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Cracking Contraptions
''Wallace and Gromit's Cracking Contraptions'' is a British series of ten Wallace and Gromit stop-motion animations varying in length from 1 to 3 minutes. Each episode features one of Wallace's new inventions and Gromit's skeptical reaction to it. The series was produced and released in 2002 by Aardman Animations. All ten shorts were aired on BBC One after the television premiere of ''Chicken Run'' (2000). The idea for Cracking Contraptions came about when Japanese broadcasters were desperate for new material and asked if there were any shorts they could air on TV. This was the first Wallace and Gromit production in widescreen. Episode descriptions Shopper 13 Because no dogs are allowed into the shop, Wallace deploys a remote-controlled trolley equipped with a camera and accessories to retrieve cheese from it and carry it home. Though it successfully picks up the largest wheel of Edam in the shop, the weight causes one wheel to fall off. Gromit guides it to grab a loaf of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christopher Sadler
Christopher Sadler (born 1970) is a British animator, director and writer. He is primarily known for his work on ''Wallace and Gromit'', ''Chicken Run'', ''Rex the Runt'', ''Cracking Contraptions'', ''Creature Comforts'' and ''Shaun the Sheep''. He completed his secondary education at Codsall High School, Staffordshire, leaving in 1989 having passed four A levels. He then joined a one-year art and design foundation course at Stafford College before moving to Bristol and embarking on a Graphic Design degree at University of the West of England. Although he originally focused on illustration, Sadler later turned his hand to stop motion animation. He graduated in 1993. He began his professional career as a freelance model/set builder before returning to animation. During the 1990s he worked for various film production companies including Bolex Brothers and Elm Road Studios in Bristol, Aaagh Animations in Cardiff and Gnome Productions in Wellington, New Zealand. He first worked f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sou'wester
A Sou'wester is a traditional form of collapsible oilskin rain hat that is longer in the back than the front to protect the neck fully. A gutter front brim is sometimes featured. See also * Mariner's cap * Oilcloth * Waxed cotton Waxed cotton is cotton impregnated with a paraffin or natural beeswax based wax, woven into or applied to the cloth. Popular from the 1920s to the mid-1950s, the product, which developed from the sailing industry in England and Scotland, became co ... References External links * {{Hats Headgear Maritime culture Sailing equipment ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Counting Sheep
Counting sheep is a mental exercise used in some Western cultures as a means of putting oneself to sleep. In most depictions of the activity, the practitioner envisions an endless series of identical white sheep jumping over a fence, while counting them as they do so. The idea, presumably, is to induce boredom while occupying the mind with something simple, repetitive, and rhythmic, all of which are known to help humans sleep. Although the practice is largely a stereotype, and rarely used as a solution for insomnia, it has been so commonly referenced by cartoons, comic strips, and other mass media, that it has become deeply engrained into popular culture's notion of sleep. The term "counting sheep" has entered the English language as an idiomatic term for insomnia. Sheep themselves have become associated with sleep, or lack thereof. Effectiveness The effectiveness of the method may depend upon the mental power required. An experiment conducted by researchers at Oxford U ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sheep
Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus ''Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated sheep. Like all ruminants, sheep are members of the order Artiodactyla, the even-toed ungulates. Numbering a little over one billion, domestic sheep are also the most numerous species of sheep. An adult female is referred to as a ''ewe'' (), an intact male as a ''ram'', occasionally a ''tup'', a castrated male as a ''wether'', and a young sheep as a ''lamb''. Sheep are most likely descended from the wild mouflon of Europe and Asia, with Iran being a geographic envelope of the domestication center. One of the earliest animals to be domesticated for agricultural purposes, sheep are raised for fleeces, meat (lamb, hogget or mutton) and milk. A sheep's wool is the most widely used animal fiber, and is usually harvested by shearing. In Commonw ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Insomnia
Insomnia, also known as sleeplessness, is a sleep disorder in which people have trouble sleeping. They may have difficulty falling asleep, or staying asleep as long as desired. Insomnia is typically followed by daytime sleepiness, low energy, irritability, and a depressed mood. It may result in an increased risk of motor vehicle collisions, as well as problems focusing and learning. Insomnia can be short term, lasting for days or weeks, or long term, lasting more than a month. The concept of the word insomnia has two possibilities: insomnia disorder and insomnia symptoms, and many abstracts of randomized controlled trials and systematic reviews often underreport on which of these two possibilities the word insomnia refers to. Insomnia can occur independently or as a result of another problem. Conditions that can result in insomnia include psychological stress, chronic pain, heart failure, hyperthyroidism, heartburn, restless leg syndrome, menopause, certain medications, and d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Italian Job (1969 Film)
''The Italian Job'' is a 1969 British comedy caper film, written by Troy Kennedy Martin, produced by Michael Deeley, directed by Peter Collinson, and starring Michael Caine. The film's plot centres around Cockney criminal Charlie Croker, recently released from prison, who forms a gang for the job of stealing a cache of gold bullion being transported through the city of Turin, Italy in an armoured security truck. In addition to Caine, the film's cast also included Benny Hill, Raf Vallone, Tony Beckley, and Noël Coward; the film was Coward's last before his retirement from acting. The soundtrack was composed by Quincy Jones, featuring the songs "On Days Like These", sung by Matt Monro over the opening credits, and "Getta Bloomin' Move On" (usually referred to as "The Self-Preservation Society", after its chorus) during the climactic car chase, which featured Caine among its singers. The film proved a success upon its release, earning critical acclaim amongst critics for the per ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Power Outage
A power outage (also called a powercut, a power out, a power failure, a power blackout, a power loss, or a blackout) is the loss of the electrical power network supply to an end user. There are many causes of power failures in an electricity network. Examples of these causes include faults at power stations, damage to electric transmission lines, substations or other parts of the distribution system, a short circuit, cascading failure, fuse or circuit breaker operation. Power failures are particularly critical at sites where the environment and public safety are at risk. Institutions such as hospitals, sewage treatment plants, and mines will usually have backup power sources such as standby generators, which will automatically start up when electrical power is lost. Other critical systems, such as telecommunication, are also required to have emergency power. The battery room of a telephone exchange usually has arrays of lead–acid batteries for backup and also a socket ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Electricity Meter
North American domestic analog electricity meter. Electricity meter with transparent plastic case (Israel) North American domestic electronic electricity meter An electricity meter, electric meter, electrical meter, energy meter, or kilowatt-hour meter is a device that measures the amount of electric energy consumed by a residence, a business, or an electrically powered device. Electric meter or energy meter measures the total power consumed over a time interval. Electric utilities use electric meters installed at customers' premises for billing and monitoring purposes. They are typically calibrated in billing units, the most common one being the kilowatt hour (''kWh''). They are usually read once each billing period. When energy savings during certain periods are desired, some meters may measure demand, the maximum use of power in some interval. "Time of day" metering allows electric rates to be changed during a day, to record usage during peak high-cost periods and of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ten Pence (British Coin)
The British decimal ten pence coin (often shortened to 10p in writing and speech) is a denomination of sterling coinage worth one-tenth of a pound. Its obverse has featured the profile of Queen Elizabeth II since the coin's introduction in 1968, to replace the florin (two shilling) coin in preparation for decimalisation in 1971. It remained the same size as the florin coin (which also remained legal tender) until a smaller version was introduced 30 September 1992, with the older coins being withdrawn on 30 June 1993. Four different portraits of the Queen have been used on the coin; the latest design by Jody Clark was introduced in 2015. The second and current reverse, featuring a segment of the Royal Shield, was introduced in 2008. The ten pence coin was originally minted from cupro-nickel (75% Cu, 25% Ni), but since 2012 it has been minted in nickel-plated steel due to the increasing price of metal. From January 2013 the Royal Mint began a programme to gradually remove the p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vacuum Cleaner
A vacuum cleaner, also known simply as a vacuum or a hoover, is a device that causes suction in order to remove dirt from floors, upholstery, draperies, and other surfaces. It is generally electrically driven. The dirt is collected by either a dustbag or a cyclone for later disposal. Vacuum cleaners, which are used in homes as well as in industry, exist in a variety of sizes and models—small battery-powered hand-held devices, wheeled canister models for home use, domestic central vacuum cleaners, huge stationary industrial appliances that can handle several hundred litres of dirt before being emptied, and self-propelled vacuum trucks for recovery of large spills or removal of contaminated soil. Specialized shop vacuums can be used to suck up both solid matter and liquids. Name Although ''vacuum cleaner'' and the short form ''vacuum'' are neutral names, in some countries (UK, Ireland) ''hoover'' is used instead as a genericized trademark, and as a verb. The name comes from t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rolling Pin
Rolling is a type of motion that combines rotation (commonly, of an axially symmetric object) and translation of that object with respect to a surface (either one or the other moves), such that, if ideal conditions exist, the two are in contact with each other without sliding. Rolling where there is no sliding is referred to as ''pure rolling''. By definition, there is no sliding when there is a frame of reference in which all points of contact on the rolling object have the same velocity as their counterparts on the surface on which the object rolls; in particular, for a frame of reference in which the rolling plane is at rest (see animation), the instantaneous velocity of all the points of contact (e.g., a generating line segment of a cylinder) of the rolling object is zero. In practice, due to small deformations near the contact area, some sliding and energy dissipation occurs. Nevertheless, the resulting rolling resistance is much lower than sliding friction, and thus, roll ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Abominable (2019 Film)
''Abominable'' is a 2019 computer-animated adventure film produced by DreamWorks Animation and Pearl Studio, written and directed by Jill Culton and co-directed by Todd Wilderman, and stars the voices of Chloe Bennet, Albert Tsai, Tenzing Norgay Trainor, Eddie Izzard, Sarah Paulson, Tsai Chin, and Michelle Wong. The film follows a teenage girl named Yi, who encounters a young Yeti on the roof of her apartment building in Shanghai, names him Everest and embarks on an epic quest to reunite the magical creature with his family at the highest point on Earth along with her mischievous friends Jin and Peng, but the trio of friends will have to stay one-step ahead of Burnish, a wealthy man intent on capturing a Yeti, and zoologist Dr. Zara to help Everest get home. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 7, 2019, and was released by Universal Pictures in the United States on September 27 while Pearl Studio distributed the film in China. The film rec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
