What are the key factors driving the global helmet market growth. How will technological advancements impact the helmet industry. Which regions are expected to dominate the market in the coming years. What strategies are leading companies employing to gain market share.
Global Helmet Market Overview and Dynamics
The global helmet market is poised for significant growth from 2020 to 2030, driven by several key factors. Safety concerns across various sectors, from sports to industrial applications, are fueling demand for protective headgear. Technological advancements are also playing a crucial role in market expansion.
What are the primary drivers of the helmet market?
- Increasing awareness about safety in sports and recreational activities
- Stringent workplace safety regulations in industrial sectors
- Growing motorcycle and bicycle usage, especially in developing countries
- Technological innovations leading to lighter, stronger, and smarter helmets
- Rising disposable incomes enabling purchases of premium helmet products
While the market shows promise, it also faces certain challenges. These include:
- High costs associated with advanced helmet technologies
- Lack of standardization in helmet safety standards across regions
- Counterfeiting and the presence of low-quality products in some markets
Helmet Market Segmentation and Analysis
The global helmet market can be segmented based on various factors:
By Type:
- Sports Helmets
- Motorcycle Helmets
- Safety Helmets
By Design:
- Full Face Helmets
- Open Face Helmets
- Half Helmets
By Category:
- Conventional Helmets
- Smart Helmets
By Gender:
- Male
- Female
By Price Range:
- Low
- Medium
- High
How do these segments contribute to market growth?
Each segment caters to specific consumer needs and preferences. Sports helmets, for instance, are witnessing rapid growth due to increasing participation in activities like cycling, skiing, and skateboarding. The smart helmet category is gaining traction with the integration of features like built-in cameras, Bluetooth connectivity, and heads-up displays.
Technological Advancements Reshaping the Helmet Industry
Innovation is at the forefront of helmet market growth. Manufacturers are investing heavily in research and development to create products that offer enhanced safety, comfort, and functionality.
What are some groundbreaking technologies in the helmet industry?
- MIPS (Multi-directional Impact Protection System) technology for improved protection against rotational forces
- Carbon fiber and composite materials for lighter yet stronger helmets
- AI-powered smart helmets with collision detection and emergency alert systems
- Augmented reality (AR) visors for enhanced situational awareness
- 3D printing for customized fit and design
These technological advancements are not only improving safety standards but also creating new market opportunities. The integration of IoT and AI in helmets is opening up possibilities for data collection and analysis, which could revolutionize safety protocols in various industries.
Regional Analysis of the Global Helmet Market
The helmet market shows varying trends across different regions:
North America:
Dominated by the sports and safety segments, with a growing interest in smart helmets. The region benefits from strict safety regulations and high consumer awareness.
Europe:
A mature market with a focus on high-end, technologically advanced helmets. The motorcycle helmet segment is particularly strong in countries like Italy and Germany.
Asia Pacific:
The fastest-growing region, driven by increasing motorcycle ownership, rapid industrialization, and growing sports participation. Countries like India and China represent significant market opportunities.
Latin America:
Showing steady growth, particularly in the motorcycle helmet segment. Economic development in countries like Brazil and Mexico is fueling market expansion.
Middle East and Africa:
A growing market, particularly in the construction and industrial safety sectors. Increasing awareness about workplace safety is driving demand.
Which region is expected to lead the global helmet market?
While North America and Europe currently hold significant market shares, Asia Pacific is projected to be the fastest-growing region during the forecast period. The region’s large population, increasing disposable incomes, and growing emphasis on safety across various sectors are key factors contributing to this growth.
Competitive Landscape and Key Players
The global helmet market is highly competitive, with a mix of established players and innovative startups. Key strategies employed by market leaders include:
- Continuous product innovation and R&D investment
- Strategic partnerships and collaborations
- Mergers and acquisitions to expand market presence
- Focus on customization and personalization
- Expansion into emerging markets
Who are the leading players in the global helmet market?
Some of the prominent companies in the helmet industry include:
- Shoei Co., Ltd.
- Bell Helmets
- Arai Helmet, Ltd.
- HJC Corp.
- Schuberth GmbH
- GIRO
- POC Sweden AB
- KASK S.p.A
- Headstrong Helmets
- 3M Company
These companies are constantly innovating to maintain their market positions. For instance, many are investing in lightweight materials, aerodynamic designs, and smart features to cater to evolving consumer preferences.
Future Outlook and Market Projections
The global helmet market is expected to witness substantial growth between 2020 and 2030. Factors such as increasing safety awareness, technological advancements, and stringent regulations are likely to drive this growth.
What are the key trends shaping the future of the helmet market?
- Growing demand for multi-functional smart helmets
- Increasing adoption of sustainable and eco-friendly materials
- Rise of direct-to-consumer (D2C) sales channels
- Customization and personalization becoming mainstream
- Integration of helmets with other safety gear and systems
The market is projected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of X% during the forecast period. However, this growth may be influenced by factors such as economic conditions, regulatory changes, and unforeseen global events like the COVID-19 pandemic.
Impact of COVID-19 on the Helmet Market
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a mixed impact on the global helmet market. While it initially disrupted supply chains and manufacturing processes, it also led to some positive developments:
- Increased bicycle usage in many countries, boosting demand for cycling helmets
- Greater focus on personal safety, potentially driving helmet adoption in various sectors
- Acceleration of e-commerce and online sales channels for helmet products
- Innovation in antimicrobial and virus-resistant helmet materials and coatings
How has the pandemic affected long-term market projections?
While the immediate impact of COVID-19 caused some market disruptions, the long-term outlook for the helmet market remains positive. The pandemic has heightened awareness about personal safety, which could translate into increased helmet usage across various applications. Additionally, the shift towards e-commerce is likely to create new opportunities for market players to reach consumers directly.
Challenges and Opportunities in the Helmet Market
As the global helmet market continues to evolve, it faces both challenges and opportunities:
Challenges:
- Balancing safety features with comfort and aesthetics
- Addressing concerns about privacy and data security in smart helmets
- Navigating complex and varying safety standards across different regions
- Managing production costs while incorporating advanced technologies
Opportunities:
- Expanding into emerging markets with growing safety awareness
- Developing helmets for new applications, such as urban air mobility
- Leveraging AI and big data for predictive safety features
- Creating sustainable and environmentally friendly helmet options
How can companies capitalize on these opportunities?
Successful companies in the helmet market will need to stay agile and innovative. Investing in R&D, fostering partnerships with technology providers, and maintaining a strong focus on consumer needs will be crucial. Additionally, adopting sustainable practices and materials could provide a competitive edge as environmental concerns become increasingly important to consumers.
The global helmet market presents a landscape of continuous innovation and growth. As safety remains a paramount concern across various industries and recreational activities, the demand for advanced, comfortable, and smart helmets is expected to rise. Companies that can effectively balance safety, technology, and user experience will be well-positioned to capitalize on the opportunities in this dynamic market.
Outlook on the Helmet Global Market to 2030 – Featuring Giro, Headstrong Helmets & MT Helmets Among Others
DUBLIN, Aug. 27, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — The “Helmet Market – Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast, 2020-2030” report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com’s offering.
A new study on the global helmet market has been published by the author. It presents a wealth of information on key market dynamics, including drivers, market trends, and challenges, as well as the structure of the global helmet market across the globe. This study offers valuable information about the global helmet market to illustrate how the market would grow during the forecast period, 2020-2030.
Key indicators of market growth, which include value chain as well as supply chain analyses and Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR), have been elucidated in this study in a comprehensive manner.
This data can help readers interpret quantitative growth aspects of the global helmet market during the forecast period.
An extensive analysis on business strategies of leading market players has also been featured in this study on the global helmet market. This can help readers understand principal factors to foresee the growth of the global helmet market. In this study, readers can also find specific data on the qualitative and quantitative growth avenues for the global helmet market, which is expected to guide market players in making apt decisions in the future.
Key Questions Answered in this Helmet Market Study
- What are the key factors influencing the helmet market in each region?
- What will be the CAGR of the global helmet market between 2020 and 2030?
- What is the future scope and current trends in terms of technologies of the global helmet market?
- What is the revenue of the global helmet market based on the respective segments?
- Which are the key strategies used by top players of the global helmet market?
- Which are the leading companies in the global helmet market?
w3.org/1999/xhtml”>Key Topics Covered:Section 1. Preface
Section 2. Assumptions
Section 3. Research Methodology
Section 4. Executive Summary
Section 5. Market Overview
5.1. Introduction
5.2. Market Dynamics
5.2.1. Drivers
5.2.2. Restraints
5.2.3. Opportunities
5.3. Key Trends Analysis
5.3.1. Demand Side Analysis
5.3.2. Supply Side Analysis
5.4. Key Market Indicators
5.4.1. Motorcycle Industry Overview – Considering Impact of COVID-19
5.4.2. Overall Ski and Snowboarding Participants-By Country
5.5. Porter’s Five Forces Analysis
5.6. Value Chain Analysis
5.6.1. Managing Supply Chain Risk and Disruption – Considering Impact of COVID-19
5.7. Industry SWOT Analysis
5.8. Technology Overview
5.9. Regulations & Guidelines
5.9.1. Government Stimulus Measures for Different Industries
5.10. Helmet Market Analysis and Forecast, 2018 – 2030
5.
10.1. Market Revenue Projections (US$ Mn)
5.10.2. Market Volume Projection (Thousand Units)
Section 6. Global Helmet Market Analysis and Forecast, By Type
6.1. Global Helmet Market Size (Thousand Units & US$ Mn) Forecast, By Type, 2018 – 2030
6.1.1. Sports
6.1.2. Moto
6.1.3. Safety
6.2. Incremental Opportunity, By Type
Section 7. Global Helmet Market Analysis and Forecast, By Design
7.1. Global Helmet Market Size (Thousand Units & US$ Mn) Forecast, By Design, 2018 – 2030
7.1.1. Full Face Helmet
7.1.2. Open Face Helmet
7.1.3. Half Helmet
7.2. Incremental Opportunity, By Design
Section 8. Global Helmet Market Analysis and Forecast, By Category
8.1. Global Helmet Market Size (Thousand Units & US$ Mn) Forecast, By Category, 2018 – 2030
8.1.1. Conventional Helmet
8.1.2. Smart Helmet
8.2. Incremental Opportunity, By Category
Section 9. Global Helmet Market Analysis and Forecast, By Gender
9.
1. Global Helmet Market Size (Thousand Units & US$ Mn) Forecast, By Gender, 2018 – 2030
9.1.1. Male
9.1.2. Female
9.2. Incremental Opportunity, By Gender
Section 10. Global Helmet Market Analysis and Forecast, By Price
10.1. Global Helmet Market Size (Thousand Units & US$ Mn) Forecast, By Price, 2018 – 2030
10.1.1. Low
10.1.2. Medium
10.1.3. High
10.2. Incremental Opportunity, By Price
Section 11. Global Helmet Market Analysis and Forecast, By Type, Price
11.1. Global Helmet Market Size (Thousand Units & US$ Mn) Forecast, By Type Price, 2018 – 2030
11.1.1. Bike Helmets
11.1.1.1. Low
11.1.1.2. Medium
11.1.1.3. High
11.1.2. Snowsport Helmets
11.1.3. Equestrian Helmets
11.1.4. Hockey Helmets
11.1.5. Mountaineering helmets
11.1.6. Other Helmets
11.1.7. Roadbike Helmets
11.1.8. MX Helmets
11.1.9. Other Helmets
11.1.10. Industrial Helmets
11.1.11. Military Helmets
11.
1.12. Police and Fire Squad Helmets
11.1.13. Other Helmets
Section 12. Global Helmet Market Analysis and Forecast, By Distribution Channel
12.1. Global Helmet Market Size (Thousand Units & US$ Mn) Forecast, By Distribution Channel, 2018 – 2030
12.1.1. Online
12.1.1.1. Ecommerce Portal
12.1.1.2. Company Owned Portal
12.1.2. Offline
12.1.2.1. Large Format Stores
12.1.2.2. Specialty Stores
12.1.2.3. Independent Retailers
12.2. Incremental Opportunity, By Distribution Channel
Section 13. Global Helmet Market Analysis and Forecast, By Region
13.1. Global Helmet Market Size (Thousand Units & US$ Mn) Forecast, By Region, 2018 – 2030
13.1.1. North America
13.1.2. Europe
13.1.3. Asia Pacific
13.1.4. Middle East & Africa
13.1.5. South America
13.2. Incremental Opportunity, By Region
Section 14. Global Total Addressable Helmet Market Analysis and Forecast, By Type
14.1. Global Total Addressable Helmet Market Size (Thousand Units & US$ Mn) Forecast, By Type, 2018 – 2030
14.
1.1. Sports
14.1.1.1. Bike Helmets
14.1.1.2. Snowsport Helmets
14.1.1.3. Equestrian helmets
14.1.1.4. Hockey Helmets
14.1.1.5. Mountaineering helmets
14.1.1.6. Other Helmets
14.1.2. Moto
14.1.2.1. Roadbike helmets
14.1.2.2. MX Helmets
14.1.2.3. Other Helmets
14.1.3. Safety
14.1.3.1. Industrial Helmets
14.1.3.2. Military Helmets
14.1.3.3. Police and fire squad helmets
14.1.3.4. Other Helmets
Section 15. North America Helmet Market Analysis and Forecast
15.1. Regional Snapshot
15.2. Key Trends
15.3. Brand Share Analysis-2019 (%)
15.4. Consumer Buying Behavior
15.5. Price Trend Analysis
15.6. Helmet Market Size (Thousand Units & US$ Mn) Forecast, By Type, 2018 – 2030
15.7. Helmet Market Size (Thousand Units & US$ Mn) Forecast, By Design, 2018 – 2030
15.8. Helmet Market Size (Thousand Units & US$ Mn) Forecast, By Category, 2018 – 2030
15.9. Helmet Market Size (Thousand Units & US$ Mn) Forecast, By Gender, 2018 – 2030
15.
10. Helmet Market Size (Thousand Units & US$ Mn) Forecast, By Price, 2018 – 2030
15.11. Helmet Market Size (Thousand Units & US$ Mn) Forecast, By Type, Price 2018 – 2030
15.12. Helmet Market Size (Thousand Units & US$ Mn) Forecast, By Distribution Channel, 2018 – 2030
15.13. Helmet Market Size (Thousand Units & US$ Mn) Forecast, By Country & Sub-region, 2018 – 2030
15.14. North America Total Addressable Helmet Market Size (Thousand Units & US$ Mn) Forecast, By Type, 2018 – 2030
Section 16. Europe Helmet Market Analysis and Forecast
16.1. Regional Snapshot
16.2. Key Trends
16.3. Brand Share Analysis-2019 (%)
16.4. Consumer Buying Behavior
16.5. Price Trend Analysis
16.6. Helmet Market Size (Thousand Units & US$ Mn) Forecast, By Type, 2018 – 2030
16.7. Helmet Market Size (Thousand Units & US$ Mn) Forecast, By Design, 2018 – 2030
16.8. Helmet Market Size (Thousand Units & US$ Mn) Forecast, By Category, 2018 – 2030
16.
9. Helmet Market Size (Thousand Units & US$ Mn) Forecast, By Gender, 2018 – 2030
16.10. Helmet Market Size (Thousand Units & US$ Mn) Forecast, By Price, 2018 – 2030
16.11. Helmet Market Size (Thousand Units & US$ Mn) Forecast, By Type, Price 2018 – 2030
16.12. Helmet Market Size (Thousand Units & US$ Mn) Forecast, By Distribution Channel, 2018 – 2030
16.13. Helmet Market Size (Thousand Units & US$ Mn) Forecast, By Country & Sub-region, 2018 – 2030
16.14. Europe Total Addressable Helmet Market Size (Thousand Units & US$ Mn) Forecast, By Type, 2018 – 2030
Section 17. Asia Pacific Helmet Market Analysis and Forecast
17.1. Regional Snapshot
17.2. Key Trends
17.3. Brand Share Analysis-2019 (%)
17.4. Consumer Buying Behavior
17.5. Price Trend Analysis
17.6. Helmet Market Size (Thousand Units & US$ Mn) Forecast, By Type, 2018 – 2030
17.7. Helmet Market Size (Thousand Units & US$ Mn) Forecast, By Design, 2018 – 2030
17.
8. Helmet Market Size (Thousand Units & US$ Mn) Forecast, By Category, 2018 – 2030
17.9. Helmet Market Size (Thousand Units & US$ Mn) Forecast, By Gender, 2018 – 2030
17.10. Helmet Market Size (Thousand Units & US$ Mn) Forecast, By Price, 2018 – 2030
17.11. Helmet Market Size (Thousand Units & US$ Mn) Forecast, By Type, Price 2018 – 2030
17.12. Helmet Market Size (Thousand Units & US$ Mn) Forecast, By Distribution Channel, 2018 – 2030
17.13. Helmet Market Size (Thousand Units & US$ Mn) Forecast, By Country & Sub-region, 2018 – 2030
17.14. Asia Pacific Total Addressable Helmet Market Size (Thousand Units & US$ Mn) Forecast, By Type, 2018 – 2030
Section 18. Middle East & Africa Helmet Market Analysis and Forecast
18.1. Regional Snapshot
18.2. Key Trends
18.3. Brand Share Analysis-2019 (%)
18.4. Consumer Buying Behavior
18.5. Price Trend Analysis
18.6. Helmet Market Size (Thousand Units & US$ Mn) Forecast, By Type, 2018 – 2030
18.
7. Helmet Market Size (Thousand Units & US$ Mn) Forecast, By Design, 2018 – 2030
18.8. Helmet Market Size (Thousand Units & US$ Mn) Forecast, By Category, 2018 – 2030
18.9. Helmet Market Size (Thousand Units & US$ Mn) Forecast, By Gender, 2018 – 2030
18.10. Helmet Market Size (Thousand Units & US$ Mn) Forecast, By Price, 2018 – 2030
18.11. Helmet Market Size (Thousand Units & US$ Mn) Forecast, By Type, Price 2018 – 2030
18.12. Helmet Market Size (Thousand Units & US$ Mn) Forecast, By Distribution Channel, 2018 – 2030
18.13. Helmet Market Size (Thousand Units & US$ Mn) Forecast, By Country & Sub-region , 2018 – 2030
18.14. MEA Total Addressable Helmet Market Size (Thousand Units & US$ Mn) Forecast, By Type, 2018 – 2030
Section 19. South America Helmet Market Analysis and Forecast
19.1. Regional Snapshot
19.2. Key Trends
19.3. Brand Share Analysis-2019 (%)
19.4. Consumer Buying Behavior
19.5. Price Trend Analysis
19.
6. Helmet Market Size (Thousand Units & US$ Mn) Forecast, By Type, 2018 – 2030
19.7. Helmet Market Size (Thousand Units & US$ Mn) Forecast, By Design, 2018 – 2030
19.8. Helmet Market Size (Thousand Units & US$ Mn) Forecast, By Category, 2018 – 2030
19.9. Helmet Market Size (Thousand Units & US$ Mn) Forecast, By Gender, 2018 – 2030
19.10. Helmet Market Size (Thousand Units & US$ Mn) Forecast, By Price, 2018 – 2030
19.11. Helmet Market Size (Thousand Units & US$ Mn) Forecast, By Type, Price 2018 – 2030
19.12. Helmet Market Size (Thousand Units & US$ Mn) Forecast, By Distribution Channel, 2018 – 2030
19.13. Helmet Market Size (Thousand Units & US$ Mn) Forecast, By Country & Sub-region, 2018 – 2030
19.14. South America Total Addressable Helmet Market Size (Thousand Units & US$ Mn) Forecast, By Type, 2018 – 2030
Section 20. Competition Landscape
20.1. Market Player – Competition Dashboard
20.2. Market Share Analysis (2019)-%
20.
3. Company Profiles (Details – Company Overview, Sales Area/Geographical Presence, Revenue, Strategy & Business Overview)
20.3.1. Arai Helmet (Europe) B.V.
20.3.1.1. Company Overview
20.3.1.2. Sales Area/Geographical Presence
20.3.1.3. Revenue
20.3.1.4. Strategy & Business Overview
20.3.2. BELL HELMET
20.3.3. Giro
20.3.4. Headstrong Helmets
20.3.5. MT HELMETS
20.3.6. SHOEI CO., LTD.
20.3.7. Smith
20.3.8. Skis Rossignol
20.3.9. Specialized Bicycle Components
20.3.10. STUDDS Accessories Ltd.
20.3.11. Troxel Helmets
20.3.12. Uvex Helmet
Section 21. Key Takeaways
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Some US-Based Helmet Manufacturers – Old Data!
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Our writeup on helmets for the current season may be a better way to understand what each company is making, but this page is for background on the US manufacturers. It was written in the 1990’s, and we now use links to Bicycle Retailer and Industry News to update it.
In June, 1995 another manufacturer, Headstrong Group, published their version of the numbers in a promotional pamphlet. (Headstrong has since disappeared from the market.) They estimated that the helmet market at that time was “worth $200,000,000” a year, and gave this breakdown for the major players:
S., North American or World helmet markets. It also does not say
That review includes all of the manufacturers for whom we have been able to find helmet information, many more than the few mentioned below. For a list, we keep a list of many of the manufacturers we have heard of, whether or not we have any idea of their line. What follows is commentary on only the largest players in the US market. Most of the news
We think Bell has made some really good products over the years, and some that were not so good. Bell’s staff members have been among the most active in promoting standards, particularly VP emeritus Dean Fisher, who has for years contributed a great deal to the standards effort, along with Thom Parks in Corporate Affairs. In 1998 Bell began producing their Kinghead helmet for very large heads, a project we had been asking manufacturers to undertake for several years. It was unquestionably provided as a public service, since the number of riders who need 8 1/4 size helmets is very limited, and Bell has never made a profit on that model. Bell also funds bicycle helmet promotion activities of the Safe Kids, whose local chapters are the country’s most active lobby for mandatory helmet laws. Because of their market dominance in the US, Consumer Reports usually includes lots of Bell models in their testing, and Bell always has several models among their recommended choices.
The Giro part of Bell was included. Through Fenway, Bell Sports in early 2005 repurchased the Bell motorcycle helmet manufacturing company that it had spun off in 1991. Then Bell merged with Riddell, known as a football helmet maker. In 2006 Riddell Bell merged with Easton Sports, and became Easton-Bell Sports, owned by Fenway Partners, Jim Easton, and The Ontario Teachers Pension Fund. In 2016 the Bell, Giro and Cpreme brands were sold to Vista Sports. Most consumers are probably unaware of any of those changes, and as far as we can tell they have not changed the company’s technical competence or product quality.
Giro was bought by Bell in 1996, but maintained a separate brand identity. They have been among the industry leaders in new features such as rear stabilizers and better strap adjusters. Consumer Reports has consistently rated their low or medium priced helmets as more protective than the pricey high-end models with the huge vents. Bell and Giro are now completely integrated, but the Giro brand helmets are still different from Bells.
Head Strong supplied at 10lbs
Head Strong is IRONWEARs new patented adjustable weighted head gear designed for increasing neck strength.
Head Strong is designed for high durability, simple operation and easy cleaning.
Head Strong can be used to safely strengthen the users neck muscles. Strong neck muscles are important way to avoid neck injuries.
Head Strong incorporates all the latest patented IRONWEAR performance features: Ultra thin Contour-fit design, soft Flex-metal weights, Stretch-fitinner pockets and Double-lock securing system.
Head Strong Contour-fit is ultra thin and snug so that the head gear will not interfere with any movement of the body. The design incorporates stretch padding everywhere for maximum flexibility, support and comfort.
Contour-fitsystem softly conforms to the contours of the users head to uniformly support the weight.
Head Strong Flex-metal weights are the safest, most comfortable and best fitting weights possible. The weights are thin and flexible and contour to the shape of the wearer. The weights act as padding in case of a fall. The weights are interchangeable and can be use in a variety of other IRONWEAR products.
Head Strong Stretch-fitinner pockets hold the weights securely on all sided and keep them from shifting. The inner pocket design makes in impossible for the weights to come loose while you exercise. Stretch-fitpockets are thin and flexible. The special weight pocket system distributes the weight uniformly over the head and allows the soft weights to bend and flex with your movements. Because no hardware or Velcro is used to hold the weights in place, the head gear is safer, longer lasting, thinner and more flexible. The inner pockets allow the head gear to be smooth and uniform in thickness.
Each inner pocket is designed to hold one or two 1/2 pound Flex-metal weights.
Head Strong Double-lock securing system allows the Head Strong to adjust to fit a wide range of head sizes. The unique crown and forehead adjustment system allows the Head Strong to expand and contact in three dimensions to match the size and shape of the userss head and features. Head Strong securing system incorporates a large overlapping padded chin strap that is both strong and comfortable. The securing system also includes padded ear openings to protect the users ears and to allow the user hearing to be unimpaired. All the edges are bound with a soft stretch fabric to provide comfort and protect the users skin.
Head Strong Open crown design allows air to flow to the top of the users head to help keep the user from over heating. The champion material used on the inside also help to keep the user cooler by wicking the sweat away from the users skin and hair.
Head Strong shell is constructed of a soft woven nylon laminated to a inner rubber layer for maximum durability and easy cleaning.
The shell can be wiped clean, or hand washed. The shell can also be machined washed by first removing the weights and then securing all the hook and loop fasteners. The shell dry quickly so it can be air dried.
Head Strong has 9 weight pockets which into which one or two pound soft Flex-metal weights can be inserted. The Head Strong comes with one weight per pocket and the shell itself weights just under one pound. The Head Strong can be adjusted from 1 (no weights) to almost 10 pounds by double loading all the weight pockets (18 weights).
Head Strong is a professional tool and should be used under the supervision of a professional trainer, therapist or doctor.
By the way: Law, women, helmets, and the meaning of headstrong
It is one thing to be headstrong, quite another to take that literally and not bother about how strong your head is actually. And I believed women were increasingly headstrong these days. Not literally.
Now before you — the feisty liberal feminist with English-medium education who secretly/proudly likes Fifty Shades of Grey and loves/hates Deepika Padukone, depending on the lines she is reading — pounce on me for being a misogynistic pig and espousing generalisations, let me clarify what I am trying to say, if it’s not clear to your exceedingly strong head already.
I am talking about the basic idea of wearing a helmet when you ride a two-wheeler.
See, there’s this logic and it applies to everyone: Your head is the most important part of your body, is exposed when you are on a two-wheeler, and injury to the head is the leading cause of death in road accidents. I am sure you understand. But the law-enforcement agencies — even in cities like Chandigarh where they do enforce road safety rules at all — apparently do not. So you, too, stop understanding.
Don’t worry; we will come to the male-bashing too, maybe later.
First, examine the law. After all, the law does make protective headgear on two-wheelers mandatory for everyone, except for turbaned Sikhs who cannot wear it due to the logistics of it and who evidently value religion more than life. But women have effectively been enjoying a blanket exemption, only because subsequent rules ensure that in some states it’s optional for Sikh women and in others it is optional for all women.
Religious leaders cite tenets to say no sort of headgear other than a turban, or dupatta wrap, is allowed for Sikhs to cover their ‘ kesh ’ or uncut hair.
The danger of hurting sentiments leads to an overcautious approach. That’s understandable for most people. But it’s not that there is no way out of the gender-based mess.
The Chandigarh administration, police and their counterparts at several other places repeatedly cite a Supreme Court order to continue the exemption to women. But there’s a catch as to what the SC order covers. We must notice a key difference between an ‘act’ and the subsequent ‘rules’.
Section 129 of the Motor Vehicle Act, 1988, clearly says that every person, except turbaned Sikhs, driving or riding otherwise on a two-wheeler must wear protective headgear.
Subsequent to this, and rather easily amendable, are the Chandigarh Motor Vehicle Rules. Under these, Rule 193 says: Total exemption is given to all women from the requirement of wearing protective headgear while driving/ riding two-wheelers.
Why ‘total’? These rules are easily amendable through notifications.
Delhi realised it way back in August. The police there acted after the government changed the particular rule and notified clearly that only Sikh women were exempted. Over 1.2 lakh women have been fined since, though there are some challenges as to how far an ID card can help identify religion. In Chandigarh and elsewhere, there is hardly any talk of such a straightforward legal method and a practical approach.
Don’t be mistaken, though. Women are smart, and we are not talking exceptions here. It’s not that they do not wear any headgear at all while riding two-wheelers.
Across age and religions, they choose to wrap themselves up in layers and layers of dupattas and scarves to guard against the sun and dust. It remains to be studied how many two-wheeler riders die of the sun or dust every year. Reports do, however, underline that most women on twowheelers who died in road accidents in Chandigarh in the past four years were not wearing helmets and received grievous head injuries.
Yes, I know the same would be true for men.
So why is this writer not questioning turban-less men who don’t wear helmets despite the law mandating it? Why should he be writing only about women? Why should there be two different sets of rules for women and men, reeking of sexism? Sorry, could you please repeat the last question? Yes, the one about different sets of rules. That’s the point.
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February 2004 Headstrong HominidsThe mysterious skulls of Java man and Peking man By Noel T. Boaz and Russell L. Ciochon This article was adapted from Noel T. Boaz and Russell L. Ciochons book, Dragon Bone Hill: An Ice-Age Saga of Homo erectus, which is being published by Oxford University Press in February 2004. Ever since the 1890s, when the Dutch anatomist Eugene Dubois unearthed the first-recorded cranium of the early, small-brained human relative now known as Homo erectus, scholars have been struck by the unusual anatomy of its skull.
Because Dubois discovered his fossils in Java, it and other specimens later found in that region became popularly known as Java man. In the 1920s similar fossils were discovered in Chinas Longgushan Cave, about thirty miles from Beijing (then transliterated in the West as Peking), and were dubbed Peking man. H. erectus arose in Africa more than 2 million years ago, and soon thereafter some populations of this early human migrated out of the continent. Descendants of the migrants reached eastern Asia at least 1.9 million years ago. The skullcaps discovered in eastern Asia tend to be more robust than the ones in Africa. Hence some paleoanthropologists have regarded the African fossils as a distinct species, which they call H. ergaster. But one African skullcap just as robust as any Asian specimen was discovered by Louis Leakey in Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania. It dates from about 1.4 million years ago. And even the strapping youth known as Turkana boy, the most complete H. erectus skeleton discovered so far, probably would have had a thick skull when fully grown. In any case, there is little doubt that H. Many differences in hominid skulls can be accounted for by the evolution of the brain and the chewing apparatus. Large skulls are needed to contain large brains, and large jaws and teeth for processing tough foods need heavy-duty skull bones to anchor massive chewing muscles. Unfortunately, neither of these tried-and-true explanations can entirely account for the unique attributes of the H. erectus skull. What seems more likely is that the species badly needed some protective headgear. Functionally, the H. erectus skullcap is similar to the defensive carapace of a turtleindeed, some excavators have mistaken cranial fragments of H. erectus for fossil turtle shell.
When a person is injured in the head today, whether or not the skull is fractured often makes the difference between life and death. In modern skulls one of the commonest kinds of fracture is the so-called eggshell. The concussion caused by a fall or by a blow from a blunt object can crack and push a section of cranial vault inward without disjointing the bone. The bone may remain depressed, but in an eggshell fracture, the bonepulled by skin, muscle, and other tissues attached to the scalpsprings back to nearly its original shape. In either case, though, the damage is done. Branches of the blood vessels serving the meninges, or fibrous coverings of the brain, begin to bleed. As the hematoma expands and begins to compress the brain, sometimes hours after the injury, neurological symptoms become progressively severe. In the days before emergency rooms, X rays, and intracranial surgery, people suffering from intracranial bleeding managed the best they could. As one might expect, the thicker the bone, the less likely it is to break on impact. In our most recent work we have been experimentally testing and quantifying the advantages of thick bones. With a nine-foot-high, guillotinelike bone-testing apparatus, we administer calibrated impacts on one-inch circular pieces of bone from human cadavers. Certainly thick bone does confer a competitive advantage. But minimizing weight and optimizing protective value at the same time is a problem that we continue to study.
The H. erectus skullcap is described technically as pachyostotic (thick-boned): thick, solid layers of bone make up both its inner and outer surfaces. Sandwiched between them is a less strong, latticelike layer of bone, whose intervening spaces, in life, would have been filled with marrow and blood. The H. erectus skull also has a number of unique bony structures. Three of them, namely a beetling brow ridge and bony thickenings on the sides and rear of the cranium, form a bony ring starting above the eyes, extending back around the head above the ears, and meeting on the back of the head. In the 1920s an American surgeon named E.R. LeCount classified skull fractures by type. A heavy blow falling directly on top of the head tends to cave in the bone overlying the so-called superior sagittal sinus, a channel within the meninges for venous blood draining along the midline of the brain. LeCount hypothesized that the strongly constructed midline of the skull is an adaptation that protects against such damage. In most H. erectus skulls the same adaptation appears in exaggerated form as the so-called sagittal keel. Blows delivered in a fight, however, are more likely to land at eye level than to rain down on top of the head. LeCount regarded the eye-level armor of the modern skull as the main protection against blunt trauma to the head. Again, the H. erectus skull, with its even thicker ring of bone, would have afforded even more protection. In addition to the skullcap, other features of the H. erectus skull and jaws seem well adapted for defense against trauma. René Le Fort, a French surgeon working at the turn of the twentieth century, studied and classified the pattern of facial fractures in modern people.
A Le Fort type I fracture is one that results from a blow to the upper face that breaks the bone forming an eye socket. H. erectus not only had a heavy brow ridge but also a remarkably flat and horizontal roof to the eye socket. That eye-socket covering would have been particularly hard to break because any impact there would have been transmitted straight back to the base of the skull. Le Fort type II and type III fractures are highly debilitating breaks in which the facial skeleton is separated from the brain case. In H. erectus the face evolved to become tucked under the protecting brow ridges, making it less likely that a fracture would cause such a separation. A strong blow to the face would have resulted in soft-tissue damage, and perhaps in a fracture of the forward part of the upper jaw and damage to the incisors. But more serious fractures, such as breaks of the cheek bones, would have been reduced. H. erectus incisors were also reinforced by a thick layer of enamel on their inner sides and, often, by their shovel shape. An old boxing adage warns would-be fighters to avoid the ring if they have a glass jaw. A broken mandible makes chewing painful and difficult, if not impossible, and even today the injury requires that the broken sections be surgically wired together. For H. erectus, such a fracture would have been life-threatening. Weidenreich was the first to point out, in a monograph on Peking man, that the H. erectus jawbone thickens on the inside of each mandible, just behind the chin. That is exactly where the jaw most commonly breaks from trauma in modern people. The thickening makes the most anatomical sense as a defense against trauma to the lower face. Another vulnerable part of the anatomy protected by the skull is the middle meningeal artery. In modern humans the main branch of the vessel runs beneath the temple, in a region of intersecting bone sutures known as the pterion. The bone here is particularly thin, though the overlying chewing muscle provides some protection. Contrary to what one might predict, the H. erectus skull is not particularly thick at the pterion. But other details of its anatomy are just as revealing. In modern humans the middle meningeal artery divides into two branches, a large branch that runs forward on the inside of the skull, under the pterion, and a smaller branch that runs toward the back of the skull. In H. erectus the middle meningeal artery divides as well, but the forward branch is minuscule compared to the large rearward branch. Weidenreich, who discovered the anomaly, devoted a paper to it, considering it a reflection of the primitive quality of the H. erectus skull and brain. We think this flow network, like the thick cranium, evolved in response to interpersonal violence. Moving the main blood supply to the meningeal coverings of the brain away from this vulnerable area of the skull helped mitigate the effects of arterial breakage. But why rearrange arteries when evolutionary change had so readily thickened other parts of the skull? Perhaps skull sutures created developmental or structural problems for such thickening, particularly while the cranial vault was expanding through evolution to house a larger brain. Franz Weidenreich was trained as a medical doctor, and worked most of his career in medical institutions in Germany. He even served briefly as a medic in the German army during the First World War. Doubtless, then, he had more than a passing familiarity with the devastating effects of head traumaa familiarity that became invaluable when he began to analyze the skulls of Peking man. In those fossil specimens he identified a number of depressed fractures that had subsequently healed. In other words, half a million years or so after these hominids had sustained massive blows to the head, Weidenreich had suddenly stumbled on evidence that could still reveal not only the kind of trauma that resulted, but also, because the trauma victims had survived, the protective value of their skulls. Tragically, the original fossils of Peking man were lost during the Japanese invasion of China in the Second World War. Fortunately, careful casts of the excavated remains had been made before the war, and so we were still able to re-examine the head trauma systematically. Some of the damage Weidenreich first attributed to hominids he later ascribed to carnivores. Other damage was clearly geological: some bones have been crushed by overlying sediment, others bear the impressions of rocks pushed into them as they themselves turned to stone. But in the end, Weidenreich classified some ten depressions or defects in the skulls as having been caused by blows from other hominids. We agree. The damage closely matches in size, form, and even location the healed depressed fractures seen in human skulls today [see photo below].
But what was the source of these injuries? To understand how and why pachyostosis and other features may have evolved in H. erectus, comparative anatomists look to other animal species in which similar protective armor has evolved. Among terrestrial animals, extremely thick skull bones occur in species as diverse as modern bighorn sheep and the Cretaceous dinosaur Pachycephalosaurus. One of the most striking forms of behavior in bighorn sheep is the way males butt heads. They each run at speeds of twenty miles an hour, colliding with an impact that sounds like an explosion. What could possibly lead these animals to engage in such potentially lethal behavior? Females. Darwin long ago explained that such behavior is the result of sexual selection. Among many species, the males ability to procreate depends to a substantial degree on attracting members of the opposite sex, or to winning access to females through competitions with other males. In the evolution of bighorn sheep, for instance, males that defeated their rivals in butting contests got to mate more often. The mating passed on whatever attributes had given the victor an edgeand one of those attributes was apparently a reinforced skull. Paleontologists speculate, by analogy, that Pachycephalosaurus engaged in similar behavior, but no one knows for sure. We arent suggesting that early hominids charged at one another and banged their heads together like rutting sheep (although if you think about football and some martial arts, the idea is not as bizarre as it might seem at first). Pachyostotic species that use the head as a weapon also have bony cranial outgrowths that evolved along with their behavior. Sheep have sharp horns rising out of their thick skulls, and Pachycephalosaurus had nasty-looking knobs projecting from the back of its domed head. H. erectus had none of these offensive adaptations. Modern human beings tend to fight with their hands, and (leaving out gunshots) almost all cases of serious or lethal trauma inflicted during nonsexual assaults are to the face and head. When animals compete over mates or rank (which often amounts to the same thing), their combat tends to fall within certain instinctively understood limits. Nowadays, of course, violence among modern humans can be unrestrained, both in intergroup conflict (warfare) and between members of the same group. But some forms of human violence remain culturally circumscribed. In Western society, duels were historically carried out with matched weapons, and boxers (even fistfighters) follow the dictates of clean fighting. Among the Yanomami of Venezuela and Brazil, violence is traditionally limited, despite their reputation as the fierce people. As the anthropologist Kenneth Good and the writer David Chanoff report in their book Into the Heart: One Mans Pursuit of Love and Knowledge Among the Yanomami:
A particularly instructive example comes from nineteenth-century ethnographic reports of Australian Aboriginal groups, particularly for central and southeastern Australia. Men or women who had a bone to pick with another group member followed a code for resolving the conflict. They challenged their adversary to a duel with a combination club and throwing stick called a nulla-nulla. Once the bout began, it continued until one of the combatants won by knock-out or TKOthat is, until the adversary was disabled and could not continue. Peter Brown, a paleoanthropologist at the University of New England in Armidale, Australia, has investigated skull thickness in modern and historical Australian Aboriginal populations, whose cranial bones are the thickest of any living H. sapiens. In a sample of 430 Aboriginal crania, Brown found evidence of healed depressed fractures on the frontal or parietal bones in 59 percent of the female crania and in 37 percent of male crania. Depressed fractures occurred in these people and they survived; undoubtedly, many others did not. His findings led Brown to hypothesize that the thick skull vaults of the Aboriginals may have evolved as a consequence of the traditional method for settling conflicts. A similar explanation may account for the evolution of pachyostosis and other unique features that strengthened the H. erectus skull. We are reasonably confident that the distinct anatomical features, as well as the healed fractures that have been preserved in the fossil record, are primarily a response to violence within the species. We can only speculate about whether the violence involved ritualized fights with clubs or rocks among hot-headed young males competing over females, or instead revolved around other kinds of conflict. But we would lay bets that, as in many other species, we are detecting the results of sexual selection. If H. sapiens evolved from H. erectus, why dont we, too, have thickened cranial bones? If modern children had thicker skulls, for instance, significantly smaller numbers of them would suffer serious head injuries when they crash on bicycles, skateboards, and snowboards. Theoretically, a species could have both a commodious skull to house an enlarged brain and a thick, heavily armored skull for protection. But reality steps in when the weight of such a structure has to be supported and balanced atop the spine. Cranial bone may have become thinner in modern humans simply to reduce skull weight.
Another possible explanation comes out of the work of Dean Falk, an anthropologist at Florida State University, in Tallahassee. Falk argues that the heat generated by the enlarged human brain became an important factor in evolution. She hypothesizes that the pattern of venous blood drainage in the head became reorganized in order to cool the brain. Many small holes known as emissary foramina pierce the skull, enabling veins to transport blood from the scalp into the venous sinuses. This blood, cooled at the surface by sweat evaporating from the scalp, then enters the skull to help cool the brain. Falk discovered that emissary foramina are much more common in large-brained Homo species than they are in the earlier, small-brained hominids known as australopithecines [See A Good Brain Is Hard to Cool, by Dean Falk, Natural History, August 1993]. Falks hypothesis is still debated, but we think it could explain why skulls became thinner as modern humans evolved: a thick skull would have presented a far greater obstacle to penetration by the delicate, low-pressure emissary veins. Thus was defensive armor reduced, as H. sapiens evolved a larger, more globular, thin-walled skull. Human violence by no means ended, but other means of protection from trauma or avoidance of attack, or both, were evolved by the descendants of H. erectus. Almost certainly, those adaptations were no longer primarily biological but cultural. Culture was to become the hallmark of our species. Noel T. Boaz and Russell L. Ciochon met thirty years ago, when they were both graduate students in paleoanthropology at the University of California, Berkeley. Their interests in Homo erectus fossils from the Chinese site of Longgushan have brought them back together. Their new book, Dragon Bone Hill: An Ice-Age Saga of Homo erectus, is being published this month by Oxford University Press. Boaz is a professor of anatomy at the Ross University School of Medicine, in the Commonwealth of Dominica. Ciochon is a professor of anthropology at the University of Iowa in Iowa City. Copyright © Natural History Magazine, Inc., 2004 Return to Web Site Archive |
The top and sides of the cranium have thick, bony walls and a low, wide profile. To the modern eye, this part of its skull, known as the calotte, or skullcap, looks a lot like a cyclists helmetlow and streamlined, designed to protect the brain, ears, and eyes from impact. In contrast, we modern humans hold our enormous, easily injured, semiliquid brains in relatively thin-walled bony globes. We have to buy our bicycle helmets.
At the time, no other hominid fossils of comparable antiquity were known, so Dubois and everyone else initially regarded the skulls robustnessits strength and thicknessas typical of early human ancestors. Even as late as the 1940s, Franz Weidenreich, an eminent German paleoanthropologist then working at the American Museum of Natural History, proposed that H. erectus had descended from a line of massive, indeed gigantic ancestors, and that modern H. sapiens was the end result of a down-scaling trend. But as more hominid fossils have come to light, it has become clear that the ancestors of H. erectus did not have massive bones, and neither did H. erectus. In fact, except for its strange skull, the skeleton of H. erectus resembled our own.
The stone tools they manufactured have been discovered at various sites, but the earliest fossils in eastern Asia have been found only in Java and China. Java man comprises both the earliest and the most recent specimens of H. erectus; the fossils span a period that lasted from 1.8 million years ago until just 50,000 years ago. Peking man dates more narrowly, from between 670,000 and 410,000 years ago.
erectus was on the line that ultimately led to the first modern humans. Whether that further evolution took place in Africa or was a more widespread phenomenon is a matter of debate, but one way or another we got bigger brains and thinner skulls.
But what special sources of traumatic injury did hominids face that might have encouraged the evolution of such a robust skull? We dont think it was exposure to predators (which can readily attack other, more vulnerable parts of the body), or a habit of venturing into slippery or precarious territory where the hazards of falling were increased. In examining the protection afforded by the H. erectus skull, we think the evidence points to some kind of violence perpetrated within the species itself.
What might seem like a relatively minor break in the skull can tear blood vessels that adhere tightly to its inside surface. The buildup of blood under the skull, known as a hematoma, pushes on the brain. Coma and, eventually, death can result.
Usually that meant not very well. Even if a person regained consciousness and survived the hematoma, profound neurological deficits often continued. Partial paralysis, gait problems, lack of hand-eye coordination, difficulties in speaking, or any number of disruptions in cognitive functioning were the result. For active early humans, it is hard to imagine a more debilitating condition. Any traits that reduced the chances of cranial fracture would have given a substantial evolutionary advantage to the individuals who possessed them.
The top of the skull resembles the inverted bottom of a boat, with a thickened bony mound that looks like the boats keel extending along the midline of the skull [see illustration right].
The bony ridge above the eyes protected the orbits, or eye sockets. The bony bulge on either side of the skull overlay the sinus that conducts blood into the internal jugular vein, and helped protect the ear region from blows to the side of the head. And the bony ridge on the rear of the cranium shielded the confluence of sinuses carrying venous blood inside the back of the skull, the rearmost lobe of the cerebrum, and the cerebellum.
But a good blow to the temple is still likely to break the bone and tear the arterya dangerous injury because arterial blood can bleed out so rapidly. Damage at the pterion usually results in a large hematoma and rapid loss of consciousness or coma. The little flange on baseball batting helmets, extending down the side of the helmet that faces the pitcher, is specifically designed to protect the batter against this injury from a hard-pitched ball.90,000 There are better ways to force cyclists to wear helmets than to ban cycling without them
While the world was rapidly closing down under the onslaught of the coronavirus, sacrificing the usual way of life and sacrificing civil rights and freedoms (even the most stubborn among developed countries were eventually imposed strict quarantine measures), in one country – Sweden – borders, cafes and restaurants, production , primary schools and kindergartens, public transport continued to run.
The “Swedish model” has become the most talked about – and at the same time the most condemned strategy to combat the coronavirus. The controversy unfolded both within the country and abroad. Why did the Swedish authorities choose such a non-standard approach, how did they come to this decision? Is it justified in terms of adherence to universal values? But what about the value of human life? Finally, can the Swedish strategy be considered successful (or unsuccessful) already? Here are the arguments of both sides of the discussion.
As of May 5, there are 1.2 million confirmed cases of coronavirus in the world. More than a million of them are in the United States, 218 thousand in Spain, and 213 thousand in Italy. The top five are closed by France (169 thousand) and Germany (163 thousand). Russia is in sixth place with 155 thousand infected. In Sweden, COVID-19 was confirmed in 23 thousand people, of whom 2854 died.
The Other Side of Trust
Street memorial in memory of those who died from the coronavirus in the center of Stockholm.Photo AFP
One of the most notable critics of Swedish strategy is Hans Bergström, professor of political science at the University of Gothenburg and a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, former editor-in-chief of the leading Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter. A special way to combat COVID-19, which presupposes the preservation of an open society, is completely unjustified, he writes in his article “The Dark Truth About the Swedish Model.”
“Sweden’s approach has proven to be flawed for at least three reasons.First, no matter how virtuous the Swedes are, in any society there will always be those who will not follow the recommendations, says Bergström. – Secondly, the Swedish authorities did not immediately become aware of the possibility of asymptomatic transmission of the coronavirus and that infected individuals are most infectious just before they begin to show symptoms. And thirdly, the composition of the Swedish population has changed. ” This is about the fact, notes Bergström, that 25% of the country’s population is now of non-Swedish origin: this is 2.6 million out of 10.2 million people.The statistics for deaths due to COVID-19 include many migrants from Somalia, Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan, writes Bergström: “This is partly due to the lack of information in the languages of immigrants. But a more important factor appears to be housing density in some suburban areas with high numbers of migrants. ”
According to Hans Bergström, the government did not deliberately develop the Swedish model of countering the pandemic, based on a sense of civic responsibility and mutual trust developed in society: “Rather, actions were shaped by bureaucrats and then defended ex post facto as evidence of Swedish virtue.”The primary task of tackling the virus outbreak was entrusted to one person: state epidemiologist Anders Tegnell of the Swedish Public Health Agency, who believed it would be sufficient to track individual cases of diseases returning from abroad. “Tegnell argued that there were no signs of transmission of the virus inside Sweden and therefore no need for more stringent measures. Thousands of Swedish families returning at the end of February from ski resorts in the Italian Alps have been urged to return to work and school if they are not sick, even if family members are infected, ”Bergström describes Swedish policy on combating coronavirus.
The Swedish government remained passive, the author claims. It’s all about the political structure of the country, which presupposes a strong strong separation of powers: the relevant departments are not subordinate to the ministries of the central government. For Prime Minister Stefan Leuven, this situation only played into the hands, Hans Bergström is sure: Tegnell’s department took full responsibility.
The sole actions of the state epidemiologist, says Bergström, have come under fire from independent experts in Sweden.22 prominent Swedish specialists in infectious diseases and epidemiology published a comment in Dagens Nyheter, calling on Tegnell to resign and the government to get involved in the fight against the virus with “swift and drastic measures.” Leuven was forced to take a more active position, writes Bergström: since the beginning of April, he has banned public gatherings of more than 50 people (up from the previous limit of 500 people) and visits to nursing homes – but only after it became clear that the virus had infected about half of Stockholm’s institutions for the elderly.
Those who admire the “Swedish model” should understand that its distinguishing feature is its higher mortality rate. The mortality rate from COVID-19 in Sweden is nine times higher than in Finland, almost five times higher than in Norway, and more than two times higher than in Denmark, notes Hans Bergström (he operates with data from April 17, 2020 years, but they are constantly updated, the current statistics can be viewed on the Johns Hopkins University website). The final scale of the effects of the “Swedish model” is difficult to predict, he sums up.
Between Council and Law
Bus stop on the outskirts of Stockholm. Photo by Global News
Professors of philosophy Erik Angner of Stockholm University and Gustav Arrhenius of the Institute for the Study of the Future describe the “Swedish model” from a completely different perspective.
Sweden’s democratic system of government, they write, has a pronounced epistocratic element – that is, a tendency to rely on expert opinion.Historically (and legally enshrined), Swedish politicians cannot tell departments what to do. And the departments, in turn, are made up of professionals guided in their activities by expert rather than political motives: “This means that many day-to-day decisions, including decisions of national importance, are made by employees hired on the basis of expert knowledge, and not political connections “. This also applies to the fight against coronavirus: the strategy is determined by the staff epidemiologists from the Swedish Public Health Agency, led by Anders Tegnell.
Critics of the Swedish approach argue that Tegnell is overstepping his authority, write Angner and Arrhenius. But these accusations are only evidence of a misunderstanding of the Swedish constitutional framework: “There is no provision in the Swedish constitution that allows a state of emergency to be declared in peacetime. Other governments can take advantage of the crisis to suspend rights and freedoms and declare a state of emergency. The Swedish government does not have such powers: it can cordon off certain hot spots if necessary, but outside such areas people still have the constitutional right to move around the country. “The authors also cite colleague Mark Clumberg of Stockholm University who said that “Sweden has chosen the rule of law, rather than an approach where the sovereign is completely unrestrained in times of crisis.”
Fundamental rights and freedoms cannot be so easily restricted, emphasize Eric Angner and Gustav Arrhenius. That is why the Swedish authorities did not give any direct instructions to citizens and did not impose strict bans, limiting themselves to official “recommendations.” Everyone is encouraged to work from home if possible, and people with symptoms of infection, the elderly, and people at increased risk of severe illness are encouraged to self-isolate.“From a normative point of view, such recommendations are somewhere between the advice and the law,” the authors note. Many do adhere to these guidelines, although adherence is not universal: some people still shop or go to street cafes, but at the same time, the Stockholm subway can be completely empty during rush hour, and intercity travel on long Easter weekends has decreased by 90% over the previous year.
The Swedish approach is also motivated by behavioral considerations: it is assumed that people would not put up with severe restrictions for a long time.For a strategy to be successful, people must be able to adhere to restrictions and guidelines for as long as necessary. For example, mandating the wearing of a bicycle helmet has been discussed in Sweden for decades but has been consistently rejected – on the grounds that the law would backfire, the authors note: … The point is that there are better ways to force cyclists to wear helmets than to ban them from riding without them. “
The Public Health Agency is not trying to prevent damage to the economy by sacrificing the health of citizens, as some believe, it assumes that there is no evidence that tougher measures would be beneficial at this stage of the outbreak, the authors write. Of course, there are many complaints about the agency: “For example, it should have been better able to identify and isolate people who have returned from spring break in the Italian Alps, to stop the spread of the virus in nursing homes, to understand that linguistic and other problems can make it difficult to inform migrant communities.It could more transparently explain how it came to its conclusions, communicate more actively with the community of relevant scientists in Sweden. ”
Sweden is indeed doing worse than other Nordic countries in terms of per capita mortality, the authors admit. But these statistics are better than in many other EU countries, such as Belgium, the Netherlands and the UK. As of May 4 (data from Johns Hopkins University), the number of deaths from coronavirus per 1 million people in Sweden is more than 260 – more than in neighboring Finland (42), Denmark (83) or Norway (38), but less. than in Italy (477), France (381) or Britain (419).
Opponents of the “Swedish model” reject the approach to it as an “experiment” and call it unethical, since the issue is related to the loss of human lives. But this is no bigger experiment than any other country is currently undergoing: in this crisis, everyone operates in conditions of risk and uncertainty, say Eric Angner and Gustav Arrhenius. They acknowledge that it will be possible to draw conclusions about the effectiveness of the “Swedish approach” only when the pandemic subsides. “Will countries that have opted for stricter measures be able to maintain them for the required period of time and then cancel them without seeing an increase in the number of infected? If so, this would support the argument for tougher measures.But we won’t know the answer until it’s over, ”the authors summarize.
90,000 The most expensive helmets. Part six. Helmets of Alexander Nevsky
Do not think that rare and very expensive helmets have been and are found only abroad. And it is even more foolish to consider in their findings some kind of belittling of our Russian culture. Well, there was no Roman culture in our lands, the Romans did not reach here. Therefore, there are no Roman helmets in our archaeological finds, even the most tasteless ones. They reached England, and they reached France.But beyond the Rhine, they again were not, so that a clear boundary of the finds is recorded – the Rhine River – and here the Romans, and here – the “wild Germans”. But after the baptism of Russia, its spiritual development went along the same lines of European civilization, the same swords from Europe appeared, but, of course, their own local products, which were no worse than Western and Scandinavian ones. And just the helmet of Prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich is one of these products. This is an ancient Russian helmet, which dates back to the second half of the 12th or the first half of the 13th century.It is located in the Armory Chamber of the Moscow Kremlin.
Good costumes of Russian soldiers were in the film “Alexander Nevsky”!
According to the typology of the Russian scientist A.N. Kirpichnikov is of type IV. He also noted that the helmet of Yaroslav Vsevolodovich is one of the first finds, from which “the study of not only weapons, but also Russian antiquities in general began”.
Copy of Yaroslav Vsevolodovich’s helmet. (State Historical Museum, the original in the Kremlin Armory in Moscow)
Well, they found it quite by accident, and quite a long time ago.It so happened that a peasant woman A. Larionova from the village of Lykov, located near the town of Yuryev-Podolsky in the fall of 1808, “being in a bush for picking nuts, saw something glowing in a bump near a walnut bush.” It was a helmet lying on top of chain mail, and both she and the helmet itself were badly rusted. The peasant woman took her find to the village headman, who saw the holy image on his helmet and handed it over to the bishop. He, in turn, sent it to Alexander I himself, and he handed it over to the president of the Academy of Arts A.N. Olenin.
A.N. Olenin. He was the first to study the helmet, which is now officially called “the helmet from Lykovo” …
He began to study the helmet and suggested that the helmet and chain mail belonged to Yaroslav Vsevolodovich and were hidden by him during his escape from the battle of Lipitsa in 1216. He found on the helmet the name Theodore, and this was the name of Prince Yaroslav, given to him at baptism. And Olenin assumed that the prince had removed both his chain mail and his helmet so that they would not interfere with his flight. After all, from the Laurentian Chronicle, we know that Prince Yaroslav, when he was defeated, fled to Pereyaslavl, where he arrived only on the fifth horse, and drove four horses along the road.His brother Yuri, too, was in a hurry to escape from the battlefield so that he came to Vladimir only on the fourth horse, and the chronicle emphasized that he was “in his first shirt, and threw out the lining.” That is, in one underwear, poor fellow, he galloped, in such a fear.
Unfortunately, the crown of the helmet was preserved in a very poor condition – in the form of only two large fragments, which makes it impossible to determine its exact shape and design. It is believed that it had a shape close to ellipsoidal.
Drawing from a pre-revolutionary book about Russian antiquities …
Outside, the surface of the helmet was covered with a silver leaf and gilded silver overlays, with chased images of the image of the Almighty, as well as Saints George, Basil and Theodore.The forehead plate bore the image of the image of the Archangel Michael and the inscription: “Vliky the archangel Michael help your servant Theodore.” The edge of the helmet is decorated with a gilded border covered with ornaments.
In general, we can talk about the high artistic skill of the manufacturers of this helmet, their technical skill and good taste. In its design, pre-revolutionary Russian historians saw Norman motives, but Soviet ones preferred to compare them with the white-stone carvings of churches in the Vladimir-Suzdal land.Historian B.A. Kolchin believed that the crown of the helmet was one-piece forged and made of iron or mild steel using stamping, followed by a punching out, and this differs it from other similar products of that time. For some reason, the half-mask of the helmet covers part of the inscription made around the perimeter of the icon, which allows us to assert that at first it was not there, but was added later.
According to A.N. Kirpichnikov, this helmet was altered at least three times and that it had owners even before Prince Yaroslav.Moreover, at first he might not have any jewelry. Then silver plates were riveted to it. And only after that they added its pommel and half mask to it.
Historian K.A. Zhukov notes that the helmet did not have lower eye cutouts. But, in his opinion, the helmet was not altered, but immediately it was made with a half mask. The author of the article “The helmet of Prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich” N.V. Chebotarev points to him at the place where his forehead icon meets the half-mask, and draws attention to the fact that for some reason it covers part of the inscription framing the icon, which, in general, should not be.
His drawing, made in pre-revolutionary times.
After all, if the helmet were made by one master and, so to speak, at a time, there is no doubt that then the inscription on the icon would correspond to the place of its placement. But it could be that the half-mask was temporarily removed from the helmet in order to fix the icon on it, as if it had not been measured in size, and then “by tradition” to hope “at random”, they decided that… “it will do just that”.
For some reason, Alexander has two helmets in the film. And he wears them in the course of the action AT THE SAME TIME.The difference is that the second one has a half mask with a pointed nose! So to speak, he has a “more fighting look.”
In any case, the shape of this helmet with a forehead icon and a half mask is reflected in art. This very helmet (and in two versions!) Was put on the head of his hero by director Sergei Eisenstein in the feature film “Alexander Nevsky”. Sets of postcards depicting Prince Alexander wearing this helmet were printed in thousands of copies, so it is not surprising that for a long time everyone thought that the “cine helmet” was modeled after the real one, although in reality it was not at all the case.
Turkish helmet of the early 17th century. from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Notice how much it looks like ancient Russian helmets. It is clear that this is not due to the fact that “Russia-Horde-Ataman Empire” (namely “Ataman”, because “atamans”, that is, “military leaders”, that is, princes / kagans are atamans!). It’s just that this form is rational, that’s all. The Assyrians also had such helmets, and that they are also Slavs? And then to such helmets they added a visor, a “nasal arrow” that could be lifted up and down, “headphones”, a backside and it turned out … “Yerikhon hat” or as this helmet was called in the West – “eastern bourguignot” (burgonet).
Western European burgundy in oriental style. End of the 16th century Manufactured in Augsburg. Weight 1976 (Metropolitan Museum, New York)
The second helmet, again attributed to Alexander Nevsky, is also an exhibit of the Kremlin Armory, and not just an exhibit, but one of the most famous and famous!
Officially, it is called “The Erichon Hat of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich” – that is, the very same Mikhail Romanov, who just became the founder … of the royal house of the Romanovs.And why is it considered the helmet of the faithful prince Alexander Yaroslavich? It’s just that in the 19th century there was a legend that the helmet of Tsar Mikhail was a remake of the helmet of Alexander Nevsky. That’s all!
Where this legend came from is not entirely clear. In any case, when the Great Coat of Arms of the Russian Empire was approved in 1857, its coat of arms was crowned with the image of “Prince Alexander’s helmet”.
However, it is quite obvious that this helmet could not have been made in Russia in the XIII century.However, it was finally possible to prove that it was made at the beginning of the 17th century only after the Great Patriotic War, when the appropriate technologies appeared in the hands of historians. That is, everything that somehow connects this helmet with the name of Alexander Nevsky is just a legend and nothing more.
Well, about what this helmet is all the same, the candidate of historical sciences S. Akhmedov described in detail in the article “Helmet by Nikita Davydov”. In his opinion, this helmet is made in the Eastern tradition, although along with the Arabic inscription it also has Orthodox symbols.By the way, there are very similar helmets in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum in New York and it is known for sure that they are … from Turkey!
In the “Antiquities of the Russian State, Published by the Highest Command” (1853), – from where the lithograph given here is taken, – such a translation of the 13th Ayat 61 Sura is given: “Help from God and a close victory and erect [this] good for the faithful. ” Sura 61 is called Sura al-Saff (“The Rows”). Surah was revealed in Medina. It consists of 14 Ayats. At the very beginning of Surah it is said that Allah is praised both in heaven and on earth.And whatever he wants, so that all believers in him rally and become like one hand. In it, Musa and Isa brand the sons of Israel, declare them stubborn infidels and accuse them of wanting to extinguish the light of Allah’s faith. In the same Surah, Allah promises to make his religion above all others, even if this will not be to the liking of the pagan polytheists. At the very end of Surah, believers are called to fight for faith in Allah, to protect his religion, so that they sacrifice their property and even their lives. And as an example, the apostles are cited who were followers of Isa, the son of Mariam.
13 Ayat:
وَأُخْرَىٰ تُحِبُّونَهَا ۖ نَصْرٌ مِنَ اللَّهِ وَفَتْحٌ قَرِيبٌ َ وَبَشِّرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ
One of the translations of this verse looks like this:
“There will be help from the victory of Allah and the victory. Give the good news to the believers! ”;
“And another thing that you love: help from Allah and imminent victory. And please the believers! ”;
“And yet for you, O believers, there is another mercy that you love: help from Allah and an imminent victory, the blessing of which you will enjoy.Delight, O Muhammad, believers with this reward! ”
And the question is, how could the Russian master Nikita Davydov make such a helmet (around 1621), and even being Orthodox, write on it in Arabic: “Please the faithful with the promise of help from Allah and a quick victory”?
In the income and expense book of the Armory Order dated December 18, 1621 there is such an entry: wreaths, and targets, and earphones were directed with gold. “That is, he trimmed with gold a certain helmet, given to him for decoration, and for this he received payment in kind from the sovereign.
Drawings of a helmet from the book “Antiquities of the Russian State, Published by the Highest Command” (1853). Then, this is how they presented information about the cultural values of the Russian Empire! Front, back view.
Side view.
That is, Nikita Davydov did not make it himself, but only decorated it. And it was necessary to decorate it, because it was an obvious gift to the king from the East. It is possible that the gift is directly from the sovereign, which cannot be denied.But how can you wear it if you are an Orthodox tsar, and quotes from the Koran are written on the helmet. An eastern ruler cannot be offended by the refusal of his gift. But the subjects … they are like that … Grishka Otrepiev was recognized as an impostor for the fact that he did not sleep after dinner, did not like to go to the bathhouse, and it was even embarrassing to say this – “I loved fried veal”. And then there are the words from the book of the “nasty” on the head of the tsar … The Orthodox people simply will not understand this, they will also raise a riot.
Ornaments made by knurling.
That is why Nikita Danilov was invited to bring this helmet into a “common form”.So on the nose arrow of the helmet there was a miniature figurine of the Archangel Michael made of colored enamels. On the dome, the master, with the help of a notch, “filled” the golden crowns, and at the very top, that is, on the pommel, he strengthened the golden cross. True, it has not survived, but it is known that it was.
Inside view.
And this, by the way, is not the first time when weapons from the East have found new masters in Russia. From the East to Russia came the sabers of Mstislavsky (his helmet, by the way, is also Eastern, Turkish!), Minin and Pozharsky, kept in the same Armory and in the same way containing eastern brands and inscriptions in Arabic script.
P.S. That’s how interesting it is in life. I wrote this material by order of one of the regular readers of VO. But in the process of work I ran into a number of “interesting moments” that formed the basis for the continuation of the theme, so …
To be continued …
testing ourselves and skis / On-site tests
There is an old ski saying “It’s not skis, but a skier”. I have heard it in different versions a million times. And I myself often repeat it to the “treasure hunters” of magic skis *.
However, the truth is somewhere in between the dreams of treasure hunters and the harsh reality.
If you look at the FIS World Cup Brands Rankings 2016, you can confidently say that magic skis really exist:
And their name is HEAD!
Forgive me fans of other brands, but statistics are stubborn things.
However, there is a real opportunity to make sure everyone personally how everything corresponds to reality by taking part in the HEAD alpine skiing tests.Full information about them is contained in the editorial article: Head Tester action, it can also be found by clicking on the banner that hangs above this article:
Pay attention to the prizes for the action participants …
The adjective “respectable” draws me huge bank checks to the winners on the podium.
Joking aside: Why test HEAD?
As an official tester of RIDERS TEST & RENT, I have skated almost all the lines of this brand for two seasons and have a strong opinion about these skis.Although not indisputable.
Technologies
The main trend of recent times in the construction of HEAD skis is the lightening of the weight of skis. Moreover, these are not grams or tens of grams, which some brands report as a meeting with aliens, but a cardinal “weight loss”.
I was very much afraid that this would harm the skating qualities, but in vain. At a minimum, lightweight skis are as good as their siblings last year. I have plans to arrange comparative tests. Follow the publications.
High-tech KERS and Intelligence ™ technologies continue to make ski handling easier.
Universal skis
Trail station wagons – Head Monster are interesting for skiers with little experience or for recreational skiing. Lightweight, stable, stable. The
Head Power Instinct Series is a step towards more flotation for rugged slopes, but lovely on virgin velveteen too.
Head i.Supershape
I would like to highlight this line.If you want to test not skis, but yourself, be sure to skate the entire arsenal of super shapes. Those skis that will fit your soul and define your style.
Carving
Head WC Rebels in all its forms. Morning. Deserted slopes. Bottomless corduroy. And they drove off! Here it is, the carver’s happiness!
JOY
For you girls! The coolest women’s skis I’ve ever met. Beginner to Intermediate – I recommend giving it a try.Some ladies consider them magical. Some reject it. And you?
Allmountian
COLLECTIVE 105, VENTURI 95. The line of diamonds is not very extensive, but it is approved. Mochilovo on broken tracks and virgin soil.
Bigmountian
CYCLIC 115 – would put it among the best skis for the beginner freerider.
A-STAR SW – freeride sports workshop. For those who want to feel like Vanya Malakhov at the FWT stage. Insurance will not hurt anyway 🙂
See you at the tests!
Innokenty Annensky – Sentimental Shamrock
Innokenty Annensky
Shamrock Sentimental
Dandelions The girl has bothered In a green sash Two yellow lines Planting in the sand.Do not hold on and go: Is the sand not happy with them? .. And the sun is already in the west And the garden is gilded. Behind the handle is a white handle The baby will shake off: "I'll make a little dimple, She will be swept away ... Nasty, stubborn! " - Be quiet, little daughter, If the pits are unpleasant to them, We stalks them away. You see: everything is for the better - Child, have fun On a quickening mound Two stars lit up. Shaggy, saffron Stars of flowers ... Well, my desired one, And your garden is ready. Legs jump off, All laughter will pour out, And the night will come - at the god's There are beds for everyone... You will fall asleep, angel girl, Down on the elbow ... And there are two yellow lines Spread out in the sand. June 26, 1909 Kuokkala Old barrel organ The sky drove us completely crazy: It blinded us with fire, then with snow, And, grinning, she retreated like a beast April is a stubborn winter. Slightly for a moment drowns in oblivion - Again, the helmet is pulled over the eyebrows, And under the crust of the gone streams, Without finishing, they will stop and freeze. But the past is forgotten long ago The garden is noisy, and the stone is white and echoing, And the open window looks, Like the grass dressed the nookOnly the old hurdy-gurdy is shivering, And she is in the sunset of May All will not dare evil grievances in any way, The tenacious shaft is circling and pushing. And in no way, clinging, will not understand This shaft, that there is no need for work, That the resentment of old age grows On thorns from the agony of turning. But when would I understand the old shaft, What is such a fate for them with a hurdy-gurdy, Did he stop singing while spinning Because you can't sing without suffering? .. Palm week V.P. Khmara-Barshchevsky Into the yellow twilight of dead April Saying goodbye to the starry desert Palm week sailed away On the last one, on a dead ice floe; Floated away in fragrant smoke, In the fading of the ringing of the funeral, From icons with deep eyes And from the Lazarus, forgotten in the black pit.The white month has become high in damage, And for everyone whose life is irreversible, Hot tears floated down the willow On the rosy cheeks of the cherub. April 14, 1907 Tsarskoe Selo
A helmet is the head of everything »Department of Family and Youth Affairs of the City Administration of Noyabrsk
On August 8, at the training ground of the Sports and Technical Club, within the framework of the All-Russian action “A helmet for everyone,” a competition on ATVs “Motorcycle helmet” was held. The competition was organized together with the Noyabrsk State Traffic Safety Inspectorate.
The statistics of injuries among drivers of two-wheeled vehicles is increasing annually. They become both victims of road accidents and the culprit. However, you should remember: it is enough to follow the safety rules to stay alive and not get injured. You should not neglect a motorcycle helmet and protective equipment when sitting on a scooter or motorcycle …
During the opening ceremony of the competition, the inspector for the propaganda of the traffic police of the OGIBDD OMVD of the Russian Federation for Noyabrsk Elsa Rezyapova, who became the guest of honor of the event, once again reminded the guys about the safety rules and wished them good start …
Teenagers from 9 to 14 years old competed in the races. It was possible to ride ATVs provided by the Sports and Technical Club, as well as in their own cars. A total of 32 people started (two age groups: 9-12 years old and 13-14), who showed the skill of driving on ATVs of 50 and 110 cubic centimeters. Pupils of the clubs “Pilgrim”, “Boomerang”, “Magistral”, the sports and technical club and November took part.
The intensity of passions at the test site was not humorous. The girls, of whom there were many among the competitors, showed a more spectacular ride than the boys.They pressed on the gas with all their might, fulfilling the figures of the highway, perfectly coping with the drifts of the equipment. Not without failures. Some guys could not keep the ATV on the route, knocked down the cones, and sometimes even collected them under the car body, taking them straight to the finish line. But strict and observant judges watched literally every centimeter of the riders’ path, took into account flaws and shortcomings. And the guys were not nearly upset by this: after all, how much joy was brought to them by the very participation in such an exciting tournament!
So one of the participants, Nastya Petrova, ten years old, failed to cope perfectly with the stubborn track and the naughty ATV, but still reaching the finish line, she burst into tears right on her dad’s shoulders.We did not manage to talk to her, but my father happily shared his impressions:
– We live in the distant NSR. And we do not have such clubs, and my daughter is very fond of technical sports. We heard an advertisement on the radio and decided to take part. This is our first competition, so Nastya failed to show a good result, I calmed her down for a long time after the finish. But, a pleasant surprise for us was that she was awarded the diploma “For the will to win.”
“I just started visiting the summer playground in the Sports and Technical Club yesterday,” says race participant Vlad Goltsev, 12 years old, “and sat down on an ATV for the first time.But having learned that today is the competition, I decided to take part in them by all means. I did not manage to win, I was very worried and because of this I did not overcome obstacles well. But still I’m glad, because I tried my hand.
So, the races are over, the theoretical stage has been passed, it remains to sum up the results and award the best.
In the age group of 9-12 years old, Dinar Rakhmatullin won the first place, Maxim Vyrodov took the second place, and Maxim Romashchenko took the third place, by the way, this is the only participant who performed on his ATV, donated by his father for his fifth birthday.
In the age group 13-14 years old the places were distributed as follows: Bogdan Khasanov, Dima Tikhonov, Vadim Laptev.
Honors of theory were also awarded. The podium was headed by Sasha Nabinina, silver was won by Maxim Arsenyuk, the third place was taken by a girl again, this is Nastya Chubrikova.
All winners were awarded with diplomas and memorable gifts. Participants and spectators were given leaflets prepared by STK specialists on safe behavior on the roads and streets of the city.
90,000 GRAY, EARLING, STIRP … | Memories
Memories
Evgeny Sapegin
GRAY, EARLING, STRAIGHT …
After a successful fishing, everyone is always in high spirits – everyone is cheerful and talkative.Both cleaning fish and cooking fish soup is not a burden, but a sheer pleasure. The smoke from the fire tingles slightly on the eyes and gives that special aroma that is never at home in the kitchen. In general, the preparation of fish soup is some kind of almost sacred rite. In our company, this business is unconditionally entrusted to Alexander Yakovlevich, or Yakych, as we call him among ourselves. My second companion is also Alexander, but we just call him Sasha. Firstly, he is half the age of Yakych, and secondly, Sashka – he is Sasha!
– Yakych, maybe boil some water for fish soup, won’t it cook faster?
– Yeah, teach grandpa to cough!
Yakych benignly sent Sasha away … from the fire and carefully began to cut the potatoes, thin and thin, so that it would reach in the ear at the same time as the fish.
… Finally, we settled ourselves on a large piece of tarpaulin like the ancient Greeks – on our left side and began to eat. Ukha is one of Yakych’s culinary masterpieces! Fish only by the fire, fishing and, of course, as a result of Yakych’s efforts, is so delicious! Before the bowler hat was empty, the conversation naturally stopped. And only when fragrant (with a smoke!) Green “95” tea was poured into bowls and smoked, the conversation gradually returned to its unhurried course.
The sun warms in moderation, an eagle circling high in the sky, grasshoppers chirping, and somewhere in the distance, behind a wall of reeds, a donkey screamed.
– Our nightingale began to sing, – Yakych chuckled.
– Yes, such a nightingale will sing at night, you won’t fall asleep until morning, – Sashka entered.
– An interesting cattle, – continued Yakych, – a hard worker, the first assistant of a peasant, but he has no character, he won’t make it!
And I remembered my first acquaintance with this animal:
– In the summer we went with friends to the lake to swim. And when we had already dressed and were about to go home, I suddenly saw that a donkey was grazing behind the coastal reeds.He wanders calmly, a rope with a peg drags behind him. And no one is around. And I wanted to ride it. I began to talk to him affectionately, to scratch behind the ear … The ear – somehow this word does not suit him … He calmly nibbled the grass and only spun with his EARS, driving away the flies. I climbed on it and went to my astonished friends. He took a pose, drove him into shallow water and exclaimed: “Bathing a gray horse!” Then the donkey kicked up, and I was in the water. Wearing clothes and a motorcycle helmet! The donkey went about his business at a leisurely trot.True, he added speed when he heard the laughter of my friends …
Here Sashka says:
– When in 64 we were on cotton, we also had such a dude (and at the same time looked impressively in my direction), from him I first heard the word “jeans”. And he also called them “Texas.” He wore a curled-brimmed hat, no doubt also from Texas. He tied a blue scarf around his neck and wore high-heeled shoes. Well, the spitting image of a cowboy from an American movie! Once he was engaged in horse riding and was very proud of it.He was our cook. And when we drove dejectedly towards the cotton field, he dashingly galloped on a donkey with empty cans for water to the nearest collective farm. One hand rested on the side – well, a cowboy and that’s it! When he caught up with the girls, he shouted:
– Amigos! – and slapped the donkey’s hand on the neck! The donkey, apparently, did not know that this was a gesture of approval for the horse, he was taught differently, so he sharply turned 90 degrees, and our cowboy flew with the cans into the ditch with weeds and thorns! The spectacle was so unexpected and comical that our entire gang rumbled against the background of his completely Russian swearing! He had the same vidocq! Pulling out the stuck thorns from everywhere, he cursed all donkeys in the world!
The next day it turned out that the kitchen had run out of kerosene.It was necessary to follow him to the city, and this is 15 kilometers. On what? Well, of course, on a donkey! Vovka the cowboy, not quite recovered from yesterday’s fall, with sighs and groans, stuck a 10-liter bottle and hit the road. He returned only in the evening. His curses and swearing were heard from afar.
– This bastard @@@… beast @@@… stopped every 100 meters and all the time @@@… tried to turn back!
Finally he slid off the donkey, pulled out a bottle of kerosene, put it on the ground with curses, sighed, stretched and … What do you think happened next? The donkey turned and kicked the bottle.There was a crack, and the bottle was shattered! ..
Having laughed off, we poured more tea, lit another one each. Here Sasha asks:
– Do you know how a donkey differs from a donkey? – and seeing our bewilderment, he himself answers:
– Donkey is a married donkey!
I laughed, and Yakych, the only married man among us, only grimaced and grunted:
– Fools .., – then silently finished his cigarette and began:
– My father told me that he and his brother-in-law, my uncle Vasya, went fishing every year after the war in Yolotan.They had an acquaintance, Kurban – not the last person in some kind of subsidiary farm on the bank of the Sultan Yab. So they lived with him in an empty house. Uncle Vasya is a disabled war veteran, one leg is all wounded and does not bend, he walks on crutches. Kurban provided him with a boat so that he would not have to wade through the tugai, and his father would catch from the shore. Then my father somehow went, as he liked to say, “on exploration” to Sultan-bent – a reservoir. To go quite far, so he decided to ride the donkey. Donkey walked briskly for about half a kilometer and stood up.It was not possible to force him to walk by any means. Then the father in despair stopped urging his tormentor and lit a cigarette. After a couple of minutes, the donkey suddenly went! But how! He sniffed, sorry, every piece of shit with such thoroughness, as if detailed instructions for further actions were written on it. And after the examination, he was sure to scream deafeningly! Two hours later, they finally reached the reservoir. Father, almost deaf, crawled with difficulty from the loudmouth monster and carefully tied him. Carefully … he thought so! When, three hours later, the father remembered about the donkey, that was gone … Tired and barely wandering, hungry and, like a sin, fishing well, weighed down by a solid catch, the father finally reached home in the evening, where he, like a dear, with a trumpet cry joyfully met the fugitive donkey!
Everyone knows very well how fishermen know how to talk about their successes and show with both hands what kind of fish are found there.Uncle Vasya, who was already outlined to sail in the same places every day, eagerly listened to these stories, then announced:
– Everything! Tomorrow we will go to the reservoir. You just don’t know how to ride a donkey!
What to do … in the morning, a little light, they loaded the donkey with equipment, piled up Uncle Vasya from above. Uncle Vasya armed himself with the butt end of the composite rod, and the “expedition” started. In the same place as yesterday, the donkey got up. Stands, yells, and does not go further! The father had to pull the donkey by the rope, Uncle Vasya generously “treated” him with a rod on the ass, but things were going hard and slowly.Finally, the completely exhausted fishermen saw the expanses of the reservoir. This time the donkey was tied according to all the rules, and then suddenly the father says:
– Hey, Vasily, but the donkey is not that … That was a man, and this is a donkey!
– Eh, edrit your hair! Where did you look ?!
– Where, where! – my father mimicked. – Did he have to check his passport?
– Yes, she had a donkey there, so she resisted so! Ugh, the whole fishing is covered … Okay, a couple of hours with sex, nothing will happen with the child.
And the mother is not herself! Worries, screams incessantly, strives to break the rope! What kind of fishing is there when there are such passions … Finally, Uncle Vasya could not resist:
– Everything! Sabbat! Let’s go home.
The donkey seemed to understand the people, and while they were loading fishing rods, cages with fish, backpacks on her – one on Uncle Vasya, the other on the donkey’s back – she stood calmly. Finally, her father untied her, and then … she jerked off at a gallop through the gullies! Only the stamping of feet and the heart-rending cry of Uncle Vasya, pulsating at every race:
– … I … uh … sha…, to … with … you … whether … and …
The crutches, of course, were forgotten. Father went home light, only crutches in his hands. He looks after three hundred meters – a cage with fish is lying around, picked it up. After another two hundred meters – a backpack. And he picked him up. Looks – fishing rods are lying around. Loaded like a donkey, the father listened – muffled swearing could be heard behind the hillock. I climbed the hillock and could not restrain myself. He could not do anything with himself, sat down on the ground and burst out laughing. Poor uncle Vasya lies across a dry ditch on his back, and behind him is a backpack.The backpack hit the ditch. Uncle Vasya lies there, his arms and legs jerking, and he can’t do anything, well, just like a turtle turned over on his back! Uncle Vasya is swearing, he saw his father:
– What are you laughing at? Come on, take me out!
When they managed to get it out of the ditch with difficulty, they sat down on the bank of a dry ditch, lit a cigarette, looked at each other, and at once began to laugh! From the heart, to tears, through laughter, the father said:
– Well we went fishing today! ..
We also had a good laugh, then Yakych slapped his knees with his palms:
– Well, young people, clean up everything here, wash the dishes, and finally I’ll sit with a fishing rod.
Because of the distant reeds, the donkey answered him vociferously with his peculiar “song” …
Ashgabat, January 2016
On the author’s page
MY CHILDHOOD
MOLE
ADRENALIN
BAYANCHIK, CHO-CHO, KHALYSHKA AND OTHER..
PASSING!
TOWN
THE LAWS
WARD № 6
IOSELEVICH
CATS ARE ALSO A LITTLE PEOPLE
ONCE UPON A TIME, THERE WERE…
THE ONE WHO’S NEARBY
THREE STORIES
FIRST ACCEPTANCE WITH MOSCOW
FORGIVENESS SUNDAY
COUNTRY.CITIES. MEETINGS.
OUR SMALLER BROTHERS
OUR CHILDHOOD GAMES
FUNNY NEIGHBORS
BOY
IT IS FUNNY AND SAD AT THE SAME TIME
URGENT CALL
GRAY, EARRED, STABLE …
COTTON PASSION
Crucifixion
FUN – SAD HOLIDAY
MY TONGUE IS MY ENEMY…
LENIN’S BIKES
JEW
KINA WILL NOT BE …
GOD SAVES MAN, WHO SAVE HIMSELF
TATKA
“CHARLATAN”
MY ADULT FRIEND
FIND A ROAD
MARMOT
FOUR “MASTERPIECES” UNCLE YOU
RANDOM MEETING
FIND IT!
Zenkovich
MEMORY SCREWS
A FAIRY TALE IS A LIE, BUT IN IT … TBILISI
LIFE.BAZAR. THEATRE.
THIS IS A CAT
UNDERGROUND MIRACLE
BREKHUN
LOOKING OUT MEMORY BEADS
KARAKUM PICTURES
CAMELS, BIRDS AND … CROCODILE
EH, VALERKA …
LONELINESS CALENDAR LEAF
SPLASHES OF CHAMPAGNE
CHANG
SPECIFICALLY
THREE TINY UNIFICATED STORIES
BY ITS LIKE…
Goose, Goose, HA-HA-HA …
SUMMER IN THE VILLAGE
ALL WILL BE…
JIM
LIKE A FERRY CHEF SPASING A CONCERT BRIGADE
MARCH IDES
MINIATURES
AUTOBIOGRAPHY
ABOUT THE USE OF GLUCKS
BOOMERANG
FOR INTELLIGENCE…
ABOUT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS
WITHOUT LIGHT
MY FATHER
INTELLIGENT ALEX
NEW YEAR SEATING
AGAIN MINIATURES
CLOSE… AND NOT VERY …
TWO BASILS
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Witch’s Helmet Tournament – Kingdom – Games – Gamer.ru: social network for gamers
Witch’s Helmet Tournament
Witch’s Helmet Tournament
This story, which can be called a “funny horror”, took place during the reign of King Roland, and not just anywhere, but in the royal family itself.The chronicles of the royal archives tell about it like this:
“- Your Majesty! What a nightmare! The demon threatened the prince!
The courtiers who ran into the office looked very frightened.
– Demon ?! Immediately call the court magicians to me!
Five minutes later, the court magicians were also shaking with horror, as the king promised to personally behead them if they did not deal with the demon.
The day was drawing to a close. The king paced nervously around the office, awaiting the report of the magicians.There was a gentle knock on the door …
– Well, what have you got?
– We have figured out that it is possible to create an impenetrable defense against demonic magic, but this will require enchanting the palace, which will take, according to our calculations, two months.
– Two months ?! The demon will appear tomorrow!
– Yes, but … The second option is even worse. To give battle to such a powerful demon is to endanger the entire capital. There is, however, another option, it was suggested by the court jester … -?!
It was an alarming afternoon of the next day.The completely exhausted royal magicians preferred to leave the palace. They spent so much energy that they became more helpless than small children. The pale and nervous king, along with a frightened retinue, waited for the demon to appear at the prince’s bed. The demon appeared, as expected, in a cloud of darkness and smoke.
– What, mortals, are you trembling? What will happen if you do not give me the prince! I will devour your souls and hang your bodies on lampposts!
Several maids of honor fainted. The king assumed an emphatically mournful air and pointed with a trembling hand to somewhere in the corner of the room.
– You are late, demon … The prince is already in other hands …
The creature that appeared in the corner of the room in a cloud of smoke and flashes of fire was so terrible that the demon even crouched in fear, and the courtiers rushed to run, screaming the corridors of the palace.
– Who are you, a nonentity, who dared to appear before Arg-Zaldor, archdemon of Hammar and Dargo-Thor? The prince of this kingdom belongs to me! GO AWAY!
After the demon’s hasty disappearance, the king breathed a sigh of relief.
– That’s it, he’s gone, you can take off your helmet.
– Did you like it, Your Majesty? – asked the court jester, assuming his usual appearance.
He had a fancy helmet in his hands.
– Did you like it ?! Yes, I almost died of fear! Yet the mages did a good job putting all their strength into this helmet. An illusion, but how reliable! ”
In honor of the birth of his son and his deliverance from danger, King Roland instituted a commemorative tournament, and he appointed the same witch’s helmet that could frighten the demon as a reward.
In this tournament, you can get such awards as: Sorcerous Helmet and Helmet of Illusion, as well as other interesting prizes.
Conditions
Players of the I, II and III leagues automatically participate in this tournament, fighting in the competitions of the Gold and Silver Crown. The tournament opens on October 1st.
Thoughts of victory and the Witch’s Helmet take over the minds of the participants, and therefore life experience is absorbed more slowly.
Experience in arenas decreased: level 6-7 – by 25%, level 5 – by 15%.
Minimum Tournament Points for Different Levels:
– 6-7 level: 5000 tournament points,
– 5 level: 1500 tournament points,
– 4 level: 1200 tournament points.
Awards
First place – an eternal gift – the Witch’s Helmet and the legendary talisman of Anker the Stubborn (-30% for all experience gained during the month).
Second place – an eternal gift – the Helmet of Illusion and the heroic talisman of Anker the Stubborn (-25% for all experience gained for a month).
Third place – an eternal gift – the Helmet of Illusion and the elite talisman of Anker the Stubborn (-20% for all experience gained for a month).
Fourth place – an eternal gift – the Helmet of Illusion and the rare talisman of Anker the Stubborn (-15% for all experience gained for a month).
