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Canadian Shield
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Canadian Shield
Stratigraphic range: Precambrian
Had'n
Archean
Proterozoic
Pha.
Type
Shield
Unit of
North American craton
Sub-units
Laurentian Upland
Kazan[1]
Area
8 000 000 km2[2]
Location
Region
North America
Country
Canada
United States

The Canadian Shield is a broad region of Precambrian rock (pictured in shades of red) that encircles Hudson Bay. It spans eastern, northeastern, and east-central Canada and the upper midwestern United States.
The Canadian Shield, also called the Laurentian Plateau, or Bouclier canadien (French), is a large area of exposed Precambrian igneous and high-grade metamorphic rocks (geological shield) that forms the ancient geological core of the North American continent (the North American Craton or Laurentia). Composed of igneous rock resulting from its long volcanic history, the area is covered by a thin layer of soil.[3] With a deep, common, joined bedrock region in eastern and central Canada, it stretches north from the Great Lakes to the Arctic Ocean, covering over half of Canada; it also extends south into the northern reaches of the United States. Human population is sparse, and industrial development is minimal,[4] while mining is prevalent.
Contents
1 Geographical extent
2 Geology
3 Ecology
4 Mining and economics
5 See also
6 References
7 Further reading
Geographical extent
The Canadian Shield is a physiographic division, consisting of five smaller, physiographic provinces: the Laurentian Upland, Kazan Region, Davis, Hudson and James.[1] The shield extends into the United States as the Adirondack Mountains (connected by the Frontenac Axis) and the Superior Upland. The Canadian Shield is U-shaped and is a subsection of the Laurentia craton signifying the area of greatest glacial impact (scraping down to bare rock) creating the thin soils. The Canadian Shield is more than 3.96 billion years old. The Canadian Shield once had jagged peaks, higher than any of today's mountains, but millions of years of erosion have changed these mountains to rolling hills.[5]
The Canadian Shield is a collage of Archean plates and accreted juvenile arc terranes and sedimentary basins of the Proterozoic Eon that were progressively amalgamated during the interval 2.45 to 1.24 Ga, with the most substantial growth period occurring during the Trans-Hudson orogeny, between ca. 1.90 to 1.80 Ga.[6] The Canadian Shield was the first part of North America to be permanently elevated above sea level and has remained almost wholly untouched by successive encroachments of the sea upon the continent. It is the Earth's greatest area of exposed Archean rock. The metamorphic base rocks are mostly from the Precambrian Supereon (between 4.5 billion and 540 million years ago), and have been repeatedly uplifted and eroded. Today it consists largely of an area of low relief 300 to 610 m (980 to 2,000 ft) above sea level with a few monadnocks and low mountain ranges (including the Torngat and Laurentian Mountains) probably eroded from the plateau during the Cenozoic Era. During the Pleistocene Epoch, continental ice sheets depressed the land surface (see Hudson Bay), scooped out thousands of lake basins, and carried away much of the region's soil.
When the Greenland section is included, the Shield is approximately circular, bounded on the northeast by the northeast edge of Greenland, with Hudson Bay in the middle. It covers much of Greenland, Labrador, most of Quebec north of the St. Lawrence River, much of Ontario including northern sections of the southern peninsula between the Great Lakes, the Adirondack Mountains[7] of New York, the northernmost part of Lower Michigan and all of Upper Michigan, northern Wisconsin, northeastern Minnesota, the central/northern portions of Manitoba away from Hudson Bay, northern Saskatchewan, a small portion of northeastern Alberta,[8] and the mainland northern Canadian territories to the east of a line extended north from the Saskatchewan/Alberta border (Northwest Territories and Nunavut).[2] In total, the exposed area of the Shield covers approximately 8,000,000 km2 (3,100,000 sq mi). The true extent of the Shield is greater still and stretches from the Western Cordillera in the west to the Appalachians in the east and as far south as Texas, but these regions are overlaid with much younger rocks and sediment. The underlying rock structure also includes Hudson Bay.
Canadian Shield geography in the Flin Flon, Manitoba region. The lake in the background is Big Island Lake.[clarification needed]
Geology
Weathered Precambrian pillow lava in the Temagami Greenstone Belt
The Canadian Shield is among the oldest on earth, with regions dating from 2.5 to 4.2 billion years.[9] The multitude of rivers and lakes in the entire region is caused by the watersheds of the area being so young and in a state of sorting themselves out with the added effect of post-glacial rebound. The Shield was originally an area of very large, very tall mountains (about 12,000 metres or 39,000 feet)[10] with much volcanic activity, but over hundreds of millions of years, the area has been eroded to its current topographic appearance of relatively low relief.[citation needed] It has some of the oldest (extinct) volcanoes on the planet.[citation needed] It has over 150 volcanic belts (now deformed and eroded down to nearly flat plains) whose bedrock ranges from 600 to 1200 million years old.[citation needed]
Each belt probably grew by the coalescence of accumulations erupted from numerous vents, making the tally of volcanoes reach the hundreds. Many of Canada's major ore deposits are associated with Precambrian volcanoes.
The Sturgeon Lake Caldera in Kenora District, Ontario, is one of the world's best preserved mineralized Neoarchean caldera complexes, which is 2.7 billion years old.[11] The Canadian Shield also contains the Mackenzie dike swarm, which is the largest dike swarm known on Earth.[12]
Typical Canadian Shield: spruce, lakes, bogs, and rock.
Mountains have deep roots and float on the denser mantle much like an iceberg at sea. As mountains erode, their roots rise and are eroded in turn. The rocks that now form the surface of the Shield were once far below the Earth's surface.
The high pressures and temperatures at those depths provided ideal conditions for mineralization. Although these mountains are now heavily eroded, many large mountains still exist in Canada's far north called the Arctic Cordillera. This is a vast deeply dissected mountain range, stretching from northernmost Ellesmere Island to the northernmost tip of Labrador. The range's highest peak is Nunavut's Barbeau Peak at 2,616 metres (8,583 ft) above sea level.[13] Precambrian rock is the major component of the bedrock.
The North American craton is the bedrock forming the heart of the North American continent and the Canadian Shield is the largest exposed part of the craton's bedrock.
The Canadian Shield is part of an ancient continent called Arctica, which was formed about 2.5 billion years ago during the Neoarchean era. It was split into Greenland, Laurentia, Scotland and Siberia and is now roughly situated in the Arctic around the current North Pole.
Ecology
The current surface expression of the Shield is one of very thin soil lying on top of the bedrock, with many bare outcrops. This arrangement was caused by severe glaciation during the ice age, which covered the Shield and scraped the rock clean.
The lowlands of the Canadian Shield have a very dense soil that is not suitable for forestation; it also contains many marshes and bogs (muskegs). The rest of the region has coarse soil that does not retain moisture well and is frozen with permafrost throughout the year. Forests are not as dense in the north.
Typical landscape in a southern Ontario region with very few old growth trees, due to a history of logging and fires. Black River, Queen Elizabeth II Wildlands Provincial Park.
The Shield is covered in parts by vast boreal forests in the south that support natural ecosystems as well as a major logging industry. This boreal forest area includes ecoregions such as the Eastern Canadian Shield taiga that covers northern Quebec and most of Labrador, and the Midwestern Canadian Shield forests that run westwards from Northwestern Ontario. Hydrographical drainage is generally poor, the soil compacting effects of glaciation being one of the many causes. Tundra typically prevails in the northern regions. Many mammals such as caribou, white-tailed deer, moose, wolves, wolverines, weasels, mink, otters, grizzly bear, polar bears and black bears are present.[14] In the case of polar bears (Ursus maritimus) the Shield area contains many of the denning locations such as the Wapusk National Park.[15]
Mining and economics
The Canadian Shield is one of the world's richest areas in terms of mineral ores. It is filled with substantial deposits of nickel, gold, silver, and copper. Throughout the Shield there are many mining towns extracting these minerals. The largest, and one of the best known, is Sudbury, Ontario. Sudbury is an exception to the normal process of forming minerals in the Shield since the Sudbury Basin is an ancient meteorite impact crater. Ejecta from the meteorite impact was found in the Rove Formation in May 2007. The nearby, but less known Temagami Magnetic Anomaly, has striking similarities to the Sudbury Basin. This suggests it could be a second metal-rich impact crater.[16]
In northeastern Quebec, the giant Manicouagan Reservoir is the site of an extensive hydroelectric project (Manic-cinq, or Manic-5). This is one of the largest-known meteorite impact craters on Earth.
The Flin Flon greenstone belt in central Manitoba and east-central Saskatchewan is one of the largest Paleoproterozoic volcanic-hosted massive sulfide (VMS) districts in the world, containing 27 copper-zinc-(gold) deposits from which more than 183 million tons[clarification needed] of sulfide have been mined.[17]
The Shield, particularly the portion in the Northwest Territories, has recently been the site of several major diamond discoveries. The kimberlite pipes in which the diamonds are found are closely associated with cratons, which provide the deep lithospheric mantle required to stabilize diamond as a mineral. The kimberlite eruptions then bring the diamonds from over 150 kilometres (93 mi) depth to the surface. Currently the Ekati and Diavik mines are actively mining kimberlite diamonds.
See also
Geography of Canada portal
Athabasca Basin
Platform
Oldest rock
Basement
Platform basement
Volcanology of Canada
Glacial history of Minnesota
References
^ Jump up to: a b The Atlas of Canada. "Physiographic Regions Map" (JP2). Natural Resources Canada. Retrieved 2017-08-01.
^ Jump up to: a b Encyclopædia Britannica. "Canadian Shield". Archived from the original on 2015-06-24. Retrieved 2009-02-10.
Jump up ^ Stephen Marshak. Essentials of Geology. 3rd ed.
Jump up ^ "Canadian Shield Archived 2006-08-21 at the Wayback Machine." in Columbia Encyclopedia. 6th ed., 2005.
Jump up ^ James-Abra, Erin. "Canadian Shield". Canadian Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on 11 January 2018. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
Jump up ^ Corrigan, D. (2008). "Metallogeny and Tectonic Evolution of the Trans-Hudson Orogen" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on April 9, 2008. Retrieved 2008-03-05.
Jump up ^ Peterson Field Guide to Geology of Eastern North America by Roberts, David & Roger Tory Peterson.
Jump up ^ Alberta Heritage - Alberta Online Encyclopedia Archived 2010-12-08 at Archive-It - The Canadian Shield Region of Alberta
Jump up ^ Tsuyoshi Iizuka, at al., Geology and Zircon Geochronolgy of the Acasta Gneiss Complex, Precambrian Research, 153 (2007) pp. 179 - 208
Jump up ^ Clark, Bruce W. (1999). "Geologic History". Making Connections: Canada's geography. Scarborough, Ontario: Prentice Hall Ginn Canada. p. 95. ISBN 0-13-012635-7.
Jump up ^ Caldera Volcanoes Archived 2012-06-16 at WebCite Retrieved on 2007-07-20
Jump up ^ Mark Pilkington and Walter R. Roest, Removing varying directional trends in aeromagnetic data, Geophysics, vol. 63 no. 2 (1998), pp. 446–453.
Jump up ^ "Barbeau Peak". Bivouac.com.
Jump up ^ World Wildlife Fund, ed. (2001). "Northern Canadian Shield taiga". WildWorld Ecoregion Profile. National Geographic Society. Archived from the original on 2010-03-08.
Jump up ^ C. Michael Hogan (2008) Polar Bear: Ursus maritimus, Globaltwitcher.com, ed. Nicklas Stromberg Archived December 24, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
Jump up ^ 3-D Magnetic Imaging using Conjugate Gradients: Temagami anomaly Archived 2009-07-11 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on 2008-03-12
Jump up ^ Norris, Jessica (2007). "Report on the 2007 Diamond Drilling Program McClarty Lake Project, Manitoba" (PDF). Aurora Geosciences Ltd. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-05-30. Retrieved 2008-02-22.
Further reading
Library resources about
Canadian Shield
Resources in your library
Resources in other libraries
Schwartzenberger, Tina (2005), The Canadian Shield, Weigl Educational ISBN 1-55388-141-9
Pazynych V.G. Formation of placer gold deposits in Canadian Shield during late Wisconsin glaciation
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Coordinates: 52°00′N 71°00′W / 52.000°N 71.000°W / 52.000; -71.000
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Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Canadian_Shield&oldid=862677040"
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Adam Ruins Everything
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Adam Ruins Everything
Genre
Comedy
Educational television
Created by
Adam Conover
Developed by
CollegeHumor
Directed by
Paul Briganti
Starring
Adam Conover
Theme music composer
Jesse Novak
No. of seasons
2
No. of episodes
31
Production
Executive producer(s)
Jon Cohen
Adam Conover
Spencer Griffin
Sam Reich
Producer(s)
Paul Briganti
Jeremy Reitz
Dave Oberg
Cinematography
Matt Garrett
Editor(s)
James Fitzpatrick
Kent Kincannon
Camera setup
Single camera
Production company(s)
Big Breakfast
CollegeHumor
Release
Original network
truTV
Original release
September 29, 2015 (2015-09-29) – present
External links
Adam Ruins Everything at truTV
www.trutv.com/shows/adam-ruins-everything/index.html
Adam Ruins Everything is an American comedy/educational television series starring Adam Conover that debuted on September 29, 2015, with a 12-episode season on truTV. On January 7, 2016, it was announced that the show had been picked up for 14 additional episodes of season 1 to air starting on August 23, 2016.[1][2][3] The series aims to shine light on popular false impressions and trends, debunking false ideas that pervade American society.
On December 7, 2016, truTV announced the renewal of Adam Ruins Everything for a 16-episode second season,[4] which premiered on July 11, 2017.[5]
In Canada, the series premiered on January 12, 2017 on Much.[6] The series is also broadcast on SBS Viceland in Australia.[7]
Contents
[hide]
1 Synopsis
2 Cast
2.1 Other
3 Episodes
3.1 Season 1 (2015–2016)
3.2 Season 2 (2017)
4 Criticism
5 References
6 External links
Synopsis[edit]
Adam Ruins Everything is based on a CollegeHumor web series of the same name, and stars comedian Adam Conover (who was also the star of the CollegeHumor series) as the host.
The show depicts Adam as a debunker of popular myths and misconceptions. Each episode revolves around Adam suddenly intruding on the everyday life of a person (whether a person or a group) to subject them to his "annoying facts" about a particular topic, illustrating his points with audience lectures, random skits, interviews with experts and citing references on screen.[8]
Adam delivers his points in a cheeky and matter-of-fact fashion while delving into his topic, describing the historical origins of the misconceptions and the social psychology behind why people continue to believe them. At first, he upsets the person he is trying to inform but he eventually gets through to them, thus "ruining" their naïveté about the topic at hand. The person then falls into a pessimistic state, which Adam fixes with a hopeful and constructive conclusion, or "positive takeaway": telling the person and the viewing audience to feel more empowered with their new factual perspective.
Adams informative delivery is somewhat similar to Alton Brown in Good Eats television cooking show.
Cast[edit]
Adam Conover as Himself, the main protagonist who serves as the guide for the audience and the secondary character of the episode. The reason he ruins popular ideas for people is because he believes that knowing the truth is always better. His social skills are somewhat limited by his need to bring up uncomfortable facts, and he constantly annoys people with his revelations but is genuinely kind-hearted.
Emily Axford as Emily, a high school teacher, friend to Adam, and wife to Murph. She is a frequent target of Adam's revelations and has gotten used to him. Compared to other characters, she is more on Adam's level: she will occasionally preempt Adam in debunking a false idea, such as in "Adam Ruins Sex" and "Adam Ruins Malls", and in "Emily Ruins Adam", she hosts the episode to debunk the premise of Adam's show.
Brian Murphy as Murph, a high school PE/health teacher, friend to Adam, and husband to Emily. His life events (marriage, children) are a frequent target of Adam's revelations.
Hayley Marie Norman as Haley, Emily's friend who started to date Adam until she was killed in "Adam Ruins Death".
Rhea Butcher as Rhea Conover, Adam's younger sister and public defender, who owns a house where Adam lives. She made her debut in "Adam Ruins Football".
Nicole Roberts as Kendra, a former prisoner and a friend of both Emily and Adam. She acted as Adam's co-host in her debut episode "Adam Ruins Prison".
Other[edit]
These actors do not play any starring roles, but act as visual aids for Adam's topic.
Adam Lustick
Eliza Skinner
Episodes[edit]
Season 1 (2015–2016)[edit]
No.
overall
No. in
season
Title
Original air date
Prod.
code
U.S. viewers
(millions)
1
1 "Adam Ruins Giving" September 29, 2015 (2015-09-29) 100 0.523[10]
This episode examines issues with diamond engagement rings and De Beers as Murph proposes to Emily; the latter half of the episode deals with the problem with food drives, Toms Shoes, and a number of other giving-related ideas during a school "Give-A-thon", especially the theme of giving away castoffs.[9]
2
2 "Adam Ruins Security" October 6, 2015 (2015-10-06) 101 0.439[11]
This episode examines issues with the Transportation Security Administration, Tylenol and tamper-resistant packaging, credit card signatures and fraud prevention, and a number of other security-related ideas, especially the theme of "security theater."
3
3 "Adam Ruins Cars" October 13, 2015 (2015-10-13) 102 0.488[12]
This episode argues that car dealerships are not the best way to get cars, explains how much time people really spend in traffic, and deals with other car-related ideas.
4
4 "Adam Ruins Forensic Science" October 20, 2015 (2015-10-20) 104 0.526[13]
This episodes examines truths in polygraph tests, eye witness testimonies, fingerprint analysis, and a number of other crime technique-related ideas.
5
5 "Adam Ruins Restaurants" October 27, 2015 (2015-10-27) 103 0.422[14]
Emily and friends have their night ruined by Adam at a restaurant, talking about how wines are very similar regardless of labels, how seafood is not very healthy in restaurants and how tipping is a regressive custom. This episode also highlights how mislabeling fish is rampant in the restaurant industry. This episode featured the first appearance of Haley as Emily's friend.
6
6 "Adam Ruins Hygiene" November 3, 2015 (2015-11-03) 105 0.599[15]
Adam invades Haley's bathroom as she prepares to go on a date. It explains how halitosis was popularized in a 1920s ad campaign that used cruel ads to make people insecure about their breath, proves flushable wipes are not really flushable, and explains why running water is one of the greatest achievements of modern times.
7
7 "Adam Ruins Voting" November 10, 2015 (2015-11-10) 106 0.569[16]
The history of the Electoral College, explaining that the founding fathers did not want most Americans to vote, and how the result of elections are affected by gerrymandering.
8
8 "Adam Ruins Work" November 17, 2015 (2015-11-17) 110 0.438[17]
This episode explains why the 40-hour work week is bad for business, why unpaid internships are exploitive, why freelancing is illegal, and also argues that open disclosure of salaries is a good thing.
9
9 "Adam Ruins Summer Fun" December 1, 2015 (2015-12-01) 107 0.505[18]
Adam reveals that summer vacation inhibits learning, how Mickey Mouse ruined American copyright laws, and the unfair biased nature of video games for females.
10
10 "Adam Ruins Sex" December 8, 2015 (2015-12-08) 108 0.531[19]
This episode explains why circumcision is common in the United States, how Herpes is not as scary as the media makes it seem and how most people do not truly understand the hymen. It also argues that the worst problem with sex is people feeling ashamed of it.
11
11 "Adam Ruins Nutrition" December 15, 2015 (2015-12-15) 109 0.508[20]
Adam shows why vitamin supplements are not healthful, that the "balanced breakfast" marketing term is a misnomer, and the unscientific nature of most nutritional science quoted by the media.
12
12 "Adam Ruins Death" December 22, 2015 (2015-12-22) 111 0.614[21]
Adam goes on a date with Haley, but Emily is hit by a truck in a freak accident. Adam discusses several failed attempts at terrestrial immortality, and reveals the American funeral industry's tactics which exploit mourners, such as embalming and the price of coffins. The episode also points to the importance to have a plan for last rites, as many do not notify their last ones about their preferences in case of a funeral or long-term life support and burden their families. After Haley dies in a freak accident, however, he concedes that grappling with uncertainty with death can be just as healthy as clear-cut answers.
13
13 "Adam Ruins Hollywood"[22] August 23, 2016 (2016-08-23) 114 0.472[23]
Adam reveals the truth about how money really wins movie awards, why MPAA ratings are pointless, and how "reality" shows are fake.
Guest Stars: Rachel Bloom as herself. Ariana Madix as herself.
14
14 "Adam Ruins Football"[22] August 30, 2016 (2016-08-30) TBA 0.506[24]
Adam reveals the truth about various football-related topics. These include the NFL Playoffs, the supposed dangers and exaggerated fear of dehydration, and concussions. At the end of the episode, Adam's sister Rhea makes her first appearance.
Guest Stars: Rhea Butcher as Rhea Conover.
15
15 "Adam Ruins Weddings"[25] September 6, 2016 (2016-09-06) TBA 0.442[26]
Adam attends Emily and Murph's wedding and explains the capitalist traditions behind modern ceremonies, how the feelings of newlyweds are susceptible to change and that divorce can be empowering in most cases.
16
16 "Adam Ruins Malls"[27] September 13, 2016 (2016-09-13) TBA 0.396[28]
Adam and Emily make a trip to the mall. There Adam explains the origin of the modern enclosed shopping mall, the real difference between "outlet" and normal clothing stores, and the largely-unregulated supplement market. Emily in turn explains the near-stranglehold Luxottica has on branded glasses frames and the stores that sell them. Adam's sister makes appearances at the beginning and end of the episode.
Guest Stars: Rhea Butcher as Rhea Conover.
17
17 "Adam Ruins Animals"[29] September 20, 2016 (2016-09-20) TBA 0.419[30]
Adam explains how purebred dogs are genetically abnormal, how stray cats are dangerous, and how monetizing the demand for trophy hunting can help animals.
18
18 "Adam Ruins Immigration"[31] September 27, 2016 (2016-09-27) TBA 0.464[32]
Adam explains how increasing security at national borders does not help prevent illegal immigration, how the immigration courts are severely broken, and explores America's history with mass deportation.
19
19 "Adam Ruins Housing"[33] October 4, 2016 (2016-10-04) TBA 0.503[34]
In this episode, Adam talks about how buying a house is worse than renting one, how Airbnb enables crooks to run illegal hotels, and how building houses for homeless people can actually save money.
Before the segments on Airbnb and homelessness, Adam hosts 2 segments called "Ever Wonder Why". The first segment is about tax breaks and the second one is about the Hollywood Sign.
Guest Stars: Rhea Butcher as Rhea Conover
S1
S1 "The Adam Ruins Everything Election Special"[35] October 25, 2016 (2016-10-25) TBA 0.440[36]
Filmed in front of a live audience, in this hour-long special, Adam discusses how the 2016 election is just a big rerun, the history of women in politics, why outsiders are worse than politicians, the impact of money on politics, and the one thing that makes this election unique from the others.
20
20 "Adam Ruins Drugs"[37] November 15, 2016 (2016-11-15)[38] 119 0.545[39]
In this episode, Adam exposes how marijuana is essentially harmless, how D.A.R.E actually increased drug use, and how legal drugs are just as dangerous as illegal ones leading to opioid epidemic. Emily is arrested at the end of the episode because of the many drugs she confiscated from her students.
This episode's "Ever Wonder Why" segments are about Fish Oil and Q-Tips
21
21 "Adam Ruins Prison"[40] November 22, 2016 (2016-11-22) TBA 0.521[41]
Adam visits Emily in prison. In this episode, Adam reveals how private prisons and the Corrections Corporation of America make money, why Solitary confinement should be banned, and why prison keeps setting people up to fail. Emily is cleared of all charges, and promises to help her cellmate Kendra out.
This episode's "Ever Wonder Why?" segments are on cheese and treadmills.
Guest Stars: Rhea Butcher as Rhea Conover
22
22 "Adam Ruins the Wild West"[42] November 29, 2016 (2016-11-29) TBA 0.382[43]
In this episode, Adam talks about how the modern image of the cowboy is wrong, how women shaped the wild west, and how the west's true hero was not even a person.
This episode's "Ever Wonder Why?" segments are about Johnny Appleseed and the Statue of Liberty.
23
23 "Adam Ruins the Internet"[44] December 6, 2016 (2016-12-06) 121 0.392[45]
In this episode, Adam discusses how the internet has been underrated for nearly all of history, why cable companies are to blame for slow internet, and supposedly "free" websites are not free at all.
This episode's "Ever Wonder Why?" segments are on the word "literally" and the standard paper size.
24
24 "Adam Ruins Justice"[46] December 13, 2016 (2016-12-13) 123 0.386[47]
Rhea, who works as a public defender, brings Kendra to court to clear her charges. In this episode, Adam talks about why the McDonald's hot coffee lawsuit is not what we think, why trial by jury is rigged with bias, and how public defenders are in a difficult line of work.
This episode's "Ever Wonder Why?" segments are on photographic memories and the Secret Service.
Guest Stars: Rhea Butcher as Rhea Conover.
25
25 "Adam Ruins Christmas"[48] December 20, 2016 (2016-12-20) 124 0.527[49]
Rhea and Adam attempt to prepare for the Conover parents to visit. In this episode, Adam talks about Christmas's un-Christian origins, why gift giving makes no economic sense, and the true story of Santa Claus.
This episode's "Ever Wonder Why?" segments are about It's a Wonderful Life and snowflakes.
Guest Stars: Rhea Butcher as Rhea Conover and Adam Savage as the narrator.
26
26 "Adam Ruins Going Green"[52] December 27, 2016 (2016-12-27) 125 0.490[53]
In this episode, Adam talks about how big companies shifted the blame of littering onto people,[50] how electric cars can actually hurt the environment, and what to do now that climate change is happening.[51]
This episode's "Ever Wonder Why?" segments are on "going paperless" and bananas.
Season 2 (2017)[edit]
On December 7, 2016, truTV announced that Adam Ruins Everything would return for a second season with 16 episodes. The season premiered on July 11, 2017.
No.
overall
No. in
season
Title
Original air date
Prod.
code
U.S. viewers
(millions)
27
1 "Adam Ruins Having a Baby" July 11, 2017 (2017-07-11) TBA 0.430[54]
In this episode, Adam talks to Emily about the myth of being pregnant after 35, if breastfeeding is better or worse than formula, and postpartum depression.
Note: Instead of last season's "Ever Wonder Why?" segments, there are new "Tell Me More" segments, where Adam interviews the experts seen on the show. This time, Adam interviews Courtney Jung, author of "Lactivism" and Jean Twenge, a researcher.
28
2 "Adam Ruins Weight Loss" July 18, 2017 (2017-07-18) TBA 0.523[55]
In this episode, Adam discusses how low-fat diets can actually make you fatter, why counting calories is a waste of time and why you should not necessarily trust extreme reality shows that promote sustained weight loss.
Note: This episode's "Tell Me More" segment features an interview with Dr. Kevin D. Hall, a senior investigator at the National Institutes of Health who conducted a six-year study on contestants of The Biggest Loser.
29
3 "Adam Ruins The Hospital"[22] July 25, 2017 (2017-07-25) TBA 0.423[56]
In this episode, Adam diagnoses how arbitrarily inflated hospital costs have created a system that is entirely unaffordable and unfair, reveals how misuse of antibiotics could ruin modern medicine, and explains why mammograms might not be as helpful as we think.
Note: This episode's "Tell Me More" segment is an interview with Dr. Joann Elmore, a professor of medicine and epidemiology at the University of Washington.
30
4 "Adam Ruins Dating"[22] August 1, 2017 (2017-08-01) TBA 0.386[57]
In this episode, Adam swipes right on knowledge to expose the flaws in dating sites, reveal why alpha males do not really exist and explain how personality tests are a total failure.
Note: This episode's "Tell Me More" segment is an interview with Dr. David Pittenger, a professor in psychology at Marshall University.
31
5 "Adam Ruins Art"[58] August 8, 2017 (2017-08-08) TBA 0.309[59]
In this episode, Adam asks what makes art great by illustrating why certain pieces are considered classics (regardless of merit), exposing the masters as clever copycats and revealing how today's fine art market is primarily a tax dodge for the super-rich.
Note: This episode's "Tell Me More" segments are interviews with Dr. James E. Cutting, a professor of Psychology at Cornell University and Megan Fenton, one of the show's production designers.
32
6 "Adam Ruins What We Learned in School"[60] August 15, 2017 (2017-08-15) TBA 0.392[61]
In his first completely animated episode, Adam teaches us that Christopher Columbus did not discover the United States of America, King Tut was a dud, and the rules of grammar are not as ironclad as you would think.
Note: This episode's "Tell Me More" segment is a interview with Dr. Anne Curzan, a professor of English at University of Michigan.
33
7 "Adam Ruins College"[62] August 22, 2017 (2017-08-22) TBA 0.392[63]
Class is in session as Adam explains why the chances of becoming a dropout billionaire are not in your favor, why selecting a top college is harder than you think and why the once groundbreaking student loan system has created trillions of dollars in debt.
Note: This episode's "Tell Me More" segment is an interview with Cynthia Kao, one of the show staff writers, Peter Miller, a story producer for the show, and Heather Davis, an attorney who specializes in student loan law.
34
8 "Emily Ruins Adam"[62] August 29, 2017 (2017-08-29) TBA 0.357[64]
Adam's world gets turned on its head when Emily takes over to "ruin" him, pointing out where a few of his facts fall short. She debunks the idea that IQ tests measure intelligence and reveals their racist history, then does a rapid fire battle against information that Adam has gotten wrong in previous episodes. Plus, she explains the "backfire effect," and why proving someone wrong, even with hard evidence, will not necessarily convince them to change their mind.
Note: This episode's "Tell Me More" segment is an interview with Dr. Stephan Lewandowsky, professor of Cognitive Science at University of Bristol.
35
9 "Adam Ruins His Vacation"[65] September 19, 2017 (2017-09-19) TBA TBD
36
10 "Adam Ruins The Suburbs"[65] September 26, 2017 (2017-09-26) TBA TBD
Criticism[edit]
The Verge's Sean O'Kane claimed in an op-ed that "Adam Ruins Going Green" misrepresented a report on electric cars by Slate magazine. He writes, "But the biggest problem is that, when Conover makes this crucial argument in the video, he cites a piece written by Slate's senior technology writer Will Oremus in 2013 — a piece that’s more about the difficulty of parsing all this information than it is about how electric cars might be dirty. What’s more, Oremus spends a large chunk of his article explaining that how “clean” your electric car is will vary depending on where you live, because different parts of the country use different percentages of these fuel sources to generate electricity."[66]
The show released a response to O'Kane's op-ed after facing a larger than usual response to the episode. Among a general defense of the claims of the episode, they stated "Unfortunately, while the rise of EVs is an encouraging trend, the evidence shows that in many cases replacing an efficient working car with an EV like a Tesla will actually increase your carbon footprint. O’Kane’s piece presents no evidence that refutes this. In fact, behind the strong words, O’Kane affirms nearly every major point from our segment, and he argues against points we do not actually make."[67] The show also responded on their Season 2, Episode 8, correction episode "Emily Ruins Adam," saying "If that many people misread our argument, we should have done a better job explaining it." [68]
References[edit]
Jump up ^ Whitney Friedlander (January 7, 2016). "‘Billy on the Street’ Renewed for Season 5 on TruTV". Variety. Retrieved January 8, 2016.
Jump up ^ Wright, Megh (7 January 2016). "truTV Orders More ‘Billy on the Street’ and ‘Adam Ruins Everything,’ Adds ‘No Dumb Questions’ Pilot". Splitsider. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
Jump up ^ "Turner's truTV Announces 2016-17 Programming Slate with 16 New Creator-Driven Series, Pilots, Specials and Renewals". The Futon Critic. 10 May 2016. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
Jump up ^ Petski, Denise (2016-12-07). "TruTV Renews ‘Adam Ruins Everything’, ‘The Carbonaro Effect’; Greenlights Two New Series". Deadline. Retrieved 2016-12-12.
Jump up ^ "Adam Ruins Everything". Facebook. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
Jump up ^ "Adam Ruins Everything on MUCH.com". Much. Retrieved 2017-01-12.
Jump up ^ "Adam Ruins Giving on SBS". SBS. Retrieved 2016-09-25.
Jump up ^ Marc Silver (September 28, 2015). "The smart-aleck star of ‘Adam Ruins Everything’ has something to teach us". Washington Post. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
Jump up ^ ABC News. "The Truth About Where Your Donated Clothes End Up". ABC News.
Jump up ^ Metcalf, Mitch (September 30, 2015). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 100 Tuesday Cable Originals & Network Update: 9.29.2015". ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved September 1, 2016.
Jump up ^ Metcalf, Mitch (October 7, 2015). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 100 Tuesday Cable Originals & Network Update: 10.6.2015". ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved September 1, 2016.
Jump up ^ Metcalf, Mitch (October 14, 2015). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 100 Tuesday Cable Originals & Network Update: 10.13.2015". ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved September 1, 2016.
Jump up ^ Metcalf, Mitch (October 21, 2015). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 100 Tuesday Cable Originals & Network Update: 10.20.2015". ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved September 1, 2016.
Jump up ^ Metcalf, Mitch (October 28, 2015). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 100 Tuesday Cable Originals & Network Update: 10.27.2015". ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved September 1, 2016.
Jump up ^ Metcalf, Mitch (November 4, 2015). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 100 Tuesday Cable Originals & Network Update: 11.3.2015". ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved September 1, 2016.
Jump up ^ Metcalf, Mitch (November 11, 2015). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 100 Tuesday Cable Originals & Network Update: 11.10.2015". ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved September 1, 2016.
Jump up ^ Metcalf, Mitch (November 18, 2015). "EXPANDED SHOWBUZZDAILY Top 150 Tuesday Cable Originals & Network Update: 11.17.2015". ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved September 1, 2016.
Jump up ^ Metcalf, Mitch (December 2, 2015). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Tuesday Cable Originals & Network Update: 12.1.2015". ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved September 1, 2016.
Jump up ^ Metcalf, Mitch (December 9, 2015). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Tuesday Cable Originals & Network Update: 12.8.2015". ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved September 1, 2016.
Jump up ^ Metcalf, Mitch (December 16, 2015). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Tuesday Cable Originals & Network Update: 12.15.2015". ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved September 1, 2016.
Jump up ^ Metcalf, Mitch (December 23, 2015). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Tuesday Cable Originals & Network Update: 12.22.2015". ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved September 1, 2016.
^ Jump up to: a b c d "Shows A-Z - adam ruins everything on trutv". the Futon Critic. Retrieved July 12, 2017.
Jump up ^ Metcalf, Mitch (August 24, 2016). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY’s Top 150 Tuesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 8.23.2016". ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved August 24, 2016.
Jump up ^ Metcalf, Mitch (August 31, 2016). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY’s Top 150 Tuesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 8.30.2016". ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved September 1, 2016.
Jump up ^ "Sept 6 schedule". TruTV. Retrieved 2016-09-25.
Jump up ^ Metcalf, Mitch (September 8, 2016). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY’s Top 150 Tuesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 9.6.2016". ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
Jump up ^ "Sept 13 schedule". TruTV. Retrieved 2016-09-25.
Jump up ^ Metcalf, Mitch (September 14, 2016). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY’s Top 150 Tuesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 9.13.2016". ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
Jump up ^ "Sept 20 schedule". TruTV. Retrieved 2016-09-25.
Jump up ^ Metcalf, Mitch (September 21, 2016). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY’s Top 150 Tuesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 9.20.2016". ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
Jump up ^ "Sept 27 schedule". TruTV. Retrieved 2016-09-25.
Jump up ^ Metcalf, Mitch (September 28, 2016). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY’s Top 150 Tuesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 9.27.2016". ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved October 5, 2016.
Jump up ^ "Oct 4 schedule". TruTV. Retrieved 2016-09-25.
Jump up ^ Metcalf, Mitch (October 5, 2016). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY’s Top 150 Tuesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 10.4.2016". ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved October 5, 2016.
Jump up ^ "truTV Show Schedule". Retrieved 27 October 2016.
Jump up ^ Metcalf, Mitch (October 26, 2016). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY’s Top 150 Tuesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 10.25.2016". ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved October 26, 2016.
Jump up ^ "Showfax, Inc. web page". Showfax. Retrieved August 17, 2016.
Jump up ^ "truTV Show Schedule". Retrieved 27 October 2016.
Jump up ^ Metcalf, Mitch (November 16, 2016). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY’s Top 150 Tuesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 11.15.2016". ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved November 23, 2016.
Jump up ^ "truTV Show Schedule". Retrieved 27 October 2016.
Jump up ^ Metcalf, Mitch (November 23, 2016). "UPDATED SHOWBUZZDAILY’s Top 150 Tuesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 11.22.2016". ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved November 23, 2016.
Jump up ^ "truTV Show Schedule". Retrieved November 23, 2016.
Jump up ^ Metcalf, Mitch (November 30, 2016). "SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Tuesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 11.29.2016". ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved December 30, 2016.
Jump up ^ "truTV Show Schedule". Retrieved November 23, 2016.
Jump up ^ Metcalf, Mitch (December 7, 2016). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Tuesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 12.6.2016". ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved December 30, 2016.
Jump up ^ "truTV Show Schedule". Retrieved November 14, 2016.
Jump up ^ Metcalf, Mitch (December 14, 2016). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Tuesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 12.13.2016". ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved December 30, 2016.
Jump up ^ "truTV Schedule". Retrieved November 23, 2016.
Jump up ^ Metcalf, Mitch (December 21, 2016). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Tuesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 12.20.2016". ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved December 30, 2016.
Jump up ^ truTV (21 December 2016). "Adam Ruins Everything - The Corporate Conspiracy to Blame You for Their Trash". Retrieved 25 January 2017 – via YouTube.
Jump up ^ truTV (22 December 2016). "Adam Ruins Everything - Climate Change is Already Happening. Now what?". Retrieved 25 January 2017 – via YouTube.
Jump up ^ "truTV Schedule". Retrieved November 29, 2016.
Jump up ^ Metcalf, Mitch (December 29, 2016). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Tuesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 12.27.2016". ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved December 30, 2016.
Jump up ^ "SHOWBUZZDAILY Cable Ratings". SHOWBUZZDAILY. Retrieved July 12, 2017.
Jump up ^ "SHOWBUZZDAILY Cable Ratings". SHOWBUZZDAILY. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
Jump up ^ "SHOWBUZZDAILY Cable Ratings". SHOWBUZZDAILY. Retrieved July 26, 2017.
Jump up ^ "SHOWBUZZDAILY Cable Ratings". SHOWBUZZDAILY. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
Jump up ^ "truTV Show Schedule". truTV. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
Jump up ^ "SHOWBUZZDAILY Cable Ratings". SHOWBUZZDAILY. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
Jump up ^ "truTV Show Schedule". truTV. Retrieved August 5, 2017.
Jump up ^ "SHOWBUZZDAILY Cable Ratings". SHOWBUZZDAILY. Retrieved August 16, 2017.
^ Jump up to: a b "Shows A-Z - adam ruins everything on trutv". the Futon Critic. Retrieved August 5, 2017.
Jump up ^ "SHOWBUZZDAILY Cable Ratings". SHOWBUZZDAILY. Retrieved August 23, 2017.
Jump up ^ "SHOWBUZZDAILY Cable Ratings". SHOWBUZZDAILY. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
^ Jump up to: a b "Shows A-Z - adam ruins everything on trutv". the Futon Critic. Retrieved September 3, 2017.
Jump up ^ O'Kane, Sean (2016-12-29). "The Adam Ruins Everything takedown of electric cars is wrong because it's built on lazy research". The Verge. Retrieved 2017-07-26.
Jump up ^ Conover, Adam; Miller, Peter (2017-01-11). "Adam Ruins Everything Responds to The Verge". Medium. Retrieved 2017-07-26.
Jump up ^ "Adam Ruins Everything Corrects Itself". YouTube. College Humor. Retrieved 8 September 2017.
External links[edit]
Official website
Official playlist of Adam Ruins Everything (Mar 2017). College Humor. playlist on YouTube, including the original mini-series
Adam Ruins Everything on IMDb

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Prime Minister's Questions
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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This article is about Questions in Parliament to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. For regular ministerial questioning, see question time.
David Cameron at the dispatch box, circa 2011
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Prime Minister's Questions (often abbreviated to PMQs and officially known as Questions to the Prime Minister) is a constitutional convention in the United Kingdom, currently held as a single session every Wednesday at noon when the House of Commons is sitting, during which the Prime Minister spends around half an hour answering questions from Members of Parliament (MPs).[1]
Contents
[hide]
1 History
2 Practice
2.1 Deputy Prime Minister's Questions
2.2 Concerns over noise levels
3 Leaders at the dispatch box since 1961
4 Public perception
5 References
6 External links
History[edit]
Although prime ministers have answered questions in parliament for centuries, until the 1880s questions to the prime minister were treated the same as questions to other Ministers of the Crown: asked without notice, on days when ministers were available in whatever order MPs rose to ask them.[2] In 1881 fixed time-limits for questions were introduced and questions to the prime minister were moved to the last slot of the day as a courtesy to the 72-year-old prime minister at the time, William Gladstone, so he could come to the Commons later in the day. In 1953, when Winston Churchill was prime minister, it was agreed that questions would be submitted on fixed days (Tuesdays and Thursdays).[2]
A Procedure Committee report in 1959 recommended that questions to the prime minister be taken in two fixed-period, 15-minute slots on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. The recommendations were put into practice under Harold Macmillan during a successful experiment from 18 July 1961 to the end of the session (4 August).[3] The very first question was delivered by Labour MP Fenner Brockway, asking to which Minister the UK Ambassador to South Africa would be responsible.[4] In response to the Prime Minister's answer, Brockway said "May I express our appreciation of this new arrangement for answering Questions and the hope that it will be convenient for the Prime Minister as well as useful to the House?"[4] PMQs were made permanent in the following parliamentary session, with the first of these on 24 October 1961.[2][5][6]
The style and culture of PMQs has changed gradually over time. According to Speaker Selwyn Lloyd, the now famous disorderly behaviour of MPs during PMQs first arose as a result of the personal animosity between Harold Wilson and Edward Heath; before this PMQs had been lively but comparatively civilised.[2][7] In the past, prime ministers often opted to transfer questions to the relevant minister, and Leaders of the Opposition did not always take their allocated number of questions in some sessions, sometimes opting not to ask any questions at all. This changed during the premiership of Margaret Thatcher, when the prime minister chose not to transfer any questions to other members of her Cabinet, and Labour leader Neil Kinnock would always take his full allocation of questions.[2]
The chamber is much busier than at most other times.
One of Tony Blair's first acts as prime minister was to replace the two 15-minute sessions with a single 30-minute session on Wednesdays, initially at 3 p.m. but since 2003 at noon.[2] The allocated number of questions in each session for the Leader of the Opposition was doubled from three to six, and the leader of the third-largest party in the Commons was given two questions. The first PMQs to use this new format took place on 21 May 1997.[8] Speaker John Bercow has routinely allowed the session to overrun its allotted 30 minutes by 10 to 20 minutes to allow more questions, though without objection from either front bench.
During the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government from 2010–2015, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, as a member of the government, did not ask questions during PMQs.[9] Instead the leader of the second largest parliamentary opposition party at the time, Nigel Dodds of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), usually asked a single question later in the session followed by at least one MP from another smaller party such as the Scottish National Party or Plaid Cymru.
Practice[edit]
The Order Paper for Wednesday, 24 June 2009.
"Number One, Mr Speaker": The standard opening of Prime Minister's Questions.
Backbench MPs wishing to ask a question must enter their names on the Order Paper. The names of entrants are then shuffled in a ballot to produce a random order in which they will be called by the Speaker. The Speaker will then call on MPs to put their questions, usually in an alternating fashion: one MP from the government benches is followed by one from the opposition benches. MPs who are not selected may be chosen to ask a supplementary question if they "catch the eye" of the Speaker, which is done by standing and sitting immediately before the prime minister gives an answer.
The Leader of the Opposition usually asks six questions at PMQs, either as a whole block or in two separate groups of three. If the first question is asked by a government backbencher, the Leader of the Opposition is the second MP to ask questions. If the first question is asked by an opposition MP, this will be followed by a question from a government MP and then by the questions from the Leader of the Opposition. The leader of the third largest parliamentary party (the Liberal Party until 1988, the Liberal Democrats from 1988–2010 and the Scottish National Party from 2015) would then ask two questions.
The first formal question on the Order Paper, posed by simply saying "Number one, Mr. Speaker", is usually to ask the Prime Minister "if s/he will list his/her engagements for the day". The Prime Minister usually replies:
“ This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in the House, I shall have further such meetings later today.[10][11][12][13][14][15] ”
Before listing the day's engagements, the Prime Minister sometimes extends condolences or offers congratulations after significant events. During the Iraq War, Tony Blair introduced the practice of naming any British military personnel who had been killed in service since the last time he addressed the House. The practice has been continued by Blair's successors as prime minister. After this, the MP may ask a supplementary question about any subject which might occupy the Prime Minister's time. Most MPs table the same engagements question and so after it has been asked for the first time, any other MPs who have tabled the same question are simply called to ask an untabled question, meaning that the Prime Minister will not know what questions will be asked.[16]
Occasionally the first question tabled is on a specific area of policy, not the engagements question. This, though, is quite rare as it would allow the Prime Minister to prepare a response in advance; the non-descript question allows some chance of catching him or her out with an unexpected supplementary question.[16]
At times of national or personal tragedy or crisis, PMQs have been temporarily suspended. The last such suspension occurred on 25 February 2009 when the Speaker, at the request of Prime Minister Gordon Brown, suspended the Commons until 12:30 p.m. as a mark of respect following the unexpected death of Opposition leader David Cameron's son. Prime Minister's Questions was also suspended after the sudden death of the leader of the Labour Party, John Smith, in 1994.[17]
PMQs has been filmed since 1989, and have been broadcast live since 1990.[18] They are broadcast live in the United Kingdom on the BBC Two and BBC Parliament TV channels. It is also broadcast outside the United Kingdom, most notably on the US cable network C-SPAN[19] and has been spoofed on the American late-night television sketch comedy Saturday Night Live.[20] In a C-SPAN interview in 1991, shortly after the network started to broadcast PMQs, US President George H. W. Bush said, "I count my blessings for the fact I don't have to go into that pit that John Major stands in, nose-to-nose with the opposition, all yelling at each other."[21]
Deputy Prime Minister's Questions[edit]
If the Prime Minister is away on official business when PMQs is scheduled, their role is usually filled by the Deputy Prime Minister.[22] If this office is not occupied or the Deputy Prime Minister is not available, the next most senior member of the Cabinet will receive questions (such as the First Secretary of State or the Deputy Leader of the government party).[23] In the absence of the Leader of the Opposition, the opposition questions will be led by the deputy leader of the opposition.[22] Since opposite numbers usually coordinate absences, the PM's deputy and the Leader of the Opposition's usually face each other rather than the opposite leader.
During the 2010–15 Cameron–Clegg coalition the deputy Prime Minister and Liberal Democrats leader Nick Clegg took his own questions on the fourth Tuesday. He was faced by Labour's Harriet Harman.
Concerns over noise levels[edit]
On 17 April 2014, Speaker Bercow told the BBC that the "histrionics and cacophony of noise" in PMQs were so bad that a number of female MPs had told him they would stop attending. Bercow described it as being a "real problem" and that "A number of seasoned parliamentarians, who are not shrinking violets, not delicate creatures at all, are saying, 'This is so bad that I am not going to take part, I am not going to come along, I feel embarrassed by it.'"[24] Since becoming Leader of the Opposition, Jeremy Corbyn has attempted to reform PMQs by using questions submitted by members of the public and attempting to reduce the theatrical element.[25][26] YouGov polling of viewers suggests that Corbyn has failed in his attempts to reform PMQs, with 77% of respondents revealing that it consists of 'too much point scoring'.[27][28] This is an increase of 31% since Corbyn became leader of the opposition in 2015.
Leaders at the dispatch box since 1961[edit]
The most high-profile contributors at Prime Minister's questions are the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition, who speak opposite each other at the dispatch box. Regular, fixed sessions have taken place since 1961, and the list below outlines the prime ministers since 1961 and Opposition party leaders they faced across the floor of the House of Commons, as well as the secondary opposition leader since 1997 (usually the leader of third largest party within the House of Commons):
Party key
Conservative Liberal Democrats
Labour Scottish National Party
Prime Minister
Leader of the Opposition
Secondary Opposition Leader
Years
Harold Macmillan Hugh Gaitskell None 1961–1963
George Brown 1963
Harold Wilson 1963
Alec Douglas-Home 1963–1964
Harold Wilson Alec Douglas-Home 1964–1965
Edward Heath 1965–1970
Edward Heath Harold Wilson 1970–1974
Harold Wilson Edward Heath 1974–1975
Margaret Thatcher 1975–1976
James Callaghan 1976–1979
Margaret Thatcher James Callaghan 1979–1980
Michael Foot 1980–1983
Neil Kinnock 1983–1990
John Major 1990–1992
John Smith 1992–1994
Margaret Beckett 1994
Tony Blair 1994–1997
Tony Blair John Major Paddy Ashdown 1997
William Hague 1997–1999
Charles Kennedy 1999–2001
Iain Duncan Smith 2001–2003
Michael Howard 2003–2005
David Cameron 2005–2006
Menzies Campbell 2006–07
Gordon Brown 2007–2010
Vince Cable 2007
Nick Clegg 2007–2010
David Cameron Harriet Harman None 2010
Ed Miliband 2010–2015
Harriet Harman Angus Robertson 2015
Jeremy Corbyn 2015–2016
Theresa May 2016–2017
Ian Blackford 2017–
Public perception[edit]
PMQs is widely seen as an important part of British political culture. Due to the drama of the sessions, it is among the best-known parliamentary business in the country, with tickets to the Strangers' Gallery (the public gallery) for Wednesdays being the most sought-after parliamentary tickets by members of the British public.
References[edit]
Jump up ^ "Prime Minister's Questions". BBC News Online. 24 January 2006.
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Bercow, John (6 July 2010). "Speech: New Parliament, New Opportunity". House of Commons Library. parliament.uk. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
Jump up ^ "Questions to the Prime Minister". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). United Kingdom: House of Commons. 18 July 1961. col. 1052–1052.
^ Jump up to: a b "Ambassador to South Africa". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). United Kingdom: House of Commons. 18 July 1961. col. 1052–1053.
Jump up ^ "Questions to the Prime Minister". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). United Kingdom: House of Commons. 24 October 1961. col. 740–747.
Jump up ^ "What are Prime Minister's Questions?". number10.gov.uk. 21 January 2004. Archived from the original on 9 September 2008. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
Jump up ^ Lloyd, Selwyn (1976). Mr. Speaker, sir. ISBN 978-0-224-01318-5.
Jump up ^ "Questions to the Prime Minister". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). United Kingdom: House of Commons. 21 May 1997. col. 702–712.
Jump up ^ "What is Prime minister's questions?". BBC News. 2 June 2010.
Jump up ^ "Questions to the Prime Minister". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). United Kingdom: House of Commons. 1989-11-14. col. 178–179.
Jump up ^ "Questions to the Prime Minister". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). United Kingdom: House of Commons. 1990-12-18. col. 150–151.
Jump up ^ "Questions to the Prime Minister". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). United Kingdom: House of Commons. 1997-11-19. col. 318–319.
Jump up ^ "Questions to the Prime Minister". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). United Kingdom: House of Commons. 2007-10-10. col. 286–287.
Jump up ^ "Questions to the Prime Minister". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). United Kingdom: House of Commons. 2010-06-30. col. 852–853.
Jump up ^ "Questions to the Prime Minister". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). United Kingdom: House of Commons. 2016-10-12. col. 293–294.
^ Jump up to: a b "Question Time". House of Commons Library. parliament.uk. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
Jump up ^ Andrew Grice (26 February 2009). "Politics put on hold as House mourns death of leader's son". The Independent. independent.co.uk. Retrieved 2009-02-26. CS1 maint: Uses authors parameter (link)
Jump up ^ "Camera crews allowed into Prime Minister's Questions". BBC News Online. 14 May 2014. Archived from the original on 8 November 2014. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
Jump up ^ "British House of Commons Prime Minister's Questions". C-SPAN. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
Jump up ^ "Prime Minister's Questions". The SNL Archives. Retrieved 25 July 2010. , describing episodes of 22 March 1997 and 2 May 1998.
Jump up ^ "George H. W. Bush on PMQs", C-SPAN, YouTube, 20 December 1991
^ Jump up to: a b "Prime Minister's Questions: 12 March 2014". UK Parliament. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
Jump up ^ Williamson, David. "In a PMQs without the PM, William Hague and Harriet Harman join forces to love-bomb the Scots". Wales Online. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
Jump up ^ "Female MPs shunning PMQs, says John Bercow". 17 April 2014. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
Jump up ^ "Jeremy Corbyn asks David Cameron 'questions from public'". BBC News. BBC. 16 September 2015. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
Jump up ^ Guardian staff (16 September 2015). "The Guardian view on Jeremy Corbyn’s PMQs debut: a very reasonable start". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
Jump up ^ Hardman, Isabel (1 March 2017). "How Corbyn failed to transform PMQs | Coffee House". The Spectator. Retrieved 16 March 2017.
Jump up ^ Deacon, Michael. "PMQs is growing worse by the week. Shall we just abolish it?". The Telegraph. Retrieved 16 March 2017.
External links[edit]
"Prime Minister's Questions". Parliament's website. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
"Prime Minister's Questions". BBC Parliament. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
"Audio podcast of PMQs". The Guardian. London. 7 February 2008. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
"British House of Commons Prime Minister's Questions". C-SPAN. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
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