.

If you tried to get near the radiation belts without insufficient shielding. It’d be bad. Just picture jamming your copper and brass steamwork fantasy into a giant microwave.

Is it possible there’s a solid core, deep down within Jupiter? Somewhere we could live, and not have to worry about those pesky buoyancy problems? Probably. Astronomers think there are a few times the mass of the Earth in rocky material deep down inside.

Of course, the pressure and temperature are incomprehensible. The temperature at the core of Jupiter is thought to be 24,000 degrees Celsius. Hydrogen is crushed so tightly it becomes superheated liquid or strange new flavors of ice. It becomes a metal.

The moral, we’re not equipped to go there. Let alone set up shop. So, let’s just stick with fantasizing your adventures as Emperor Esquire Beardweirdy Brassnozzle Steamypantaloons.

In his classic book 2001, Arthur C. Clarke said that “all these worlds are yours except Europa, attempt no landing there”. Well that’s crazy.

Europa’s awesome, we’re totally landing there, especially if we discover alien whales. So, Europa first. Besides, it’s just a book. So, Jupiter is the worst. Do not navigate your airship into that harbour.

What’s the worst possible environment you can imagine to try and live on? Tell us in the comments below.

About Fraser Cain

Fraser Cain is the publisher of Universe Today. He's also the co-host of Astronomy Cast with Dr. Pamela Gay.

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Comments on this entry are closed.

Steven May 14, 2015, 11:55 AM

Cool but you need to read Clifford Simak’s “A Choice of Gods” – see https://books.google.com/books?id=1VdDstjI4HIC

In it humanity lands VR capable robots on Saturn’s “core” and it turns out the experience is so intoxicating we build robots capable of housing our personalities and we leave Earth – and leave a sentient robot on the surface watching successive intelligent life evolve on the planet.

I wont give away the end of the story but it turns out humanity wasn’t just the people that went to Saturn….



. Link

BlackWolfStanding May 14, 2015, 1:52 PM

The weirdest possible place to locate would be on a T-class Brown Dwarf. It would provide all the heat energy we could possibly use while giving use a very long term place to habitat. This type of place is not absolutely beyond our technology to habitate. The 800 to 1,880 degrees Fahrenheit is not totally unrealistically hot to establish platforms to hold cities on. And when other stars start to go out in the Universe and star creation ceases, this may be the only option for long term human life. . Link

Rick Bennette May 14, 2015, 2:56 PM

Not to many materials for ‘platforms’ could withstand 1800 degrees F. For the few that could, they’d make a nice hot plate for frying humans. . Link

BlackWolfStanding May 14, 2015, 3:59 PM

Your thinking that maybe we could not vent heat off or out of the city with an unlimited energy supply? The trick is to make the platform in layers with plenty of ventilation in any air spaces. Huge city wide air conditioners would take excessive heat out of the air and pump it up out of the city. Water supply will come from any comets or other bodies that are primarily ice. Recycling will be a must. . Link

Jim E May 14, 2015, 4:24 PM

I’m wondering how you would make use of that heat energy, given the laws of thermodynamics. The heat has to flow down a gradient of some sort, so you would need a big radiator that can send your waste heat into space. Challenging. . Link

BlackWolfStanding May 14, 2015, 8:29 PM

This is a non-issue. Pulling heat out of the city means you’ll have higher than 1,880 degrees Fahrenheit heat exiting the city wide air conditioner. Why? Because 1,880 degrees Fahrenheit heat will always be trying to get into the city. Pumping it out will be the primary job of it’s citizens. Inspectors, engineers, tool makers, metallurgists, they will all be dedicating themselves to keeping the primary and all secondary air conditioners running. When you think of air conditioners, you are thinking of small window mounted units in your home. That remove 80 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit out of the air (about 20 to 30 total degrees) to leave the air at 68 to 72 degrees Fahrenheit. Of course the exhaust will leave you wondering about how to get it out of the city. But the city wide air conditioning units will be pumping 1,880 degrees Fahrenheit worth of heat out of the air to make the temperature near 70 degrees. More than enough heat just to vent outside the city. . Link

Rick Bennette May 14, 2015, 2:54 PM

Forget for a moment about the weirdest places to support human life in space. There are some cities throughout our own world that seem less hospitable than the surface of Mars. At least on Mars, there aren’t people shooting at you. . Link

FarAwayLongAgo May 15, 2015, 9:22 AM

Really? Do you have some example or are you just blindly recklessly hatemongering against human life? . Link

Listerd00169 May 15, 2015, 10:44 AM

“all these worlds are yours except Europa, attempt no landing there” actually comes from 2010:Odyssey two by Arthur C. Clarke not 2001 ^_^ . Link

Aqua4U May 15, 2015, 2:27 PM

It’s a BIG universe. Imagine that practically anything and everything you can or ever will imagine about alien lifeforms is probably a reality and is happening somewhere out in the apparently infinite expanses of our universe? How about, beings that feed on high energy x-ray or even gamma ray radiation? How about beings whose bodies are composed of plasma? After all.. there is flat out NO WAY there could already be life on Jupiter… maybe. . Link

Dilgin May 15, 2015, 4:12 PM

until I looked at the draft of $7949, I didnt believe that…my… neighbour was truley earning money part time on their laptop. . there uncle started doing this 4 less than twenty months and a short time ago cleared the mortgage on their villa and purchased a top of the range BMW. Get More Info……………….http://2.gp/GbUh . Link

BlackWolfStanding May 16, 2015, 12:47 PM

Is that you daily income? Nice to be in the poor house. . Link

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Teen Titans, Titans Together


 * icontonicshadow:

by TonicShadow, Nov 4, 2007, 4:41:11 PM Literature / Fan Fiction

TITANS TOGETHER

Prologue

………………………………............................................................................................................

Dark: (voice over) Patiently, I watched you all…

………………………………............................................................................................................

Dark: (voice over) …waiting for the moment to strike.

………………………………............................................................................................................

Dark: (voice over) You forged your alliance.

………………………………............................................................................................................

Dark: (voice over) You trusted without cause.

………………………………............................................................................................................

Dark: (voice over) And finally, when you thought your world was safe…

………………………………............................................................................................................

Dark: (voice over) …it fell apart before your very eyes.

………………………………............................................................................................................

Dark: (voice over) You are merely pawns in a game—

………………………………............................................................................................................

Dark: (voice over) —and you have played my part perfectly.

………………………………............................................................................................................

Dark: (voice over) There is nowhere you can hide.

………………………………............................................................................................................

Dark: (voice over) And there is nothing you can do to stop me.

………………………………............................................................................................................

Dark: (voice over) Each small victory brings me closer to an even greater prize.

………………………………............................................................................................................

Dark: (voice over) The elimination of an entire generation of heroes.

………………………………............................................................................................................

Dark: (voice over) And I owe it all to you, Robin.

………………………………............................................................................................................

Dark: (voice over) Your network has been crushed. (A lever is pulled; the conveyor carries Speedy along.) Your friends have no way to communicate or follow your commands.

………………………………............................................................................................................

Dark: Together you may be formidable…

………………………………............................................................................................................

Dark: (voice over) …but apart…

………………………………............................................................................................................

Dark: (voice over) …you are lost, powerless, mine.

………………………………............................................................................................................

Dark: (voice over) You will fall… (Slow pan away from the equipment.) …one by one.

………………………………............................................................................................................

Dark: Who among you can possibly stop me now?

………………………………............................................................................................................

Beast Boy: Now try and follow me.

………………………………............................................................................................................

OPENING THEME

Act One

………………………………............................................................................................................

Beast Boy: I never thought I’d have to use this place.

………………………………............................................................................................................

Beast Boy: You know, for a top-secret emergency outpost, it’s actually kinda homey.

………………………………............................................................................................................

Beast Boy: Oh, Más! I, uh…uh, where’s your brother?

Más: (panicked) Señor Beast Boy! Se llevaron a Menos! Por favor, qué está pasando? No sé qué hacer! Fuimos atacados por Cinderblock y el Johnny Rancid, y luego mi comunicador Titans explotó!

[“Mr. Beast Boy! They took Menos away! Please, what’s going on? I don’t know what to do! We were attacked by Cinderblock and the Johnny Rancid, and then my Titans communicator exploded!”]

………………………………............................................................................................................

Beast Boy: Más, slow down! (standing up) I can’t listen that fast.

Más: (calmer) Somos los únicos que quedamos? [“Are we the only ones left?”]

Pantha: (from o.c.) No, my friend.

………………………………............................................................................................................

Pantha: This Brain—he sent the wrong opponents to capture me. (She reaches them.) Pantha remains undefeated!

………………………………............................................................................................................

Pantha: What is this?

………………………………............................................................................................................

Beast Boy: It’s the Herald!

Herald: Good to see we’re not alone. I brought someone with me.

………………………………............................................................................................................

Herald: (addressing portal) All right, Jericho. It’s cool.

………………………………............................................................................................................

Pantha: I’d hoped to find the Teen Titans, not…this. I believe I will be better on my own.

Más: Debo encontrar a mi hermano. [“I should find my brother.”]

………………………………............................................................................................................

Herald: (turning to leave) I guess I’ll go back to my own dimension.

Beast Boy: STOP!! (Slow pan toward the door.) Nobody’s going anywhere! We have to stick together. (Back to him, addressing Más and Pantha.) I need all of you with me if we’re going to stop the Brain.

………………………………............................................................................................................

Beast Boy: And we are going to stop him.

………………………………............................................................................................................

Beast Boy: He has us on the run. That means the Brain will never expect us to take the fight to him.

………………………………............................................................................................................

Pantha: Why should you be in charge? (Head-on view.)

Beast Boy: I’ve been fighting these guys longer than any of you. I know what we’re up against.

………………………………............................................................................................................

Beast Boy: Look. This may not be the perfect team, but it’s all we’ve got. We’re the Teen Titans now. If we work together, we can accomplish anything.

………………………………............................................................................................................

Beast Boy: So…exactly what can you guys do?

Herald: (standing) My horn opens rifts in space.

Pantha: (standing, flexing arms) I am strong!

Más: Antes iba rápido, pero sin mi hermano… (He trails off into a sad little moan.)

[“I used to go fast before, but without my brother…”]

………………………………............................................................................................................

Beast Boy: (unimpressed) Okay…this might be tougher than I thought.

………………………………............................................................................................................

Más: Hey! Rockman! Me estás buscando? [“Are you looking for me?”]

………………………………............................................................................................................

Más: (nervously, over shoulder) Creo que no está funcionando. [“I think it isn’t working.”]

………………………………............................................................................................................

Beast Boy: Titans, go!

………………………………............................................................................................................

Herald: Jericho! Get ready!

………………………………............................................................................................................

Beast Boy, Más: Cool! (CB sits up.)

Herald: Jericho? Are you in there?

………………………………............................................................................................................

Jericho/CB: I’m here. He may have bricks for brains, but I can see enough. The Brotherhood base is in Paris.

Herald: Done.

………………………………............................................................................................................

Pantha: This plan of yours—I hope it works.

………………………………............................................................................................................

Act Two

………………………………............................................................................................................

Herald: (to Beast Boy) How do we know his brother’s here?

Más: (irritated, stopping) Porque, Trumpet Boy, nuestros poderes nos da una conexión magnética. Lo más cercanos que estamos— (sweat drop on Herald’s head) —lo más fuerte es nuestro enlace. (walking on) Qué, no sabes nada?

[“Because, Trumpet Boy, our powers give us a magnetic connection. The closer we are, the stronger our link is. What, don’t you know anything?”]

………………………………............................................................................................................

Pantha: He said it was a twin thing.

………………………………............................................................................................................

Más: Estamos cerca! Por acá! [“We’re close! Through here!”]

………………………………............................................................................................................

Beast Boy: Dude! What’s wrong? (Zoom in slightly.)

Más: Menos…

………………………………............................................................................................................

Dark: (from o.c.) Victory is at hand.

………………………………............................................................................................................

Dark: And for your part, a gift. (From-the-ground view of the four.) I give you Robin.

………………………………............................................................................................................

Robin: (straining against glass) This isn’t over! (From-the-ground view of Dark, zooming in.)

Dark: For you, it is.

………………………………............................................................................................................

Beast Boy: We have to keep moving.

………………………………............................................................................................................

Pantha: Stop! Someone is coming.

………………………………............................................................................................................

LB: At last, the little punk will get it!

………………………………............................................................................................................

PH: Cinderblock! They’re about to freeze Robin! (running off) Hurry or you’ll miss it! (The possessed hulk stumps off after him.) By the way, nice catch, sir.

Jericho/CB: Thanks.

………………………………............................................................................................................

PH: Since when have you been able to talk…sir?

………………………………............................................................................................................

PH: (stumbling back) Hey! (clapping hand over own face) Get outta me!

LB: What is the meaning of this? (CB topples backward to the floor.)

Pantha: (dramatically) It is called an ambush!

………………………………............................................................................................................

PH: Quit hitting myself! (He socks his own jaw.) Quit hitting myself! (Again.)

………………………………............................................................................................................

Pantha: No one can escape the Pantha’s claw!

………………………………............................................................................................................

LB: (backing up) I will go now.

………………………………............................................................................................................

Beast Boy: Let’s move!

………………………………............................................................................................................

Beast Boy: All right, Brain! You’re going…

………………………………............................................................................................................

Beast Boy: (scared) …down?

………………………………............................................................................................................

Beast Boy: (forehead vein throbbing) What’s so funny?

………………………………............................................................................................................

Dark: The Brain is no longer in charge anymore. I have taken over. Also the five of you against all of them? Even I find that amusing. (The floor.)

Beast Boy: Tell me where our friends are!

Dark: (from o.c.) Beast Boy… (The platform.) …you always try so hard—and always fail so completely. This time will be no exception.

Beast Boy: Where are they?!?

Rouge: Would you like to say hello?

………………………………............................................................................................................

Más: Menos! (Pull back; Beast Boy leans in.)

Beast Boy: (horrified) No…

Rouge: (mock pity) Oh, but it seems you are too late.

………………………………............................................................................................................

Beast Boy: (clenching fist) I think we can take ’em.

………………………………............................................................................................................

Pantha: (socking fist into palm) I think you are correct.

………………………………............................................................................................................

Herald: I don’t like your music.

………………………………............................................................................................................

Pantha: Who is next?

………………………………............................................................................................................

Rouge: They fight with much enthusiasm. Allow me to crush them. (She prepares to jump down.)

Dark: No, let our friends have that pleasure. The end for these kids will come soon enough.

………………………………............................................................................................................

Dark: (from o.c.) Did you think your pathetic resistance could actually stop what I have created? (Cut to it, Immortus, and Rouge on their platform.) Once again, Beast Boy, you’ve failed. Rouge, add them to the collection.

………………………………............................................................................................................

Rouge: Any final words?

………………………………............................................................................................................

Beast Boy: Yeah. I wouldn’t stand there if I were you.

………………………………............................................................................................................

Cyborg: Lesson number one—never throw me down a hole unless you make sure I stay there!

………………………………............................................................................................................

Starfire: The lesson two—we never give up!

………………………………............................................................................................................

Raven: Lesson three—your secret lair isn’t very secret!

………………………………............................................................................................................

Majin Buu: And lesson four—never underestimate a Teen Titan!

………………………………............................................................................................................

Beast Boy: Titans! Together!

………………………………............................................................................................................

Act Three

………………………………............................................................................................................

Cyborg: (as Red Star flies off) I don’t even know where to begin! (Pull back to frame his buddy.)

Beast Boy: (grimly, clenching fist) I do.

………………………………............................................................................................................

Beast Boy: I’m not stopping until Dark’s mine.

………………………………............................................................................................................

Cyborg: Well… (readying cannon) …let’s get it started!

………………………………............................................................................................................

Rouge: I should have crushed you long ago.

………………………………............................................................................................................

Raven: Okay, fine.

Majin Buu: Just stay away from anyone older than you.

………………………………............................................................................................................

Menos: (gasping for breath) Necesito chocolate caliente. [“I need hot chocolate.”]

………………………………............................................................................................................

Más, Menos: Más y Menos! Sí podemos! [“Más and Menos! Yes we can!”]

………………………………............................................................................................................

Más: Cómo funciona? [“How does it work?”]

Menos: No tengo idea! Es más complicado que el Space Shuttle!

[“I have no idea! It’s more complicated than the Space Shuttle!”]

………………………………............................................................................................................

Rouge: (mockingly) Is this part of the plan, leader?

Dark: A minor set back.

………………………………............................................................................................................

Rouge: Your set back is no longer minor. I do things my way now.

………………………………............................................................................................................

Robin: (from o.c.) Starfire!

………………………………............................................................................................................

Robin: (smiling, extending hand) I could use a hand.

………………………………............................................................................................................

Raven: So, does anyone actually have a plan?

Starfire: (warming up hands, as Majin Buu and Cyborg backs in) Yes! We kick the butt!

Majin Buu: Just like old times! (Here comes Beast Boy.)

Beast Boy: Except better! (Pan to Robin.)

Robin: Let’s finish this.

………………………………............................................................................................................

Immortus: Charge!

………………………………............................................................................................................

Gizmo: Cludge it! (They turn to bail out.) Let’s get outta here!

………………………………............................................................................................................

Gizmo: Huh?!?

Dragon: Now’s the time when you’re probably thinking, “I shouldn’t have hooked up with these Brotherhood guys.” Hate to say it, but “Told you!”

………………………………............................................................................................................

Cyborg: Dragon?

Dragon: Sorry I’m late.

………………………………............................................................................................................

Dragon: I had to pick up a friend.

………………………………............................................................................................................

Gizmo: You’re with him?!? Traitor! (Now Cyborg has subdued CF.)

Dragon: (to Jinx) You probably have some catching up to do.

………………………………............................................................................................................

Jinx: Nothing personal.

………………………………............................................................................................................

Cyborg: Now that was unexpected.

………………………………............................................................................................................

Pantha: I have defeated you. (pulling his mask away) I am honor-bound to claim my prize!

………………………………............................................................................................................

Más, Menos: (impressed) Ooooh! Es Coollyo! [“He’s cool!”]

………………………………............................................................................................................

Raven: Is it just me, or is this getting easier? (She stops short.)

Rouge: (from o.c.) Children…

………………………………............................................................................................................

Rouge: …when will you learn?

………………………………............................................................................................................

Raven: (to the others) Like I said.

………………………………............................................................................................................

Jinx: (innocently) Oops. Did I do that?

………………………………............................................................................................................

Dark: I think it’s time for me to leave.

………………………………............................................................................................................

Robin: You’re not going anywhere! (Dark turns to face them.)

Dark: Then you give me no choice.

………………………………............................................................................................................

Dark: A little something to keep you busy.

………………………………............................................................................................................

Cyborg: Aw, man, and just when this was starting to get fun!

………………………………............................................................................................................

Beast Boy: (starting a run) He is not getting away.

………………………………............................................................................................................

Robin: It’s over, Dark. (Beast Boy flies up and resumes human form in a crouch.)

Beast Boy: Isn’t that obvious? Duh!

Dark: Sometimes the only way to win is to clear everything.

………………………………............................................................................................................

Dark: In only a moment, this entire base will be gone.

………………………………............................................................................................................

Cyborg: It’s a fusion device— (Starfire flies in.) —and a big one. I have no idea how to shut it down. (truly scared) We need a miracle.

Majin Buu: (getting an idea) No. We need a friend.

………………………………............................................................................................................

Dark: (from o.c.) I am afraid you have simply run out of options.

………………………………............................................................................................................

Dark: Pity.

………………………………............................................................................................................

Beast Boy: Going down.

………………………………............................................................................................................

Herald: Any requests?

Cyborg: Far away would be good!

………………………………............................................................................................................

Beast Boy: (to Dark) You know, bringing all these guys together was pretty stupid.

………………………………............................................................................................................

Dark: You think you have won. (pan to the Robin, Starfire and Majin Buu) It’s far from it.

………………………………............................................................................................................

Dark: Soon you will all see the future… (a ring of fire surround Dark then pan to Dark) …and it is a Dark one.

………………………………............................................................................................................

Beast Boy: (from inside) Home sweet home!

………………………………............................................................................................................

Cyborg: I sure missed this place. (Dragon’s reflection appears in the glass, surprising him.)

Dragon: (looking around) Sure whatever! Got any eats?

………………………………............................................................................................................

Starfire: The Dr. Light?

Raven: Somehow that doesn’t surprise me.

………………………………............................................................................................................

Cyborg: Maybe we oughta show him who he’s up against.

Raven: He’s totally gonna freak this time.

………………………………............................................................................................................

Robin: (voice over) Titans! Go!

………………………………............................................................................................................

End

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Statue of Liberty

Statue of Liberty 7.jpg

Location Liberty Island Manhattan, New York City, New York,[1] United States

Coordinates 40°41'21?N 74°2'40?WCoordinates: 40°41'21?N 74°2'40?W

Height

Base to torch: 151 feet 1 inch (46 meters) Ground to torch: 305 feet 1 inch (93 meters)

Dedicated October 28, 1886

Restored 1938, 1984–1986, 2011–2012

Sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi

Visitors 3.2 million (in 2009)[2]

Governing body U.S. National Park Service

UNESCO World Heritage Site

Type Cultural

Criteria i, vi

Designated 1984 (8th session)

Reference no. 307

State Party United States

Region Europe and North America

U.S. National Monument

Designated October 15, 1924

Designated by President Calvin Coolidge[3]

U.S. National Register of Historic Places Official name: Statue of Liberty National Monument, Ellis Island and Liberty Island

Designated October 15, 1966[4]

Reference no. 66000058

New Jersey Register of Historic Places

Designated May 27, 1971

Reference no. 1535[5]

New York City Landmark

Type Individual

Designated September 14, 1976[6]

Statue of Liberty is located in New York City

Statue of Liberty

Location of Statue of Liberty in the New York Harbor in New York City

The Statue of Liberty (Liberty Enlightening the World; French: La Liberté éclairant le monde) is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor in New York City, in the United States. The copper statue, designed by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, a French sculptor, built by Gustave Eiffel, and dedicated on October 28, 1886, was a gift to the United States from the people of France.

The statue is of a robed female figure representing Libertas, the Roman goddess, who bears a torch and a tabula ansata (a tablet evoking the law) upon which is inscribed the date of the American Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776. A broken chain lies at her feet. The statue is an icon of freedom and of the United States, and was a welcoming sight to immigrants arriving from abroad.

Bartholdi was inspired by French law professor and politician Édouard René de Laboulaye, who is said to have commented in 1865 that any monument raised to American independence would properly be a joint project of the French and American peoples. He may have been minded to honor the Union victory in the American Civil War and the end of slavery. Due to the troubled political situation in France, work on the statue did not commence until the early 1870s. In 1875, Laboulaye proposed that the French finance the statue and the Americans provide the site and build the pedestal. Bartholdi completed the head and the torch-bearing arm before the statue was fully designed, and these pieces were exhibited for publicity at international expositions.

The torch-bearing arm was displayed at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1876, and in Madison Square Park in Manhattan from 1876 to 1882. Fundraising proved difficult, especially for the Americans, and by 1885 work on the pedestal was threatened due to lack of funds. Publisher Joseph Pulitzer of the New York World started a drive for donations to complete the project that attracted more than 120,000 contributors, most of whom gave less than a dollar. The statue was constructed in France, shipped overseas in crates, and assembled on the completed pedestal on what was then called Bedloe's Island. The statue's completion was marked by New York's first ticker-tape parade and a dedication ceremony presided over by President Grover Cleveland.

The statue was administered by the United States Lighthouse Board until 1901 and then by the Department of War; since 1933 it has been maintained by the National Park Service. The statue was closed for renovation for much of 1938. In the early 1980s, it was found to have deteriorated to such an extent that a major restoration was required. While the statue was closed from 1984 to 1986, the torch and a large part of the internal structure were replaced. After the September 11 attacks in 2001, it was closed for reasons of safety and security; the pedestal reopened in 2004 and the statue in 2009, with limits on the number of visitors allowed to ascend to the crown. The statue, including the pedestal and base, was closed for a year until October 28, 2012, so that a secondary staircase and other safety features could be installed; Liberty Island remained open. However, one day after the reopening, Liberty Island closed due to the effects of Hurricane Sandy in New York; the statue and island opened again on July 4, 2013. Public access to the balcony surrounding the torch has been barred for safety reasons since 1916.

Contents [hide] 1 Design and construction process 1.1 Origin 1.2 Design, style, and symbolism 1.3 Announcement and early work 1.4 Construction in France 1.5 The pedestal 1.5.1 Design 1.5.2 Fundraising 1.5.3 Construction

1.6 Dedication

2 After dedication 2.1 Lighthouse Board and War Department (1886–1933) 2.2 Early National Park Service years (1933–1982) 2.3 Renovation and rededication (1982–2000) 2.4 Closures and reopening (2001–present)

3 Access and attributes 3.1 Location and tourism 3.2 Inscriptions, plaques, and dedications 3.3 Physical characteristics

4 Depictions 5 See also 6 References 7 External links

Design and construction process

Origin

According to the National Park Service, the idea for the Statue of Liberty was first proposed by Edouard de Laboulaye the president of the French Anti-Slavery Society and a prominent and important political thinker of his time. The project is traced to a conversation between Édouard René de Laboulaye, a staunch abolitionist and Frédéric Bartholdi, a sculptor in mid-1865. In after-dinner conversation at his home near Versailles, Laboulaye, an ardent supporter of the Union in the American Civil War, is supposed to have said: "If a monument should rise in the United States, as a memorial to their independence, I should think it only natural if it were built by united effort—a common work of both our nations."[7] The National Park Service, in a 2000 report, however, deemed this a legend traced to an 1885 fundraising pamphlet, and that the statue was most likely conceived in 1870.[8] In another essay on their website, the Park Service suggested that Laboulaye was minded to honor the Union victory and its consequences, "With the abolition of slavery and the Union's victory in the Civil War in 1865, Laboulaye's wishes of freedom and democracy were turning into a reality in the United States. In order to honor these achievements, Laboulaye proposed that a gift be built for the United States on behalf of France. Laboulaye hoped that by calling attention to the recent achievements of the United States, the French people would be inspired to call for their own democracy in the face of a repressive monarchy."[9]

Bartholdi's design patent According to sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, who later recounted the story, Laboulaye's comment was not intended as a proposal, but it inspired Bartholdi.[7] Given the repressive nature of the regime of Napoleon III, Bartholdi took no immediate action on the idea except to discuss it with Laboulaye. Bartholdi was in any event busy with other possible projects; in the late 1860s, he approached Isma'il Pasha, Khedive of Egypt, with a plan to build a huge lighthouse in the form of an ancient Egyptian female fellah or peasant, robed and holding a torch aloft, at the northern entrance to the Suez Canal in Port Said. Sketches and models were made of the proposed work, though it was never erected. There was a classical precedent for the Suez proposal, the Colossus of Rhodes: an ancient bronze statue of the Greek god of the sun, Helios. This statue is believed to have been over 100 feet (30 m) high, and it similarly stood at a harbor entrance and carried a light to guide ships.[10]

Any large project was further delayed by the Franco-Prussian War, in which Bartholdi served as a major of militia. In the war, Napoleon III was captured and deposed. Bartholdi's home province of Alsace was lost to the Prussians, and a more liberal republic was installed in France.[7] As Bartholdi had been planning a trip to the United States, he and Laboulaye decided the time was right to discuss the idea with influential Americans.[11] In June 1871, Bartholdi crossed the Atlantic, with letters of introduction signed by Laboulaye.[12]

Arriving at New York Harbor, Bartholdi focused on Bedloe's Island as a site for the statue, struck by the fact that vessels arriving in New York had to sail past it. He was delighted to learn that the island was owned by the United States government—it had been ceded by the New York State Legislature in 1800 for harbor defense. It was thus, as he put it in a letter to Laboulaye: "land common to all the states."[13] As well as meeting many influential New Yorkers, Bartholdi visited President Ulysses S. Grant, who assured him that it would not be difficult to obtain the site for the statue.[14] Bartholdi crossed the United States twice by rail, and met many Americans he felt would be sympathetic to the project.[12] But he remained concerned that popular opinion on both sides of the Atlantic was insufficiently supportive of the proposal, and he and Laboulaye decided to wait before mounting a public campaign.[15]

Bartholdi's Lion of Belfort Bartholdi had made a first model of his concept in 1870.[16] The son of a friend of Bartholdi's, American artist John LaFarge, later maintained that Bartholdi made the first sketches for the statue during his U.S. visit at La Farge's Rhode Island studio. Bartholdi continued to develop the concept following his return to France.[16] He also worked on a number of sculptures designed to bolster French patriotism after the defeat by the Prussians. One of these was the Lion of Belfort, a monumental sculpture carved in sandstone below the fortress of Belfort, which during the war had resisted a Prussian siege for over three months. The defiant lion, 73 feet (22 m) long and half that in height, displays an emotional quality characteristic of Romanticism, which Bartholdi would later bring to the Statue of Liberty.[17]

Design, style, and symbolism

Detail from a fresco by Constantino Brumidi in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., showing two early symbols of America: Columbia (left) and the Indian princess Bartholdi and Laboulaye considered how best to express the idea of American liberty.[18] In early American history, two female figures were frequently used as cultural symbols of the nation.[19] One of these symbols, the personified Columbia, was seen as an embodiment of the United States in the manner that Britannia was identified with the United Kingdom and Marianne came to represent France. Columbia had supplanted the earlier figure of an Indian princess, which had come to be regarded as uncivilized and derogatory toward Americans.[19] The other significant female icon in American culture was a representation of Liberty, derived from Libertas, the goddess of freedom widely worshipped in ancient Rome, especially among emancipated slaves. A Liberty figure adorned most American coins of the time,[18] and representations of Liberty appeared in popular and civic art, including Thomas Crawford's Statue of Freedom (1863) atop the dome of the United States Capitol Building.[18]

Artists of the 18th and 19th centuries striving to evoke republican ideals commonly used representations of Libertas as an allegorical symbol.[18] A figure of Liberty was also depicted on the Great Seal of France.[18] However, Bartholdi and Laboulaye avoided an image of revolutionary liberty such as that depicted in Eugène Delacroix's famed Liberty Leading the People (1830). In this painting, which commemorates France's Revolution of 1830, a half-clothed Liberty leads an armed mob over the bodies of the fallen.[19] Laboulaye had no sympathy for revolution, and so Bartholdi's figure would be fully dressed in flowing robes.[19] Instead of the impression of violence in the Delacroix work, Bartholdi wished to give the statue a peaceful appearance and chose a torch, representing progress, for the figure to hold.[20]

Crawford's statue was designed in the early 1850s. It was originally to be crowned with a pileus, the cap given to emancipated slaves in ancient Rome. Secretary of War Jefferson Davis, a Southerner who would later serve as president of the Confederate States of America, was concerned that the pileus would be taken as an abolitionist symbol. He ordered that it be changed to a helmet.[21] Delacroix's figure wears a pileus,[19] and Bartholdi at first considered placing one on his figure as well. Instead, he used a diadem, or crown, to top its head.[22] In so doing, he avoided a reference to Marianne, who invariably wears a pileus.[23] The seven rays form a halo or aureole.[24] They evoke the sun, the seven seas, and the seven continents,[25] and represent another means, besides the torch, whereby Liberty enlightens the world.[20]

Bartholdi's early models were all similar in concept: a female figure in neoclassical style representing liberty, wearing a stola and pella (gown and cloak, common in depictions of Roman goddesses) and holding a torch aloft. According to popular accounts, the face was modeled after that of Charlotte Beysser Bartholdi, the sculptor's mother,[26] but Regis Huber, the curator of the Bartholdi Museum is on record as saying that this, as well as other similar speculations, have no basis in fact.[27] He designed the figure with a strong, uncomplicated silhouette, which would be set off well by its dramatic harbor placement and allow passengers on vessels entering New York Bay to experience a changing perspective on the statue as they proceeded toward Manhattan. He gave it bold classical contours and applied simplified modeling, reflecting the huge scale of the project and its solemn purpose.[20] Bartholdi wrote of his technique:

Thomas Crawford's Statue of Freedom

The surfaces should be broad and simple, defined by a bold and clear design, accentuated in the important places. The enlargement of the details or their multiplicity is to be feared. By exaggerating the forms, in order to render them more clearly visible, or by enriching them with details, we would destroy the proportion of the work. Finally, the model, like the design, should have a summarized character, such as one would give to a rapid sketch. Only it is necessary that this character should be the product of volition and study, and that the artist, concentrating his knowledge, should find the form and the line in its greatest simplicity.[28]

Bartholdi made alterations in the design as the project evolved. Bartholdi considered having Liberty hold a broken chain, but decided this would be too divisive in the days after the Civil War. The erected statue does rise over a broken chain, half-hidden by her robes and difficult to see from the ground.[22] Bartholdi was initially uncertain of what to place in Liberty's left hand; he settled on a tabula ansata, a keystone-shaped tablet[29] used to evoke the concept of law.[30] Though Bartholdi greatly admired the United States Constitution, he chose to inscribe "JULY IV MDCCLXXVI" on the tablet, thus associating the date of the country's Declaration of Independence with the concept of liberty.[29]

Bartholdi interested his friend and mentor, architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, in the project.[27] As chief engineer,[27] Viollet-le-Duc designed a brick pier within the statue, to which the skin would be anchored.[31] After consultations with the metalwork foundry Gaget, Gauthier & Co., Viollet-le-Duc chose the metal which would be used for the skin, copper sheets, and the method used to shape it, repoussé, in which the sheets were heated and then struck with wooden hammers.[27][32] An advantage of this choice was that the entire statue would be light for its volume, as the copper need be only .094 inches (2.4 mm) thick. Bartholdi had decided on a height of just over 151 feet (46 m) for the statue, double that of Italy's Sancarlone and the German statue of Arminius, both made with the same method.[33]

Announcement and early work

By 1875, France was enjoying improved political stability and a recovering postwar economy. Growing interest in the upcoming Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia led Laboulaye to decide it was time to seek public support.[34] In September 1875, he announced the project and the formation of the Franco-American Union as its fundraising arm. With the announcement, the statue was given a name, Liberty Enlightening the World.[35] The French would finance the statue; Americans would be expected to pay for the pedestal.[36] The announcement provoked a generally favorable reaction in France, though many Frenchmen resented the United States for not coming to their aid during the war with Prussia.[35] French monarchists opposed the statue, if for no other reason than it was proposed by the liberal Laboulaye, who had recently been elected a senator for life.[36] Laboulaye arranged events designed to appeal to the rich and powerful, including a special performance at the Paris Opera on April 25, 1876, that featured a new cantata by composer Charles Gounod. The piece was titled La Liberté éclairant le monde, the French version of the statue's announced name.[35]

Stereoscopic image of right arm and torch of the Statue of Liberty, 1876 Centennial Exposition Despite its initial focus on the elites, the Union was successful in raising funds from across French society. Schoolchildren and ordinary citizens gave, as did 181 French municipalities. Laboulaye's political allies supported the call, as did descendants of the French contingent in the American Revolutionary War. Less idealistically, contributions came from those who hoped for American support in the French attempt to build the Panama Canal. The copper may have come from multiple sources and some of it is said to have come from a mine in Visnes, Norway,[37] though this has not been conclusively determined after testing samples.[38] According to Cara Sutherland in her book on the statue for the Museum of the City of New York, 90,800 kilos (200,000 pounds) was needed to build the statue, and the French copper industrialist Eugène Secrétan donated 58,100 kilos (128,000 pounds) of copper.[39] Historian Yasmin Khan, in her 2010 book about the statue, states that the firm of Japy Frères, copper merchants, donated copper valued at 64,000 francs (about $16,000 at the time or the equivalent of US$ 354,000 in 2015).[40][41]

Although plans for the statue had not been finalized, Bartholdi moved forward with fabrication of the right arm, bearing the torch, and the head. Work began at the Gaget, Gauthier & Co. workshop.[42] In May 1876, Bartholdi traveled to the United States as a member of a French delegation to the Centennial Exhibition,[43] and arranged for a huge painting of the statue to be shown in New York as part of the Centennial festivities.[44] The arm did not arrive in Philadelphia until August; because of its late arrival, it was not listed in the exhibition catalogue, and while some reports correctly identified the work, others called it the "Colossal Arm" or "Bartholdi Electric Light". The exhibition grounds contained a number of monumental artworks to compete for fairgoers' interest, including an outsized fountain designed by Bartholdi.[45] Nevertheless, the arm proved popular in the exhibition's waning days, and visitors would climb up to the balcony of the torch to view the fairgrounds.[46] After the exhibition closed, the arm was transported to New York, where it remained on display in Madison Square Park for several years before it was returned to France to join the rest of the statue.[46]

During his second trip to the United States, Bartholdi addressed a number of groups about the project, and urged the formation of American committees of the Franco-American Union.[47] Committees to raise money to pay for the foundation and pedestal were formed in New York, Boston, and Philadelphia.[48] The New York group eventually took on most of the responsibility for American fundraising and is often referred to as the "American Committee".[49] One of its members was 19-year-old Theodore Roosevelt, the future governor of New York and president of the United States.[47] On March 3, 1877, on his final full day in office, President Grant signed a joint resolution that authorized the President to accept the statue when it was presented by France and to select a site for it. President Rutherford B. Hayes, who took office the following day, selected the Bedloe's Island site that Bartholdi had proposed.[50]

Construction in France

The statue's head on exhibit at the Paris World's Fair, 1878 On his return to Paris in 1877, Bartholdi concentrated on completing the head, which was exhibited at the 1878 Paris World's Fair. Fundraising continued, with models of the statue put on sale. Tickets to view the construction activity at the Gaget, Gauthier & Co. workshop were also offered.[41] The French government authorized a lottery; among the prizes were valuable silver plate and a terracotta model of the statue. By the end of 1879, about 250,000 francs had been raised.[51]

The head and arm had been built with assistance from Viollet-le-Duc, who fell ill in 1879. He soon died, leaving no indication of how he intended to transition from the copper skin to his proposed masonry pier.[52] The following year, Bartholdi was able to obtain the services of the innovative designer and builder Gustave Eiffel.[41] Eiffel and his structural engineer, Maurice Koechlin, decided to abandon the pier and instead build an iron truss tower. Eiffel opted not to use a completely rigid structure, which would force stresses to accumulate in the skin and lead eventually to cracking. A secondary skeleton was attached to the center pylon, then, to enable the statue to move slightly in the winds of New York Harbor and as the metal expanded on hot summer days, he loosely connected the support structure to the skin using flat iron bars[27] which culminated in a mesh of metal straps, known as "saddles", that were riveted to the skin, providing firm support. In a labor-intensive process, each saddle had to be crafted individually.[53][54] To prevent galvanic corrosion between the copper skin and the iron support structure, Eiffel insulated the skin with asbestos impregnated with shellac.[55]

Eiffel's design made the statue one of the earliest examples of curtain wall construction, in which the exterior of the structure is not load bearing, but is instead supported by an interior framework. He included two interior spiral staircases, to make it easier for visitors to reach the observation point in the crown.[56] Access to an observation platform surrounding the torch was also provided, but the narrowness of the arm allowed for only a single ladder, 40 feet (12 m) long.[57] As the pylon tower arose, Eiffel and Bartholdi coordinated their work carefully so that completed segments of skin would fit exactly on the support structure.[58] The components of the pylon tower were built in the Eiffel factory in the nearby Parisian suburb of Levallois-Perret.[59]

The change in structural material from masonry to iron allowed Bartholdi to change his plans for the statue's assembly. He had originally expected to assemble the skin on-site as the masonry pier was built; instead he decided to build the statue in France and have it disassembled and transported to the United States for reassembly in place on Bedloe's Island.[60]

In a symbolic act, the first rivet placed into the skin, fixing a copper plate onto the statue's big toe, was driven by United States Ambassador to France Levi P. Morton.[61] The skin was not, however, crafted in exact sequence from low to high; work proceeded on a number of segments simultaneously in a manner often confusing to visitors.[62] Some work was performed by contractors—one of the fingers was made to Bartholdi's exacting specifications by a coppersmith in the southern French town of Montauban.[63] By 1882, the statue was complete up to the waist, an event Barthodi celebrated by inviting reporters to lunch on a platform built within the statue.[64] Laboulaye died in 1883. He was succeeded as chairman of the French committee by Ferdinand de Lesseps, builder of the Suez Canal. The completed statue was formally presented to Ambassador Morton at a ceremony in Paris on July 4, 1884, and de Lesseps announced that the French government had agreed to pay for its transport to New York.[65] The statue remained intact in Paris pending sufficient progress on the pedestal; by January 1885, this had occurred and the statue was disassembled and crated for its ocean voyage.[66]

The pedestal

Richard Morris Hunt's pedestal under construction in June 1885 The committees in the United States faced great difficulties in obtaining funds for the construction of the pedestal. The Panic of 1873 had led to an economic depression that persisted through much of the decade. The Liberty statue project was not the only such undertaking that had difficulty raising money: construction of the obelisk later known as the Washington Monument sometimes stalled for years; it would ultimately take over three-and-a-half decades to complete.[67] There was criticism both of Bartholdi's statue and of the fact that the gift required Americans to foot the bill for the pedestal. In the years following the Civil War, most Americans preferred realistic artworks depicting heroes and events from the nation's history, rather than allegorical works like the Liberty statue.[67] There was also a feeling that Americans should design American public works—the selection of Italian-born Constantino Brumidi to decorate the Capitol had provoked intense criticism, even though he was a naturalized U.S. citizen.[68] Harper's Weekly declared its wish that "M. Bartholdi and our French cousins had 'gone the whole figure' while they were about it, and given us statue and pedestal at once."[69] The New York Times stated that "no true patriot can countenance any such expenditures for bronze females in the present state of our finances."[70] Faced with these criticisms, the American committees took little action for several years.[70]

Design

Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, June 1885, showing (clockwise from left) woodcuts of the completed statue in Paris, Bartholdi, and the statue's interior structure The foundation of Bartholdi's statue was to be laid inside Fort Wood, a disused army base on Bedloe's Island constructed between 1807 and 1811. Since 1823, it had rarely been used, though during the Civil War, it had served as a recruiting station.[71] The fortifications of the structure were in the shape of an eleven-point star. The statue's foundation and pedestal were aligned so that it would face southeast, greeting ships entering the harbor from the Atlantic Ocean.[72] In 1881, the New York committee commissioned Richard Morris Hunt to design the pedestal. Within months, Hunt submitted a detailed plan, indicating that he expected construction to take about nine months.[73] He proposed a pedestal 114 feet (35 m) in height; faced with money problems, the committee reduced that to 89 feet (27 m).[74]

Hunt's pedestal design contains elements of classical architecture, including Doric portals, as well as some elements influenced by Aztec architecture.[27] The large mass is fragmented with architectural detail, in order to focus attention on the statue.[74] In form, it is a truncated pyramid, 62 feet (19 m) square at the base and 39.4 feet (12.0 m) at the top. The four sides are identical in appearance. Above the door on each side, there are ten disks upon which Bartholdi proposed to place the coats of arms of the states (between 1876 and 1889, there were 40 U.S. states), although this was not done. Above that, a balcony was placed on each side, framed by pillars. Bartholdi placed an observation platform near the top of the pedestal, above which the statue itself rises.[75] According to author Louis Auchincloss, the pedestal "craggily evokes the power of an ancient Europe over which rises the dominating figure of the Statue of Liberty".[74] The committee hired former army General Charles Pomeroy Stone to oversee the construction work.[76] Construction on the 15-foot-deep (4.6 m) foundation began in 1883, and the pedestal's cornerstone was laid in 1884.[73] In Hunt's original conception, the pedestal was to have been made of solid granite. Financial concerns again forced him to revise his plans; the final design called for poured concrete walls, up to 20 feet (6.1 m) thick, faced with granite blocks.[77][78] This Stony Creek granite came from the Beattie Quarry in Branford, Connecticut.[79] The concrete mass was the largest poured to that time.[78]

Norwegian immigrant civil engineer Joachim Goschen Giæver designed the structural framework for the Statue of Liberty. His work involved design computations, detailed fabrication and construction drawings, and oversight of construction. In completing his engineering for the statue’s frame, Giæver worked from drawings and sketches produced by Gustave Eiffel.[80][80]

Fundraising

Unpacking of the head of the Statue of Liberty, which was delivered on June 17, 1885 Fundraising for the statue had begun in 1882. The committee organized a large number of money-raising events.[81] As part of one such effort, an auction of art and manuscripts, poet Emma Lazarus was asked to donate an original work. She initially declined, stating she could not write a poem about a statue. At the time, she was also involved in aiding refugees to New York who had fled anti-Semitic pogroms in eastern Europe. These refugees were forced to live in conditions that the wealthy Lazarus had never experienced. She saw a way to express her empathy for these refugees in terms of the statue.[82] The resulting sonnet, "The New Colossus", including the iconic lines "Give me your tired, your poor/Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free", is uniquely identified with the Statue of Liberty and is inscribed on a plaque in the museum in its base.[83]

Even with these efforts, fundraising lagged. Grover Cleveland, the governor of New York, vetoed a bill to provide $50,000 for the statue project in 1884. An attempt the next year to have Congress provide $100,000, sufficient to complete the project, also failed. The New York committee, with only $3,000 in the bank, suspended work on the pedestal. With the project in jeopardy, groups from other American cities, including Boston and Philadelphia, offered to pay the full cost of erecting the statue in return for relocating it.[84]

Joseph Pulitzer, publisher of the New York World, a New York newspaper, announced a drive to raise $100,000 – the equivalent of $2.3 million today.[40] Pulitzer pledged to print the name of every contributor, no matter how small the amount given.[85] The drive captured the imagination of New Yorkers, especially when Pulitzer began publishing the notes he received from contributors. "A young girl alone in the world" donated "60 cents, the result of self denial."[86] One donor gave "five cents as a poor office boy's mite toward the Pedestal Fund." A group of children sent a dollar as "the money we saved to go to the circus with."[87] Another dollar was given by a "lonely and very aged woman."[86] Residents of a home for alcoholics in New York's rival city of Brooklyn – the cities would not merge until 1898 – donated $15; other drinkers helped out through donation boxes in bars and saloons.[88] A kindergarten class in Davenport, Iowa, mailed the World a gift of $1.35.[86] As the donations flooded in, the committee resumed work on the pedestal.[89]

Construction

On June 17, 1885, the French steamer Isère, laden with the Statue of Liberty, reached the New York port safely. New Yorkers displayed their new-found enthusiasm for the statue, as the French vessel arrived with the crates holding the disassembled statue on board. Two hundred thousand people lined the docks and hundreds of boats put to sea to welcome the Isère.[90] [91] After five months of daily calls to donate to the statue fund, on August 11, 1885, the World announced that $102,000 had been raised from 120,000 donors, and that 80 percent of the total had been received in sums of less than one dollar.[92]

Even with the success of the fund drive, the pedestal was not completed until April 1886. Immediately thereafter, reassembly of the statue began. Eiffel's iron framework was anchored to steel I-beams within the concrete pedestal and assembled.[93] Once this was done, the sections of skin were carefully attached.[94] Due to the width of the pedestal, it was not possible to erect scaffolding, and workers dangled from ropes while installing the skin sections. Nevertheless, no one died during the construction.[95] Bartholdi had planned to put floodlights on the torch's balcony to illuminate it; a week before the dedication, the Army Corps of Engineers vetoed the proposal, fearing that ships' pilots passing the statue would be blinded. Instead, Bartholdi cut portholes in the torch – which was covered with gold leaf – and placed the lights inside them.[96] A power plant was installed on the island to light the torch and for other electrical needs.[97] After the skin was completed, renowned landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, co-designer of New York's Central Park and Brooklyn's Prospect Park, supervised a cleanup of Bedloe's Island in anticipation of the dedication.[98]

Dedication

Unveiling of the Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World (1886) by Edward Moran. Oil on canvas. The J. Clarence Davies Collection, Museum of the City of New York. A ceremony of dedication was held on the afternoon of October 28, 1886. President Grover Cleveland, the former New York governor, presided over the event.[99] On the morning of the dedication, a parade was held in New York City; estimates of the number of people who watched it ranged from several hundred thousand to a million. President Cleveland headed the procession, then stood in the reviewing stand to see bands and marchers from across America. General Stone was the grand marshal of the parade. The route began at Madison Square, once the venue for the arm, and proceeded to Battery Park at the southern tip of Manhattan by way of Fifth Avenue and Broadway, with a slight detour so the parade could pass in front of the World building on Park Row. As the parade passed the New York Stock Exchange, traders threw ticker tape from the windows, beginning the New York tradition of the ticker-tape parade.[100]

A nautical parade began at 12:45 p.m., and President Cleveland embarked on a yacht that took him across the harbor to Bedloe's Island for the dedication.[101] De Lesseps made the first speech, on behalf of the French committee, followed by the chairman of the New York committee, Senator William M. Evarts. A French flag draped across the statue's face was to be lowered to unveil the statue at the close of Evarts's speech, but Bartholdi mistook a pause as the conclusion and let the flag fall prematurely. The ensuing cheers put an end to Evarts's address.[100] President Cleveland spoke next, stating that the statue's "stream of light shall pierce the darkness of ignorance and man's oppression until Liberty enlightens the world".[102] Bartholdi, observed near the dais, was called upon to speak, but he refused. Orator Chauncey M. Depew concluded the speechmaking with a lengthy address.[103]

No members of the general public were permitted on the island during the ceremonies, which were reserved entirely for dignitaries. The only females granted access were Bartholdi's wife and de Lesseps's granddaughter; officials stated that they feared women might be injured in the crush of people. The restriction offended area suffragists, who chartered a boat and got as close as they could to the island. The group's leaders made speeches applauding the embodiment of Liberty as a woman and advocating women's right to vote.[102] A scheduled fireworks display was postponed until November 1 because of poor weather.[104]

Shortly after the dedication, The Cleveland Gazette, an African American newspaper, suggested that the statue's torch not be lit until the United States became a free nation "in reality":

"Liberty enlightening the world," indeed! The expression makes us sick. This government is a howling farce. It can not or rather does not protect its citizens within its own borders. Shove the Bartholdi statue, torch and all, into the ocean until the "liberty" of this country is such as to make it possible for an inoffensive and industrious colored man to earn a respectable living for himself and family, without being ku-kluxed, perhaps murdered, his daughter and wife outraged, and his property destroyed. The idea of the "liberty" of this country "enlightening the world," or even Patagonia, is ridiculous in the extreme.[105]

After dedication

Lighthouse Board and War Department (1886–1933)

Statue of Liberty ca. 1900

Government poster using the Statue of Liberty to promote the sale of Liberty Bonds When the torch was illuminated on the evening of the statue's dedication, it produced only a faint gleam, barely visible from Manhattan. The World characterized it as "more like a glowworm than a beacon."[97] Bartholdi suggested gilding the statue to increase its ability to reflect light, but this proved too expensive. The United States Lighthouse Board took over the Statue of Liberty in 1887 and pledged to install equipment to enhance the torch's effect; in spite of its efforts, the statue remained virtually invisible at night. When Bartholdi returned to the United States in 1893, he made additional suggestions, all of which proved ineffective. He did successfully lobby for improved lighting within the statue, allowing visitors to better appreciate Eiffel's design.[97] In 1901, President Theodore Roosevelt, once a member of the New York committee, ordered the statue's transfer to the War Department, as it had proved useless as a lighthouse.[106] A unit of the Army Signal Corps was stationed on Bedloe's Island until 1923, after which military police remained there while the island was under military jurisdiction.[107]

The statue rapidly became a landmark. Many immigrants who entered through New York saw it as a welcoming sight. Oral histories of immigrants record their feelings of exhilaration on first viewing the Statue of Liberty. One immigrant who arrived from Greece recalled,

I saw the Statue of Liberty. And I said to myself, "Lady, you're such a beautiful! [sic] You opened your arms and you get all the foreigners here. Give me a chance to prove that I am worth it, to do something, to be someone in America." And always that statue was on my mind.[108]

Originally, the statue was a dull copper color, but shortly after 1900 a green patina, also called verdigris, caused by the oxidation of the copper skin, began to spread. As early as 1902 it was mentioned in the press; by 1906 it had entirely covered the statue.[109] Accepting a view that the patina was evidence of corrosion, Congress authorized $62,800 for various repairs, and to paint the statue both inside and out.[110] There was considerable public protest against the proposed exterior painting.[111] The Army Corps of Engineers studied the patina for any ill effects to the statue and concluded that it protected the skin, "softened the outlines of the Statue and made it beautiful."[112] The statue was painted only on the inside. The Corps of Engineers also installed an elevator to take visitors from the base to the top of the pedestal.[112]

On July 30, 1916, during World War I, German saboteurs set off a disastrous explosion on the Black Tom peninsula in Jersey City, New Jersey, in what is now part of Liberty State Park, close to Bedloe's Island. Carloads of dynamite and other explosives that were being sent to Britain and France for their war efforts were detonated, and seven people were killed. The statue sustained minor damage, mostly to the torch-bearing right arm, and was closed for ten days. The cost to repair the statue and buildings on the island was about $100,000. The narrow ascent to the torch was closed for public safety reasons, and it has remained closed ever since.[103]

That same year, Ralph Pulitzer, who had succeeded his father Joseph as publisher of the World, began a drive to raise $30,000 for an exterior lighting system to illuminate the statue at night. He claimed over 80,000 contributors but failed to reach the goal. The difference was quietly made up by a gift from a wealthy donor—a fact that was not revealed until 1936. An underwater power cable brought electricity from the mainland and floodlights were placed along the walls of Fort Wood. Gutzon Borglum, who later sculpted Mount Rushmore, redesigned the torch, replacing much of the original copper with stained glass. On December 2, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson pressed the telegraph key that turned on the lights, successfully illuminating the statue.[113]

After the United States entered World War I in 1917, images of the statue were heavily used in both recruitment posters and the Liberty Bond drives that urged American citizens to support the war financially. This impressed upon the public the war's stated purpose—to secure liberty—and served as a reminder that embattled France had given the United States the statue.[114]

In 1924, President Calvin Coolidge used his authority under the Antiquities Act to declare the statue a National Monument.[106] The only successful suicide in the statue's history occurred five years later, when a man climbed out of one of the windows in the crown and jumped to his death, glancing off the statue's breast and landing on the base.[115]

Early National Park Service years (1933–1982)

Bedloe's Island in 1927, showing the statue and army buildings. The eleven-pointed walls of Fort Wood, which still form the statue's base, are visible. In 1933, President Franklin Roosevelt ordered the statue transferred to the National Park Service (NPS). In 1937, the NPS gained jurisdiction over the rest of Bedloe's Island.[106] With the Army's departure, the NPS began to transform the island into a park.[116] The Works Progress Administration (WPA) demolished most of the old buildings, regraded and reseeded the eastern end of the island, and built granite steps for a new public entrance to the statue from its rear. The WPA also carried out restoration work within the statue, temporarily removing the rays from the statue's halo so their rusted supports could be replaced. Rusted cast-iron steps in the pedestal were replaced with new ones made of reinforced concrete;[117] the upper parts of the stairways within the statue were replaced, as well. Copper sheathing was installed to prevent further damage from rainwater that had been seeping into the pedestal.[118] The statue was closed to the public from May until December 1938.[117]

During World War II, the statue remained open to visitors, although it was not illuminated at night due to wartime blackouts. It was lit briefly on December 31, 1943, and on D-Day, June 6, 1944, when its lights flashed "dot-dot-dot-dash", the Morse code for V, for victory. New, powerful lighting was installed in 1944–1945, and beginning on V-E Day, the statue was once again illuminated after sunset. The lighting was for only a few hours each evening, and it was not until 1957 that the statue was illuminated every night, all night.[119] In 1946, the interior of the statue within reach of visitors was coated with a special plastic so that graffiti could be washed away.[118]

In 1956, an Act of Congress officially renamed Bedloe's Island as Liberty Island, a change advocated by Bartholdi generations earlier. The act also mentioned the efforts to found an American Museum of Immigration on the island, which backers took as federal approval of the project, though the government was slow to grant funds for it.[120] Nearby Ellis Island was made part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument by proclamation of President Lyndon Johnson in 1965.[106] In 1972, the immigration museum, in the statue's base, was finally opened in a ceremony led by President Richard Nixon. The museum's backers never provided it with an endowment to secure its future and it closed in 1991 after the opening of an immigration museum on Ellis Island.[93]

September 26, 1972: President Richard Nixon visits the statue to open the American Museum of Immigration. The statue's raised right foot is visible, showing that it is depicted moving forward. Beginning December 26, 1971, 15 anti-Vietnam war veterans occupied the statue, flying a US flag upside down from her crown. They left December 28 following a Federal Court order.[121] The statue was also several times taken over briefly by demonstrators publicizing causes such as Puerto Rican independence, opposition to abortion, and opposition to US intervention in Grenada. Demonstrations with the permission of the Park Service included a Gay Pride Parade rally and the annual Captive Baltic Nations rally.[122]

A powerful new lighting system was installed in advance of the American Bicentennial in 1976. The statue was the focal point for Operation Sail, a regatta of tall ships from all over the world that entered New York Harbor on July 4, 1976, and sailed around Liberty Island.[123] The day concluded with a spectacular display of fireworks near the statue.[124]

Renovation and rededication (1982–2000)

July 4, 1986: First Lady Nancy Reagan (in red) reopens the statue to the public. Main article: Restoration of the Statue of Liberty (1984–86)

See also: Liberty Weekend

The statue was examined in great detail by French and American engineers as part of the planning for its centennial in 1986.[125] In 1982, it was announced that the statue was in need of considerable restoration. Careful study had revealed that the right arm had been improperly attached to the main structure. It was swaying more and more when strong winds blew and there was a significant risk of structural failure. In addition, the head had been installed 2 feet (0.61 m) off center, and one of the rays was wearing a hole in the right arm when the statue moved in the wind. The armature structure was badly corroded, and about two percent of the exterior plates needed to be replaced.[126] Although problems with the armature had been recognized as early as 1936, when cast iron replacements for some of the bars had been installed, much of the corrosion had been hidden by layers of paint applied over the years.[127]

In May 1982, President Ronald Reagan announced the formation of the Statue of Liberty–Ellis Island Centennial Commission, led by Chrysler Corporation chair Lee Iacocca, to raise the funds needed to complete the work.[128] Through its fundraising arm, the Statue of Liberty–Ellis Island Foundation, Inc., the group raised more than $350 million in donations.[129] The Statue of Liberty was one of the earliest beneficiaries of a cause marketing campaign. A 1983 promotion advertised that for each purchase made with an American Express card, the company would contribute one cent to the renovation of the statue. The campaign generated contributions of $1.7 million to the restoration project.[130]

In 1984, the statue was closed to the public for the duration of the renovation. Workers erected the world's largest free-standing scaffold,[27] which obscured the statue from view. Liquid nitrogen was used to remove layers of paint that had been applied to the interior of the copper skin over decades, leaving two layers of coal tar, originally applied to plug leaks and prevent corrosion. Blasting with baking soda powder removed the tar without further damaging the copper.[131] The restorers' work was hampered by the asbestos-based substance that Bartholdi had used – ineffectively, as inspections showed – to prevent galvanic corrosion. Workers within the statue had to wear protective gear, dubbed "moon suits", with self-contained breathing circuits.[132] Larger holes in the copper skin were repaired, and new copper was added where necessary.[133] The replacement skin was taken from a copper rooftop at Bell Labs, which had a patina that closely resembled the statue's; in exchange, the laboratory was provided some of the old copper skin for testing.[134] The torch, found to have been leaking water since the 1916 alterations, was replaced with an exact replica of Bartholdi's unaltered torch.[135] Consideration was given to replacing the arm and shoulder; the National Park Service insisted that they be repaired instead.[136] The original torch was removed and replaced in 1986 with the current one, whose flame is covered in 24-carat gold.[30] The torch reflects the sun's rays in daytime and lighted by floodlights at night.[30]

The entire puddled iron armature designed by Gustave Eiffel was replaced. Low-carbon corrosion-resistant stainless steel bars that now hold the staples next to the skin are made of Ferralium, an alloy that bends slightly and returns to its original shape as the statue moves.[137] To prevent the ray and arm making contact, the ray was realigned by several degrees.[138] The lighting was again replaced—night-time illumination subsequently came from metal-halide lamps that send beams of light to particular parts of the pedestal or statue, showing off various details.[139] Access to the pedestal, which had been through a nondescript entrance built in the 1960s, was renovated to create a wide opening framed by a set of monumental bronze doors with designs symbolic of the renovation.[140] A modern elevator was installed, allowing handicapped access to the observation area of the pedestal.[141] An emergency elevator was installed within the statue, reaching up to the level of the shoulder.[142]

July 3–6, 1986, was designated "Liberty Weekend", marking the centennial of the statue and its reopening. President Reagan presided over the rededication, with French President François Mitterrand in attendance. July 4 saw a reprise of Operation Sail,[143] and the statue was reopened to the public on July 5.[144] In Reagan's dedication speech, he stated, "We are the keepers of the flame of liberty; we hold it high for the world to see."[143]

Closures and reopening (2001–present)

The Statue of Liberty on September 11, 2001 as the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center burn in the background Following the September 11 attacks, the statue and Liberty Island were immediately closed to the public. The island reopened at the end of 2001, while the pedestal and statue remained off-limits. The pedestal reopened in August 2004,[144] but the National Park Service announced that visitors could not safely be given access to the statue due to the difficulty of evacuation in an emergency. The Park Service adhered to that position through the remainder of the Bush administration.[145] New York Congressman Anthony Weiner made the statue's reopening a personal crusade.[146] On May 17, 2009, President Barack Obama's Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar, announced that as a "special gift" to America, the statue would be reopened to the public as of July 4, but that only a limited number of people would be permitted to ascend to the crown each day.[145]

The statue, including the pedestal and base, closed on October 29, 2011 for installation of new elevators and staircases and to bring other facilities, such as restrooms, up to code. The statue was closed to the public until October 28, 2012.[1][147][148] A day after the reopening, the statue closed again due to Hurricane Sandy.[149] Although the storm did not harm the statue, it destroyed some of the infrastructure on both Liberty Island and Ellis Island, severely damaging the dock used by the ferries bearing visitors to the statue. On November 8, 2012, a Park Service spokesperson announced that both islands would remain closed for an indefinite period for repairs to be done.[150] Due to lack of electricity on Liberty Island, a generator was installed to power temporary floodlights to illuminate the statue at night. The superintendent of Statue of Liberty National Monument, David Luchsinger, whose home on the island was severely damaged, stated that it would be "optimistically ... months" before the island was reopened to the public.[151] The statue and Liberty Island reopened to the public on July 4, 2013.[152] Ellis Island remained closed for repairs for several more months but reopened in late October 2013.[153] For part of October 2013, Liberty Island was closed to the public due to the United States federal government shutdown of 2013, along with other federally funded museums, parks, monuments, construction projects and buildings.[154]

Access and attributes

Location and tourism

Tourists aboard a Circle Line ferry arriving at Liberty Island, June 1973 The statue is situated in Upper New York Bay on Liberty Island south of Ellis Island, which together comprise the Statue of Liberty National Monument. Both islands were ceded by New York to the federal government in 1800.[155] As agreed in an 1834 compact between New York and New Jersey that set the state border at the bay's midpoint, the original islands remain New York territory despite their location on the New Jersey side of the state line. Liberty Island is one of the islands that are part of the borough of Manhattan in New York. Land created by reclamation added to the 2.3 acres (0.93 ha) original island at Ellis Island is New Jersey territory.[156]

No charge is made for entrance to the national monument, but there is a cost for the ferry service that all visitors must use, as private boats may not dock at the island. A concession was granted in 2007 to Statue Cruises to operate the transportation and ticketing facilities, replacing Circle Line, which had operated the service since 1953.[157] The ferries, which depart from Liberty State Park in Jersey City and Battery Park in Lower Manhattan, also stop at Ellis Island when it is open to the public, making a combined trip possible.[158] All ferry riders are subject to security screening, similar to airport procedures, prior to boarding.[159] Visitors intending to enter the statue's base and pedestal must obtain a complimentary museum/pedestal ticket along with their ferry ticket.[160] Those wishing to climb the staircase within the statue to the crown purchase a special ticket, which may be reserved up to a year in advance. A total of 240 people per day are permitted to ascend: ten per group, three groups per hour. Climbers may bring only medication and cameras—lockers are provided for other items—and must undergo a second security screening.[161]

Inscriptions, plaques, and dedications

The Statue of Liberty stands on Liberty Island. There are several plaques and dedicatory tablets on or near the Statue of Liberty. A plaque on the copper just under the figure in front declares that it is a colossal statue representing Liberty, designed by Bartholdi and built by the Paris firm of Gaget, Gauthier et Cie (Cie is the French abbreviation analogous to Co.). A presentation tablet, also bearing Bartholdi's name, declares the statue to be a gift from the people of the Republic of France that honors "the Alliance of the two Nations in achieving the Independence of the United States of America and attests their abiding friendship."[162] There is a tablet placed by the New York committee that commemorates the fundraising done to build the pedestal. The cornerstone also bears a plaque placed by the Freemasons.[162]

In 1903, a bronze tablet that bears the text of "The New Colossus" and commemorates Emma Lazarus was presented by friends of the poet. Until the 1986 renovation, it was mounted inside the pedestal; today it resides in the Statue of Liberty Museum in the base. It is accompanied by a tablet given by the Emma Lazarus Commemorative Committee in 1977, celebrating the poet's life.[162]

A group of statues stands at the western end of the island, honoring those closely associated with the Statue of Liberty. Two Americans—Pulitzer and Lazarus—and three Frenchmen—Bartholdi, Laboulaye, and Eiffel—are depicted. They are the work of Maryland sculptor Phillip Ratner.[163]

In 1984, the Statue of Liberty was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The UNESCO "Statement of Significance" describes the statue as a "masterpiece of the human spirit" that "endures as a highly potent symbol—inspiring contemplation, debate and protest—of ideals such as liberty, peace, human rights, abolition of slavery, democracy and opportunity."[164]

Physical characteristics

As viewed from the ground on Liberty Island

Feature[72]

U.S.

Metric

Height of copper statue 151 ft 1 in 46 m Foundation of pedestal (ground level) to tip of torch 305 ft 1 in 93 m Heel to top of head 111 ft 1 in 34 m Height of hand 16 ft 5 in 5 m Index finger 8 ft 1 in 2.44 m Circumference at second joint 3 ft 6 in 1.07 m Head from chin to cranium 17 ft 3 in 5.26 m Head thickness from ear to ear 10 ft 0 in 3.05 m Distance across the eye 2 ft 6 in 0.76 m Length of nose 4 ft 6 in 1.48 m Right arm length 42 ft 0 in 12.8 m Right arm greatest thickness 12 ft 0 in 3.66 m Thickness of waist 35 ft 0 in 10.67 m Width of mouth 3 ft 0 in 0.91 m Tablet, length 23 ft 7 in 7.19 m Tablet, width 13 ft 7 in 4.14 m Tablet, thickness 2 ft 0 in 0.61 m Height of pedestal 89 ft 0 in 27.13 m Height of foundation 65 ft 0 in 19.81 m Weight of copper used in statue 60,000 pounds 27.22 tonnes Weight of steel used in statue 250,000 pounds 113.4 tonnes Total weight of statue 450,000 pounds 204.1 tonnes Thickness of copper sheeting 3/32 of an inch 2.4 mm

Depictions

See also: Replicas of the Statue of Liberty and Statue of Liberty in popular culture

A replica of the Statue of Liberty forms part of the exterior decor at the New York-New York Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip Hundreds of replicas of the Statue of Liberty are displayed worldwide.[165] A smaller version of the statue, one-fourth the height of the original, was given by the American community in Paris to that city. It now stands on the Île aux Cygnes, facing west toward her larger sister.[165] A replica 30 feet (9.1 m) tall stood atop the Liberty Warehouse on West 64th Street in Manhattan for many years;[165] it now resides at the Brooklyn Museum.[166] In a patriotic tribute, the Boy Scouts of America, as part of their Strengthen the Arm of Liberty campaign in 1949–1952, donated about two hundred replicas of the statue, made of stamped copper and 100 inches (2,500 mm) in height, to states and municipalities across the United States.[167] Though not a true replica, the statue known as the Goddess of Democracy temporarily erected during the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 was similarly inspired by French democratic traditions—the sculptors took care to avoid a direct imitation of the Statue of Liberty.[168] Among other recreations of New York City structures, a replica of the statue is part of the exterior of the New York-New York Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.[169]

Head of Liberty, U.S. airmail stamp, 1971 issue

Reverse side of a Presidential Dollar coin As an American icon, the Statue of Liberty has been depicted on the country's coinage and stamps. It appeared on commemorative coins issued to mark its 1986 centennial, and on New York's 2001 entry in the state quarters series.[170] An image of the statue was chosen for the American Eagle platinum bullion coins in 1997, and it was placed on the reverse, or tails, side of the Presidential Dollar series of circulating coins.[25] Two images of the statue's torch appear on the current ten-dollar bill.[171] The statue's intended photographic depiction on a 2010 forever stamp proved instead to be of the replica at the Las Vegas casino.[172]

Depictions of the statue have been used by many regional institutions. Between 1986 and 2000, New York State issued license plates featuring the statue.[173][174] The Women's National Basketball Association's New York Liberty use both the statue's name and its image in their logo, in which the torch's flame doubles as a basketball.[175] The New York Rangers of the National Hockey League depicted the statue's head on their third jersey, beginning in 1997.[176] The National Collegiate Athletic Association's 1996 Men's Basketball Final Four, played at New Jersey's Meadowlands Sports Complex, featured the statue in its logo.[177] The Libertarian Party of the United States uses the statue in its emblem.[178]

The statue is a frequent subject in popular culture. In music, it has been evoked to indicate support for American policies, as in Toby Keith's song "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)", and in opposition, appearing on the cover of the Dead Kennedys' album Bedtime for Democracy, which protested the Reagan administration.[179] In film, the torch is the setting for the climax of director Alfred Hitchcock's 1942 movie Saboteur.[180] The statue makes one of its most famous cinematic appearances in the 1968 picture Planet of the Apes, in which it is seen half-buried in sand.[179][181] It is knocked over in the science-fiction film Independence Day [182] and in Cloverfield the head is ripped off.[183] In Jack Finney's time-travel novel Time and Again, the right arm of the statue, on display in the early 1880s in Madison Square Park, plays a crucial role.[184] Robert Holdstock, consulting editor of The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, wondered in 1979,

Where would science fiction be without the Statue of Liberty? For decades it has towered or crumbled above the wastelands of deserted [E]arth—giants have uprooted it, aliens have found it curious ... the symbol of Liberty, of optimism, has become a symbol of science fiction's pessimistic view of the future."[185]

See also

Portal icon New Jersey portal Portal icon New York portal Portal icon New York City portal Portal icon NRHP portal Portal icon United States portal Portal icon Visual arts portal List of the tallest statues in the United States Place des États-Unis, in Paris, France The Statue of Liberty, 1985 Ken Burns documentary film Statues and sculptures in New York City

References

Notes

1.^ Jump up to: a b "Statue of Liberty National Monument". National Park Service. December 31, 2007. Retrieved October 12, 2011. 2.Jump up ^ Schneiderman, R.M. (June 28, 2010). "For tourists, Statue of Liberty is nice, but no Forever 21". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved October 12, 2011. 3.Jump up ^ "National Monument Proclamations under the Antiquities Act". National Park Service. January 16, 2003. Retrieved October 12, 2011. 4.Jump up ^ National Park Service (1994). National Register of Historic Places, 1966–1994: Cumulative List Through January 1, 1994. Washington DC: National Park Service. p. 502. ISBN 978-0-89133-254-1. 5.Jump up ^ "New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places - Hudson County". New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection - Historic Preservation Office. Retrieved August 2, 2014. 6.Jump up ^ "Statue of Liberty National Monument" (PDF). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. September 14, 1976. Retrieved October 12, 2011. 7.^ Jump up to: a b c Harris 1985, pp. 7–9. 8.Jump up ^ Joseph, Rebecca M.; Brooke Rosenblatt; Carolyn Kinebrew (September 2000). "The Black Statue of Liberty Rumor". National Park Service. Retrieved July 31, 2012. 9.Jump up ^ "Abolition". National Park Service. Retrieved July 7, 2014. 10.Jump up ^ Harris 1985, pp. 7–8. 11.Jump up ^ Khan 2010, pp. 60–61. 12.^ Jump up to: a b Moreno 2000, pp. 39–40. 13.Jump up ^ Harris 1985, pp. 12–13. 14.Jump up ^ Khan 2010, pp. 102–103. 15.Jump up ^ Harris 1985, pp. 16–17. 16.^ Jump up to: a b Khan 2010, p. 85. 17.Jump up ^ Harris 1985, pp. 10–11. 18.^ Jump up to: a b c d e Sutherland 2003, pp. 17–19. 19.^ Jump up to: a b c d e Bodnar, John (2006). "Monuments and Morals: The Nationalization of Civic Instruction". In Warren, Donald R.; Patrick, John J. Civic and Moral Learning in America. New York: Macmillan. pp. 212–214. ISBN 978-1-4039-7396-2. 20.^ Jump up to: a b c Turner, Jane (2000). The Grove Dictionary of Art: From Monet to Cézanne : Late 19th-century French Artists. New York: Oxford University Press US. p. 10. ISBN 978-0-312-22971-9. 21.Jump up ^ Khan 2010, pp. 96–97. 22.^ Jump up to: a b Khan 2010, pp. 105–108. 23.Jump up ^ Blume, Mary (July 16, 2004). "The French icon Marianne à la mode". The New York Times. Retrieved October 12, 2011. 24.Jump up ^ "Get the Facts (Frequently Asked Questions about the Statue of Liberty)". Statue of Liberty. National Park Service. Retrieved October 19, 2011. 25.^ Jump up to: a b "Lady Liberty Reverse Statue of Liberty (1886)". Presidential $1 coin. United States Mint. Retrieved July 29, 2010. 26.Jump up ^ Moreno 2000, pp. 52–53, 55, 87. 27.^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g Interviewed for Watson, Corin. Statue of Liberty: Building a Colossus (TV documentary, 2001) 28.Jump up ^ Bartholdi, Frédéric (1885). The Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World. North American Review (New York). p. 42. 29.^ Jump up to: a b Khan 2010, pp. 108–111. 30.^ Jump up to: a b c "Frequently asked questions". Statue of Liberty National Monument. National Park Service. Retrieved August 10, 2010. 31.Jump up ^ Khan 2010, p. 120. 32.Jump up ^ Khan 2010, pp. 118, 125. 33.Jump up ^ Harris 1985, p. 26. 34.Jump up ^ Khan 2010, p. 121. 35.^ Jump up to: a b c Khan 2010, pp. 123–125. 36.^ Jump up to: a b Harris 1985, pp. 44–45. 37.Jump up ^ "News of Norway" (4). 1999. Retrieved July 29, 2010. 38.Jump up ^ "Answers about the Statue of Liberty, Part 2". The New York Times. July 2, 2009. Retrieved October 12, 2011. 39.Jump up ^ Sutherland 2003, p. 36. 40.^ Jump up to: a b "Seven Ways to Compute the Relative Value of a U.S. Dollar Amount, 1774 to Present/". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved October 20, 2011. 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Retrieved October 19, 2011. 62.Jump up ^ Harris 1985, pp. 36–38. 63.Jump up ^ Harris 1985, p. 39. 64.Jump up ^ Harris 1985, p. 38. 65.Jump up ^ Bell & Abrams 1984, p. 37. 66.Jump up ^ Bell & Abrams 1984, p. 38. 67.^ Jump up to: a b Khan 2010, pp. 159–160. 68.Jump up ^ Khan 2010, p. 163. 69.Jump up ^ Khan 2010, p. 161. 70.^ Jump up to: a b Khan 2010, p. 160. 71.Jump up ^ Moreno 2000, p. 91. 72.^ Jump up to: a b "Statistics". Statue of Liberty. National Park Service. August 16, 2006. Retrieved October 19, 2011. 73.^ Jump up to: a b Khan 2010, p. 169. 74.^ Jump up to: a b c Auchincloss, Louis (May 12, 1986). "Liberty: Building on the Past". New York: 87. Retrieved October 19, 2011. 75.Jump up ^ Bartholdi, Frédéric (1885). The Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World. North American Review (New York). p. 62. 76.Jump up ^ Harris 1985, pp. 71–72. 77.Jump up ^ Sutherland 2003, pp. 49–50. 78.^ Jump up to: a b Moreno 2000, pp. 184–186. 79.Jump up ^ "Branford’s History Is Set in Stone". Connecticut Humanities. 80.^ Jump up to: a b http://www.structuremag.org/article.aspx?articleID=1484 81.Jump up ^ Khan 2010, pp. 163–164. 82.Jump up ^ Khan 2010, pp. 165–166. 83.Jump up ^ Moreno 2000, pp. 172–175. 84.Jump up ^ Levine, Benjamin; Story, Isabelle F. (1961). "Statue of Liberty". National Park Service. Retrieved October 19, 2011. 85.Jump up ^ Bell & Abrams 1984, pp. 40–41. 86.^ Jump up to: a b c Harris 1985, p. 105. 87.Jump up ^ Sutherland 2003, p. 51. 88.Jump up ^ Harris 1985, p. 107. 89.Jump up ^ Harris 1985, pp. 110–111. 90.Jump up ^ Harris 1985, p. 112. 91.Jump up ^ "The Isere-Bartholdi Gift Reaches the Horsehoe Safely" (PDF). The Evening Post. June 17, 1885. Retrieved February 11, 2013. 92.Jump up ^ Harris 1985, p. 114. 93.^ Jump up to: a b Moreno 2000, p. 19. 94.Jump up ^ Bell & Abrams 1984, p. 49. 95.Jump up ^ Moreno 2000, p. 64. 96.Jump up ^ Hayden & Despont 1986, p. 36. 97.^ Jump up to: a b c Harris 1985, pp. 133–134. 98.Jump up ^ Moreno 2000, p. 65. 99.Jump up ^ Khan 2010, p. 176. 100.^ Jump up to: a b Khan 2010, pp. 177–178. 101.Jump up ^ Bell & Abrams 1984, p. 52. 102.^ Jump up to: a b Harris 1985, p. 127. 103.^ Jump up to: a b Moreno 2000, p. 71. 104.Jump up ^ Harris 1985, p. 128. 105.Jump up ^ "Postponing Bartholdi's statue until there is liberty for colored as well". The Cleveland Gazette (Cleveland, Ohio). November 27, 1886. p. 2. 106.^ Jump up to: a b c d Moreno 2000, p. 41. 107.Jump up ^ Moreno 2000, p. 24. 108.Jump up ^ Sutherland 2003, p. 78. 109.Jump up ^ "Answers about the Statue of Liberty". The New York Times. July 1, 2009. Retrieved October 19, 2011. 110.Jump up ^ "To paint Miss Liberty". The New York Times. July 19, 1906. p. 1. Retrieved October 19, 2011. 111.Jump up ^ "How shall "Miss Liberty"'s toilet be made?". The New York Times. July 29, 1906. pp. SM2. Retrieved October 19, 2011. 112.^ Jump up to: a b Harris 1985, p. 168. 113.Jump up ^ Harris 1985, pp. 136–139. 114.Jump up ^ Moreno 2000, pp. 148–151. 115.Jump up ^ Harris 1985, p. 147. 116.Jump up ^ Moreno 2000, p. 136. 117.^ Jump up to: a b Moreno 2000, p. 202. 118.^ Jump up to: a b Harris 1985, p. 169. 119.Jump up ^ Harris 1985, pp. 141–143. 120.Jump up ^ Moreno 2000, pp. 147–148. 121.Jump up ^ 1973 World Almanac and Book of Facts, p. 996. 122.Jump up ^ Moreno 2000, pp. 72–73. 123.Jump up ^ Harris 1985, p. 143. 124.Jump up ^ Moreno 2000, p. 20. 125.Jump up ^ Harris 1985, p. 165. 126.Jump up ^ Harris 1985, pp. 169–171. 127.Jump up ^ Hayden & Despont 1986, p. 38. 128.Jump up ^ Moreno 2000, pp. 204–205. 129.Jump up ^ Moreno 2000, pp. 216–218. 130.Jump up ^ Daw, Jocelyne (March 2006). Cause Marketing for Nonprofits: Partner for Purpose, Passion, and Profits. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. p. 4. ISBN 978-0-471-71750-8. 131.Jump up ^ Hayden & Despont 1986, p. 81. 132.Jump up ^ Hayden & Despont 1986, p. 76. 133.Jump up ^ Hayden & Despont 1986, p. 55. 134.Jump up ^ Harris 1985, p. 172. 135.Jump up ^ Hayden & Despont 1986, p. 153. 136.Jump up ^ Hayden & Despont 1986, p. 75. 137.Jump up ^ Hayden & Despont 1986, pp. 74–76. 138.Jump up ^ Hayden & Despont 1986, p. 57. 139.Jump up ^ Moreno 2000, p. 153. 140.Jump up ^ Hayden & Despont 1986, p. 71. 141.Jump up ^ Hayden & Despont 1986, p. 84. 142.Jump up ^ Hayden & Despont 1986, p. 88. 143.^ Jump up to: a b Sutherland 2003, p. 106. 144.^ Jump up to: a b "History and Culture". Statue of Liberty. National Park Service. Retrieved October 20, 2011. 145.^ Jump up to: a b Chan, Sewell (May 8, 2009). "Statue of Liberty's Crown Will Reopen July 4". The New York Times. Retrieved October 20, 2011. 146.Jump up ^ Neuman, William (July 5, 2007). "Congress to Ask Why Miss Liberty's Crown is Still Closed to Visitors". The New York Times. Retrieved October 20, 2011. 147.Jump up ^ Raja, Nina (August 10, 2010). "Liberty Island to remain open during statue's renovation". CNN. Retrieved October 20, 2011. 148.Jump up ^ "Statue of Liberty interior to re-open next month". AP via Sacramento Bee. September 11, 2012. Retrieved September 12, 2012. 149.Jump up ^ Powlowski, A. (November 2, 2012). "Statue of Liberty closed for 'foreseeable future'". NBC News. Retrieved November 2, 2012. 150.Jump up ^ Mcgeehan, Patrick (November 8, 2012). "Storm leaves Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island cut off from visitors". The New York Times. Retrieved November 9, 2012. 151.Jump up ^ Barron, James (November 30, 2012). "Statue of Liberty was unscathed by hurricane, but its home took a beating". The New York Times. Retrieved December 1, 2012. 152.Jump up ^ Long, Colleen (July 4, 2013). "Statue of Liberty reopens as US marks July Fourth". Yahoo! News. Retrieved July 4, 2013. 153.Jump up ^ Foderaro, Lisa (October 28, 2013). "Ellis Island Welcoming Visitors Once Again, but Repairs Continue". The New York Times. Retrieved October 19, 2014. 154.Jump up ^ Armaghan, Sarah (October 1, 2013). "Statue of Liberty Closed in Shutdown". Wall Street Journal. 155.Jump up ^ "Early History of Bedloe's Island". Statue of Liberty Historical Handbook. National Park Service. Retrieved October 20, 2011. 156.Jump up ^ "NEW JERSEY v. NEW YORK 523 U.S. 767". Supreme Court of the United States. 1998. Retrieved October 20, 2011. 157.Jump up ^ Ramirez, Anthony (June 29, 2007). "Circle Line Loses Pact for Ferries to Liberty Island". New York Times. Retrieved October 20, 2011. 158.Jump up ^ "NPS: Liberty and Ellis Island ferry map". Ferry Map. National Park Service. Retrieved October 20, 2011. 159.Jump up ^ "For Your Safety and Security". Statue of Liberty. National Park Service. Retrieved August 30, 2011. 160.Jump up ^ "Frequently Asked Questions". Statue of Liberty. National Park Service. Retrieved October 20, 2011. 161.Jump up ^ "Frequently asked questions: Reserving tickets to visit the crown". Statue of Liberty. National Park Service. Retrieved October 20, 2011. 162.^ Jump up to: a b c Moreno 2000, pp. 222–223. 163.Jump up ^ Harris 1985, p. 163. 164.Jump up ^ "Statue of Liberty". World Heritage. UNESCO. Retrieved October 20, 2011. 165.^ Jump up to: a b c Moreno 2000, pp. 200–201. 166.Jump up ^ "Collections: American Art: Replica of the Statue of Liberty, from Liberty Storage & Warehouse, 43–47 West 64th Street, NYC". Brooklyn Museum. Retrieved October 20, 2011. 167.Jump up ^ Attoun, Marti (October 2007). "Little Sisters of Liberty". Scouting. Retrieved August 1, 2010. 168.Jump up ^ Moreno 2000, pp. 103–104. 169.Jump up ^ Goldberger, Paul (January 15, 1997). "New York-New York, it's a Las Vegas town". The New York Times. Retrieved October 20, 2011. 170.Jump up ^ "Statue of Liberty postage stamps". Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, Inc. Retrieved October 20, 2011. 171.Jump up ^ "The redesigned $10 note". newmoney.gov. Bureau of Engraving and Printing. Retrieved October 20, 2011. 172.Jump up ^ Severson, Kim; Healey, Matthew (April 14, 2011). "This Lady Liberty is a Las Vegas teenager". The New York Times. Retrieved October 20, 2011. 173.Jump up ^ "State to start issuing new license plates July 1". The New York Times. January 24, 1986. Retrieved October 20, 2011. 174.Jump up ^ "State license plates to get new look". The New York Times. January 11, 2000. Retrieved October 20, 2011. 175.Jump up ^ "'Liberty' for New York club". The New York Times. February 14, 1997. Retrieved October 20, 2011. 176.Jump up ^ Lapointe, Joe (January 12, 1997). "Lady Liberty laces up at the Garden". The New York Times. Retrieved October 20, 2011. 177.Jump up ^ Sandomir, Richard (March 29, 1996). "Final Four: States put aside their rivalry and try a little cooperation". The New York Times. Retrieved October 20, 2011. 178.Jump up ^ Axinn, Mark (October 28, 2011). "The Statue of Liberty after 125 years - by LPNY Chair Mark Axinn". Libertarian Party of the United States. Retrieved November 19, 2012. 179.^ Jump up to: a b Morris, Tracy S. "The Statue of Liberty in Popular Culture". USA Today. Retrieved October 20, 2011. 180.Jump up ^ Spoto, Donald (1983). The Dark Side of Genius: The Life of Alfred Hitchcock. New York: Ballantine. pp. 262–263. ISBN 978-0-345-31462-8. 181.Jump up ^ Greene, Eric; Slotkin, Richard (1998). Planet of the Apes as American myth: race, politics, and popular culture. Middletown, Connecticut: Wesleyan University Press. p. 52. ISBN 978-0-8195-6329-3. 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Bibliography

Bell, James B.; Abrams, Richard L. (1984). In Search of Liberty: The Story of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Co. ISBN 978-0-385-19624-6. Harris, Jonathan (1985). A Statue for America: The First 100 Years of the Statue of Liberty. New York City: Four Winds Press (a division of Macmillan Publishing Company). ISBN 978-0-02-742730-1. Hayden, Richard Seth; Despont, Thierry W. (1986). Restoring the Statue of Liberty. New York City: McGraw-Hill Book Company. ISBN 978-0-07-027326-9. Khan, Yasmin Sabina (2010). Enlightening the World: The Creation of the Statue of Liberty. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press. ISBN 978-0-8014-4851-5. Moreno, Barry (2000). The Statue of Liberty Encyclopedia. New York City: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0-7385-3689-7. Sutherland, Cara A. (2003). The Statue of Liberty. New York City: Barnes & Noble Books. ISBN 978-0-7607-3890-0.

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Statue of Liberty. Statue of Liberty National Monument Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation Soleia Company Preserved and repurposes artifacts from the centennial restoration of the Statue of Liberty National Monument. "A Giant's Task – Cleaning Statue of Liberty", Popular Mechanics (February 1932) Views from the webcams affixed to the Statue of Liberty Made in Paris The Statue of Liberty 1877-1885 - many historical photographs Statue of Liberty at Structurae Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. NY-138, "Statue of Liberty, Liberty Island, Manhattan, New York, New York County, NY", 404 photos, 59 color transparencies, 41 measured drawings, 10 data pages, 33 photo caption pages HAER No. NY-138-A, "Statue of Liberty, Administration Building", 6 photos, 6 measured drawings, 1 photo caption page HAER No. NY-138-B, "Statue of Liberty, Concessions Building", 12 photos, 6 measured drawings, 1 photo caption page

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What is the order of the planets from biggest to smallest?

The order of the planets from biggest to smallest is:

Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Earth Venus Mars Mercury Pluto (a dwarf planet) Why can't live on another planet? ? Edit ? 0 ? 9 …

Why Can't We Live on The Moon? Well, we could live on the moon, but without any food, water or air, it would take a lot of effort to create even a town on the moon, much less Toronto or the whole world! There are so many more reasons, but I am about to tell you about them, so I won't ruin the surprise!

Why Can't We Live On Other Planets? There are many reasons why we can't live on other planets. If we lived somewhere with too little pressure, we would explode. If we lived somewhere with too much pressure, we would implode. If we went to live on a planet with less gravity than earth, our muscles would slowly start to die. If we went to live on a planet with more gravity than earth, we wouldn’t be able to move at all! Another point we have learned from exploring the worlds outside our world is our body temperature. Our healthy temperature is around 37?. If our body temperature became just the slightest bit lower, we would die of hypothermia. If it became higher, we would die of hyperthermia. One of the most important facts we have learned from our spacecrafts is about the atmosphere. We need oxygen to breathe, of course. However, if there is less oxygen than the amount of oxygen we have on earth, we can die from hypoxia. If we have more oxygen than we need, we can die from oxygen toxicity. Of course, we could always create our own atmosphere on another planet, but that would be extremely challenging! There is also the issue of transportation, how would we transport around 6.6 billion people to another planet? As you can see, there are many issues with being able to live on another planet. Maybe one day we will be able to live on Mercury, Venus, Mars, Saturn, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune or Pluto. However, for now, we are stuck on Earth until we have done much more research, maybe someday we'll live on another planet, but probably not for a while.

Why Can't We Live On Pluto? There are many reasons why we will probably never be able to live on Pluto. For one thing, Pluto is VERY far away from the Sun, as well as the Earth. It would probably take more than a lifetime to get from Earth to Pluto! And since Pluto is so far from the Sun, it would be extremely cold there, and since our bodies are not accustomed to freezing cold weather, and we are warm blooded, we would most likely freeze to death.

Another reason that humans probably can never live on Pluto is because it is so small. Not everyone who lives on Earth will be able to live on Pluto.

Pluto also has no natural light. Since it is so far from the sun, it has no heat, or light on the planet. We need the proper temperature to live, and we need the right amount of light to live, so we probably can never live on Pluto. Super Smash Bros Universe Characters List Of Super Smash Bros Characters SSB SSBM SSBF SSBB SSBD SMSSALSRT    Series _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Aogitar				    X   X   X    X    DLC  X             Caveman Rumble Abaddonevil                         X   X   X    X    Yes  X             Feiry Satans Abegail Summers                     X   X   X    X    Yes  Yes           Farmer's Harvest Abe				    x   X   X    X    DLC  X             Clone High Abyss                               X   X   X    X    Yes  X             TNA Adam Rose                           X   X   X    X    DLC  X             NXT/WWE Adolf Hitler                        X   X   X    X    Yes  X             Real Life Adon                                X   X   X    X    DLC  Yes           Turok Adrian Neville                      X   X   X    X    DLC  X             NXT/WWE Affairo Derro                       X   X   X    X    DLC  X             Casino Blast Afro Thunder			    X   X   X    X    DLC  X             Ready 2 Rumble Ages                                X   X   X    X    Yes  Yes           Sonic All Stars Racing Transformed Ai Kamui                            X   X   X    X    DLC  X             Tri Zenon Akira Kamui                         X   X   X    X    DLC  X             Tri Zenon Akira Yuki                          X   X   X    X    DLC  X             Virtua Fighter AJ Lee                              X   X   X    X    Yes  X             WWE AJ Styles                           X   X   X    X    Yes  X             TNA Akane Tendo                         X   X   X    X    DLC  X             Ranma 1/2 Albert				    X   X   X    X    DLC  X             Johnny Test Albert Wesker			    X   X   X    X    DLC  X             Resident of Evil Alder                               X   X   X    X    DLC  X             Poke'mon Alena                               X   X   X    X    DLC  X             Dragon Quest Alex                                X   X   X    X    DLC  X             Madasgscar Alex Spy			    X   X   X    X    DLC  X             Totally Spies Alexa                               X   X   X    X    Yes  Yes           Poke'mon Alexander Rusev                     X   X   X    X    DLC  X             NXT/WWE Alistea Blastempre		    X   X   X    X    DLC  X             New Fantasy Gruve Andre the Giant                     X   X   Yes  Yes  Yes  X             WWE Andre the Giant (Retro)             X   X   X    X    Yes  X             WWE Andrew Clark			    X   X   X    X    DLC  X             Shemnue Angelica Pickles                    X   X   X    X    Yes  Yes           All Grown Up AiAi                                 X   X   X    X    Yes  Yes           Super Monkey Ball Akuma                               X   X   X    X    Yes  X             Street Fighter Alberto Del Rio                     X   X   X    X    Yes  X             WWE Alejandro                           X   X   X    X    Yes  X             Total Drama Alex Kidd 			    X   X   X    X    Yes  Yes		  Alex Kidd Alph                                X   X   X    X    Yes  X             Pikmin Amanda                              X   X   X    X    DLC  X             Packages From Planet X American Dad                         X   X   X    X    DLC  X             American Dad Ami				    X   X   X    X    DLC  DLC           Hi Hi Puffy Ami Yumi Amiga                               X   X   X    X    Yes  Yes           Samba Amigo Amigo 				    X   X   X    X    Yes  Yes		  Samba Amigo Amy Rose                            X   X   X    X    Yes  Yes           Sonic Amythesis                           X   X   X    X    DLC  X             Steven Universe Altair                              X   X   X    X    Yes  Yes           Bomberman Anais                               X   X   X    X    DLC  X             Gumball Angelica Love                       X   X   X    X    Yes  X             TNA Angelo 				    X   X   X    X    DLC  X             Dragon Quest Angus Wartz			    X   X   X    X    DLC  X             Grease Burgers Antenia Wilson			    X   X   X    X    DLC  X             World War 5 Antonio Cesaro                      X   X   X    X    Yes  X             WWE April				    X   X   X    X    DLC  X		  Mutant Teenage Ninja Turtles Aria                                X   X   X    X    Yes  X             Aria the Scarlet Ammo Armand				    X   X   X    X    DLC  X		  Camp Lakebottom Artemis                             X   X   X    X    Yes  Yes           Bomberman Arthur				    X   X   X    X    DLC  X             Arthur Askana                              X   X   X    X    DLC  X             WWE Atndrof                             X   X   X    X    Yes  Yes           Ducktales Audrey Rhiengs                      X   X   X    X    DLC  X             House Holder Axel Chains                         X   X   X    X    Yes  X             Your Favorite Martian Balrog                              X   X   X    X    Yes  X             Street Fighter Bam Bam Bigelow                     X   X   X    X    Yes  X             WWE Baby Bowser			    X   X   X    X    X    Yes           Mario Baby Daisy                          X   X   X    X    X    Yes           Mario Baby Donkey Kong		    X   X   X    X    X    Yes		  Donkey Kong Baby King K Rool		    X   X   X    X    X    Yes		  Donkey Kong Baby Luigi                          X   X   X    X    X    Yes           Mario Baby Mario                          X   X   X    X    X    Yes           Mario Baby Rosalina                       X   X   X    X    X    Yes           Mario Baby Waluigi                        X   X   X    X    X    Yes           Mario Baby Wario                          X   X   X    X    X    Yes           Mario Bagular 			    X   X   X    Yes  Yes  Yes		  Bomberman Baljiet                             X   X   X    X    DLC  X             Phineas and Ferb Ballistamon                         X   X   X    X    DLC  X             Digimon Ballistic Burt			    X   X   X    X    DLC  X             Shoot Many Robots Bam Bam				    X   X    X    X   X    Yes	   	  Flintstones Banjo (Standalone)		    X   X   X    X    Yes  Yes           Banjo & Kazooie Banjo & Kazooie                     X   X   Yes  Yes  Yes  Yes           Banjo & Kazooie Baraka                              X   X   X    X    Yes  X             Mortal Kombat Baraka (Retro)                      X   X   X    X    Yes  X             Mortal Kombat Barbara 			    X   X   X    X    Yes  Yes		  Rayman Barnacle Boy			    X   X   X    X    DLC  X		  Spongebob Squarepants Barry Windham                       X   X   X    X    Yes  X             WWE Baron Ashura			    X   X   X    X    DLC  DLC           Mazinger Z/Robot Girls Bart Simpson			    X   X   X    X    Yes  X		  Simpsons Barney Rubble                       X   X   X    X    Yes  Yes           Flintstones Batista				    X   X   X    X    Yes  X		  WWE Batista	(Retro)			    X   X   X    X    DLC  X		  WWE Batman				    X   X   X    X    DLC  X             Batman Bastille			    X   X   X    X    DLC  X             Turok Bazooka Bruce                       X   X   X    X    Yes  Yes           Blazing Hardcores B.D. Joe                            X   X   X    X    Yes  Yes           Taxi Driver Beary Nice			    X   X   X    X    DLC  X             Uncle Grandpa Beastly				    X   X   X    X    DLC  X             Care Bears Beat                                X   X   X    X    Yes  Yes           Jet Set Radio Beavis 				    X   X   Yes  Yes* Yes  X		  Beavis & Butthead Beezelbmon			    X   X   X    X    DLC  X             Digimon Belson				    X   X   X    X    DLC  X             Clarence Benatar                             X   X   X    X    Yes  X             Your Favorite Martian Bender				    X   X   X    X    DLC  X             Futurama Belcha				    X   X   X    X    DLC  X             Belchin City Bell Chilly			    X   X   X    X    DLC  X             Chilin Peppers Ben Ravencroft		            X   X   X    X    DLC  X             Scooby Doo Benson                              X   X   X    X    Yes  Yes           Regular Show Bertha Faye                         X   X   X    X    Yes  X             WWE Bert 				    X   X   Yes  Yes  Yes  Yes		  Bert & Ernie Adventures Bert (Retro)                        X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Bert & Ernie Adventures Beth Phoenix                        X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE Betty Rubble                        X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Flintstones Bianca (Poke'mon)	            X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes		  Poke'mon Bianca (DQ)			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X             Dragon Quest Big The Cat			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X             Sonic Big Daddy V                         X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE Big Griz                            X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Sonic Big Boss Man                        X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE Big E Langston                      X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE Big John Studd                      X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE Big Valerie Schuz                   X   X    X    X   DLC  X             Punch Out Bill				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X             Left 4 Dead Billy 				    X   X    X    Yes Yes  Yes		  Adventures of Billy and Mandy Billy Hatcher			    X   X    X    X   DLC  Yes           Billy Hatcher Billy Numerous                      X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Teen Titans Binky Barnes			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X             Arthur Bird Brain			    X   X    X    X   DLC  Yes           TUFF Puppy Birdo				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X             Mario Black Mage			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X             Final Fantasy Blackfire                           X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Teen Titans Blackjack Lanza                     X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE Blackjack Mulligan                  X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE Blanka                              X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Street Fighter Bling Bling Boy			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X             Johnny Test Bloo				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X             Foster's Home Blossom                             X   X    X    X   DLC  DLC           Powerpuff Girls Bluto				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X             Popeye Bonnie                              X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Poke'mon Blaze                               X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Street Rage Bo Dallas			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X             NXT/WWE Bob's Burgers			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X             Bob's Burgers Bobby Hill			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X             King of the Hill B.O.B.				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X             Monsters vs Aliens Bomberman (White)	            X   X    Yes  Yes Yes  Yes		  Bomberman Bomberman (Black)                   X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Bomberman Bonanza Bros			    X   X    X    X   X    Yes		  Bonanza Bros Bobby Lashley                       X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE/TNA Bobby McDaul			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Punch Out Bobby Roode                         X   X    X    X   Yes  X             TNA Booker T                            X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE Boogeyman 			    X   X    X    Yes Yes  Yes		  Adventures of Billy and Mandy Boris the Bear Knokimov		    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Ready 2 Rumble Bowser 				    X   Yes  Yes  Yes Yes  Yes		  Mario Bowser (Retro)                      X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Mario Bowser Jr                           X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Mario Brack Verne			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Minnesota Sipping Bradley Buzzcut			    X	 X    X    X   Yes  X		  Beavis & Butthead Brain (Arthur)			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X             Arthur Brain (IG)			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Inspector Gadget Brak				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X             Space Ghost/Brak Show Bray Wyatt                          X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE Breadwinners			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X             Breadwinners Bret Favre			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  NFL Bret Hart                           X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE Brian Griffin			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Family Guy Brick                               X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Total Drama Brie Bella                          X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE British Bulldog                     X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE Brock Lesnar                        X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE Brock Lesnar (Retro)                X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE Bromanor                            X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Secret Mountain Fort Awesome Brodus Clay                         X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE Brooke Tessmacher                   X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE/TNA Bubbles				    X   X    X    X   DLC  DLC		  Powerpuff Girls Buck Rogers			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Real Life Buddhist Monkey			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Buddhist Monkey Bully Ray                           X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE/TNA Bumper				    X   X    X    X   X    DLC		  Diddy Kong Racking Burt				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X             Packages From Planet X Buster Bioge			     X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Buster Bioge Buttercup			    X   X    X    X   DLC  DLC		  Powerpuff Girls Bruce Lee                           X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Bruce Lee Bruno Sammartino                    X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE Bugs Bunny			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Looney Tunes Butthead 			    X   X    Yes  Yes Yes  X		  Beavis & Butthead Cade				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Shooy Many Robots Calimary			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Packages from Planet X Cameron                              X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE Cammy                               X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Street Fighter Campaigner			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Turok Candace Flynn			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Phineas and Ferb Candy Barbarian			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X             Dave the Barbarian Captain America			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Captain America Captain Falcon 			    Yes Yes  Yes  Yes Yes  Yes		  F-Zero Captain Gutt			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Ice Age Captain M Bison                     X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Street Fighter Care Bears			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Care Bears Carface			 	     X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  All Dogs Goes to Heaven Carl Brutanandileski 		    X   X    Yes  Yes Yes  X		  Aqua Teen Hunger Force Carl Skunk			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Scaredy Squirrel Caroline			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Poke'mon/Wreck it Ralph Carrie				    X   X    X    X   X    Yes		  Grojband Carver				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Dragon Quest Cassandria			    X   X    X    X   X    Yes		  Perfect Dark Cassie Cage                         X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Mortal Kombat Cassie Harrison			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Hunter Hamster Catwoman			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Catwoman Chameleon			    X   X    X    X   DLC  Yes		  TUFF Puppy Chandra Sekhar                      X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Perfect Dark Charizard 			    X   X    X    Yes Yes  Yes		  Pokemon Charley Davidson                    X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Biker Mice From Mars Charlie Barkin			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  All Dogs Goes to Heaven Charlotte			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  NXT/WWE Chavo Guerrero                      X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE/TNA Chef Hatchet                        X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Total Drama Chef Pee Pee                        X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Real Life Chief				    X   X    X    X   X    Yes		  TUFF Puppy Chewbacca			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Star Wars Chibo Robo			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Chibo Rico Chiyo Mihama			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Azamanga Daioh Chowder 			    X   X    X    Yes DLC  X		  Chowder Chris				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Dan Vs Chris Benoit                         X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE Chris Benoit (WCW)		    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  WCW Chris Griffin                       X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Family Guy Chris McClean                       X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Total Drama Chris Redfield			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Resident of Evil Christian                           X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE Christian (Retro)		    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  WWE Chrisopther Daniels                 X   X    X    X   Yes  X             TNA Chuckles			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Dave The Barbarian Chun Li                             X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Street Fighter Chunky Kong                         X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Donkey Kong Claire Redfield			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Resident of Evil Clarence                            X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Clarence CM Punk 			    X   X    X    X   Yes  X		  WWE Cody Rhodes                         X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE Chocolate Meillure		    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Sugar Sugar Rune Chris Jericho			    X   X    X    X   Yes  X		  WWE Chris Jericho (Retro)               X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE Chris Jericho (WCW)		    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  WCW Chrono				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Chrono Clay Bailey		  	     X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Xaolin Showdown Cleopatra			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Clone High Cloud				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Final Fantasy Clover Spy			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Totally Spies Coach				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Left 4 Dead Coal				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Jewelpet Cobra Bubbles			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Lilo & Stitch Coco				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Foster's Home Colonel Mustafa			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  WWE Conner Wakersham		    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Castlevania Cookie Monster                      X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Bert & Ernie Adventures Conker				    X   X    X    X   DLC  DLC           Conker Corey Graves			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  NXT/WWE Corey Riffin			    X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes		  Grojband Corvis Copernieus		    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Packages from Planet X Cosmo				     X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Fairly Oddparents Courage				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Courage the Cowardly Dog Courtney                            X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Total Drama Coverton			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Monsters vs Aliens Crane                               X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Kung Fu Panda Cranky Kong			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Donkey Kong Crash			            X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Ice Age Crash Bandicoot			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Crash Bandicoot Croyt				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Croyt Cuddles                             X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Happy Tree Friends Curt				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Packages from Planet X Curtis Axel                          X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE Cyborg                              X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Teen Titans Daffy Duck			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Looney Tunes Daisy 				    X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes		  Mario Dakota                              X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Total Drama Damian Sandow                       X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE Dan				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Dan Vs Dan Zembroksy			     X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Packages From Planet X Dan Walters 			     X   X    Yes  Yes Yes  Yes		  F-Zero Danielle			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Turok Daniel Bryan			    X   X    X    X   Yes  X 		  WWE Daphne			            X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Scooby Doo Daria                               X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Daria Dark Pit                            X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Kid Icarus Dark Tweensie                       X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Rayman Dark Vegan			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Johnny Test Darren Young                        X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE Darth Maul			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Star Wars Darth Vader			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Star Wars Darwin				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Gumball Dave the Barbarian		    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Dave the Barbarian David Otunga			    X   X    X    X   Yes  X		  WWE Dawn                                X   X    X    X   Yes  Tes           Poke'mon Dean Ambrose                        X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE Deathstroke			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Marvel Dee Dee				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Dexter's Laboratory Dee Jay                             X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Your Favorite Martian Denzel Crocker			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Fairly Oddparents Devon                               X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE/TNA Dexter				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Dexter's Laboratory Dhalism                             X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Street Fighter Diamond Dallas Page		    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  WWE/WCW Diego			            X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Ice Age Dipper				    X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes		  Gravity Falls Disco Bear                          X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Happy Tree Friends Diddy Kong 			    X   X    Yes  Yes Yes  Yes		  Donkey Kong Diddy Kong (Retro)                  X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Donkey Kong Dingle                              X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Secret Mountain Fort Awesome Dixie Kong 			    X   X    Yes  Yes Yes  Yes		  Donkey Kong DJ                                  X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Total Drama Dojo				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Xaolin Showdown Dolph Ziggler 			    X   X    X    X   Yes  X		  WWE Donkey                              X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Shrek Donkey Kong 			    Yes Yes  Yes  Yes Yes  Yes		  Donkey Kong Donkey Kong (64)                    X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Donkey Kong Donkey Kong (Retro)                 X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Donkey Kong Donotello			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Mutant Teenage Ninja Turtles Doryuumon			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Digimon Dot				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Animaniacs Dr Claw				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Inspector Gadget Dr Cockroach			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Monsters vs Aliens Dr Doofenschmirtz		    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Phineas and Ferb Dr Draken			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Kim Possible Dr Eggman                           X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Sonic Dr Mario 			    X   Yes  Yes  Yes*Yes  Yes		  Mario Dr Robotnik                         X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Sonic Dr Scratchinsniff		    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Animaniacs Dr Stewart                          X   X    X    X   X    Yes           F-Zero Dr Weird			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Aqua Teen Hunger Force Dr Wily				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Mega Man Dragonlord			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Dragon Quest Dry Bowser                          X   X    X    Yes*X    Yes           Mario Dry Bones                           X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Mario Dub				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Fusion Frenzy Duck Hunt                           X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Duck Hunt Dudley                              X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Tuff Puppy Duff Killington			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Kim Possible Dukey				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Johnny Test Duncan                              X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Total Drama Dusty Rhodes                        X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE DW				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Arthur E Honda                             X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Street Fighter Earthquake			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  WWE Ed				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Ed Edd n Eddy Edd				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Ed Edd n Eddy Eddie				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Ice Age Eddie Guerrero                      X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE Eddy				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Ed Edd n Eddy Edge                                X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE Edge (Retro)			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  WWE Edwuardo			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Foster's Home Eggplant Wizard			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Kid Icarus El Fuerte                           X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Street Fighter Elite Soldier			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Turok Eliose				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Dan Vs Elise				     X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Left 4 Dead Elmer Fudd			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Looney Tunes Elysia                              X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Rayman Emboar                              X   X    X    X   X    Yes           Poke'mon Emma 				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  NXT/WWE Emory				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Aqua Teen Hunger Force Entree				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Spliced Erick Roman                         X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE Ermac                               X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Mortal Kombat Ernie 				    X   X    Yes  Yes Yes  Yes 	  Bert & Ernie Adventures Ernie (Retro)                       X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Bert & Ernie Adventures Err				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Aqua Teen Hunger Force Espio the Charmeleon		    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Sonic Ethan Carter                        X   X    X    X   Yes  X             TNA Eustache			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Courage the Cowardly Dog Eva                                 X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Total Drama Evil Ryu                            X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Street Fighter Ezekiel                             X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Total Drama Falco 				    X   Yes  Yes  Yes Yes  Yes	          Star Fox Fandango                            X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE Fang Barbarian			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Dave the Barbarian Fart				    X   X    X    X   Yes  X		  Secret Mountain Fort Awesome Ferb				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Phineas and Ferb Festro 				    X   X    X    X   Yes  X		  Secret Mountain Fort Awesome Finlay				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  WCW/WWE Finn				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Adventure Time Fiona				    X   X    X    X   DLC  DLC		  Shrek Fireborn			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Turok Fire Rosalina			    X   X    X    X   X    Yes		  Mario Five				    X   X    X    X   DLC  Yes		  Seven Little Monsters Fix it Felix Jr                     X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Wreck it Ralph Flannery			    X   X    X    X   X    DLC		  Poke'mon Flippy                              X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Happy Tree Friends Foop				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Fairly Oddparents Football Manager		    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Football Manager Four				    X   X    X    X   DLC  Yes		  Seven Little Monsters Fox 				    Yes Yes  Yes  Yes Yes  Yes		  Star Fox Francine		            X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Arthur Fox (Retro)                         X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Star Fox Francis				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Left 4 Dead Frankie				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Foster's Home Fred				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Scooby Doo Fred Flintstone 		    X   X    Yes  Yes Yes  Yes		  Flintstones Fry				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Futurama Frylock                             X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Aqua Teen Hunger Force Funkasaurus Brodus Clay             X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE Funky Kong                          X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Donkey Kong Fuzzy Lumpkins			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Powerpuff Girls Gail Kim                            X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE Gallaxhar			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Monsters vs Aliens Gandhi				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Clone High Ganondorf 			    X   X    X    Yes Yes  Yes		  Legend of Zelda Ganondorf (Retro)		    X   Yes  Yes  X   DLC  X		  Legend of Zelda Gantu				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Lilo & Stitch Garfield 			    X 	 X    Yes  Yes Yes  Yes		  Garfield Garnet				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Steven Universe General Adnan			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  WWE General Monger			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Monsters vs Aliens General Winter 			    X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes		  Company Heroes Geena				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Fusion Frenzy Geoff                               X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Total Drama George				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Jetsons Ghostmanurge 			    X   X    Yes  Yes Yes  Yes		  Ducktales The Giant			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  WCW Giggles                             X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Happy Tree Friends Gilius                              X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Golden Axe Gizmo                               X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Teen Titans Globox 				    X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes		  Rayman Gloria				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Madascgar Glover 				    X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes		  Glover Goku				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Dragon Ball Z Gold Peach			     X   X   X    X    X    Yes		  Mario Goldberg                            X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE Goldust                             X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE/TNA Gorilla Kong                        X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE Gorons				    X   X    X    X   X    Yes		  Legend of Zelda Gouken                              X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Street Fighter Granny				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Ice Age Grease Pit                          X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Biker Mice from Mars Gretchen			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Camp Lakebottom The Great Khali                     X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE Green Lanturn			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Green Lantern Greninja			    X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes		  Poke'mon Grim Reaper 			    X   X    Yes  Yes Yes  Yes		  Adventures of Billy & Mandy Grounder                            X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Sonic Gruntilda 			    X   X    X    Yes Yes  Yes		  Banjo & Kazooie Guile                               X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Street Fighter Gum                                 X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Jet Set Radio Gumball				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Gumball Guardian			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Turok Gweelok                             X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Secret Mountain Fort Awesome Gwen                                X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Total Drama Hades 				    X   X    Yes  Yes Yes  Yes		  Ducktales Handy                               X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Happy Tree Friends Haneru				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Tribe Cool Crew Hank Hill			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  King of the Hill Harold                              X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Total Drama Harold (GAOBAM)		 	    X   X    X    X   X    Yes		  Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy Harold Slikk                        X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Angry German Kid Heather                             X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Total Drama Heavy			   	     X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Team Fortress 2 Helga Pataki                        X   X    X    X   Yes  X             The Patakis Hello Nurse			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Animaniacs Henry				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Horrid Henry Hetheur                             X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Pixies of Sylphonia Hi Five Ghost                       X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Regular Show Hilda				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Poke'mon Him				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Powerpuff Girls Hime Yarizakura			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Cherry Blossom Quartet Hollywood Hulk Hogan		    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  WCW/WWE Homer Simpson 			    X   X    Yes  Yes Yes  X		  Simpsons Honky Tonk Man			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  WWE Hortense			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Dan Vs Hsu Hao                              X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Mortal Kombat Hulk Hogan			    X   X    X    X   Yes  X		  WWE Hulk Hogan (Retro)		    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  WWE Humba Wumba                         X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Banjo & Kazooie Hunter Hearst Helmsley		    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  WWE Ice Climbers 			    X   Yes  Yes  Yes X    Yes		  Ice Climbers Ice King			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Adventure Time Ichigo				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Bleach Igglybuff 			    X   X    Yes  X   X    X		  Pokemon Iggy                                X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Mario Ike 				    X   X    X    Yes Yes  Yes		  Fire Emblem Incredible Hulk			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Incredible Hulk Iniginot			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Aqua Teen Hunger Force Inspector Gadget		    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Inspector Gadget Inuyasha			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Inuyasha Iris			   	     X   X    X    X   DLC  DLC		  Poke'mon Iron Sheik                          X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE ISaac			  	     X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Golden Sun Isabella			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Phineas and Ferb Itchy Itchiford			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  All Dogs Goes to Heaven Izzy                                X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Total Drama Ivysaur 			    X   X    X    Yes X    X		  Pokemon Jabba the Hut			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Star Wars Jack Dark                           X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Perfect Dark Jack Spicer			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Xaolin Showdown Jack Swagger                        X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE Jacky Bryant			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Virtua Fighter Jade                                X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Mortal Kombat Jade (Retro)                        X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Mortal Kombat Jagular                             X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Space Channel 5 Jake				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Adventure Time Jake Roberts			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  WWE James Bond                          X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Goldeneye Jars Jars			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Star Wars Jax                                 X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Mortal Kombat Jeff (Clarence)			    X   X    X    X   DLC  Yes		  Clarence Jeff (Dan Vs)		    	     X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Dan Vs Jeff Hardy                           X   X    X    X   Yes  X             TNA Jeff Hardy (Retro)                  X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE Jeff Jarrett                        X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE/TNA Jenny				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  My Life as a Teenage Robot Jerry Lawler 		            X   X    Yes  X   X    X		  WWE Jessica				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Dragon Quest Jet			 	    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Fusion Frenzy Jey Uso                             X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE Jigglypuff 			    Yes Yes  Yes  Yes Yes  Yes		  Pokemon Jill Valentine			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Resident of Evil Jimmy Uso                           X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE Jinx                                X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Teen Titans Joan of Arc			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Clone High Joanna Dark 			    X   X    Yes  Yes Yes  Yes           Perfect Dark Joe Musashi                         X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Shinobi Jodi Summers 			    X   X    X    Yes Yes  Yes		  F-Zero John Bradshaw Layfield	 	    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  WWE John Cena			    X   X    X    X   Yes  X		  WWE John Cena (Retro)                   X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE John F Kennedy			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Clone High Johnny Bravo			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Johnny Bravo Johnny Cage 			    X   X    Yes  Yes Yes  X		  Mortal Kombat Johnny Cage (Retro)                 X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Mortal Kombat Johnny Test			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Johnny Test Johnathan Steinberg                 X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Perfect Dark Johnathan Syrupsen                  X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Total Drama The Joker			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Batman Jon Arbuckle			    X   X    X    X   X    Yes		  Garfield Jordan Buttsquat		    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Camp Lakebottom Joshua				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Turok Judy				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Jetsons Juggernaut			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Turok Jumba				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Lilo & Stitch Juniper Lee			    X   X    X    X   DLC  DLC		  Juniper Lee Juri                                X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Street Fighter Justin                              X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Total Drama Justin Gabriel                      X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE Kago                                X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Uto & Kago Kane                                X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE Kane (Retro)                        X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE Kanna				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Tri Zenon Kano                                X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Mortal Kombat Kanon				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Tribe Cool Crew Katie Kaboom			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Animaniacs Kaz			 	    X   X    X    X   DLC  DLC		  Hi Hi Puffy Ami Yumi Kazooie (Standalone)                X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Banjo & Kazooie Ken                                 X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Street Fighter Kevin Nash			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  WWE Kevin Nash (WCW)		    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  WCW Kezwick				    X   X    X    X   X    Yes		  TUFF Puppy Kid Flash                           X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Teen Titans Kiddy Kong 			    X   X    Yes  X   Yes  Yes		  Donkey Kong Killer				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  All Dogs Goes to Heaven Kim Possible			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Kim Possible Kimiko Tohomiko			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Xaolin Showdown Kimmie				    X   X    X    X   X    Yes		  Grojband Kin                                 X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Grojband King Boo                            X   X    X    X   X    Yes           Mario King Candy                          X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Wreck it Ralph King Dedede 			    X   X    X    Yes Yes  Yes		  Kirby King Hippo			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Punch Out King Julian			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Madasgcar King K Rool 			    X   X    Yes  Yes Yes  Yes           Donkey Kong Kirby 				    Yes Yes  Yes  Yes Yes  Yes		  Kirby Kiryl				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Dragon Quest Kitty Katswell                      X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Tuff Puppy Kitana                              X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Mortal Kombat Kitana (Retro)                      X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Mortal Kombat Klump                               X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Donkey Kong Knuckles                            X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Sonic Kofi Kingston                       X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE Koko Loco			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Capertown Cops Kon                                 X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Grojband Konnie				    X   X    X    X   X    Yes		  Grojband Konnor				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  NXT/WWE Korra				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Legend of Korra Korrina                             X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Poke'mon Kris				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Poke'mon Kronk				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Emperor's New Groove Krusha 				    X   X    X    Yes Yes  Yes		  Donkey Kong Krunk				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Justice Friends Krystal                             X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Star Fox Kumo				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Tribe Cool Crew Kung Lao                            X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Mortal Kombat Kurt Angle                          X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE/TNA Kuzco				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Emperor's New Groove Kyd Wykkyd                          X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Teen Titans Lakitu				    X   X    X    X   X    Yes		  Mario Launchpad 			    X   X    Yes  Yes Yes  Yes		  Ducktales Laney Penn			    X   X    X    X   X    Yes		  Grojband Lanky Kong                          X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Donkey Kong Larry				    X   X    X    X   X    Yes		  Grojband Larry Koopa                         X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Mario Larry Lobster			    X   X    X    X   X    Yes		  SpongeBob Lawrence Limburger                  X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Biker Mice from Mars Layla                               X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE Lazlo				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Camp Lazlo Leaf				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Poke'mon Lee Kanker			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Ed Edd n Eddy Lemmy                               X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Mario Leroy                               X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Super Mario & Sonic All Stars Street Fortune Leopold Slikk                       X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Angry German Kid Leonardo			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Mutant Teenage Ninja Turtles Lex Luger			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  WCW/WWE Lex Luthor		            X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Marvel Lifty                               X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Happy Tree Friends Lighting                            X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Total Drama Lilo				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Lilo & Stitch Link 				    Yes Yes  Yes  Yes Yes  Yes		  Legend of Zelda Link (Retro)                        X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Legend of Zelda Lita			            X   X    X    X   Yes  X		  WWE Little Mac 			    X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes	 	  Punch Out Lloyd				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Tales Locusts				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Gears of Wear Lord of Dead                        X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Turok Lotso Hugging Bear		    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Losto Hugging Bear Louis				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Left 4 Dead Lucario 			    X	 X    X    Yes Yes  Yes		  Pokemon Lucina                              X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Fire Emblem Lucas 				    X   X    X    Yes DLC  Yes		  Earthbound Ludwig                              X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Mario Lui Kang                            X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Mortal Kombat Luigi 				    Yes Yes  Yes  Yes Yes  Yes           Mario Luke Skywalker			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Star Wars Lumpy                               X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Happy Tree Friends Lumpus				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Camp Lazlo Luke Harper                         X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE Lyn                                 X   X    X    X   X    Yes           Fire Emblem Lyra				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Poke'mon Mabel				    X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes		  Gravity Falls Mach Rider			    X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes		  Mach Rider Mad Mike                            X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Sonic Madam Foster			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Foster's Home Madison Rayne                       X   X    X    X   Yes  X             TNA Magica De Evil			    X   X    X    Yes Yes  Yes		  Ducktales Mai Hem                             X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Perfect Dark Major Glory			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Justice Friends Malsquando			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Dave the Barbarian Mama Gunda			    X   X    X    X   X    Yes		  Uto & Kago Mammoth                             X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Teen Titans Mandark				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Dexter's Laboratory Mandy                               X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Adventures of Billy & Mandy Manfred				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Ice Age Mantid Drone			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Turok Mantin Mites			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Turok Mantid Soldier			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Turok Marco				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Star Vs Forces of Evil Marie Kanker			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Ed Edd n Eddy Mario 				    Yes Yes  Yes  Yes Yes  Yes		  Mario Mario (Retro)                       X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Mario Mark Henry                          X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE Mark Henry (Retro)		    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  WWE Marth 				    X   Yes  Yes  Yes Yes  Yes		  Fire Emblem Marty				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Madascgar Mary Test			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Johnny Test Mantis                              X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Kung Fu Panda Marcus Fenix			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Gears of War Mashiro				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Tribe Cool Crew Master Shake 			    X   X    X    X   Yes  X		  Aqua Teen Hunger Force Master Shifu                        X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Kung Fu Panda Master Splinter			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Mutant Teenage Ninja Turtles Matt Hardy                          X   X    X    X   Yes  X             TNA Matt Hardy (Retro)                  X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE Max                                 X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Total Drama Maurice			            X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Madascgar May                                 X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Poke'mon May Kanker			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Ed Edd n Eddy Maylene				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Poke'mon Mc Gee			 	     X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Camp Lakebottom Meatwad                             X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Aqua Teen Hunger Force Mee Mee                             X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Super Monkey Ball Mega Man 			    X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes		  Mega Man Mega Mind			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Mega Mind Melman				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Madascgar Memy9909			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  GoAnimate Mermaid Man			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  SpongeBob Meta Knight 			    X   X    X    Yes Yes  Yes		  Kirby Metal Sonic                         X   X    X    X   DLC  Yes           Sonic Meti 				    X   X    Yes  Yes Yes  Yes		  Metroid Mewtwo 				    X   Yes  Yes  Yes*X    Yes		  Pokemon Miis                                X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Wii Michangelo			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Mutant Teenage Ninja Turtles Mike                                X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Total Drama Mike Tyson			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Punch Out Mike Wazowski			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Monsters Inc. Mikey				     X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Digimon Mileena                             X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Mortal Kombat Mina				    X   X    X    X   X    Yes		  Grojband Mindy                               X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Adventures of Billy & Mandy Minky Momo			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Minky Momo Mirage				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  The Incredibles Miss Battleaxe			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Horrid Henry Miss Endive			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Chowder Miss Simian			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Gumball Missing Link			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Monsters vs Aliens Misty                               X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Poke'mon The Miz                             X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE MVP                                 X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE/TNA Modo                                X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Biker Mice from Mars Monokuma			    X   X    X    X   X    DLC		  Dangan Ronpa Monkey D Luffy			    X   X    X    X   Yes  X		  One Piece The Mole                            X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Happy Tree Friends Mojo Jojo			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Powerpuff Girls Monkey                              X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Kung Fu Panda Monkey Fist			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Kim Possible Moody Maraget			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Horrid Henry Motar				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Space Ghost Mr. Black			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Johnny Test Mr. Game & Watch 		    X   Yes  Yes  Yes Yes  Yes		  Game & Watch Mr Gus				    X   X    X    X   Yes  X		  Uncle Grandpa Mr. Herriman 			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Foster's Home Mr. Incredible			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  The Incredibles Mr. Kennedy                         X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE Mr. Krabs                           X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Spongebob Squarepants Mr. Maellard			    X   X    X    X   X    Yes		  Regular Show Mr. Mittens			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Johnny Test Mr. Serman & Watch 		    X   X    Yes  Yes Yes  Yes		  Game & Watch Mr. Slate			    X   X    X    X   X    Yes		  Flintstones Mr. Tendo			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Ranma 1/2 Mr. Test			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Johnny Test Mr. Turner			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Fairly Oddparents Mr. Waternoose			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Monsters Inc. Mr. White			     X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Johnny Test Mordecai                            X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Regular Show Mort				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Madascgar Morton                              X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Mario Mousse				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Ranma 1/2 Mumbo 				    X   X    Yes  Yes Yes  Yes		  Banjo & Kazooie Mumbo (Retro)                       X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Banjo & Kazooie Mung Daal			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Chowder Muriel				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Courage the Cowardly Dog Muscle Man                          X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Regular Show Mrs Puff			    X   X    X    X   X    Yes		  SpongeBob Mryyah			            X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Gears of Wear Noah                                X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Total Drama Nami				    X   X    X    X   Yes  X		  One Piece Natalya                             X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE Natsumi Hinata                      X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Sgt Frog Nermal				    X   X    X    X   X    Yes		  Garfield Ness 				    Yes Yes  Yes  Yes Yes  Yes		  Earthbound Nights                              X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Nights Nightwolf                           X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Mortal Kombat Nikki Bella                         X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE Naomi (WWE)			    X   X    X    X   Yes  X		  WWE Naomi (FF)			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Fusion Frenzy Naru				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Love Hina Naruto				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Naruto Natalia				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Resident of Evil Nene				    X   X    X    X   DLC  DLC		  Digimon Nestor				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Scaredy Squirrel Nestor's Mom			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Scaredy Squirrel Nick				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Left 4 Dead Nicole				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Gumball Noob Saibot                         X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Mortal Kombat Nora Wakeman			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  My Life as a Teenage Robot Nui Harime			    X   X    X    X   Yes  X		  Kill la Kill Obvilion Spawn			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Turok Odie				    X   X    X    X   X    Yes		  Garfield Olyve Oil			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Popeye Omi				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Xaolin Showdown One				    X   X    X    X   DLC  Yes		  Seven Little Monsters Oog				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Aqua Teen Hunger Force Orgothrope			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Aqua Teen Hunger Force Orion                               X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Bomberman Oni                                 X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Street Fighter Oscar the Grouch 		    X   X    X    Yes Yes  Yes		  Bert & Ernie Adventures Oscar the Grouch (Retro)            X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Bert & Ernie Adventures Olimar/Pikmin 			    X   X    X    Yes Yes  Yes 	  Pikmin Otis				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Back at the Barnyard Owen                                X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Total Drama Pac-Man                             X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Pac-Man Padme				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Star Wars Paige				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  WWE Palutena                            X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Kid Icarus Pancha				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Emporeor's New Groove Patrick Starr			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Spongebob Patty				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Dragon Quest Pauline                             X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Mario Peach 				    X   Yes  Yes  Yes Yes  Yes           Mario Pearl				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Steven Universe Pearl Whale			    X   X    X    X   X    Yes		  SpongeBob Pebbles				    X   X    X    X   X    Yes		  Flintstones The Penguins			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Madascgar Penny 				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Inspector Gadget Pepper Ann			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Pepper Ann Perry the Platypus		    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Phineas and Ferb Peri			     	     X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Spliced Perona				    X   X    X    X   Yes  X		  One Piece Peter				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X	  	  Horrid Henry Peter Griffin                       X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Family Guy Phineas				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Phineas and Ferb Pichu 				    X   Yes  X    X   X    Yes		  Pokemon Pikachu 			    Yes Yes  Yes  Yes Yes  Yes		  Pokemon Pikachu (Retro)                     X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Pokemon Pinky Ooyima			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Jewelpet Pipsy				    X   X    X    X   X    DLC		  Diddy Kong Racing Pizza Steve			    X   X    X    X   Yes  X		  Uncle Grandpa Pit 				    X   X    X    Yes Yes  Yes		  Kid Icarus Plankton			    X   X    X    X   X    Yes		  SpongeBob Platypunk			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Dragon Quest Pleaky				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Lilo & Stitch Po                                  X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Kung Fu Panda Pops				    X   X    X    X   X    Yes           Regular Show Poof				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Fairly Oddparents Popeye				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Popeye Porky Pig			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Looney Tunes Princess Morbucks		    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Powerpuff Girls Princessa			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Dragon Quest Principal Steinback		    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Real Life Private H.I.V.E.                    X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Teen Titans Pudding                             X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Space Channel 5 Puff Puff Humbert                   X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Your Favorite Martian Pyro				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Team Fortress 2 Quan Chi                            X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Mortal Kombat Queen Bee			    X   X   X    X    X    Yes		  Mario Quosmir				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Dave the Barbarian R2				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Star Wars R-Truth                             X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE Raiden                              X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Mortal Kombat Raimundo Pedrosa		    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Xaolin Showdown Raphael			            X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Mutant Teenage Ninja Turtles Ralph the Guard			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Animaniacs Randy Orton 			    X   X    X    Yes Yes  X 		  WWE Randy Orton (Retro)                 X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE Randy Savage                        X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE Ranma				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X	 	  Ranma 1/2 Rayman 				    X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes 	  Rayman Red				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  All Dogs Goes to Heaven Ren				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Ren & Stimpy Reptile                             X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Mortal Kombat Rex                                 X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Super Mario & Sonic All Stars Street Fortune Rey Mysterio                        X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE Reala                               X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Nights Regulus                             X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Bomberman Rhyno                               X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE/TNA Ric Flair                           X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE/TNA Rick Rude			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  WWE Richard				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Gumball Rigby                               X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Regular Show Roman Reigns                        X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE Ronald Ramreiz                      X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Angry Domician Kid Rosalina 			    X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes 	  Mario Rouge the Bat			    X   X    X    X   DLC  Yes           Sonic R.O.B. 				    X   X    X    Yes Yes  Yes		  Gyromite/Stack Up Rob Van Dam                          X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE Robin				    X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes		  Fire Emblem Rochelle			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Left 4 Dead Ron Unstoppable			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Kim Possible Roy 				    X   Yes  Yes  Yes*DLC  Yes		  Fire Emblem Roy Koopa                           X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Mario Rouge                               X   X    X    X   X    Yes           Sonic Ruby				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Jewelpet Ryback 				    X   X    X    X   Yes  X 		  WWE Ryo Hazuki			    X   X    X    X   DLC  Yes		  Shemnue Ryoga				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Ranma 1/2 Ryu                                 X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Street Fighter Sagat                               X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Street Fighter Sailor Moon			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Sailor Moon Sakura                              X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Street Fighter Sam                                 X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Total Drama Sam Spy				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Totally Spies Samoa Joe                           X   X    X    X   Yes  X             TNA Samson				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Fusion Frenzy Sandy Cheeks                        X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Spongebob Squarepants Santino Marella                     X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE Samurai Goroh 			    X   X    X    Yes X    Yes		  F-Zero Samurott                            X   X    X    X   X    Yes           Poke'mon Samus 				    Yes Yes  Yes  Yes Yes  Yes		  Metroid Sara				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Ed Edd n Eddy Sasami Masaki                       X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Magical Girl Pretty Sammy Sasha Banks			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  NXT/WWE Sawyer				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Camp Lakebottom Scaredy Squirrel		    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Scaredy Squirrel Scarlett                            X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Total Drama Schnitzel			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Chowder Scooby Doo			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Scooby Doo Scott                               X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Total Drama Scott Hall			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  WWE Scott Hall (WCW)		    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  WCW Scott Norton			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  WCW Scott Steiner			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  WWE/WCW Scorpion                            X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Mortal Kombat Scrooge 			    X   X    Yes  Yes Yes  Yes 	  Ducktales Scratch                             X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Sonic Sedusa				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Powerpuff Girls Seemore                             X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Teen Titans Serena                              X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Poke'mon Sergeant Calhoun                    X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Wreck it Ralph Sergeant Frog                       X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Sgt Frog Sergeant Slaughter 		    X   X    Yes  Yes*Yes  X		  WWE Serperior                           X   X    X    X   X    Yes           Poke'mon Seven				    X   X    X    X   DLC  Yes		  Seven Little Monsters Shaggy				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Scooby Doo Shampoo				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Ranma 1/2 Seth Rollins                        X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE Shang Tsung                         X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Mortal Kombat Shantae				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Shantae Shao Kahn                           X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Mortal Kombat Shauna                              X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Poke'mon Shawn                               X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Total Drama Shawn Michaels                      X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE Sheamus				    X   X    X    X   Yes  X		  WWE Shego				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Kim Possible Sheik 				    X   Yes  Yes  Yes Yes  Yes 	  Legend of Zelda Shen                                X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Kung Fu Panda Sherry Birkin			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Resident of Evil Shifty                              X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Happy Tree Friends Shitty G			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Your Favorite Martian Shredder			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Mutant Teenage Ninja Turtles Shrek 				    X   X    X    Yes Yes  Yes		  Shrek Shulk                               x   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Xenoblade Sid				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Ice Age Sindel                              X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Mortal Kombat Sirius                              X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Bomberman Sissy				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Johnny Test Six				    X   X    X    X   DLC  Yes		  Seven Little Monsters Skips                               X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Regular Show Skrone 				    X   X    Yes  Yes Yes  Yes		  Gauntlet Slime				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Dragon Quest Slippy				    X   X    X    X   X    Yes		  Star Fox Slog                                X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Secret Mountain Fort Awesome Snake 				    X   X    X    Yes DLC  Yes		  Metal Gear Solid Snaprat				    X   X    X    X   DLC  Yes		  TUFF Puppy Sniffles                            X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Happy Tree Friends Shogun				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Total War Shoutman			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Digimon Sonic 			            X   X    X    Yes Yes  Yes 	  Sonic the Hedgehog Soos				    X   X    X    X   DLC  Yes		  Gravity Falls Sora				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Kingdom Hearts Sour Bill			    X   X    X    X   X    DLC		  Wreck It Ralph Space Ghost			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Space Ghost SpongeBob 			    X   X    X    Yes Yes  Yes		  SpongeBob Squidward 			    X   X    X    Yes Yes  Yes		  SpongeBob Squirt				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Camp Lakebottom Squirtle 			    X   X    X    Yes X    Yes		  Pokemon Sonya Blade			    X   X    X    X   Yes  X		  Mortal Kombat Sonya Blade (Retro)                 X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Mortal Kombat Splendid                            X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Happy Tree Friends Spy			   	     X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Team Fortress 2 Stan				    X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes		  Gravity Falls Star				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Star Vs Forces of Evil Starfire 			    X   X    X    X   Yes  X   	  Teen Titans Stephanie McMahon 		    X   X    X    X   Yes  X 		  WWE Stewie Griffin                      X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Family Guy Stella				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Dragon Quest Stimpy				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Ren & Stimpy Sting				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  WCW/WWE Sting (Retro)			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  WCW Stitch				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Lilo & Stitch Stone Cold 			    X   X    Yes  Yes Yes  Yes           WWE Stryker				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Mortal Kombat Sub Zero                            X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Mortal Kombat Sue Ellen			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Arthur Sulley				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Monsters Inc. Summer Rae                           X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE Sumner 				    X   X    X    Yes Yes  Yes 	  Gauntlet Sumo                                X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Clarence Superman			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Superman Superstar Diddy 		    X   X    Yes  Yes*Yes  Yes		  Donkey Kong Susan				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Monsters vs Aliens Susan Test			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Johnny Test Suzi				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Camp Lakebottom Swqueep				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Monsters vs Aliens Syra				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Turok Symboliant			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Turok Syxx				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  WCW/WWE Taffyta				    X   X    X    X   X    DLC		  Wreck it Ralph Tai Lung                            X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Kung Fu Panda Tails                               X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Sonic Tal Set				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Turok Ted Dibaise                         X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE Teen Titan Robin	            X   X    X    X   Yes  X		  Teen Titans Tenchi Muyo                         X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Tenchi Muyo Tenpion				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Tribe Cool Crew Tensai                              X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE Thomas				    X   X    X    X   X    Yes		  Regular Show Throttle                            X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Biker Mice from Mars The Big Show 			    X   X    X    X   Yes  X 		  WWE The Rock 			    X   X    X    X   Yes  X		  WWE Three				    X   X    X    X   DLC  Yes		  Seven Little Monsters Tieno                               X   X    X    X   X    Yes           Poke'mon Tifa Lockhart			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Final Fantasy Tiger General			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  War Journal Tiger Soldier			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  War Journal Tigeress                            X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Kung Fu Panda Timber				    X   X    X    X   X    DLC		  Diddy Kong Racing Tiptup				    X   X    X    X   X    DLC		  Banjo & Kazooie Tingle				    X   X    X    X   X    Yes		  Legend of Zelda Timmy Turner			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Fairly Oddparents Tiny Kong                           X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Donkey Kong Titus O'Neil                        X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE Tomo Takino			    X   X    X    X   DLC  DLC		  Azumanga Daioh Toon Ganondorf			    X   X    X    X   X    Yes		  Legend of Zelda Toon Link 			    X   X    X    Yes Yes  Yes		  Legend of Zelda Toon Sheik			    X   X    X    X   X    Yes		  Legend of Zelda Toon Zelda			    X   X    X    X   X    Yes	          Legend of Zelda Toothy                              X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Happy Tree Friends Tootie				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Fairly Oddparents Trent Easton 			    X   X    X    Yes Yes  Yes		  Perfect Dark Trevor                              X   X    X    X   X    Yes           Poke'mon Trina Riffin                        X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Grojband Trixie				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Fairly Oddparents Triple H                            X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE Triple H (Retro)                    X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE Trish Stratus                       X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE Troll				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Packages From Planet X T.T.				     X   X    X    X   X    DLC		  Diddy Kong Racing Tweensies                           X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Rayman Tyler                               X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Total Drama Tyson Kidd                          X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE Turbo                               X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Wreck It Ralph Turok                               X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Turok Two				    X   X    X    X   DLC  Yes		  Seven Little Monsters Ulala                               X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Space Channel 5 Umaga                               X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE Usopp				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  One Piece Uta				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Onegai My Melody Uto                                 X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Uto & Kago Ultimate Warrior                    X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE Ultimate Warrior (Retro)	    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  WWE Uncle Grandpa			    X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Uncle Grandpa Uncle Oswidge			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Dave the Barbarian Undetaker                           X   X    Yes  Yes Yes  X             WWE Undertaker (Retro)                  X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE Universal Remonster                 X   X    X    Yes X    X             Aqua Teen Hunger Force Vader                               X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE Van Hallen			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Justice Friends Vanellope                           X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Wreck it Ralph Vanessa Doofenschmirtz		    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Phineas and Ferb Vanilla				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Sugar Sugar Rune Velcoraptor		    	     X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Turok Velma				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Scooby Doo Velma Detective			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Velma Detective Velvet Dark                         X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Perfect Dark Velvet Sky                          X   X    X    X   Yes  X             TNA Vickie Guerrero                     X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE Vicky				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Fairly Oddparents Villager                            X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Animal Crossing Vince McMahon                       X   X    X    Yes Yes  X             WWE Vinnie                              X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Biker Mice From Mars Viper                               X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Kung Fu Panda Waddle Dee                          X   X    X    X   DLC  Yes           Kirby Wacko				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Animaniacs Wade Barrett                        X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE Waluigi                             X   X    Yes  X   X    Yes           Mario Wanda				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Fairly Oddparents Wario                               X   X    Yes  Yes Yes  Yes           Warioware Warlord				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Turok Watto				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Star Wars Wendy				    X   X    X    X   DLC  Yes		  Gravity Falls Wendy Koopa                         X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Mario White Mage			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Final Fantasy Wii Fit Trainer 		    X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes		  Wii Fit Wilemmus 			    X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Total War Rome Wilma Flintstonw		    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Flintstones Wilt				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Foster's Home Winn Chan			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Winn Chan Wise Father			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Turok Wizardphire                         X   X    X    X   X    Yes           Super Mario & All Star Racing Transformed Wizard Scrooge 			    X   X    Yes  Yes*Yes  Yes		  Ducktales Wreck it Ralph 			    X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes		  Wreck it Ralph Wolf 				    X   X    X    Yes DLC  Yes		  Star Fox Wonder Woman			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Wonder Woman Wong Burger			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Aqua Teen Hunger Force Xavier Woods                        X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE Xexus				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  My Life as a Teenage Robot Yamada			 	     X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  B Gata H Kei Yakko				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Animaniacs Yang                                X   X    X    X   Yes  x             Street Fighter Yangus				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Dragon Quest Yokozuna                            X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE Yoshi 				    Yes Yes  Yes  Yes Yes  Yes		  Yoshi Yoshi Tatsu                         X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE Yoshina Kuchiru			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Yoshina Kuchiru Yoshmyte Sam			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Looney Tunes Yumi				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Hi Hi Puffy Ami Yumi Young Link 			    X   Yes  Yes  Yes X    Yes		  Legend of Zelda Yun                                 X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Street Fighter Yuma				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Lilo & Stitch Yzma				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Emporer's New Groove Zack Ryder                          X   X    X    X   Yes  X             WWE Zak				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Fusion Frenzy Zangeif                             X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Street Fighter Zarak				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Space Ghost Zelda 				    X   Yes  Yes  Yes Yes  Yes		  Legend of Zelda Zero				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Mega Man Zero Suit Samus 		    X   X    X    Yes Yes  Yes		  Metroid Zhang Li                            X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Perfect Dark Zobio				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  House of the Dead Zobilo				    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  House of the Dead Zoey                                X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Total Drama Zoey L4D			    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Left 4 Dead Zoroark                             X   X    X    X   Yes  Yes           Poke'mon Zugor				    X   X    X    X   X    Yes		  Uto & Kago Zuidwurthe Phrobe		    X   X    X    X   DLC  X		  Pixies of Symphonia Zymerous Mage                       X   X    X    X   Yes  X             Blazing Bazookas _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Total 				     12  26   61   83  502  TBA Notes ? 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? Follow/FavThe Patakis Episodes By: ioxmo ? This is my own version of the Patakis. Further chapters in the works. Rated: Fiction T - English - Angst - Helga, Rhonda - Chapters: 4 - Words: 14,253 - Reviews: 27 - Favs: 24 - Follows: 20 - Updated: Nov 28, 2006 - Published: Jun 28, 2006 - id: 3013840

?+ ?-  ?   ?     ?   ? 1. The Pilot2. Hate and Love3. Jagged Alliance4. The Acknowledgment Next >

Episode 1: The Pilot

by ioxmo

The back of her head bouncing off the aged brick wall like a basketball, Rhonda let out a whimper as Helga took two handfuls of her red, belly shirt. She offered no resistance and pressed her palms against the gritty wall. A crowd quickly gathered, not offering any interference, but instead, encouragement.

"Let me go you butch." She growled, ignoring the sharp pain resonating through her head.

She could feel her shirt get looser on the left side and wished she had kept her mouth shut. She slid against the wall and landed with a thud on the grass as Helga's right hook connected flush against her cheek. A smacking sound echoed for a bit causing the crowd to gasp. Rhonda tried to roll away, but was soon defenseless. Helga raised her right hand and struck the cheek. She did it again and again. As it rose once more, it was hooked by another's arm, a teacher. This unknown teacher pulled her off and held her back as she struggled to get free. Tears and an obvious discoloration of Rhonda's cheek were visible as she lowered her arms.

"Let me go!" Helga growled, ignoring the young, male teacher's orders to quit.

The school nurse soon attended to Rhonda and Helga managed to calm down a bit. She would soon be dragged to the principal's office.

The office was quaint and quiet with only the continuous tick of a plain black and white wall clock and the gentle hum of an aging computer filling the room. Helga sat in an uncomfortable seat, slouching, with her arms crossed. Her eyes darted around, looking at all the neatly organized office commodities. A swish-swish sound started coming from behind and was followed by the closing of a wooden door. Helga looked up at the principal whilst keeping her brow furrowed as he took a seat at his desk. She stretched the fingers of her right hand out over and over, feeling sore. The man unbuttoned his light brown sports coat as he adjusted himself.

"You're in very big trouble, Ms. Pataki." He said as he leaned towards her.

She continued to stare at him.

"Your parents have been called." He continued.

She just rolled her eyes.

"Now, we've tried to be lenient in the past with your...antics, but now you've gone too far. We're going to have to suspend you from school for two days."

"Oh great, a vacation." She sighed.

He also sighed, stroking at his brown beard and leaning even further towards her.

"Why did you hit her?" He asked, trying to figure out exactly what her problem is without asking, "Why?"

Helga stared for a moment.

"Because she's a pissy, snobby, annoying little bitch!" she shouted, immediately slouching deeper into the chair and looking away from him.

He scolded her for using such language, but she was no longer paying him any attention. She ignored his onslaught for the next couple minutes until her father arrived.

Her father was strangely quiet during the ride home, but started screaming just seconds after she flopped on the couch. It was much of the same she gathered, still ignoring the vast majority of his words. Eventually, he stomped out as he heard his wife dropping something in the kitchen. Helga pulled at each side of the audacious pink bow holding her lone ponytail in place, untying it. A couple minutes passed as she played with the bow and her hair, but her father never returned. She rose from the couch and climbed the stairs to her room.

"Who do they think they are?" She said, pressing away from the door as she closed it, "Punish me and not that little snob."

She kicked her already crooked nightstand, misaligning it further, as she reached her bed. Her soft hair spread as she flopped onto her pillow and hugged it.

"I guess this is why I don't have any friends." She mumbled, kicking her gray tennis shoes onto the floor. Her light pink shirt and blue jean shorts snagged as she pulled herself closer to the opposite side of the bed. After a sigh, she felt down and in-between the mattress and box spring, pulling out her old locket. She stared into the nine year-old Arnold's eyes and actually grinned for the first time in a while. The joy was short-lived as her face turned to sorrow and a hand supported her cheek.

"I wish you didn't leave so suddenly." She muttered, "Didn't even get to say goodbye."

After another few seconds of staring, she turned his picture facedown and rolled to her back. When she closed her eyes, she felt a tear stream down each temple.

"Why can't I get over it?" She thought, folding her arms on her stomach, "I've tried to like other guys."

She pulled at her shirt, eventually revealing her belly button.

"Maybe because he's the only thing in my miserable life that makes me happy." She continued thinking.

Her right pinky poked into her navel.

"Yeah, I'm really pathetic." She mumbled, agreeing with a thought.

The bare, white ceiling started causing her eyelids to droop. That is, until a sudden urge came over her. She sprung up and fought of the nauseating blood rush as she made her way to her aged desk. A flick of her wrist spotlighted the writing area. As she sat, she pricked her ears, attempting to increase their sensitivity to detect approaching family members. Silence. She quickly snatched a worn, three-subject notebook from a side drawer and a pen from an improvised pencil holder made from a soda can. With an intense demeanor about her, she quickly ripped an empty sheet away and set the notebook aside. It was so quiet; she could hear the pen's tip against the black cherry hardwood as she wrote the two words that she had repeated many times in the past: Dear Arnold. She had to pause, trying to think of what to write next. With her non-writing hand, she ran her fingers through her hair and rested her jaw on the palm. She began to write:

Sorry I haven't written in a while. I've been kind of in a "blank" mood lately. Depressed, I guess you could say. I don't think I really am, though. Anyway, everything's pretty much the same here. Mom's drinking is getting worse, or at least it seems that way. They still try and hide it from me like I'm a simpleton or something. Geez, I've known about it since I was seven. Dad just chewed me out for beating up Rhonda and getting suspended for a couple of days. Yeah, I know I shouldn't have, but she just pressed the wrong buttons too many times today. My hand is still kind of sore, too... Oh, remember when I said my worst nightmare might come true? It did...Olga moved back in last week. She's been out most of the time, though, so she hasn't had a chance to annoy the piss out of me...yet. I'm still not clear why she's moving back in, exactly...something must be wrong, though. Mom and dad have been acting differently towards her. Their fawning over her doesn't seem...sincere. Maybe she's pregnant or something. That'd be great to see. Can't even take care of herself and has to move home and now she has to take care of a baby...yeah right. Well, I hate to cut it short, but I have a feeling the Neanderthal is going to stomp his way in here in a minute and tear me a new one. I miss you as always, football-head. Love, Helga.

She started to ascend into euphoria the moment the letter began, but it quickly faded the moment the last dot made its way on to the paper. She let the pen pivot from her grip and slam to the desk as she sighed.

"If only I knew where you were..." She whispered.

She returned the pen and notebook to their proper place and turned off the desk lamp. After a quick peer over her shoulder to ease her paranoia, she pulled open the bottom left drawer of the desk and dug under a large pile of magazines. She pulled out a red folder labeled "Algebra" and quickly filed the letter behind the decoy homework with the dozens of other unsent mail. She felt like ripping the folder to pieces, but controlled her anger and put it back in its hiding place. She did slam the drawer, however.

"Why did I have to be sick that day you said goodbye to everyone?" She growled quietly to herself, "And then you just vanished, like you didn't even care to say goodbye to me."

She was visibly frowning at the crack in her wall and also on the verge of producing tears. Thump...thump. She heard what she assumed was her mother tripping and falling. It seemed to break her away from the anger, causing her to blink and rub her face. Thump. The old desk chair squeaked as she leaned back and rolled her eyes.

The two days passed without incident since she was forbidden to leave the house. The school day wasn't abnormal with the exception of Rhonda's absence. Something Helga didn't even notice until lunch period.

"You know Rhonda hasn't been in school for three days." Nadine said, taking a seat on the indoor lunch bench next to an alone Helga.

"I'm all broken up inside." Helga growled, staring at the soggy nachos she kept stirring with a plastic fork.

"You messed her up pretty good. She didn't want anyone to see the huge bruise you left." She continued.

"She's lucky they pulled me off; I was going to break her nose." Helga responded, shoving in a mouthful.

"You know, she's not always such a bitch." Nadine explained, leaning in and crossing her arms.

Helga stabbed her fork into her food.

"What do you want?" She said abruptly, looking at her.

She noticed Nadine's tightly wound cornrows for a second, then looked into her eyes.

Nadine sighed.

"I want you to stop picking on my friend, ok?"

She sounded very straightforward, causing Helga to frown.

"Why should I? You say she's not always a bitch, but what about when she is? It's simple: If she keeps looking down her nose at me, I'll break her jaw. Got it?"

"But..."

"Look. I've got nothing against you, but if you get in my way with Rhonda, I'll make your eye blacker than it already is!" She growled, raising her fist just a few inches from Nadine's face.

Nadine raised both her palms as she stood.

"Fine. I can see why you always sit alone." She said, walking off.

"Tell me about it." Helga muttered, looking back at her tray and lifting the mound of mushy chips stuck to the fork.

Though the school's punishment had ended, Helga still sulked in her room due to parental restrictions. She spent the first couple hours home from school lying in bed, sporadically tossing darts at the board hanging from the back of her desk chair. Surprisingly, she hadn't missed, perhaps because her anger mapped the trajectory. As she closed an eye to aim for the center, she suddenly lost the will as haunting thoughts in the back of her mind nagged to be brought to the forefront. She plopped her head back and stabbed the dart into her bed sheets. She let her other hand teeter over the small crevice separating the bed and wall before letting the two darts it held plunge into darkness. Suddenly depressed, she closed her eyes in an attempt to comfort herself. She had become dangerously lonely in the past couple weeks and ignoring it was no longer working. Her breathing got louder and slower, self-defense against tears, her one true enemy. Her doorknob shook as someone approached. She quickly swallowed, sucked her lips, and sat up, leaving the sheets impaled. Two stern knocks and the door opened.

"You decent?" Her dad asked, nervously.

"Well, gee, I guess so...Bob." She said, in full view.

Normally, she'd expect a harsh tongue-lashing, but he was unusually clear-cut.

"Yeah, well, look...I'm going to have to go pick up your mother at the police station. Some scumbag ripped off her purse...again."

He coughed and Helga rolled her eyes, as she knew full well what was happening.

"So, I'll be gone for a few hours. Don't you leave this house or else." He barked.

"Fine, dad." She sighed.

She waited for him to close the door before ripping out the dart from the bed.

"Great...mom's in the drunk tank again. I wish she'd just get it together." She said to herself as she plopped back again, "I mean, I know it's hard and all, but come on, go to rehab already...and stop treating me like an idiot that doesn't know any better."

She sighed again, this time with a hint of anger. Without raising her head, she shot the dart at high speed and hit the outer black rim. She thought about sneaking out for a bit, but didn't want to add to the week-and-a-half grounding she had remaining. As that idea died, her mind wandered back to her recent bout of solitude. As the years passed, congregating with her classmates to play impromptu games in the streets and alleyways slowly diminished until it became nonexistent. She remembered leaning against a telephone pole amidst an empty lot where hundreds of games had been played, wondering why nobody ever came anymore as she handled a worn baseball. It was that day she realized they had only been her friend by association and nothing more. Phoebe, as it turns out, only sought the protection of Helga's friendship due to her submissive and meek nature. Despite Helga's constant bossiness, a legitimate companionship, although twisted, spawned between the two. Eventually though, Phoebe had learned to assert herself a bit more aggressively, directly as a result of her "mentor," and thus, didn't need Helga anymore. They never had a falling out, but slowly drifted away from one another as the years passed.

"Man," She sighed, trying to sit up, "I feel I'm full of wet sand."

She wiped away the dampness from her temples with both hands. She glanced over to where her phone used to be before she was grounded.

"I need to talk to her." She thought, trying to remember the last time she did.

It had been almost a month. Shaking gently and stretching her arms around her back, she managed to sit up unsupported. Both legs dangled over the side as she let her head hang.

"How can my life get any worse?" She mumbled after a few seconds.

She heard muffled sobbing and her doorknob began to rattle again. She moaned, knowing what was about to occur.

"Oh, Helga!" her sister squealed, flinging the door open, "It's just so terrible!"

Olga slumped onto the bed, almost tackling Helga as she held her tightly against her bosom. Helga knew any attempt to escape would only constrict the hug, so she had no choice but to enjoy the freshly sprayed perfume wafting in her face.

"Mommy is in jail!" she wailed, squeezing harder, "She hit a parking meter, pretzel stand, and crashed through a bakery store window."

She choked on her own breath.

"There were quarters and Danishes everywhere!"

Helga mumbled something vulgar as she wormed her arms inside the clinch.

"Mm-maybe..." She tried to say, prying away from her sibling, "Maybe she'll straighten up because of it."

Helga finally escaped and slid back a few inches.

"Oh!" Olga chirped as she covered her mouth, "I wasn't supposed to tell you any of this...but I'm just so..."

Her sentence squeaked into incoherence. With a roll of her eyes, Helga sighed.

"I'm not a little kid anymore, Olga." She almost growled.

Olga dropped her hands a bit, letting the liquefied mascara run down her cheek and not her fingers.

"Oh, I know baby sister. I know! But I don't want you to have to deal with such...adult matters."

Helga's eyelids went half-mast and her arms crossed.

"Look, Olga," She said with an abrupt crispness, "You can't control what mom does and neither can I. She's an alcoholic and there's nothing that can be done about it unless she wants to change."

"Helga!" Olga gasped, looking as if she was going to faint.

She was ignored.

"I don't want mom to die, but she won't listen to me. You have to tell her. Tell her about how much you love her and want to see her happy."

The wailing had been slowing and now was only a sniffling whimper.

"You're right, Helga." Olga said in her suspiciously raspy voice, "I have to act before it's too late."

Tears tried flaring up again, but sharp breaths kept them at bay. Helga glanced over to an old alarm clock and let her hands fall to her lap.

"Don't you have a play rehearsal or something to go to?" She asked quickly.

"Oh," Olga muttered as she glanced at the clock herself, "You're right. I need to go. I love you so much baby sister."

She leaned forward and kissed her sister on the forehead, leaving a distinct red imprint.

"Yeah." Helga responded, too annoyed to declare her love.

A minor hug and Olga was gone, leaving the door wide open and annoying her sister even more. However, a sudden feeling of emptiness and regret came over her and she could do nothing but stare at the floor and listen to herself breathe.

A night's sleep didn't seem to alleviate her emotional bareness, though the bright, white classroom was strangely uplifting. Far ahead of her peers in this subject, Helga blatantly ignored the English teacher and stared at the back of Rhonda's head in the front of the adjacent row. As she hadn't dealt with Rhonda's condescending attitude for several days, her hate faded. The teacher yammered on as Helga's eyes began to wander. They came across Nadine, who sat with a stern stare. She obviously noticed Helga watching Rhonda. Helga rolled her eyes and looked down at the unintentionally football-shaped, stick-on eraser on the pencil she rolled back and forth in her left hand. Arnold was the only person to ever make her hellish tomboy personality melt to the core...and she hated him for it. The last thing she wanted others to see was a googly-eyed, boy crazy girl and he could turn her into one in mere seconds.

"I really miss him..." She thought, sighing.

As much as she'd be embarrassed to be seen fawning over a boy, she sure loved doing it.

1. The Pilot2. Hate and Love3. Jagged Alliance4. The Acknowledgment Next >

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? ? ? Why can't we live on other planets?

we can't live on mercury because it is either way too hot or too cold, depending on location, as well as having no atmosphere, and no air. it has no oxygen, carbon, anything. and any gases we put on it would evaoprate into space because, again, mercury has no atmosphere. it also has no water.

we can't live on venus because it is a hot volcanic wasteland. it has a very thick atmosphere due to an irreversible greenhouse affect, and became a volcanic hell. it has no water, and has mainly carbon doxcide. plants couldn't live on it, because it is too hot, so we couldn't oxygenate the planet. and even if we did, its way too hot. its the hottest planet in the solar system.

earth is special. it is just the right distance from the sun. it also has a large amount of water, as well as rocky land masses with a temperate climate. earth is our solar system's eutopia.

mars is a possibilty for future colinization. we can heat up mars, and over the period of millions of years, get the planet natuarally oxygenated by introducing plant life after we warm the planet. its ironic in a way- we want to stop global warming on earth, but we want to induce global warming on mars. we can't live on mars now because it is way too cold. its average temperature is 150 degrees centigrade. thats cold. it also has no significant water depositis. it has some, but not enough to quench mankind's thirst. it also has a very thin atmosphere, but inducing global warming on it will warm it up by thickening the atmosphere. so mars is a possibility for future colinization. mars curently has no oxygen, but is filled with carbon dioxide, so if it was warmed up a little, it could support plant life to an extent.

jupiter is a gas giant. the only solid part is at the core which is extreamily hot. it has extream weather patterns, and that combined with its gravity would rip anything that landed on it apart. it is also very hot, and is just not a very good destination for mankind. this planet has the second fastest wind speeds in the solar system, with neptune at first place.

we can't land on saturn period, much less colonize on the planet. it is also a gas giant like pluto. the core, which is the hottest part, is the only solid part. there is no land on saturn. it also has, like jupiter, extream weather patterns. there is no place on saturn to land.

we can't colonize on uranus because first of all, it is too cold. its so cold that most of its gases are in a liquid form. it has an ocean of hydrogen among other gases. uranus can't sustain any life. it has no water, no food, no oxygen, nothing.

we can't colonize on neptune either. it also has no oxygen, water, food, or anything else needed to sustain life. it is a gas giant, and the core is the only solid part. it also has extreamily turbulent weather patterns. it has the fiersest winds in the solar system.

pluto has nothing. its too cold, has no water, has no source of food, and has no oxygen. it might not even have an atmosphere.

mars is the only planet we could possibily colonize on. earth is the only planet that can sustain life in its current state.

Here a brief list of reasons why we can live on each of these planets:

Mercury: Too hot in the daytime, too cold at night, with no atmosphere to protect us from deadly radiation. Also, no water exists there in any appreciable amounts.

Venus: Even hotter than Mercury. Surface temperatures hot enough to melt lead. Crushing atmospheric pressure. Again no appreciable amounts of water in any state.

Mars: Probably the only other planet in our solar system is that even conceivable to live on. However, it does not have LIQUID WATER in any appreciable amounts though there is ice at the Martian polar regions. The atmosphere is not of the right elemental composition to support human life. Many many other factors would in addition make human life on Mars very difficult (ie poor soil, sand storms etc)

Gas Giants: Well for starters, they don't have a solid surface so that takes out any chance of humans establishing life there anytime in the forseeable future. Again, no water in any appreciable amounts.

Pluto: Oops no longer a planet :P

As you can tell the issue with water is a very fudamental requirement which is lacking in its most useful state on all planets in the solar system besides Earth.

Why do we need the other planets except earth? Edit

Talk0 875,071questions on Wikianswers

Last edited by Armachedes

We don't really need them. They just happen to be there. When the sun was created and debris was left over, it formed the planets. However, we may owe our existence to Jupiter, the largest planet, because it has taken many meteorites that could have easily hit Earth and destroyed all of life. They are there for a purpose. Waiting for us. But only when we are ready. The way we are treating our planet shows that we are not ready yet. Venus

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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This article is about the planet. For other uses, see Venus (disambiguation).

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Venus The Venusian symbol, a circle with a small equal-armed cross beneath it

Venus in approximately true colour, a nearly uniform pale cream, although the image has been processed to bring out details.[1] The planet's disc is about three-quarters illuminated. Almost no variation or detail can be seen in the clouds. Global radar view of the surface from Magellan radar imaging between 1990 and 1994

Designations

Pronunciation Listeni/'vi?n?s/

Adjectives Venusian or (rarely) Cytherean, Venerean

Orbital characteristics[2][4]

Epoch J2000

Aphelion

108939000 km 0.728213 AU

Perihelion

107477000 km 0.718440 AU

Semi-major axis 108208000 km 0.723327 AU

Eccentricity 0.0067

Orbital period 224.701 d 0.615198 yr 1.92 Venus solar day

Synodic period 583.92 days[2]

Average orbital speed 35.02 km/s

Mean anomaly 50.115°

Inclination

3.39458° to Ecliptic 3.86° to Sun’s equator 2.19° to Invariable plane[3]

Longitude of ascending node 76.678°

Argument of perihelion 55.186°

Satellites None

Physical characteristics

Mean radius 6051.8±1.0 km[5] 0.9499 Earths

Flattening 0[5]

Surface area 4.60×108 km2 0.902 Earths

Volume

9.28×1011 km3 0.866 Earths

Mass

4.8676×1024 kg 0.815 Earths

Mean density 5.243 g/cm3

Surface gravity 8.87 m/s2 0.904 g

Escape velocity 10.36 km/s

Sidereal rotation period -243.0185 d (Retrograde)

Equatorial rotation velocity 6.52 km/h (1.81 m/s)

Axial tilt 177.36°[2]

North pole right ascension 18h 11m 2s 272.76°[6]

North pole declination 67.16°

Albedo

0.67 (geometric)[7] 0.90 (Bond)[7]

Surface temp.

min

mean

max

Kelvin 737 K[2]

Celsius 462 °C

Apparent magnitude brightest -4.9[8][9] (crescent) -3.8[10] (full)

Angular diameter 9.7? to 66.0?[2]

Atmosphere

Surface pressure 92 bar (9.2 MPa)

Composition

˜?96.5% carbon dioxide ˜?3.5% nitrogen 0.015% sulfur dioxide 0.007% argon 0.002% water vapour 0.0017% carbon monoxide 0.0012% helium 0.0007% neon trace carbonyl sulfide trace hydrogen chloride trace hydrogen fluoride

Venus is the second planet from the Sun, orbiting it every 224.7 Earth days.[11] It has no natural satellite. It is named after the Roman goddess of love and beauty. After the Moon, it is the brightest natural object in the night sky, reaching an apparent magnitude of -4.6, bright enough to cast shadows.[12] Because Venus is an inferior planet from Earth, it never appears to venture far from the Sun: its elongation reaches a maximum of 47.8°.

Venus is a terrestrial planet and is sometimes called Earth's "sister planet" because of their similar size, gravity, and bulk composition (Venus is both the closest planet to Earth and the planet closest in size to Earth). However, it has also been shown to be radically different from Earth in other respects. It has the densest atmosphere of the four terrestrial planets, consisting of more than 96% carbon dioxide. The atmospheric pressure at the planet's surface is 92 times that of Earth's. With a mean surface temperature of 735 K (462 °C; 863 °F), Venus is by far the hottest planet in the Solar System. It has no carbon cycle to lock carbon back into rocks and surface features, nor does it seem to have any organic life to absorb it in biomass. Venus is shrouded by an opaque layer of highly reflective clouds of sulfuric acid, preventing its surface from being seen from space in visible light. Venus may have possessed oceans in the past,[13][14] but these would have vaporized as the temperature rose due to a runaway greenhouse effect.[15] The water has most probably photodissociated, and, because of the lack of a planetary magnetic field, the free hydrogen has been swept into interplanetary space by the solar wind.[16] Venus's surface is a dry desertscape interspersed with slab-like rocks and periodically refreshed by volcanism.

Contents [hide] 1 Physical characteristics 1.1 Geography 1.2 Surface geology 1.3 Internal structure 1.4 Atmosphere and climate 1.5 Magnetic field and core

2 Orbit and rotation 3 Observation 3.1 Transits 3.2 Ashen light

4 Studies 4.1 Early studies 4.2 Ground-based research

5 Exploration 5.1 Early efforts 5.2 Atmospheric entry 5.3 Surface and atmospheric science 5.4 Radar mapping 5.5 Current and future missions 5.6 Manned fly-by concept 5.7 Sample return 5.8 Spacecraft timeline

6 In culture 6.1 Etymology 6.2 Venus symbol

7 Colonization and terraforming 8 See also 9 Notes 10 References 11 External links 11.1 Cartographic resources

Physical characteristics

Venus is one of the four terrestrial planets in the Solar System, meaning that, like Earth, it is a rocky body. In size and mass, it is similar to Earth, and is often described as Earth's "sister" or "twin".[17] The diameter of Venus is 12,092 km (only 650 km less than Earth's) and its mass is 81.5% of Earth's. Conditions on the Venusian surface differ radically from those on Earth, owing to its dense carbon dioxide atmosphere. The mass of the atmosphere of Venus is 96.5% carbon dioxide, with most of the remaining 3.5% being nitrogen.[18]

Geography

The Venusian surface was a subject of speculation until some of its secrets were revealed by planetary science in the 20th century. It was finally mapped in detail by Project Magellan in 1990–91. The ground shows evidence of extensive volcanism, and the sulfur in the atmosphere may indicate there have been some recent eruptions.[19][20]

About 80% of the Venusian surface is covered by smooth, volcanic plains, consisting of 70% plains with wrinkle ridges and 10% smooth or lobate plains.[21] Two highland "continents" make up the rest of its surface area, one lying in the planet's northern hemisphere and the other just south of the equator. The northern continent is called Ishtar Terra, after Ishtar, the Babylonian goddess of love, and is about the size of Australia. Maxwell Montes, the highest mountain on Venus, lies on Ishtar Terra. Its peak is 11 km above the Venusian average surface elevation. The southern continent is called Aphrodite Terra, after the Greek goddess of love, and is the larger of the two highland regions at roughly the size of South America. A network of fractures and faults covers much of this area.[22]

The absence of evidence of lava flow accompanying any of the visible caldera remains an enigma. The planet has few impact craters, demonstrating the surface is relatively young, approximately 300–600 million years old.[23][24] In addition to the impact craters, mountains, and valleys commonly found on rocky planets, Venus has some unique surface features. Among these are flat-topped volcanic features called "farra", which look somewhat like pancakes and range in size from 20 to 50 km across, and from 100 to 1,000 m high; radial, star-like fracture systems called "novae"; features with both radial and concentric fractures resembling spider webs, known as "arachnoids"; and "coronae", circular rings of fractures sometimes surrounded by a depression. These features are volcanic in origin.[25]

Most Venusian surface features are named after historical and mythological women.[26] Exceptions are Maxwell Montes, named after James Clerk Maxwell, and highland regions Alpha Regio, Beta Regio and Ovda Regio. The former three features were named before the current system was adopted by the International Astronomical Union, the body that oversees planetary nomenclature.[27]

The longitudes of physical features on Venus are expressed relative to its prime meridian. The original prime meridian passed through the radar-bright spot at the center of the oval feature Eve, located south of Alpha Regio.[28] After the Venera missions were completed, the prime meridian was redefined to pass through the central peak in the crater Ariadne.[29][30]

Size comparison of Mercury, Venus, Earth and the Moon, Mars, and Ceres on the far right. This may not be exactly to scale, because the visual disc of Venus with its atmosphere makes it look bigger than its solid-body diameter.

Surface geology

Main article: Geology of Venus

Maat Mons with a vertical exaggeration of 22.5 Much of the Venusian surface appears to have been shaped by volcanic activity. Venus has several times as many volcanoes as Earth, and it possesses 167 large volcanoes that are over 100 km across. The only volcanic complex of this size on Earth is the Big Island of Hawaii.[25] This is not because Venus is more volcanically active than Earth, but because its crust is older. Earth's oceanic crust is continually recycled by subduction at the boundaries of tectonic plates, and has an average age of about 100 million years,[31] whereas the Venusian surface is estimated to be 300–600 million years old.[23][25]

Several lines of evidence point to ongoing volcanic activity on Venus. During the Soviet Venera program, the Venera 11 and Venera 12 probes detected a constant stream of lightning, and Venera 12 recorded a powerful clap of thunder soon after it landed. The European Space Agency's Venus Express recorded abundant lightning in the high atmosphere.[32] Although rainfall drives thunderstorms on Earth, there is no rainfall on the surface of Venus (though sulfuric acid rain falls in the upper atmosphere, then evaporates around 25 km above the surface). One possibility is that ash from a volcanic eruption was generating the lightning. Another piece of evidence comes from measurements of sulfur dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere, which dropped by a factor of 10 between 1978 and 1986. This may mean the levels had earlier been boosted by a large volcanic eruption.[33] Almost a thousand impact craters on Venus are evenly distributed across its surface. On other cratered bodies, such as Earth and the Moon, craters show a range of states of degradation. On the Moon, degradation is caused by subsequent impacts, whereas on Earth it is caused by wind and rain erosion. On Venus, about 85% of the craters are in pristine condition. The number of craters, together with their well-preserved condition, indicates the planet underwent a global resurfacing event about 300–600 million years ago,[23][24] followed by a decay in volcanism.[34] Whereas Earth's crust is in continuous motion, Venus is thought to be unable to sustain such a process. Without plate tectonics to dissipate heat from its mantle, Venus instead undergoes a cyclical process in which mantle temperatures rise until they reach a critical level that weakens the crust. Then, over a period of about 100 million years, subduction occurs on an enormous scale, completely recycling the crust.[25] In March 2014, the first direct evidence for ongoing volcanism was located, in the form of infrared "flashes" over the rift zone Ganiki Chasma, near the shield volcano Maat Mons. These flashes, ranging from 40 to 320 °C above the ambient, are believed to be either hot gases or lava released from volcanic eruptions.[35]

Venusian craters range from 3 km to 280 km in diameter. No craters are smaller than 3 km, because of the effects of the dense atmosphere on incoming objects. Objects with less than a certain kinetic energy are slowed down so much by the atmosphere that they do not create an impact crater.[36] Incoming projectiles less than 50 metres in diameter will fragment and burn up in the atmosphere before reaching the ground.[37]

Cloud structure in the Venusian atmosphere in 1979, revealed by ultraviolet observations by Pioneer Venus Orbiter

Cloud structure in the Venusian atmosphere in 1979, revealed by ultraviolet observations by Pioneer Venus Orbiter

A real-colour image of Venus processed from two filters. The surface is obscured by a thick blanket of clouds

A real-colour image of Venus processed from two filters. The surface is obscured by a thick blanket of clouds

Impact craters on the surface of Venus (image reconstructed from radar data)

Impact craters on the surface of Venus (image reconstructed from radar data)

Internal structure

Without seismic data or knowledge of its moment of inertia, little direct information is available about the internal structure and geochemistry of Venus.[38] The similarity in size and density between Venus and Earth suggests they share a similar internal structure: a core, mantle, and crust. Like that of Earth, the Venusian core is at least partially liquid because the two planets have been cooling at about the same rate.[39] The slightly smaller size of Venus suggests pressures are significantly lower in its deep interior than Earth. The principal difference between the two planets is the lack of evidence for plate tectonics on Venus, possibly because its crust is too strong to subduct without water to make it less viscous. This results in reduced heat loss from the planet, preventing it from cooling and providing a likely explanation for its lack of an internally generated magnetic field.[40] Instead, Venus may lose its internal heat in periodic major resurfacing events.[23]

Atmosphere and climate

Main article: Atmosphere of Venus

Venus has an extremely dense atmosphere, which consists mainly of carbon dioxide and a small amount of nitrogen. The atmospheric mass is 93 times that of Earth's atmosphere, whereas the pressure at the planet's surface is about 92 times that at Earth's surface—a pressure equivalent to that at a depth of nearly 1 kilometre under Earth's oceans. The density at the surface is 65 kg/m³, 6.5% that of water. The CO2-rich atmosphere, along with thick clouds of sulfur dioxide, generates the strongest greenhouse effect in the Solar System, creating surface temperatures of at least 462 °C (864 °F).[11][41] This makes the Venusian surface hotter than Mercury's, which has a minimum surface temperature of -220 °C (-364.0 °F) and maximum surface temperature of 420 °C (788 °F),[42] even though Venus is nearly twice Mercury's distance from the Sun and thus receives only 25% of Mercury's solar irradiance. The surface of Venus is often described as hellish.[43] This temperature is higher than temperatures used to achieve sterilization.

Studies have suggested that billions of years ago the Venusian atmosphere was much more like Earth's than it is now, and that there may have been substantial quantities of liquid water on the surface, but after a period of 600 million to several billion years,[44] a runaway greenhouse effect was caused by the evaporation of that original water, which generated a critical level of greenhouse gases in its atmosphere.[45] Although the surface conditions on the planet are no longer hospitable to any Earthlike life that may have formed before this event, it is possible that life exists in the lower and middle cloud layers of Venus.[46][47][48]

Thermal inertia and the transfer of heat by winds in the lower atmosphere mean that the temperature of the Venusian surface does not vary significantly between the night and day sides, despite the planet's extremely slow rotation. Winds at the surface are slow, moving at a few kilometres per hour, but because of the high density of the atmosphere at the Venusian surface, they exert a significant amount of force against obstructions, and transport dust and small stones across the surface. This alone would make it difficult for a human to walk through, even if the heat, pressure and lack of oxygen were not a problem.[49]

Above the dense CO2 layer are thick clouds consisting mainly of sulfur dioxide and sulfuric acid droplets.[50][51] These clouds reflect and scatter about 90% of the sunlight that falls on them back into space, and prevent visual observation of the Venusian surface. The permanent cloud cover means that although Venus is closer than Earth to the Sun, the Venusian surface is not as well lit. Strong 300 km/h (190 mph) winds at the cloud tops circle the planet about every four to five earth days.[52] Venusian winds move at up to 60 times the speed of the planet's rotation, whereas Earth's fastest winds are only 10–20% rotation speed.[53]

The surface of Venus is effectively isothermal; it retains a constant temperature not only between day and night but between the equator and the poles.[2][54] The planet's minute axial tilt—less than 3°, compared to 23° on Earth—also minimizes seasonal temperature variation.[55] The only appreciable variation in temperature occurs with altitude. The highest point on Venus, Maxwell Montes, is therefore the coolest point on the planet, with a temperature of about 380 °C (716 °F) and an atmospheric pressure of about 45 bar (44 atm).[56][57] In 1995, the Magellan probe imaged a highly reflective substance at the tops of the highest mountain peaks that bore a strong resemblance to terrestrial snow. This substance arguably formed from a similar process to snow, albeit at a far higher temperature. Too volatile to condense on the surface, it rose in gas form to cooler higher elevations, where it then fell as precipitation. The identity of this substance is not known with certainty, but speculation has ranged from elemental tellurium to lead sulfide (galena).[58]

The clouds of Venus are capable of producing lightning much like the clouds on Earth.[59] The existence of lightning had been controversial since the first suspected bursts were detected by the Soviet Venera probes. In 2006–2007 Venus Express clearly detected whistler mode waves, the signatures of lightning. Their intermittent appearance indicates a pattern associated with weather activity. The lightning rate is at least half of that on Earth.[59] In 2007 the Venus Express probe discovered that a huge double atmospheric vortex exists at the southern pole.[60][61]

Another discovery made by the Venus Express probe in 2011 is that an ozone layer exists high in the atmosphere of Venus.[62]

On January 29, 2013, ESA scientists reported that the ionosphere of the planet Venus streams outwards in a manner similar to "the ion tail seen streaming from a comet under similar conditions."[63][64]

Atmospheric composition

Synthetic stick absorption spectrum of a simple gas mixture corresponding to the Earth's atmosphere

Synthetic stick absorption spectrum of a simple gas mixture corresponding to the Earth's atmosphere

Venusian atmosphere composition based on HITRAN data[65] created using Hitran on the Web system.[66]

Venusian atmosphere composition based on HITRAN data[65] created using Hitran on the Web system.[66]

Green colour – water vapour, red – carbon dioxide, WN – wavenumber (other colours have different meanings, lower wavelengths on the right, higher on the left).

Magnetic field and core

In 1967, Venera 4 found the Venusian magnetic field to be much weaker than that of Earth. This magnetic field is induced by an interaction between the ionosphere and the solar wind,[67][68] rather than by an internal dynamo in the core like the one inside Earth. Venus's small induced magnetosphere provides negligible protection to the atmosphere against cosmic radiation. This radiation may result in cloud-to-cloud lightning discharges.[69]

The lack of an intrinsic magnetic field at Venus was surprising given it is similar to Earth in size, and was expected also to contain a dynamo at its core. A dynamo requires three things: a conducting liquid, rotation, and convection. The core is thought to be electrically conductive and, although its rotation is often thought to be too slow, simulations show it is adequate to produce a dynamo.[70][71] This implies the dynamo is missing because of a lack of convection in the Venusian core. On Earth, convection occurs in the liquid outer layer of the core because the bottom of the liquid layer is much hotter than the top. On Venus, a global resurfacing event may have shut down plate tectonics and led to a reduced heat flux through the crust. This caused the mantle temperature to increase, thereby reducing the heat flux out of the core. As a result, no internal geodynamo is available to drive a magnetic field. Instead, the heat energy from the core is being used to reheat the crust.[72]

One possibility is that Venus has no solid inner core,[73] or that its core is not cooling, so that the entire liquid part of the core is at approximately the same temperature. Another possibility is that its core has already completely solidified. The state of the core is highly dependent on the concentration of sulfur, which is unknown at present.[72]

The weak magnetosphere around Venus means that the solar wind is interacting directly with its outer atmosphere. Here, ions of hydrogen and oxygen are being created by the dissociation of neutral molecules from ultraviolet radiation. The solar wind then supplies energy that gives some of these ions sufficient velocity to escape Venus's gravity field. This erosion process results in a steady loss of low-mass hydrogen, helium, and oxygen ions, whereas higher-mass molecules, such as carbon dioxide, are more likely to be retained. Atmospheric erosion by the solar wind probably led to the loss of most of Venus's water during the first billion years after it formed. The erosion has increased the ratio of higher-mass deuterium to lower-mass hydrogen in the upper atmosphere by 150 times compared to the ratio in the lower atmosphere.[74]

Orbit and rotation

Venus orbits the Sun at an average distance of about 108 million kilometres (about 0.7 AU) and completes an orbit every 224.65 days. Venus is the second planet from the Sun and it revolves round the Sun approximately 1.6 times (yellow trail) in Earth's 365 days (blue trail) Venus orbits the Sun at an average distance of about 0.72 AU (108,000,000 km; 67,000,000 mi), and completes an orbit every 224.65 days. Although all planetary orbits are elliptical, Venus's orbit is the closest to circular, with an eccentricity of less than 0.01.[2] When Venus lies between Earth and the Sun, a position known as inferior conjunction, it makes the closest approach to Earth of any planet at an average distance of 41 million km.[2] The planet reaches inferior conjunction every 584 days, on average.[2] Owing to the decreasing eccentricity of Earth's orbit, the minimum distances will become greater over tens of thousands of years. From the year 1 to 5383, there are 526 approaches less than 40 million km; then there are none for about 60,158 years.[75]

All the planets of the Solar System orbit the Sun in an anti-clockwise direction as viewed from above the Earth's north pole. Most planets also rotate on their axes in an anti-clockwise direction, but Venus rotates clockwise (called "retrograde" rotation) once every 243 Earth days—the slowest rotation period of any planet. Because its rotation is so slow, it is highly spherical.[76] A Venusian sidereal day thus lasts longer than a Venusian year (243 versus 224.7 Earth days). Venus's equator rotates at 6.5 km/h (4.0 mph), whereas Earth's is approximately 1,670 km/h (1,040 mph).[77] Venus's rotation has slowed down by 6.5 min per Venusian sidereal day since the Magellan spacecraft visited it 16 years ago.[78] Because of the retrograde rotation, the length of a solar day on Venus is significantly shorter than the sidereal day, at 116.75 Earth days (making the Venusian solar day shorter than Mercury's 176 Earth days); one Venusian year is about 1.92 Venusian (solar) days long.[79] To an observer on the surface of Venus, the Sun would rise in the west and set in the east.[79]

Venus may have formed from the solar nebula with a different rotation period and obliquity, reaching its current state because of chaotic spin changes caused by planetary perturbations and tidal effects on its dense atmosphere, a change that would have occurred over the course of billions of years. The rotation period of Venus may represent an equilibrium state between tidal locking to the Sun's gravitation, which tends to slow rotation, and an atmospheric tide created by solar heating of the thick Venusian atmosphere.[80][81] The 584-day average interval between successive close approaches to Earth is almost exactly equal to 5 Venusian solar days,[82] but the hypothesis of a spin–orbit resonance with Earth has been discounted.[83]

Venus has no natural satellites,[84] though the asteroid 2002 VE68 presently maintains a quasi-orbital relationship with it.[85][86] Besides this quasi-satellite, it has two other temporary co-orbitals, 2001 CK32 and 2012 XE133.[87] In the 17th century, Giovanni Cassini reported a moon orbiting Venus, which was named Neith and numerous sightings were reported over the following 200 years, but most were determined to be stars in the vicinity. Alex Alemi's and David Stevenson's 2006 study of models of the early Solar System at the California Institute of Technology shows Venus likely had at least one moon created by a huge impact event billions of years ago.[88] About 10 million years later, according to the study, another impact reversed the planet's spin direction and caused the Venusian moon gradually to spiral inward until it collided and merged with Venus.[89] If later impacts created moons, these were absorbed in the same way. An alternative explanation for the lack of satellites is the effect of strong solar tides, which can destabilize large satellites orbiting the inner terrestrial planets.[84]

Observation

A photograph of the night sky taken from the seashore. A glimmer of sunlight is on the horizon. There are many stars visible. Venus is at the center, much brighter than any of the stars, and its light can be seen reflected in the ocean.

Venus is always brighter than the brightest stars outside our solar system, as can be seen here over the Pacific Ocean

Phases of Venus and evolution of its apparent diameter Venus is always brighter than any star (apart from the Sun). The greatest luminosity, apparent magnitude -4.9,[9] occurs during crescent phase when it is near Earth. Venus fades to about magnitude -3 when it is backlit by the Sun.[8] The planet is bright enough to be seen in a mid-day clear sky,[90] and it can be easy to see when the Sun is low on the horizon. As an inferior planet, it always lies within about 47° of the Sun.[10]

Venus "overtakes" Earth every 584 days as it orbits the Sun.[2] As it does so, it changes from the "Evening Star", visible after sunset, to the "Morning Star", visible before sunrise. Although Mercury, the other inferior planet, reaches a maximum elongation of only 28° and is often difficult to discern in twilight, Venus is hard to miss when it is at its brightest. Its greater maximum elongation means it is visible in dark skies long after sunset. As the brightest point-like object in the sky, Venus is a commonly misreported "unidentified flying object". U.S. President Jimmy Carter reported having seen a UFO in 1969, which later analysis suggested was probably Venus. Countless other people have mistaken Venus for something more exotic.[91]

As it moves around its orbit, Venus displays phases like those of the Moon in a telescopic view. The planet presents a small "full" image when it is on the opposite side of the Sun. It shows a larger "quarter phase" when it is at its maximum elongations from the Sun, and is at its brightest in the night sky, and presents a much larger "thin crescent" in telescopic views as it comes around to the near side between Earth and the Sun. Venus is at its largest and presents its "new phase" when it is between Earth and the Sun. Its atmosphere can be seen in a telescope by the halo of light refracted around it.[10]

Transits

2004 transit of Venus Main articles: Transits of Venus and Transit of Venus, 2012

The Venusian orbit is slightly inclined relative to Earth's orbit; thus, when the planet passes between Earth and the Sun, it usually does not cross the face of the Sun. Transits of Venus occur when the planet's inferior conjunction coincides with its presence in the plane of Earth's orbit. Transits of Venus occur in cycles of 243 years with the current pattern of transits being pairs of transits separated by eight years, at intervals of about 105.5 years or 121.5 years—a pattern first discovered in 1639 by the English astronomer Jeremiah Horrocks.[92]

The latest pair was June 8, 2004 and June 5–6, 2012. The transit could be watched live from many online outlets or observed locally with the right equipment and conditions.[93]

The preceding pair of transits occurred in December 1874 and December 1882; the following pair will occur in December 2117 and December 2125.[94] Historically, transits of Venus were important, because they allowed astronomers to determine the size of the astronomical unit, and hence the size of the Solar System as shown by Horrocks in 1639.[95] Captain Cook's exploration of the east coast of Australia came after he had sailed to Tahiti in 1768 to observe a transit of Venus.[96][97]

Ashen light

A long-standing mystery of Venus observations is the so-called ashen light—an apparent weak illumination of its dark side, seen when the planet is in the crescent phase. The first claimed observation of ashen light was made in 1643, but the existence of the illumination has never been reliably confirmed. Observers have speculated it may result from electrical activity in the Venusian atmosphere, but it could be illusory, resulting from the physiological effect of observing a bright, crescent-shaped object.[98]

Studies

Early studies

The "black drop effect" as recorded during the 1769 transit Venus was known to ancient civilizations both as the "morning star" and as the "evening star", names that reflect the early assumption that these were two separate objects. The Venus tablet of Ammisaduqa, dated 1581 BCE, shows the Babylonians understood the two were a single object, referred to in the tablet as the "bright queen of the sky", and could support this view with detailed observations.[99] The Greeks thought of the two as separate stars, Phosphorus and Hesperus, until the time of Pythagoras in the sixth century BC.[100] The Romans designated the morning aspect of Venus as Lucifer, literally "Light-Bringer", and the evening aspect as Vesper, both literal translations of the respective Greek names.

The transit of Venus was first observed in 1032 by the Persian astronomer Avicenna, who concluded Venus is closer to Earth than the Sun,[101] and established Venus was, at least sometimes, below the Sun.[102] In the 12th century, the Andalusian astronomer Ibn Bajjah observed "two planets as black spots on the face of the Sun", which were later identified as the transits of Venus and Mercury by the Maragha astronomer Qotb al-Din Shirazi in the 13th century.[103] The transit of Venus was also observed by Jeremiah Horrocks on 4 December 1639 (24 November under the Julian calendar in use at that time), along with his friend, William Crabtree, at each of their respective homes.[104]

Galileo's discovery that Venus showed phases (although remaining near the Sun in Earth's sky) proved that it orbits the Sun and not Earth When the Italian physicist Galileo Galilei first observed the planet in the early 17th century, he found it showed phases like the Moon, varying from crescent to gibbous to full and vice versa. When Venus is furthest from the Sun in the sky, it shows a half-lit phase, and when it is closest to the Sun in the sky, it shows as a crescent or full phase. This could be possible only if Venus orbited the Sun, and this was among the first observations to clearly contradict the Ptolemaic geocentric model that the Solar System was concentric and centered on Earth.[105]

The atmosphere of Venus was discovered in 1761 by Russian polymath Mikhail Lomonosov.[106][107] Venus's atmosphere was observed in 1790 by German astronomer Johann Schröter. Schröter found when the planet was a thin crescent, the cusps extended through more than 180°. He correctly surmised this was due to scattering of sunlight in a dense atmosphere. Later, American astronomer Chester Smith Lyman observed a complete ring around the dark side of the planet when it was at inferior conjunction, providing further evidence for an atmosphere.[108] The atmosphere complicated efforts to determine a rotation period for the planet, and observers such as Italian-born astronomer Giovanni Cassini and Schröter incorrectly estimated periods of about 24 h from the motions of markings on the planet's apparent surface.[109]

Ground-based research

Modern telescopic view of Venus from Earth's surface Little more was discovered about Venus until the 20th century. Its almost featureless disc gave no hint what its surface might be like, and it was only with the development of spectroscopic, radar and ultraviolet observations that more of its secrets were revealed. The first UV observations were carried out in the 1920s, when Frank E. Ross found that UV photographs revealed considerable detail that was absent in visible and infrared radiation. He suggested this was due to a dense, yellow lower atmosphere with high cirrus clouds above it.[110]

Spectroscopic observations in the 1900s gave the first clues about the Venusian rotation. Vesto Slipher tried to measure the Doppler shift of light from Venus, but found he could not detect any rotation. He surmised the planet must have a much longer rotation period than had previously been thought.[111] Later work in the 1950s showed the rotation was retrograde. Radar observations of Venus were first carried out in the 1960s, and provided the first measurements of the rotation period, which were close to the modern value.[112]

Radar observations in the 1970s revealed details of the Venusian surface for the first time. Pulses of radio waves were beamed at the planet using the 300 m (980 ft) radio telescope at Arecibo Observatory, and the echoes revealed two highly reflective regions, designated the Alpha and Beta regions. The observations also revealed a bright region attributed to mountains, which was called Maxwell Montes.[113] These three features are now the only ones on Venus that do not have female names.[114]

Exploration

Main article: Observations and explorations of Venus

Early efforts

Mariner 2, launched in 1962 The first robotic space probe mission to Venus, and the first to any planet, began on 12 February 1961, with the launch of the Venera 1 probe. The first craft of the otherwise highly successful Soviet Venera program, Venera 1 was launched on a direct impact trajectory, but contact was lost seven days into the mission, when the probe was about 2 million km from Earth. It was estimated to have passed within 100,000 km of Venus in mid-May.[115]

The United States exploration of Venus also started badly with the loss of the Mariner 1 probe on launch. The subsequent Mariner 2 mission, after a 109-day transfer orbit on 14 December 1962, became the world's first successful interplanetary mission, passing 34,833 km above the surface of Venus. Its microwave and infrared radiometers revealed that although the Venusian cloud tops were cool, the surface was extremely hot—at least 425 °C, confirming previous Earth-based measurements[116] and finally ending any hopes that the planet might harbour ground-based life. Mariner 2 also obtained improved estimates of its mass and of the astronomical unit, but was unable to detect either a magnetic field or radiation belts.[117]

Atmospheric entry

Pioneer Venus Multiprobe The Soviet Venera 3 probe crash-landed on Venus on 1 March 1966. It was the first man-made object to enter the atmosphere and strike the surface of another planet. Its communication system failed before it was able to return any planetary data.[118] On 18 October 1967, Venera 4 successfully entered the atmosphere and deployed science experiments. Venera 4 showed the surface temperature was even hotter than Mariner 2 had measured, at almost 500 °C, and the atmosphere was 90 to 95% carbon dioxide. The Venusian atmosphere was considerably denser than Venera 4's designers had anticipated, and its slower than intended parachute descent meant its batteries ran down before the probe reached the surface. After returning descent data for 93 minutes, Venera 4's last pressure reading was 18 bar at an altitude of 24.96 km.[118]

One day later on 19 October 1967, Mariner 5 conducted a fly-by at a distance of less than 4000 km above the cloud tops. Mariner 5 was originally built as backup for the Mars-bound Mariner 4; when that mission was successful, the probe was refitted for a Venus mission. A suite of instruments more sensitive than those on Mariner 2, in particular its radio occultation experiment, returned data on the composition, pressure and density of the Venusian atmosphere.[119] The joint Venera 4 – Mariner 5 data was analysed by a combined Soviet-American science team in a series of colloquia over the following year,[120] in an early example of space cooperation.[121]

Armed with the lessons and data learned from Venera 4, the Soviet Union launched the twin probes Venera 5 and Venera 6 five days apart in January 1969; they encountered Venus a day apart on 16 and 17 May. The probes were strengthened to improve their crush depth to 25 bar and were equipped with smaller parachutes to achieve a faster descent. Because then-current atmospheric models of Venus suggested a surface pressure of between 75 and 100 bar, neither was expected to survive to the surface. After returning atmospheric data for a little over 50 minutes, they were both crushed at altitudes of approximately 20 km before going on to strike the surface on the night side of Venus.[118]

Surface and atmospheric science

A stubby barrel-shaped spacecraft in orbit above Venus. A small dish antenna is at the centre of one of its end faces

The Pioneer Venus orbiter Venera 7 represented an effort to return data from the planet's surface, and was constructed with a reinforced descent module capable of withstanding a pressure of 180 bar. The module was precooled before entry and equipped with a specially reefed parachute for a rapid 35-minute descent. While entering the atmosphere on 15 December 1970, the parachute is believed to have partially torn, and the probe struck the surface with a hard, yet not fatal, impact. Probably tilted onto its side, it returned a weak signal, supplying temperature data for 23 minutes, the first telemetry received from the surface of another planet.[118]

The Venera program continued with Venera 8 sending data from the surface for 50 minutes, after entering the atmosphere on 22 July 1972. Venera 9, which entered the atmosphere of Venus on 22 October 1975, and Venera 10, which entered the atmosphere three days later, sent the first images of the Venusian landscape. The two landing sites presented different terrains in the immediate vicinities of the landers: Venera 9 had landed on a 20-degree slope scattered with boulders around 30–40 cm across; Venera 10 showed basalt-like rock slabs interspersed with weathered material.[122]

In the meantime, the United States had sent the Mariner 10 probe on a gravitational slingshot trajectory past Venus on its way to Mercury. On 5 February 1974, Mariner 10 passed within 5790 km of Venus, returning over 4000 photographs as it did so. The images, the best then achieved, showed the planet to be almost featureless in visible light, but ultraviolet light revealed details in the clouds that had never been seen in Earth-bound observations.[123]

The American Pioneer Venus project consisted of two separate missions.[124] The Pioneer Venus Orbiter was inserted into an elliptical orbit around Venus on 4 December 1978, and remained there for over 13 years, studying the atmosphere and mapping the surface with radar. The Pioneer Venus Multiprobe released a total of four probes, which entered the atmosphere on 9 December 1978, returning data on its composition, winds and heat fluxes.[125]

Venera 13 landing site

Position of Venera landing sites returning images form the surface Four more Venera lander missions took place over the next four years, with Venera 11 and Venera 12 detecting Venusian electrical storms;[126] and Venera 13 and Venera 14, landing on 1 and 5 March 1982, returning the first colour photographs of the surface. All four missions deployed parachutes for braking in the upper atmosphere, then released them at altitudes of 50 km, the dense lower atmosphere providing enough friction to allow for unaided soft landings. Both Venera 13 and 14 analysed soil samples with an on-board X-ray fluorescence spectrometer, and attempted to measure the compressibility of the soil with an impact probe.[126] Venera 14 struck its own ejected camera lens cap and its probe failed to contact the soil.[126] The Venera program came to a close in October 1983, when Venera 15 and Venera 16 were placed in orbit to conduct mapping of the Venusian terrain with synthetic aperture radar.[127]

In 1985, the Soviet Union took advantage of the opportunity to combine missions to Venus and Comet Halley, which passed through the inner Solar System that year. En route to Halley, on 11 and 15 June 1985, the two spacecraft of the Vega program each dropped a Venera-style probe (of which Vega 1's partially failed) and released a balloon-supported aerobot into the upper atmosphere. The balloons achieved an equilibrium altitude of around 53 km, where pressure and temperature are comparable to those at Earth's surface. They remained operational for around 46 hours, and discovered the Venusian atmosphere was more turbulent than previously believed, and subject to high winds and powerful convection cells.[128][129]

Radar mapping

Magellan radar topographical map of Venus (false colour) Early Earth-based radar provided a basic idea of the surface. The Pioneer Venus and the Veneras provided improved resolution.

The United States' Magellan probe was launched on 4 May 1989, with a mission to map the surface of Venus with radar.[27] The high-resolution images it obtained during its 4½ years of operation far surpassed all prior maps and were comparable to visible-light photographs of other planets. Magellan imaged over 98% of the Venusian surface by radar,[130] and mapped 95% of its gravity field. In 1994, at the end of its mission, Magellan was sent to its destruction into the atmosphere of Venus to quantify its density.[131] Venus was observed by the Galileo and Cassini spacecraft during fly-bys on their respective missions to the outer planets, but Magellan was the last dedicated mission to Venus for over a decade.[132][133]

Current and future missions

NASA's MESSENGER mission to Mercury performed two fly-bys of Venus in October 2006 and June 2007, to slow its trajectory for an eventual orbital insertion of Mercury in March 2011. It collected scientific data on Venus during both fly-bys.[134]

The Venus Express probe was designed and built by the European Space Agency. Launched on 9 November 2005 by a Russian Soyuz-Fregat rocket procured through Starsem, it successfully assumed a polar orbit around Venus on 11 April 2006.[135] The probe is undertaking a detailed study of the Venusian atmosphere and clouds, including mapping of the planet's plasma environment and surface characteristics, particularly temperatures. One of the first results from Venus Express is the discovery that a huge double atmospheric vortex exists at the southern pole.[135]

Artist's impression of a Stirling cooled Venus Rover devised by NASA.[136] The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) devised a Venus orbiter, Akatsuki (formerly "Planet-C"), which was launched on 20 May 2010, but the craft failed to enter orbit in December 2010. Hopes remain that the probe can successfully hibernate and make another insertion attempt in six years. Planned investigations included surface imaging with an infrared camera and experiments designed to confirm the presence of lightning, as well as the determination of the existence of current surface volcanism.[137]

The European Space Agency (ESA) hopes to launch a mission to Mercury in 2014, called BepiColombo, which will perform two fly-bys of Venus before it reaches Mercury orbit in 2020.[138]

Under its New Frontiers Program, NASA has proposed a lander mission called the Venus In-Situ Explorer to land on Venus to study surface conditions and investigate the elemental and mineralogical features of the regolith. The probe would be equipped with a core sampler to drill into the surface and study pristine rock samples not weathered by the harsh surface conditions. A Venus atmospheric and surface probe mission, "Surface and Atmosphere Geochemical Explorer" (SAGE), was selected by NASA as a candidate mission study in the 2009 New Frontiers selection,[139] but the mission was not selected for flight.

Venus aircraft concept The Venera-D (Russian: ??????-?) probe is a proposed Russian space probe to Venus, to be launched around 2016, to make remote-sensing observations around the planet and deploying a lander, based on the Venera design, capable of surviving for a long duration on the surface. Other proposed Venus exploration concepts include rovers, balloons, and aeroplanes.[140]

In late 2013 the Venus Spectral Rocket Experiment took place, which launched a sub-orbital space telescope.

Manned fly-by concept

Main article: Manned Venus Flyby

A manned Venus fly-by mission, using Apollo program hardware, was proposed in the late 1960s.[141] The mission was planned to launch in late October or early November 1973, and would have used a Saturn V to send three men to fly past Venus in a flight lasting approximately one year. The spacecraft would have passed approximately 5,000 km (3,100 mi) from the surface of Venus about four months later.[141] Inspiration Mars includes a manned Venus flyby in their 2021 mission.[142]

Sample return

Various concepts for a Venus sample return include a high-speed upper atmosphere collection, an atmosphere sample return by slowing down and entering then returning, and a surface sample return.[143]

Spacecraft timeline

This is a list of attempted and successful spacecraft that have left Earth to explore Venus more closely.[144] Venus has also been imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope in Earth orbit, and distant telescopic observations are another source of information about Venus.

Timeline by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (up to 2011)[144]

Responsible

Mission

Launch

Elements and result

Notes

USSR Soviet Union Sputnik 7 4 February 1961 Impact (attempted) USSR Soviet Union Venera 1 12 February 1961 Fly-by (contact lost) USA United States Mariner 1 22 July 1962 Fly-by (launch failure) USSR Soviet Union Sputnik 19 25 August 1962 Fly-by (attempted) USA United States Mariner 2 27 August 1962 Fly-by First successful planetary flyby[145] USSR Soviet Union Sputnik 20 1 September 1962 Fly-by (attempted) USSR Soviet Union Sputnik 21 12 September 1962 Fly-by (attempted) USSR Soviet Union Cosmos 21 11 November 1963 Attempted Venera test flight? USSR Soviet Union Venera 1964A 19 February 1964 Fly-by (launch failure) USSR Soviet Union Venera 1964B 1 March 1964 Fly-by (launch failure) USSR Soviet Union Cosmos 27 27 March 1964 Fly-by (attempted) USSR Soviet Union Zond 1 2 April 1964 Fly-by (contact lost) USSR Soviet Union Venera 2 12 November 1965 Fly-by (contact lost) USSR Soviet Union Venera 3 16 November 1965 Lander (contact lost) USSR Soviet Union Cosmos 96 23 November 1965 Lander (attempted?) USSR Soviet Union Venera 1965A 23 November 1965 Fly-by (launch failure) USSR Soviet Union Venera 4 12 June 1967 Probe USA United States Mariner 5 14 June 1967 Fly-by USSR Soviet Union Cosmos 167 17 June 1967 Probe (attempted) USSR Soviet Union Venera 5 5 January 1969 Probe USSR Soviet Union Venera 6 10 January 1969 Probe USSR Soviet Union Venera 7 17 August 1970 Lander USSR Soviet Union Cosmos 359 22 August 1970 Probe (attempted) USSR Soviet Union Venera 8 27 March 1972 Probe USSR Soviet Union Cosmos 482 31 March 1972 Probe (attempted) USA United States Mariner 10 4 November 1973 Fly-by Mercury fly-by USSR Soviet Union Venera 9 8 June 1975 Orbiter and lander USSR Soviet Union Venera 10 14 June 1975 Orbiter and lander USA United States Pioneer Venus 1 20 May 1978 Orbiter USA United States Pioneer Venus 2 8 August 1978 Probes USSR Soviet Union Venera 11 9 September 1978 Fly-by bus and lander USSR Soviet Union Venera 12 14 September 1978 Fly-by bus and lander USSR Soviet Union Venera 13 30 October 1981 Fly-by bus and lander USSR Soviet Union Venera 14 4 November 1981 Fly-by bus and lander USSR Soviet Union Venera 15 2 June 1983 Orbiter USSR Soviet Union Venera 16 7 June 1983 Orbiter USSR Soviet Union Vega 1 15 December 1984 Lander and balloon Comet Halley fly-by USSR Soviet Union Vega 2 21 December 1984 Lander and balloon Comet Halley fly-by USA United States Magellan 4 May 1989 Orbiter USA United States Galileo 18 October 1989 Fly-by Jupiter orbiter/probe USA United States Cassini 15 October 1997 Fly-by Saturn orbiter USA United States MESSENGER 3 August 2004 Flyby (x2) Mercury orbiter ESA Europe Venus Express 9 November 2005 Orbiter JPN Japan Akatsuki 7 December 2010 Orbiter (attempted) Possible reattempt in 2016 or 2018 ESA Europe JPN Japan BepiColombo Two flybys planned Planned Mercury orbiter

Venera-D is a possible Russian mission in the 2020s[146]

In culture

See also Venus (mythology), Venus (astrology) and Historical observations and impact

Throughout history and cultures, the planet has been of remarkable importance as an especial object of observation, reflection and projection. Popular beliefs and observations resulted in different and in parts similar patterns in mythology as well as phenomenological descriptions, attributions and depictions, e. g. in astrology. Such developments in manifestations of human thought reflect the planet's image as a result of early observations of Venus and their impact on culture and science.

Etymology

The adjective Venusian is commonly used for items related to Venus, though the Latin adjective is the rarely used Venerean; the archaic Cytherean is still occasionally encountered. Venus is the only planet in the Solar System that is named after a female figure.[a] (Three dwarf planets – Ceres, Eris and Haumea – along with many of the first discovered asteroids[147] and some moons (such as the Galilean moons) also have feminine names. Earth and the Moon also have feminine names in many languages—Gaia/Terra, Selene/Luna—but the female mythological figures who personified them were named after them, not the other way around.)[148]

Venus symbol

Main article: Venus symbol

?

The astronomical symbol for Venus is the same as that used in biology for the female sex: a circle with a small cross beneath.[149] The Venus symbol also represents femininity, and in Western alchemy stood for the metal copper.[149] Polished copper has been used for mirrors from antiquity, and the symbol for Venus has sometimes been understood to stand for the mirror of the goddess.[149]

Colonization and terraforming

Main articles: Colonization of Venus and Terraforming of Venus

Artist's conception of a terraformed Venus Owing to its extremely hostile conditions, a surface colony on Venus is not possible with current technology. The atmospheric pressure and temperature approximately fifty kilometres above the surface are similar to those at Earth's surface and Earth air (nitrogen and oxygen) would be a lifting gas in the Venusian atmosphere of mostly carbon dioxide. This has led to proposals for "floating cities" in the Venusian atmosphere.[150] Aerostats (lighter-than-air balloons) could be used for initial exploration and ultimately for permanent settlements.[150] Among the many engineering challenges are the dangerous amounts of sulfuric acid at these heights.[150] Super Smash Bros Dynamite Release Date:Winter 2014 Playable Fighters Aogitar Caveman Rumble (DLC) Abaddonevil Feiry Satan Abegail Summers Farmer's Harvest Abe Clone High (DLC) Abel Street Fighter (DLC) Abyss TNA Adam Rose NXT (DLC) Adrian Neville NXT (DLC) Adolf Hitler Angry German Kid Adon Turok (DLC) Afro Thunder Ready 2 Rumble Boxing (DLC) Affairo Derro-Concerto Mastero (DLC) Ages Sonic All Stars Racing Transformed AJ Lee WWE AJ Styles TNA Akane Tendo Ranma 1/2 (DLC) Albert Johnny Test (DLC) Albert Wesker Resident of Evil (DLC) Alder Poke'mon (DLC) Alex Spy Totally Spies (DLC) Alexa Poke'mon Alexander Rusev NXT (DLC) Andre the Giant WWE Andre the Giant (Retro) WWE Andrew Clark-Shemnue (DLC) Angelica Pickles All Grown Up Ai Kamui Tri Zenon (DLC) AiAi Super Monkey Ball Akira Kamui Tri Zenon (DLC) Akira Yuki Virtua Fighter (DLC) Akuma Street Fighter Alberto Del Rio WWE Alejandro Total Drama Alena Dragon Quest (DLC) Alex Madasgcar (DLC) Alex Kidd Alex Kidd Alistea Blastempre New Fantasy Gruve (DLC) Alph Pikmin Amanda Packages from Planet X (DLC) American Dad American Dad (DLC) Ami Hi Hi Puffy Ami Yumi (DLC) Amiga Samiba Amigo Amigo Samiba Amigo Amy Rose Sonic Altair Bomberman Amythesis Steven Universe (DLC) Angelica Love TNA Angelo Dragon Quest (DLC) Anais Gumball (DLC) Angus Wartz Grease Burgers (DLC) Antonio Cesaro WWE April Mutant Teenage Ninja Turtles Aria Aria the Scarlet Ammo Armand Camp Lakebottom (DLC) Artemis Bomberman Arthur Arthur (DLC) Antenia Wilson World War 5 (DLC) Askana WWE (DLC) Atndrof Ducktales Audrey Rhains House Holder (DLC) Axel Chains Your Favorite Martian Ballistamon-Digimon (DLC) Baljet Phineas and Ferb (DLC) Balrog Street Fighter Bam Bam Bigelow WWE Banjo Banjo & Kazooie Banjo & Kazooie Banjo & Kazooie Bagular Bomberman Baraka Mortal Kombat Baraka (Retro) Mortal Kombat Barbara Rayman Barney Rubble Flintstones Baron Ashura Mazinger z/Robot Girls (DLC) Barry Widnham WWE Bart Simpson Simpsons Bastallic Burt Shoot Many Robots (DLC) Bastille Turok (DLC) Batista WWE Batista (Retro) WWE (DLC) Batman Batman (DLC) Bazooka Bruce Blazing Hardcores B.D. 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Dedede Kirby King Hippo Punch Out (DLC) King Julian Madascgar (DLC) King K Rool Donkey Kong Kirby Kirby Kiryl Dragon Quest (DLC) Kitana Mortal Kombat Kitana (Retro) Mortal Kombat Kimiko Tohomiko Xaolin Showdown (DLC) Kitty Katswell Tuff Puppy Klump Donkey Kong Knuckles Sonic Koko Loko Capertown Cops (DLC) Kofi Kingston WWE Kon Grojband Konnor NXT (DLC) Korra Legend of Korra (DLC) Korrina Poke'mon Kris Poke'mon (DLC) Kronk Emporeor's New Groove (DLC) Krusha Donkey Kong Krunk Major Glory (DLC) Krystal Star Fox Kumo Tribe Cool Crew (DLC) Japan Only Kung Lao Mortal Kombat Kurt Angle WWE/TNA Kuzco Emperor's New Groove (DLC) Kyd Wykkyd Teen Titans Larry Koopa Mario Lanky Kong Donkey Kong Launchpad Ducktales Lawrence Limburger Biker Mice from Mars Layla WWE Lazlo Camp Lazlo (DLC) Leaf Poke'mon (DLC) Leonardo Mutant Teenage Ninja Turtles (DLC) Lex Luthor Marvel (DLC) Lighting Total Drama Lindsay Total Drama Lee Kanker Ed Edd n Eddy (DLC) Lex Luger WCW (DLC) Lemmy Koopa Mario Leroy Super Mario & Sonic All Stars Fortune Street Leopold Slikk Angry German Kid Lifty Happy Tree Friends Lilo Lilo & Stitch Link The Legend of Zelda Link (Retro) The Legend of Zelda Lita WWE Little Mac Punch Out Lloyd Tales (DLC) Lord of Dead Turok Lotso Lotso Huggin Bear (DLC) Locusts Gears of Wear (DLC) Louis Left 4 Dead (DLC) Lucas Earthbound (DLC) Lucario Pokemon Lucina Fire Emblem Ludwig Koopa Mario Luffy One Piece Luke Skywalker Star Wars (DLC) Lui Kang Mortal Kombat Luigi Mario Lumpy Happy Tree Friends Lumpus Camp Lazlo (DLC) Luke Harper WWE Lyra Poke'mon (DLC) Mabel Gravity Falls Mach Rider Mach Rider Mad Mike Sonic Madam Foster Foster's Home (DLC) Madison Rayne TNA Magica De Evil Ducktales Mai Hem PErfect Dark Major Glory Major Glory (DLC) Mammoth Teen Titans Manfred Ice aGE (DLC) Mantis Kung Fu Panda Margo-Star vs The Forces of Evil (DLC) Marie Kanker Ed Edd n Eddy (DLC) Mario Mario Mario (Retro) Mario Mark Henry WWE Mark Henry (Retro) WWE (DLC) Marth Fire Emblem Mashiro Tribe Cool Crew (DLC) Japan Only Mandark Dexter's Labatory (DLC) Mandy Adventures of Billy and Mandy Mantid Drone Turok (DLC) Mantid Mites Turok (DLC) Mantid Soldier Turok (DLC) Marty Madascgar (DLC) Max Total Drama Matt Hardy TNA Matt Hardy (Retro) WWE Maurice Madascgar (DLC) May Poke'mon May Kanker Ed Edd n Eddy (DLC) Maylene Poke'mon (DLC) Mc Gee Camp Lakebottom (DLC) Meatwad Aqua Teen Hunger Force Mee Mee Super Monkey Ball Mega Man Mega Man Mega Mind Mega Mind (DLC) Melman Madascgcar (DLC) Memy9909 GoAnimate (DLC) Meta Knight Kirby Metal Sonic Sonic (DLC) Meti Metroid Mermaid Man Spongebob Squarepants (DLC) Marcus Fenix Gears of Wear (DLC) Malsquando Dave the Barbarian (DLC) Mary Test Johnny Test (DLC) Master Shake Aqua Teen Hunger Force Master Shifu Kung Fu Panda Master Splinter Mutant Teenage Ninja Turtles (DLC) Mung Daal Chowder (DLC) Mii Wii Micheangelo Mutant Teenage Ninja Turtles (DLC) Miss Endive Chowder (DLC) Mike Total Drama Mike Wazoswki Monsters Inc. (DLC) Mikey-Digimon (DLC) Mileena Mortal Kombat Mike Tyson-Punch Out (DLC) Mindy Adventures of Billy and Mandy Minky Momo Minky Momo (DLC) Mirage The Incredibles (DLC) Miss Battleaxe Horrid Henry (DLC) Miss Simian Gumball (DLC) Missing Link Monsters Vs Aliens (DLC) Misty Poke'mon The Miz WWE MVP WWE Modo Biker Mice From Mars Moody Margaret Horrid Henry (DLC) Mojo Jojo Powerpuff Girls (DLC) Motar Space Ghost (DLC) The Mole Happy Tree Friends Monkey Kung Fu Panda Monkey Fist Kim Possible (DLC) Mordecai Regular Show Mort Madscgar (DLC) Morton Koopa Mario Mousse Ranma 1/2 (DLC) Muscle Man Regular Show Mumbo Jumbo Banjo & Kazooie Mumbo Jumbo (Retro) Banjo & Kazooie Mr Black Johnny Test (DLC) Mr Herriman Foster's Home (DLC) Mr Game & Watch Game & Watch Mr Gus Uncle Grandpa Mr Incredible The Incredibles (DLC) Mr Kennedy WWE/TNA Mr Krabs Spongebob Squarepants Mr Mittens Johnny Test (DLC) Mr Serman & Watch Game & Watch Mr Tendo Ranma 1/2 (DLC) Mr Test Johnny Test (DLC) Mr Turner Fairly Oddparents (DLC) Mr Waternoose Monsters Inc. (DLC) Mr White Johnny Test (DLC) Muriel Courage the Cowardly Dog (DLC) Myyrah Gears of War (DLC) Nani Lilo & Stitch (DLC) Nami One Piece Noah Total Drama Naomi Fatu WWE Naomi Fusion Frenzy (DLC) Naruto Naruto (DLC) Natalia Resident of Evil (DLC) Natalya WWE Naru Love Hina (DLC) Natsumi Hinata Sgt Frog Nene-Digimon (DLC) Ness Earthbound Nestor Scaredy Squirrel (DLC) Nestor's Mom Scaredy Squirrel (DLC) Nicole Gumball (DLC) Nick Left 4 Dead (DLC) Nights Nights Nightwolf Mortal Kombat Nikki Bella WWE Noob Saibot Mortal Kombat Nora Wakeman My Life as a Teenage Robot (DLC) Nui Harime Kill La Kill Obivilion Spawn Turok (DLC) Ogelthrope Aqua Teen Hunger Force (DLC) Oog Aqua Teen Hunger Force (DLC) Orion Bomberman Omi Xaolin Showdown (DLC) One Seven Little Monsters (DLC) Oni Street Fighter Oscar the Grouch Bert & Ernie Adventures Oscar the Grouch (Retro) Bert & Ernie Adventures Otis Back at the Barnyard (DLC) Olyve Oil Popeye (DLC) Owen Total Drama Pac-Man Pac-Man Padme Stars Wars (DLC) Paige WWE (DLC) Panani Chowder (DLC) Palutena Kid Icarus Patrick Starr Spongebob (DLC) Patty Dragon Quest (DLC) Pauline Mario Pancha Empeor's New Groove (DLC) The Penguins Madascgar (DLC) Pearl Steven Universe (DLC) Peri-Spliced (DLC) Perona One Piece (DLC) Perry the Platyus Phineas and Ferb (DLC) Penny Inspector Gadget (DLC) Pepper Ann (DLC) Peter Horrid Henry (DLC) Peter Griffin Family Guy Phineas Phineas and Ferb (DLC) Pikachu Pokémon Pikachu (Retro) Poke'mon Pinky Oomiya Jewelpet (DLC) Pizza Steve Uncle Grandpa Pikmin & Olimar Pikmin Pit Kid Icarus Platypunk Dragon Quest (DLC) Pleakley Lilo & Stitch (DLC) Po Kung Fu Panda Poof Fairly Oddparents (DLC) Popeye Popeye (DLC) Porky Pig Porky Dig/Daffy Duck (DLC) Princessa Dragon Quest (DLC) Princess Morbucks Principal Steinbeck Real Life (DLC)Powerpuff Girls (DLC) Princess Peach Mario Private H.I.V.E. Teen Titans Pudding Space Channel 5 Puff Puff Humbert Your Favorite Martian Pyro Team Fortress 2 (DLC) Quan Chi Mortal Kombat Quosmir Dave the Barbarian (DLC) R2 D2 Stars Wars (DLC) R-Truth WWE Raimundo Perdrosa Xaolin Showdown (DLC) Raphael Mutant Teenage Ninja Turtles (DLC) Randy Savage WWE Randy Orton WWE Randy Orton (Retro) WWE Ralph the Guard Animaniacs (DLC) Reptile Mortal Kombat Red All Dogs (DLC) Rex Super Mario & Sonic All Stars Street Fortune Roman Reigns WWE Rouge the Bat Sonic (DLC) Rosalina & Luma Mario Raiden Mortal Kombat Ranma Ranma 1/2 (DLC) Rayman Rayman Reala Nights Regulus Bomberman Ren Ren & Stimpy (DLC) Rey Mysterio WWE Rhyno WWE/TNA Ric Flair WWE/TNA Rick Rude WWE (DLC) Richard Gumball (DLC) Rigby Regular Show The Rock WWE R.O.B Gyromite/Stack Up Rob Van Dam WWE Robin Fire Emblem Rochelle Left 4 Dead (DLC) Ron Unstoppable Kim Possible (DLC) Ronald Ramireiz Angry Dominician Kid Roy Fire Emblem (DLC) Roy Koopa Mario Ruby Jewelpet (DLC) Ryback WWE Ryo Hazuki Shenmue (DLC) Ryoga Ranma 1/2 (DLC) Ryu Street Fighter Sagat Street Fighter Sakura Street Fighter Sailor Moon Sailor Moon (DLC) Sam Total Drama Sam Spy Totally Spies (DLC) Samoa Joe TNA Samson Fusion Frenzy (DLC) Samus Aran Metroid Sandy Cheeks Spongebob Squarepants Santino Marella WWE Sara Ed Edd n Eddy (DLC) Sasami Iwakura Magical Girl Pretty Sammy Sasha Banks NXT (DLC) Sawyer Camp Lakebottom (DLC) Scaredy Squirrel Scaredy Squirrel (DLC) Scarlett Total Drama Scooby Scooby Doo (DLC) Scott Total Drama Scorpion Mortal Kombat Scratch Sonic Scrooge Ducktales Scott Hall WWE (DLC) Scott Hall NWO WCW (DLC) Scott Norton NWO WCW (DLC) Scott Steiner WWE/WCW (DLC) Schintzel Chowder (DLC) Sedusa Powerpuff Girls (DLC) Seth Rollins WWE Serena Poke'mon Seymore Teen Titans Sgt Calhoun Wreck it Ralph Sgt Frog Sgt Frog Sgt Slaughter WWE Shaggy Scooby Doo (DLC) Shampoo Ranma 1/2 (DLC) Shang Tsung Mortal Kombat Shao Kahn Mortal Kombat Shantae Shantae (DLC) Shauna Poke'mon Shawn Total Drama Shawn Michaels WWE Sheamus WWE Shego Kim Possible (DLC) Sheik Legend of Zelda Shen Kung Fu Panda Sherry Birkin Resident of Evil (DLC) Seven Seven Little Monsters (DLC) Shifty Happy Tree Friends Shitty G Your Favorite Martian (DLC) Shogun Total War (DLC) Shoutmon-Digimon (DLC) Shredder Mutant Teenage Ninja Turtles (DLC) Shrek Shrek Shulk Xenoblade Chronicles Sid Ice Age (DLC) Sindel Mortal Kombat Sirius Bomberman Sissy Johnny Test (DLC) Six Seven Little Monsters (DLC) Skips Regular Show Skrone Gauntlet Slime Dragon Quest (DLC) Slog Secret Mountain Fort Awesome Snake Metal Gear Solid (DLC) Snaprat Tuff Puppy (DLC) Sniffles Happy Tree Friends Sonic Sonic the Hedgehog Sonya Blade Mortal Kombat Sonya Blade (Retro) Mortal Kombat Soos Gravity Falls (DLC) Sora Kingdom Hearts (DLC) Space Ghost Space Ghost (DLC) Splendid Happy Tree Friends Spongebob Spongebob Squarepants Squidward Spongebob Squarepants Squirt Camp Lakebottom (DLC) Spy Team Fortress 2 (DLC) Stan Gravity Falls Star Butterfly-Star vs The Forces of Evil (DLC) Stitch Lilo & Stitch (DLC) Stella Dragon Quest (DLC) Sting WCW (DLC) Sting (Retro) WCW (DLC) Stryker Mortal Kombat (DLC) Starfire Teen Titans Stephanie McMahon WWE Stewie Griffin Family Guy Stimpy Ren & Stimpy (DLC) Stone Cold WWE Sub-Zero Mortal Kombat Sue Ellen Arthur (DLC) Sulley-Monsters Inc. (DLC) Summer Rae WWE Sumner Gauntlet Sumo Clarence Superman Superman (DLC) Superstar Diddy Donkey Kong Susan "Ginomorica" Monsters Vs Aliens (DLC) Susan Test Johnny Test (DLC) Suzi Camp Lakebottom (DLC) Swqueep Monsters Vs Aliens (DLC) Syra Turok (DLC) Symboliant Turok (DLC) Syxx WCW (DLC) Tai Lung Kung Fu Panda Tails Sonic Tal Set Turok (DLC) Ted Dibaise WWE Teen Titan Robin Teen Titans Tenchi Muyo Tenchi Muyo Tensai WWE Three Seven Little Monsters (DLC) Throttle Biker Mice From Mars Tiger Soldier War Journal (DLC) Tiger General War Journal (DLC) Tigress Kung Fu Panda Tifa Lockhart Final Fanasty (DLC) Timmy Turner Fairly Oddparents (DLC) Tiny Kong Donkey Kong Titus O'Neil WWE Tomo Takino Azumanga Daioh (DLC) Tootie Fairly Oddparents (DLC) Tenpion Tribe Cool Crew (DLC) Japan Only Trent Easton Perfect Dark Trina Riffin Grojband Trish Stratus WWE Trixie Fairly Oddparents (DLC) Triple H WWE Triple H (Retro) WWE Troll Packages from Plan et X (DLC) Toon Link The Legend of Zelda Toothy Happy Tree Friends Turbo Wreck it Ralph Turok Turok Tweenies Rayman Two Seven Little Monsters (DLC) Tyler Total Drama Tyson Kidd WWE Ulala Space Channel 5 Umaga WWE Uncle Grandpa Uncle Grandpa Uncle Oswidge Dave the Barbarian (DLC) Usopp One Piece Uta Nuremo My Melody (DLC) Uto Uto & Kago The Ultimate Warrior WWE The Ultimate Warrior (Retro) WWE (DLC) The Undertaker WWE The Undertaker (Retro) WWE Vader WWE Van Halen Major Glory (DLC) Vanellope Wreck it Ralph Vanessa Doofenschmirtz Phineas and Ferb (DLC) Vanilla Sugar Sugar Rune (DLC) Velcoraptor Turok (DLC) Velma Scooby Doo (DLC) Velma Detective Velma (DLC) Velvet Dark Perfect Dark Velvet Sky TNA Vicky Fairly Oddparents (DLC) Vickie Guerrero WWE Villager Animal Crossing Vince McMahon WWE Vinnie Biker Mice from Mars Viper Kung Fu Panda Vyse Skies of Arcadia Wade Barrett WWE Waddle Dee Kirby (DLC) Wakko Animaniacs (DLC) Wanda Fairly Oddparents (DLC) Warlord Turok (DLC) Wario Warioware Watto Star Wars (DLC) Wendy Gravity Falls Wendy Koopa Mario White Mage Final Fantasy (DLC) Wii Fit Trainer Wii Fit Wilemus Total War Rome Wilt Foster's Home (DLC) Winn-Chan Winn-Chan (DLC) Wise Father Turok (DLC) Wizard Scrooge Ducktales Wilma Flintstone Flintstones DLC) Wolf Star Fox (DLC) Wonder Woman Wonder Woman (DLC) Wongburger Aqua Teen Hunger Force (DLC) Wreck it Ralph Wreck it Ralph Xavier Woods WWE Xexus My Life as a Teenage Robot (DLC) Yamada B Gata H Kei (DLC) Yakko Animaniacs (DLC) Yang Street Fighter Yangus Dragon Quest (DLC) Yokozuna WWE Yoshi Yoshi's Story Yoshi Tatsu WWE Yoshyte Sam Bugs Bunny (DLC) Yoshina Kuchiru Yoshina Kuchiru (DLC) Yumi Hi Hi Puffy Ami Yumi (DLC) Yun Street Fighter Yuna Lilo & Stitch (DLC) Yzma Empeor's New Groove (DLC) Zack Ryder WWE Zak Fusion Frenzy (DLC) Zangeif Street Fighter Zarak Space Ghost (DLC) Zelda The Legend of Zelda Zero Mega Man (DLC) Zero Suit Samus Metroid Zobio The House of the Dead (DLC) Zobiko The House of the Dead (DLC) Zoey Total Drama Zoey L4D Left 4 Dead (DLC) Zoroark Poke'mon Zhang Li Perfect Dark Zuidwurthe Phrobe Pixies of Symphonia (DLC) Zymerous Mage Blazing Bazookas

Mega Characters

Mega Abaddonevil Mega Abyss Mega Adolf Hitler Mega Ages the Fighter Mega AJ LEe Mega Albert Wesker (DLC) Mega Alberto Del Rio Mega Andre the Giant Mega Angelica Pickles Mega Akuma Mega Alex (DLC) Mega Altair Mega Antonio Cesaro Mega Aria Mega Axel Chains Mega Balrog Mega Bagular MEga Bam Bam Bigelow MEga Banjo Mega Baraka Mega Barbara Mega Batista Mega Bazooka Bruce Mega Beavis Meag Benatar Mega Benson Mega Bertha Faye MEga Beth Phoenix Mega Blackfire Mega Blaze Mega Big Boss Man Mega Big Daddy V Mega Big E Langston Mega Big Griz Mega Big John Studd Mega Big Show Mega Big Valerie Schuz (DLC) Mega Blanka Mega Bluto (DLC) Mega Bobby Lashley Mega Bomberman Mega Boogeyman Mega Boris Knokimov (DLC) Mega Bowser Mega Bowser Jr Mega Bradley Buzzcut Mega Bray Wyatt Mega Bruno Sammartino Mega Brock Lesnar Mega Brodus Clay Mega Bromanor Mega Brook Mega Brooke Tessmacher Mega Bully Ray Mega Butthead Mega Captain Falcon Mega Captain Gutt (DLC) Mega Captain M Bison Mega Carl Bruntanandileski Mega Cassie Cage Mega Charizard X Mega Charizard Y Mega Chef Hatchet Mega Chris Benoit Mega Chris McClean Mega Chun Li Mega Chunky Kong Mega Corvis Corncilues (DLC) Mega CM Punk Mega Corrie Riffin Mega Courtney Meag Cyborg Mega Daisy Mega Dakota Mega Dan (DLC) Mega Daniel Bryan Mega Dark Pit Mega Dark Tweensie Mega David Otunga Mega Deejay Mega Dhalism Mega Disco Bear Mega Diddy Kong Mega Dipper Mega Dixie Kong Mega Donkey Kong Mega Dr Eggman Mega Dr Mario Mega Dr Robotnik Mega Duncan Mega Earthquake (DLC) Mega Edge Mega El Fuerte Mega Eustache Mega Eva Mega Evil Ryu Mega Falco Mega Festro Mega Flippy Mega Fred Flintstone Mega Fuzzy Lumpkins (DLC) Mega Ganondorf Mega Ghostmanmurge Mega Gilius Mega Goldberg Mega Gorilla Kong Mega Gouken Mega Great Khali Mega Grim Reaper Mega Grunty Mega Guile Mega Hades Mega Harold Slikk Mega Heather Mega Helga Pataki Mega Him (DLC) Mega Homer Simpson Mega Hsu Hao Mega Hulk Hogan Mega Humba Wumba Mega Ike Mega Jack Swagger Mega Jade Mega James Bond Mega John Cena Mega Johnny Cage Mega Jinx Mega Johnna Dark Mega Johnathan Syrupsen Mega Juniper Lee (DLC) Mega Juri Mega Justin Mega Kago Mega Kane Mega Ken Mega Klump Mega Kid Flash Mega Kitana Mega King Candy Mega King Dedede Mega King Hippo (DLC) Meag King K Rool Mega Korrina Mega Krusha Mega Launchpad Mega Lawrence Limburger Mega Leopold Slikk Meag Lighting Meag Lifty Mega Link Mega Lita Mega Little Mac Mega Lord of Dead Mega Lucario Mega Lucas (DLC) Mega Luffy Mega Luigi Mega Lumpy Mega Mad Mike Mega Magica De Evil Mega Mammoth Mega Mario Mega Mark Henry Mega Master Shifu Mega Meta Knight Mega Mindy Mega Mordecai Mega Mojo Jojo (DLC) Mega Mumbo Jumbo Mega Muscle Man Mega Nami Mega Nui Hamine Mega Noob Saibot Mega Oni Mega Oscar the Grouch Mega Owen Mega Pac Man Mega Peach Mega Penora Mega Peter Griffin Mega Pit Mega Po Mega Popeye (DLC) Mega Puff Puff Humbert Mega Quan Chi Mega Randy Orton Mega Randy Savage Mega Rayman Mega Reala Mega Reptile Mega Rey Mysterio Mega Rhyno Mega Ric Flair Mega Rigby Mega R.O.B. Mega Rob Van Dam Mega Ronald Ramireiz Mega Rosalina Mega Roy (DLC) Mega Ryback Mega Ryu Mega Sagat Mega Samoa Joe Mega Samus Mega Sandy Cheeks Mega Sasami Iwakura Mega Scarlett Mega Scott Mega Scorpion Mega Scrooge Mega Sgt Calhoun Mega Sgt Frog Mega Sgt Slaughter Mega Shang Tsung Mega Shao Kahn Mega Shawn Michaels Mega Sheamus Mega Shen Mega Sherri Birkin (DLC) Mega Shifty Mega Shrek Mega Shulk Mega Sindel Mega Sirius Mega Skips Mega Skrone Mega Snake (DLC) Mega Sonic Mega Sonya Blade Mega Space Ghost (DLC) Mega Splendid Mega Spongebob Mega Squidward Mega Starfire Mega Stone Cold Mega Sub Zero Mega Superstar Diddy Mega Sumner Mega Tai Lung Mega Tails Mega Tensai Mega Throttle Mega Tigress Mega Titus O Neil Mega Tiny Kong Mega Toon Link Mega Trent Easton Mega Triple H Mega Trina Riffin Mega Trish Stratus Mega Turbo Mega Turok Mega Ultimate Warrior Mega Umaga Mega Usopp Mega Uto Mega Undertaker Mega Vader Mega Velvet Dark Mega Vince McMahon Mega Vinnie Mega Vyse Mega Wade Barrett Mega Wario Mega Wii Fit Trainer Mega Wizard Scrooge Mega Wolf (DLC) Mega Wreck it Ralph Mega Yokozuna Mega Yoshi Mega Zack Ryder Mega Zangeif Mega Zelda Mega Zero Suit Samus Mega Zhang Li Mega Zymerous Mage Playable Stages 3DS Exclusive Stages Battlefield-Super Smash Bros Boxing Ring-Punch Out 3D Land-Mario Castle Rock-Rayman Maraaichi Center-Rayman Gerudo Valley-Legend of Zelda Spirit Train-Legend of Zelda Dr Lily's Lair-Megaman Tomodachi Life-Tomodachi Life Arena Ferox-Fire Emblem Living Room-Nintendogs Retro Bomberman Maze-Bomberman Sugar Rush-Wreck it Ralph Mute City-F-Zero Paper Mario-Mario WarioWare Inc-Warioware Yoshi's Island-Yoshi Brinstar-Metroid Corneria-StarFox Magicant-Earthbound Flat Zone 2-Game & Watch Aurora Zone 2-Game & Watch Castle Crush-Donkey Kong Cave Dweller Concert-Donkey Kong Castle Seige-Fire Emblem Distant Planet-Pikmin PictoChat 2-PictoChat Game Boy-Game Boy Family Guy House-Family Guy Pac-Maze-Pac-Man Thunder Blasters-Thunder Blasters Alter's Lair-Golden Axe Wicked Dance-Turok Oasis-Turok Dream Valley-Nights Jump Around-Your Favorite Martian Lauren Sanor's Room-Real Life Shao Kahn's Throne-Mortal Kombat Sprit of Fright-Yoshi Descrated Temple-Gauntlet Sumner's Castle-Gauntlet All Bosses Competion-Gauntlet Gates of Underworld-Gauntlet TNA Impact-TNA Aztec Complex-Goldeneye Goldeneye England-Goldeneye Flat Zone X-Game and Watch Aurora Zone X-Game and Watch Duck Hunt-Duck Hunt Gamer-Wario Jungle Hijinxs-Donkey Kong Mario Circuit-Mario Mario Circuit Brawl-Mario Luigi's Mansion-Mario Kongo Jungle-Donkey Kong 75m-Donkey Kong Temple-Legend of Zelda Yoshi's Island-Yoshi Bridge of Eldin-Legend of Zelda Norfair-Metroid The Great Cave Offensive-Kirby Lylat Cruise-Starfox Pokemon Staduim 2-Poke'mon Poke'mon Staduim 3-Poke'mon Skyworld-Kid Icarus Smashville=Animal Crossing Wrecking Crew-Wrecking Crew Wuhu Island-Wii sports Pac-Land-Pac-Man Miiverse-Mii DK Summit-Donkey Kong Buzzcut's Gym-Beavis & Butthead Vito's Pizzeria-Garfield Rouge's Landing-Skies of Arcadia Temple Trouble-Super Monkey Ball Graffiti City-Jet Set Radio Happy Tree Friends Playground-Happy Tree Friends Imprisioned Bank-Ducktales Rest Bomb Forest-Kid Icarus Tortimer's Island-Animal Crossing Rainbow Road-Mario Find Mii-StreetPass Quest Prism Tower-Poke'mon Terrydactyland-Banjo & Kazooie Logotown-Banjo & Kazooie Click Clock Wood-Banjo & Kazooie Master Pokerap-Poke'mon Balloon Fight-Balloon Fight Jungle Japes-Donkey Kong Poke Floats-Poke'mon Old Mute City-F-Zero WWF Raw-WWE Gaur Plain-Xenoblade Fungus Forest-Donkey Kong Golden Plains-Mario Pac-Man-Pac-Man Simpson's House-Simpsons Green Hill Zone-Sonic the Hedgehog Far Far Away Idle-Shrek Spiral Mountain-Banjo & Kazooie Shrek Swamp-Shrek Castle Crush-Donkey Kong Pichochat-Wii Castle Seige-Fire Emblem Poke Floats-Poke'mon 99 Luft Balloons-Real Life Wii U Exclusive Stages Battlefield-Super Smash Bros Final Destination-Super Smash Bros Boxing Ring-Punch Out Skyloft-Legend of Zelda Town & City-Animal Crossing Classic Game Boy-Real Life Dream Land-Kirby Old School Bomberman-Bomberman Battlefest Ship-Bomberman Granny's World Tour-Rayman Orchestra Chaos-Rayman Maraichi Desert-Rayman Dragon Slayer-Rayman Gloo Gloo Gloo-Rayman Caves of Skops-Rayman Pahitew Island-Total Drama Wicked Dance-Turok Hive of the Mantids-Turok Dinosaur Swamp-Turok SF Training Room-Street Fighter Cruise Ship Stern-Street Fighter Terrarium or Terror-Banjo & Kazooie Bizarre League Temple-Banjo & Kazooie Terradactyland-Banjo & Kazooie Gobi's Valley Banjo & Kazooie Click Clock Wood-Banjo & Kazooie Cave Dweller Concert-Donkey Kong Wreck It Hotel-Wreck it Ralph Sugar Rush-Wreck it Ralph Krusty Ride-Simpsons Mario Circuit-Mario Delphino Plaza-Mario Luigi's Mansion-Mario Mario Circuit Brawl-Mario Woolly World-Yoshi Gamer-Warioware Jungle Hijinx-DK Kongo Jungle-DK 75m-DK Temple-Legend og Zelda Bridge of Eldin-Legend of Zelda Norfair-Metroid The Great Cave OFfense-Kirby Lylat Cruise-Starfox Pokemon Stadium 2-Poke'mon Pokemon Stadium 3-Poke'mon Poke Floats 2-Poke'mon Port Town Aero Dive-F-Zero Onett-Earthbound Flat Zone X-Game and Watch Aurora Zone X-Game and Watch Skyworld-Kid Icarus Smashville-Animal Crossing Duck Hunt-Duck Hunt Wrecking Crew-Wrecking Crew Wuhu Island-Wii Sports Pac Land-Pac Man Miiverse Burns Incorporated-Simpsons The Pit-Mortal Kombat Cyllage Road-Poke'mon Duckington DC-Ducktales Buzzcut's Gym-Beavis & Butthead Do America-Beavis & Butthead Grojband-Grojband Samba De Carnival-Samba de Amigo Oasis-Turok Unova League-Poke'mon Sunshine Tour-Samba de Amigo Shao Kahn's Throne-Mortal Kombat Majove Desert-Aqua Teen Hunger Force Dr Weird's Lair-Aqua Teen Hunger Force Space Port 9-Space Channel 5 Carnival Park-Samba de Amigo Alter's Lair-Golden Axe Rogue's Landing-Skies of Arcadia Graffiti City-Jet Set Radio Temple Trouble-Super Monkey Ball Seasonal Shrines-Shinobi The Waltersons Farm-Farmer's Harvest Vito's Pizzeria-Garfield Dr Wily's Lair-Megaman Pyrosphere-Metroid Castle Rock-Rayman Lucha Madness-Rayman Pahithew Island-Total Drama Pilot Wings-Pilot Wings Wii Fit Studio-Wii Fit High in the Sky-Bert & ERnie Adventures Garden of Hope-Pikmin Windy Hill-Sonic the Hedgehog Shrek the Final Descrated Temple-Gauntlet Gates of Underworld-Gauntlet TNA Impact-TNA James Bond Real Estate-GoldeneyeChapter-Shrek Dream Valley-Nights Crystal Kingdom-Glover Death World-Grim Adventures The Gates of Underworld-Gauntlet Jungle Storm-Perfect Dark Carrington Institute-Perfect Dark Mario Galaxy-Mario Palutena's Temple-Kid Icarus Jade Palace-Kung Fu Panda Teen Titans Headquarters-Teen Titans Music Madness-Donkey Kong Funky Stadium-Donkey Kong H.I.V.E Five's Hideout-Teen Titans Rock Vegas-Flintstones Staglimate Ball Game-Flintstones Kalos Pokemon League-Poke'mon Rusty Bucket Bay-Banjo & Kazooie Great Fox-Star Fox Mushroom Kingdom U-Mario WWE 2k14-WWE WWE 2k15-WWE Wrestlemania 30-WWE Secret Mountain Fort Awesome-Secret Mountain Fort Awesome Master Pokerap-Poke'mon Halberd-Kirby Race of Ages-Sonic All Stars Racing Transforned Gaur Plain-Xenoblade Forbidden Cave-Ducktales Butthead's Nightmare-Beavis and Butthead WWE SVR 2008-WWE Bedrock-Flintstones Delfino Plaza-Mario Simpson's House-The Simpsons Coliseum-Fire Emblem The Roost-Animal Crossing Resistence of Masaki-Magical Girl Pretty Sammy Berningtown-Bert & Ernie Datadyne Defection-Perfect Dark Mayhem Temple-Banjo & Kazooie Spiral Mountain-Banjo & Kazooie Click Clock Wood-Banjo & Kazooie Bomber Coaster-Bomberman Bagular's Hideout-Bomberman Mute City-F-Zero Big Blue-F-Zero Eye Snake-Bomberman Castle Crush-Donkey Kong Bikini Bottom-Spongebob Squarepants Shrek's Swamp-Shrek Far Far Away Idle-Shrek Pictochat-Wii Jump Around-Your Favorite Martian Grojband-Grojband Lauren Sanor's Room-Real Life 99 Luft Balloons-Real Life Both Versions Of DLC Miiverse-Miis (DLC) Brooke's Interview Room-Real Life (DLC) Mystery Shack-Gravity Falls (DLC) Madascgar-Madascgar (DLC) Shadow Moses Island-Metal Gear Solid (DLC) Summit-Ice Climbers (DLC) Thiller Bark-One Piece (DLC) Orchid Bay City-Juniper Lee (DLC) Fred Flintstone Wrestling Entertainment-Flintstones/WWE (WWE) Ready 2 Rumble Boxing Ring-Ready 2 Rumble Boxing (DLC) Townsville-Powerpuff Girls (DLC) Space Ghost Ship-Space Ghost (DLC) Hi Hi Puffy Bus-Hi Hi Puffy Ami Yumi (DLC) Crystals of Staglamiteica-Steven Universe (DLC) Land of Gnoo-Adventure Time (DLC) Walterson's House-Gumball (DLC) Tri Zenon Ship-Tri Zenon (DLC) Land of Udrogoth-Dave the Barbarian (DLC) Digital World-Digmon (DLC) Breadwinners Dinner-Breadwinners (DLC) Planet Tunu-Star Vs the Forces of Evil (DLC) Captain Gutt's Ship-Ice Age (DLC) Olyve Oil's Apartment-Popeye (DLC) Conker's Tree House-Conker (DLC) Dr Claw's Hideout-Inspector Gadget (DLC) Susan and Mary's Lab-Johnny Test (DLC) Dr Doofenschmirtz Inc.-Phineas and Ferb (DLC) Ed Edd n Eddy Neighborhood-Ed Edd n Eddy (DLC) Rainbow Palace-Bomberman (DLC) Rumble Falls-Donkey Kong (DLC) Bramble Rumble-Donkey Kong (DLC) Super Mario Bros-Mario (DLC) OPerate Frigate-Metriod (DLC) Foster's Home-Foster's Home (DLC) MK vs Marvel DC-Marvel (DLC) Ocean View-Sonic (DLC) Dan Vs-Dan Vs (DLC) Wesking Ghost Town-Resident of Evil (DLC) Nora Wakeman's Laboratory-My Life as a Teenage Robot (DLC) Capertown-Capertown Cops (DLC) American Dad's Office-American Dad (DLC) Propane Store-King of the Hill (DLC) Dungeons and DRagons-Final Fantasy (DLC) Dream Land 64-Kirby (DLC) Suzaku Castle-Street Fighter (DLC) The Jungle-The Incredibles (DLC) Monsters Incorporated-Monsters Inc. (DLC) Monsters University-Monsters Inc. 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