The furry fandom is a subculture interested in anthropomorphic animal characters. Some examples of anthropomorphic attributes include exhibiting human intelligence and facial expressions, speaking, walking on two legs, and wearing clothes. The term "furry fandom" is also used to refer to the community of people who gather on the Internet and at furry conventions.
Guinness World Records, known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as The Guinness Book of Records and in previous United States editions as The Guinness Book of World Records, is a British reference book published annually, listing world records both of human achievements and the extremes of the natural world. Sir Hugh Beaver created the concept, and twin brothers Norris and Ross McWhirter co-founded the book in London in August 1955.
Anthrocon is an annual furry convention that takes place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, each June or July. It caters to furries, which are fans of fictional anthropomorphic animal characters in art and literature. The convention was first held in 1997 in Albany, New York, and moved multiple times before settling at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. Since moving to Pittsburgh in 2006, the convention has drawn millions in financing to the local economy.
Further Confusion, or Furcon, is an annual furry convention held in San Jose, California, each January, celebrating the anthropomorphics genre or furry fandom, including charitable benefits, educational seminars, art shows, panels and general social activities. It was the first event sponsored by Anthropomorphic Arts and Education and continues to be its largest.
Andrew Newell Wyeth was an American visual artist, primarily a realist painter, working predominantly in a regionalist style. He believed he was also an abstractionist, portraying subjects in a new, meaningful way. The son of N. C. Wyeth and father of Jamie Wyeth, he was one of the best-known U.S. artists of the middle 20th century. James H. Duff explores the art and lives of the three men in An American Vision: Three Generations of Wyeth Art. Raised with an appreciation of nature, Wyeth took walks that fired his imagination. Henry David Thoreau, Robert Frost, and King Vidor's The Big Parade (1925) inspired him intellectually and artistically. Wyeth featured in a documentary The Metaphor in which he discussed Vidor's influence on the creation of his works of art, like Winter 1946 and Portrait of Ralph Kline. Wyeth was also inspired by Winslow Homer and Renaissance artists.
Fursuits are custom-made anthropomorphic animal costumes owned and worn by cosplayers and members of the furry fandom, commonly known as "furries"; a furry who wears a fursuit is called a fursuiter. The term is believed to have been coined in 1993 by Robert King. Unlike mascot suits, which are usually affiliated with a team or organization, fursuits represent an original character created by their wearer, and are often better-fitting and more intricately crafted, with features such as a moving jaw. Fursuits are made in a wide range of styles, from cartoonish to highly realistic.
A rat king is a collection of rats or mice whose tails are intertwined and bound together in some way. This could be a result of an entangling material like hair, a sticky substance such as sap or gum, or the tails being tied together.
Ratfucking is an American slang term for behind the scenes (covert) political sabotage or dirty tricks, particularly pertaining to elections. It was brought to public attention by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein in All the President's Men (1974), the book that chronicled their investigative reporting of the Watergate scandal.
John William Oliver is a British and American comedian who hosts Last Week Tonight with John Oliver on HBO. He started his career as a stand-up comedian in the United Kingdom and came to wider attention for his work in the United States as the Senior British Correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart from 2006 to 2013. Oliver won three Primetime Emmy Awards for writing for The Daily Show and became its guest host for an eight-week period in 2013. He also co-hosted the comedy podcast The Bugle with Andy Zaltzman, with whom Oliver had previously worked on the radio series Political Animal and The Department. From 2010 to 2013, he hosted the stand-up series John Oliver's New York Stand-Up Show on Comedy Central. His acting roles include Ian Duncan on the NBC sitcom Community and voice work in the animated films The Smurfs (2011), The Smurfs 2 (2013), and The Lion King remake (2019).
A furry convention is a formal gathering of members of the furry fandom – people who are interested in the concept of fictional non-human animal characters with human characteristics. These conventions provide a place for fans to meet, exchange ideas, transact business and engage in entertainment and recreation centered on this concept. Originating in California during the mid-1980s, as of 2016 there are over 50 furry conventions worldwide each year.
Paul-Louis Simond was a French physician, chief medical officer and biologist whose major contribution to science was his demonstration that the intermediates in the transmission of bubonic plague from rats to humans are the fleas Xenopsylla cheopis that dwell on infected rats.
Robert Edward Murray was an American mining engineer and businessman. He founded and was the chief executive officer of Murray Energy, a mining corporation based in St. Clairsville, Ohio, until it filed for bankruptcy. Murray was criticized for his denial of climate change, his actions following the Crandall Canyon Mine collapse, and for several large strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) he initiated. Multiple allegations of sexual misconduct were brought against him in 2014 and 2016, which were later settled out of court.
Ratatouille is a 2007 American animated comedy-drama film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. The eighth film produced by Pixar, it was written and directed by Brad Bird and produced by Brad Lewis, from an original idea by Jan Pinkava, who was credited for conceiving the film's story with Bird and Jim Capobianco. The film stars the voices of Patton Oswalt, Lou Romano, Ian Holm, Janeane Garofalo, Peter O'Toole, Brian Dennehy, Peter Sohn and Brad Garrett. The title refers to the French dish ratatouille, and also references the species of the main character, a rat. Set mostly in Paris, the plot follows a young rat Remy (Oswalt) who dreams of becoming a chef at Auguste Gusteau's (Garrett) restaurant and tries to achieve his goal by forming an unlikely alliance with the restaurant's garbage boy Alfredo Linguini (Romano).
Anvil! The Story of Anvil is a 2008 Canadian rockumentary film about the Canadian heavy metal band Anvil. The film is directed by screenwriter Sacha Gervasi, in his directorial debut, and features interviews with other musicians who have been influenced by the band, including Slash, Tom Araya, Lemmy, Scott Ian, and Lars Ulrich.
Matthew Pratt was an American "Colonial Era" artist famous for his portraits of American men and women.
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver is an American late-night talk and satire television program hosted by comedian John Oliver. The half-hour-long show premiered in the end of April 2014 on HBO and currently premieres simultaneously on the network and Max. Last Week Tonight shares some similarities with Comedy Central's The Daily Show, as the show takes a satirical look at news, politics and current events, but on a weekly basis.
Our Lady of Perpetual Exemption was a legally recognized parody religion in the United States established by the comedian and satirist John Oliver. The church was announced on August 16, 2015, in an episode of the television program Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. Its purpose was to highlight and criticize televangelists, such as Kenneth Copeland and Robert Tilton, whom Oliver argued used television broadcasts of Christian church services for private gain. Oliver also established Our Lady of Perpetual Exemption to draw attention to the tax-exempt status given to churches.
LNP is a daily newspaper headquartered in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The newspaper is published by the LNP Media Group, a division of the family-owned Steinman Enterprises. First published under its present name on October 14, 2014, LNP traces its roots to one of the oldest newspapers in the U.S., The Lancaster Journal, which dates back to 1794. The newspaper's broadsheet print edition is published in the morning, seven days per week. The paper's online counterpart is LancasterOnline.com. The online edition of the newspaper is currently blocked to European visitors as a response by LancasterOnline.com to the 2018 EEA data privacy regulations popularly known as GDPR.
Tiny the Wonder was an English Toy Terrier famous in the City of London in the mid-19th century for being able to kill 200 rats in an hour in the city's rat-baiting pits. At the time, the world record for killing 100 rats was 5 minutes, 30 seconds, held by a bull and terrier named Billy.
The Amazing Maurice is a 2022 animated fantasy comedy film directed by Toby Genkel and co-directed by Florian Westermann, from a screenplay by Terry Rossio, based on the 2001 novel The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents by Terry Pratchett. The film stars Hugh Laurie, Emilia Clarke, David Thewlis, Himesh Patel, Gemma Arterton, Joe Sugg, Ariyon Bakare, Julie Atherton, Rob Brydon, Hugh Bonneville and David Tennant. The story follows Maurice, a streetwise ginger cat who befriends the talking rats by coming up with a money-making scam.
