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Corkscrew (Alton Towers)
Corkscrew was a steel roller coaster located at Alton Towers theme park, in the United Kingdom. Corkscrew was manufactured for Alton Towers by Dutch company Vekoma, engineered by Werner Stengel of German Ing.-Büro Stengel GmbH (Ingenieur Büro Stengel). The coaster was located in the Alton Towers#Dark Forest, Ug Land area, formerly called Talbot Centre. It was the theme park's oldest ride and considered one of the greatest factors in promoting the new theme park to the British people, British public. It was the first double-inverting coaster in the UK and Europe, and was well received publicly in the 1980s. History In 1979, John Broome, one of the then directors of Alton Towers, wanted to make the Towers and Gardens into a new style of leisure attraction. On , Corkscrew opened to a crowd of 30,000. It became the main attraction of the park, and led to attendance numbers doubling from 500,000 in 1979, to over 1,000,000 in 1980. It was a Vekoma MK1200 Corkscrew with Bayern ...
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Thirteen (roller Coaster)
Thirteen (officially stylised as TH13TEEN) is a steel roller coaster at Alton Towers in England. The ride was constructed by Intamin and opened on 20 March 2010. It is the world's first vertical freefall drop roller coaster, on which the track and train freefall approximately five metres in darkness. The ride replaced and is built on the former site of the Corkscrew (Alton Towers), Corkscrew, which resided at Alton Towers for 28 years between 1980 and 2008. Development history Alton Towers first revealed their plans for the ride in October 2008 when it was announced that Corkscrew would be removed. Planning permission was initially delayed due to concerns about an Iron Age hill fort in its vicinity. However, in March 2009, Staffordshire Moorlands District Council accepted planning permission for the ride (with conditions) and groundwork construction commenced about three months later. During the planning stages and construction, the ride was codenamed Secret Weapon 6. John War ...
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Roller Coaster
A roller coaster is a type of list of amusement rides, amusement ride employing a form of elevated Railway track, railroad track that carries passengers on a roller coaster train, train through tight turns, steep slopes, and other elements, usually designed to produce a thrilling experience, though some roller coasters aim to provide a more gentle experience. Trains consist of open cars connected in a single line, and the rides are often found in theme parks around the world. Roller coasters originate from "Russian Mountains" which first appeared in the 17th century. Invented and mostly found in Russia, these were slides made of ice that upper-class Russians would slide down. LaMarcus Adna Thompson obtained one of the first known patents for a roller coaster design in 1885, based on the Switchback Railway which opened a year earlier at Coney Island. Tracks are typically built and designed as a complete circuit in which trains depart from and return to the same Station (roller coa ...
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1980 Establishments In England
__NOTOC__ Year 198 (CXCVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Sergius and Gallus (or, less frequently, year 951 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 198 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years. Events By place Roman Empire *January 28 **Publius Septimius Geta, son of Septimius Severus, receives the title of Caesar. **Caracalla, son of Septimius Severus, is given the title of Augustus. China *Winter – Battle of Xiapi: The allied armies led by Cao Cao and Liu Bei defeat Lü Bu; afterward Cao Cao has him executed. By topic Religion * Marcus I succeeds Olympianus as Patriarch of Constantinople (until 211). Births * Lu Kai, Chinese official and general (d. 269) * Quan Cong, Chinese general and advisor (d. 249) Deaths * Li Jue, Chinese warlord and regent * ...
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Nick Varney
Sir Nicholas John Varney (born 1962Chris Blackhurs (10 March 2010 ''London Evening Standard''. Retrieved 9 July 2013.) is a British businessman who was the chief executive officer of attractions operator Merlin Entertainments. He held this position from 1999 until 2022. Biography Varney attended the London School of Economics before becoming a junior marketer in the mid-1980s, later progressing to senior roles. He has over 24 years experience in the visitor attractions industry and was appointed chief executive officer of Merlin Entertainments in 1999. He was later appointed a Director of the company on 20 October 2013. Nick started his career in marketing, first with Rowntree and then with Reckitt Colman. He went on to hold senior positions within The Tussauds Group, including marketing director of Alton Towers and Head of Group Marketing, before becoming managing director of Vardon Attractions and a main board director of Vardon. In 1999, Nick led the management buyout of Va ...
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EBay
eBay Inc. ( , often stylized as ebay) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that allows users to buy or view items via retail sales through online marketplaces and websites in 190 markets worldwide. Sales occur either via online auctions or "buy it now" instant sales, and the company charges commissions to sellers upon sales. eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in September 1995. It has 132 million yearly active buyers worldwide and handled $73 billion in transactions in 2023, 48% of which were in the United States. In 2023, the company had a take rate (revenue as a percentage of volume) of 13.81%. The company is listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market and is a component of the S&P 500 and formerly the Nasdaq-100. eBay can be used by individuals, companies and governments to purchase and sell almost any legal, non-controversial item. eBay's auctions use a Vickrey auction (sealed-bid) proxy bid system. Buyers and sellers may r ...
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The Prodigy
The Prodigy are an English electronic music band formed in Braintree, Essex, in 1990 by producer, keyboardist, and songwriter Liam Howlett. The original line-up also featured Rapping, MC and vocalist Maxim (musician), Maxim, dancer and occasionally live keyboardist Leeroy Thornhill, dancer Sharky, and dancer and vocalist Keith Flint. They describe their style as Electropunk, electronic punk. The band emerged during the underground rave scene and achieved early success in 1991 with their debut singles "Charly (song), Charly" and "Everybody in the Place", which reached the UK top five. After their debut album ''Experience (The Prodigy album), Experience'' (1992), the band moved from their rave roots and incorporated techno, breakbeat, and rock influences on their follow-up, the critically acclaimed ''Music for the Jilted Generation'' (1994). They reached their commercial and critical peak with their third studio album ''The Fat of the Land'' (1997), which went to No. 1 in 16 co ...
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Everybody In The Place
"Everybody in the Place" is the second official single released by the British electronic dance band the Prodigy from their debut album, ''Experience'' (1992). It was released on 23 December 1991 through XL Recordings in the UK. The single features the "Fairground Remix" version of the song. The version on the album is the ''"''155 & Rising Version''"'', which is significantly longer and faster in beats per minute than the original mix featured on the '' What Evil Lurks'' EP. The single peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart, beaten to number one by the re-release of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" following the death of Freddie Mercury. The original CD single was released with five tracks, which went against British chart regulations. The track "Rip Up the Sound System" was removed on the re-issue to comply with the chart regulations, but is still available on the 12" vinyl. The cover features a photograph of the now dismantled Corkscrew roller coaster at Alton Towers. ...
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Amiga Computing
''Amiga Computing'' is a discontinued monthly computer magazine Computer magazines are about computers and related subjects, such as networking and the Internet. Most computer magazines offer (or offered) advice, some offer programming tutorials, reviews of the latest technologies, and advertisements. ... that was published by Europress and IDG in both the UK and US. A total of 117 issues were published. The games section was called Gamer, although later '' Amiga Action'' was incorporated into the magazine and became the games section. History The magazine's first 80 issues were published by Europress, known as Database Publications from June 1988 to March 1990, Interactive Publishing from April 1990 to May 1991, and finally as Europress Publications From June 1991 until December 1994. It was then sold to IDG and published by them starting Christmas 1994 and until its final 117th issue in October 1997.''Amiga Computing'' #81 (1994-XMas); ''Amiga Computing'' #117 ...
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Rotoscoping
Rotoscoping is an animation technique that animators use to trace over motion picture footage, frame by frame, to produce realistic action. Originally, live-action film images were projected onto a glass panel and traced onto paper. This projection equipment is referred to as a rotoscope, developed by Polish-American animator Max Fleischer. This device was eventually replaced by computers, but the process is still called rotoscoping. In the visual effects industry, ''rotoscoping'' refers to the technique of manually creating a matte for an element on a live-action plate so it may be composited over another background. Technique Rotoscoping has often been used as a tool for visual effects in live-action films. By tracing an object, the filmmaker creates a silhouette (called a matte) that can be used to extract that object from a scene for use on a different background. Rotoscoping in the digital domain is often aided by motion-tracking and onion-skinning software. R ...
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The Chart Show
''The Chart Show'' (also known as ''The ITV Chart Show'' between 1989 and 1998) is a weekly syndicated music video programme, which ran in the United Kingdom from April 1986 until August 1998, with revivals in 2003 and 2008–2009. ''The Chart Show '' originally ran in the United Kingdom on Channel 4 from 11 April 1986 up to 2 January 1989 in a 45-minute-long Friday evening slot (with some episodes in late 1988 airing on Monday evenings due to late schedule changes on the channel). By the beginning of 1989, the popularity of the show persuaded the show's production team to move it from Channel 4 onto the ITV network. In its ITV transmission run between 7 January 1989 and 22 August 1998, ''The Chart Show'' was normally broadcast in the 11:30 am timeslot on ITV on Saturday mornings, with an early morning repeat later in the week in most regions; ITV episodes were generally one hour in length. From 29 August 1998 onwards, ''The Chart Show'' was dropped and replaced by '' CD:UK' ...
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Let's Hang On!
"Let's Hang On!" is a song composed by Bob Crewe, Sandy Linzer, and Denny Randell that was popularized by The Four Seasons (band), the Four Seasons in 1965. The Four Seasons version The Four Seasons' recording reached No. 3 in the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100 singles chart, the group's highest placement since "Rag Doll (Four Seasons song), Rag Doll" hit the top spot in July 1964. This was the last Four Seasons hit to feature bass singer/bassist Nick Massi. The same month "Let's Hang On!" was released, Massi left the group and was temporarily replaced by the band's arranger Charles Calello before Joe Long came in as Massi's full-time replacement. The popularity of "Let's Hang On!" has been attributed to the inclusion of several devices into the recording: a two-line introduction (sung by lead singer Frankie Valli), the use of two fuzz guitars (one guitarist playing low notes, another playing high notes on a fuzz bass), a chorus loaded with hook (music), hooks and sung ...
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Darts (band)
Darts is a nine-piece British doo-wop revival band that achieved chart success in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The London-based band had a number of UK top 20 hits including three successive number twos with revivals of early US rock and roll, R&B and original songs. History Founded in 1976, by Den Hegarty along with Griff Fender (real name: Ian Collier), Rita Ray (real name: Lydia Sowa) and Horatio Hornblower (real name: Nigel Trubridge), all former members of the band Rocky Sharpe and the Razors (pre- Rocky Sharpe and the Replays). Joining the band was Iain "Thump" Thomson, George Currie and John Dummer, all ex-members of the John Dummer's Blues Band. The line-up was completed by William "Hammy" Howell and ex- Mickey Jupp singer Bob Fish. They built up a large following playing clubs and universities, although their break came after they appeared on Charlie Gillett's show on BBC Radio London in October 1976. This secured the band a recording contract with Magne ...
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