In her later years, when the Mary Celeste inevitably lost her owners money, most of them just sold her. Yesterday UKTV. The pair established that this was the Mary Celeste by the name on her stern;[46] they then climbed aboard and found the ship deserted. Hypotheses that have been advanced include the effects on the crew of alcohol fumes rising from the cargo, submarine earthquakes, waterspouts, attack by a giant squid, and paranormal intervention. [10][11] In 1863 Parker was succeeded by William Thompson, who remained in command until 1867. The ship's erratic movements and the odd set of her sails led Morehouse to suspect that something was wrong. Parker was additionally charged with "wilfully cast[ing] away the ship," a crime known as barratry and at the time carrying the death penalty. [65] On January 29, during a series of sharp exchanges with Flood, Winchester testified to Briggs's high character, and insisted that Briggs would not have abandoned the ship except in extremity. The last log entry was dated ten days earlier (25 november). Seven years later, she was transferred to American ownership, and was re-christened as the Mary Celeste . However, due to absence of signs of explosion or fire, the theory was discarded. [6], For her maiden voyage in June 1861, Amazon sailed to Five Islands to take on a cargo of timber for passage across the Atlantic to London. Mary Celeste (/səˈlɛst/) (erroneously referred to as Marie Celeste[1]) was an American merchant brigantine discovered adrift and deserted in the Atlantic Ocean off the Azores Islands on December 4, 1872. [i] Conan Doyle had not expected his story to be taken seriously, but Sprague was still serving as the U.S. consul in Gibraltar[j] and was sufficiently intrigued to inquire if any part of the story might be true. 19. The Mary Celeste. In the episode "Flight Through Eternity" (1965) the Doctor's time machine the TARDIS materialises on the Mary Celeste. She had left New York City for Genoa on November 7 and was still amply provisioned when found. However, the personal belongings of the crew and captain and cargo of ... Facts about Mary Celeste 3: launching. He also asks why Briggs left his son Arthur behind if he intended to disappear permanently. [99] Nevertheless, the story was so convincingly told that the New York Herald Tribune of July 26, 1926 thought its truth beyond dispute. Whatever the case be, the truth is that the mystery of Mary Celeste is yet to be unraveled and no one has any clue regarding the events that led to the mysterious disappearance of the vessel. 237–38, Shufeldt's report is included in Fay, pp. The fire was burning in the galley. "[36], On Tuesday morning, Mary Celeste left Pier 50 with Briggs, his wife and daughter, and seven crew members, and moved into New York Harbor. [28], Briggs chose the crew for this voyage with care. Morehouse expected to earn a good share of the salvaged ship and its cargo according to the then maritime laws. Lockhart later spoke to Briggs's descendants, and he apologized and withdrew this theory in a later edition of his book. [142], In November 2007, the Smithsonian Channel screened a documentary, The True Story of the Mary Celeste, which investigated many aspects of the case without offering any definite solution. The Mary Celeste, December 5th, 1872. The ship was in seaworthy and could be easily repaired by an onboard crew. Stories October 29, 2019. A man named Dewis headed the consortium while one of the partners was by the name Robert McLellan. "[140] A 1938 short film titled The Ship That Died presents dramatizations of a range of theories to explain the abandonment: mutiny, fear of explosion due to alcohol fumes, and the supernatural. Flood was described by a historian of the Mary Celeste affair as a man "whose arrogance and pomposity were inversely proportional to his IQ",[53] and as "... the sort of man who, once he had made up his mind about something, couldn't be shifted. Lionel and Patricia Fanthorpe report the friendship and the farewell dinner as facts, "Sea time" in the 19th century was 12 hours, In disputing Flood's theory, Fay draws attention to the case of the. Galley equipment was neatly stowed away; there was no food prepared or under preparation, but there were ample provisions in the stores. For next three years, the ship sailed several times but never had an uneventful year until she set out for sail in 1872, which turned out to be the year of doom for the ship. [50], Deveau returned to report these findings to Morehouse, who decided to bring the derelict into Gibraltar 600 nautical miles (1,100 km) away. In 1884, Parker and a group of Boston… [82][83] Deveau ventured an explanation based on the sounding rod found on deck. Salvaged and repaired in 1868, she was renamed the Mary Celeste by her new owners. Nearly a month later, on December 5, the crew of the Dei Gratia spotted the Mary … Smithsonian Channel offers powerful documentaries and shows exploring history, science, nature, aviation, space and pop culture. Discover your favorite shows now. The Mary Celeste had been used for transporting coal, which is known for its dust, before it was loaded with industrial alcohol. The Mary Celeste set sail in 1872, aiming to travel from New York to Genoa. [30] Second mate Andrew Gilling, aged about 25, was born in New York, and was of Danish extraction. [15][b], In October 1869, the ship was seized by Haines's creditors,[18] and sold to a New York consortium headed by James H. Winchester. Briggs was accompanied by his infant daughter and wife. Its cargo was intact. The sails were partly set and in a poor condition, some missing altogether, and much of the rigging was damaged with ropes hanging loosely over the sides. "[101], In 1924, the Daily Express published a story by Captain R. Lucy, whose alleged informant was Mary Celeste's former bosun,[102] although no such person is recorded in the registered crew list. David Morehouse was taken aback to … He had a … However, Charles Edey Fay observes that pirates would have looted the ship, yet the personal possessions of captain and crew were left undisturbed, some of significant value. 29. 229–35, The analysis report, by a Dr. J. Patron, is included as Appendix Q, Fay, pp. A man from Nova Scotia’s Glace Bay by the name of Alexander McBean acquired Amazon as a derelict on October 15 the same year. The lifeboat was missing, yet the Mary Celeste herself was still under … They could not find any prepared food or food under preparation but noticed an ample amount of provision stored. On Nov. 7, 1872, Captain Benjamin Briggs and the crew of the Mary Celeste, a merchant ship with a cargo of denatured alcohol, had left New York Harbor for Genoa, Italy. Flood, and some newspaper reports, briefly suspected insurance fraud on the part of Winchester on the basis that Mary Celeste had been heavily over-insured. It was originally named the Amazon. This theory was later revived after an ULC scientist proved that a pressure-wave type explosion can lead to a spectacular flame wave but with a relatively colder air wave following the flame wave can prevent burning or scorching and even soot deposit. [m] In 1935, the British film company Hammer Film Productions issued The Mystery of the Mary Celeste[139] (retitled Phantom Ship for American audiences), starring Bela Lugosi as a deranged sailor. Home Introduction The Events The Inquiry Captain Briggs Conclusions News. Her cargo of denatured alcohol was intact, and the captain's and crew's personal belongings were undisturbed. Becoming the hallmark of one-of-a-kind mystery, Mary Celeste became the center of heated debate and ironically, none of the parties have own it with a conclusive argument that can be widely accepted. Dei Gratia reached Gibraltar on December 12; Mary Celeste had encountered fog and arrived on the following morning. After the Gibraltar hearings, Mary Celeste continued in service under new owners. The last entry on the Mary Celeste’s log was dated 25 November which means the ship was adrift for … Among many inaccuracies, the first mate was "a man named Briggs," and there were live chickens on board. It was originally a British-registered ship with the name Amazon. The Mary Celeste was a merchant brigantine that was launched under British registration in 1861 as Amazon. On board were the ship’s captain, … "[134], The Mary Celeste story inspired two well-received radio plays in the 1930s, by L. Du Garde Peach and Tim Healey respectively,[136][137] and a stage version of Peach's play in 1949. Mary Celeste left for the destination on November 7, 1872. The inconclusive nature of the hearings fostered continued speculation as to the nature of the mystery, and the story has repeatedly been complicated by false detail and fantasy. Mary Celeste, formerly Amazon, American brigantine that was found abandoned on December 5, 1872, some 400 nautical miles (740 km) from the Azores, Portugal. It was originally a British-registered ship with the... 2. . The filmmakers postulated that the chronometer was faulty, meaning that Briggs could have ordered abandonment thinking that they were close to Santa Maria when they were 120 miles (190 km) farther west. A ship known as the Mary Celeste, which was discovered adrift and deserted in the Atlantic. 2. One of the theories suggested that the crew of Mary Celeste was killed by Del Gratia’s crew so that Morehouse and his crew can grab the salvage earning. [60] Flood thought that Morehouse and his men were hiding something, specifically that Mary Celeste had been abandoned in a more easterly location, and that the log had been doctored. When Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote a book about the ship in 1894, he called it the Marie Celeste. Deveau and Wright noticed the name ‘Mary Celeste’ on the vessel’s stern and immediately recognized it as the ship that left 8 days prior to Del Gratia’s departure. The Ghost Ship may be the best example of the old proverb that the sea never gives up its secrets. [107] Other explanations have suggested paranormal intervention; an undated edition of the British Journal of Astrology describes the Mary Celeste story as "a mystical experience", connecting it "with the Great Pyramid of Gizeh, the lost continent of Atlantis, and the British Israel Movement". [85], Other proffered explanations are the possible appearance of a displaced iceberg, the fear of running aground while becalmed, and a sudden seaquake. [15] The work increased the ship's tonnage to 282.28. This left them completely baffled. 10. "[52], The salvage court hearings began in Gibraltar on December 17, 1872, under Sir James Cochrane, the chief justice of Gibraltar. 7. [88] Briggs's cousin Oliver Cobb was a strong proponent of this theory as providing a sufficiently alarming scenario—rumblings from the hold, the smell of escaping fumes and possibly an explosion—for Briggs to have ordered the evacuation of the ship. On October 29, 1872, the consortium was made up of Winchester with six-twelfths and two minor investors with one-twelfth apiece, with the remaining four-twelfths held by the ship's new captain, Benjamin Spooner Briggs. Between 1869 to 1872, Mary Celeste went through a major structural overhaul with its length being increased to 103 feet, its width increased to 25.7 feet and its depth increased to 16.2 feet. The two men could not find the navigational instruments of captain. 1. A new captain, Thomas L. Fleming, remained in the post until August 1884, when he was replaced by Gilman C. A local businessman purchased Amazon from McBean in November and the same month next year, the businessman sold the ship to American Mariner named Richard W. Haines for a price of USD 1,750. However, the new registration took place with the new name Mary Celeste. Some said that Briggs and Morehouse planned the entire thing so that they could collectively enjoy the salvage earnings and in order get away with the entire thing, Briggs decided to vanish with his wife, daughter and the entire crew. Denatured alcohol is poisonous by nature and Mary Celeste had to carry 1,701 barrels of this poisonous substance. [37], While Mary Celeste prepared to sail, the Canadian brigantine Dei Gratia lay nearby in Hoboken, New Jersey, awaiting a cargo of petroleum destined for Genoa via Gibraltar. (1) Before getting the name Mary Celeste, the vessel was known by the name of Amazon. On Dec. 4, after roughly a month at sea, the crew of a Canadian vessel, the Dei Gratia, sighted an odd vessel sailing toward them off the coast of the Azores. [74][75], Another theory posits that Briggs and Morehouse were partners in a conspiracy to share the salvage proceedings. They also found that the lifeboat was missing and the daily log recovered from mate’s room had records from November 25th. Sella built a model of the hold, with paper cartons representing the barrels. ( Archivist /Adobe Stock) The Mary Celeste’s Crew . One month later, she was discovered — completely abandoned but undamaged-off the coast of Portugal. The Mary Celeste was originally launched in 1861 as Amazon, before she was renamed in 1868 1. [145], This article is about the actual ship Mary Celeste. The November 1906 Overland Monthly and Out West Magazine reported that Mary Celeste drifted off the Cape Verde Islands, some 1,400 nautical mile… All but one of the sons went to sea, two becoming captains. David Wright, the affair's principal historian, has described the case as "... a classic marine mystery of Mary Celeste proportions. [44] Deveau saw that the cabin interiors were wet and untidy from water that had entered through doorways and skylights, but were otherwise in reasonable order. The ship had started its voyage with the captain Benjamin Briggs, his wife and daughter and seven … Stemple, is a look at the disappearance of the crew of the Mary Celeste in 1872 in the Atlantic Ocean. [128], Mary Celeste was not the first reported case of a ship being found strangely deserted on the high seas. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. [39] Captain David Morehouse and first mate Oliver Deveau were Nova Scotians, both highly experienced and respected seamen. "If the Mary Celeste had blown her timbers, she would still have been a better bet for survival than the ship's boat." 1701 barrels were loaded and on November the 7 th, the crew set sail along with their cargo. She crossed the Atlantic to France in November 1861,[7] and in Marseille was the subject of a painting, possibly by Honoré de Pellegrin, a well-known maritime artist of the Marseilles School. Facts about Mary Celeste … [127] However, dendrochronological tests carried out by Scott St George of the Geological Survey of Canada showed that the wood came from trees, most probably from the US state of Georgia, that would still have been growing in 1894, about ten years after Mary Celeste's demise. There has never been a clear consensus on any one scenario. The last entry in her log was dated ten days earlier. The historian Charles Edey Fay gives different details of the first voyage. 21. Begg observes that "if the court of man could not punish these men ... the curse that had devilled the ship since her first skipper Robert McLellan had died on her maiden voyage could reach beyond the vessel's watery grave and exact its own terrible retribution. [13][14], Within a month, McBean sold the wreck to a local businessman, who in November 1868, sold it to Richard W. Haines, an American mariner from New York. The Mary Celeste set sail from New York harbor in November 1872. The weakness of this theory is that, if the ship had been becalmed, all sails would have been set to catch any available breeze, yet it was found with many of its sails furled. As the abruptly floating vessel drew closer and closer to Del Gratia, Morehouse noticed that the deck of the vessel was empty and no one could be seen. The Canadian brigantine Dei Gratia found her in a dishevelled but seaworthy condition under partial sail and with her lifeboat missing. Mary Celeste was a 100-foot long brigantine made in Canada. [138] Several novels have been published, generally offering natural rather than fantastic explanations. 8 days later, Dei Gratia left Gibraltar from Hoboken, New Jersey with a petroleu cargo. The rest of the ship's company is killed, save for Jephson who is spared because he possesses a magical charm that is venerated by Goring and his accomplices. [8][9] John Nutting Parker took over as captain, and resumed the voyage to London, in the course of which Amazon encountered further misadventures. [59] These findings strengthened Flood's suspicions that human wrongdoing rather than natural disaster lay behind the mystery. All except Fosdyk were drowned or eaten by sharks. "[91], Fact and fiction became intertwined in the decades that followed. A young girl realtes the facts and theories about the case, and challenges readers to solve the mystery. However, this was later dismissed because MacGregor who created a series of investigative documentaries about Mary Celeste said that the German brothers actually lost all their personal belongings in a ship wreck in 1872 and never carried anything with them when they boarded Mary Celeste. Parker commandeered the ship for two years. No one ever found out, but this fascinating and informative treatment offers clues and hypotheses. It was the Mary Celeste, a merchant brigantine that had set sail from New York on 7 November, bound for Genoa, loaded with industrial alcohol. Directed by Anne MacGregor. Bonus Materials: The Titanic Listening & activities (MP3) see right. McLellan was the first captain of the ship. Hydrographical evidence suggests that an iceberg drifting so far south was improbable, and other ships would have seen it if there were one. The pump was found disassembled on deck, so the crew may have been attempting to repair it. Although these conclusions were made known to Cochrane and Flood, their publication was withheld for 14 years, enabling stories of likely bloodshed and violence to linger in the public mind. He could not accept that Mary Celeste could have traveled so far while unmanned. During the next three years, the composition of this consortium changed several times, although Winchester retained at least a half-share throughout. [144] Postage stamps commemorating the incident have been issued by Gibraltar (twice) and by the Maldives (twice, once with the name of the ship misspelt as Marie Celeste). Further investigation revealed that the water had entered from skylight and doorways and the cabin of the ship’s mate was untidy and wet. 26. [44] As the vessel drew close, he could see nobody on deck, and he received no reply to his signals, so he sent Deveau and second mate John Wright in a ship's boat to investigate. The Mary Celeste was a 107 foot-long brigantine vessel with a 26 foot-long beam. It was stocked with alcohol – to be precise, a rather poisonous form of denatured alcohol. She collided with fishing equipment in the narrows off Eastport, Maine, and after leaving London ran into and sank a brig in the English Channel. 7 years later, in 1868, the ship changed hands and went into American registration and ownership. The ship was originally built to be 25.5 feet in width, 99.3 feet in length and 11.7 feet in depth and had a weight of 198.42 tons. The Mary Celeste, (TV: The Eaters of Light) or Marie Celeste, (COMIC: A Stitch in Time) as it was sometimes wrongly named, was a merchant ship (PROSE: A History of Humankind) commanded by Captain Benjamin Briggs. The Mary Celeste was partially under sail and abandoned. Several explanations have been put forward to explain the mysterious fate of Mary Celeste. "[102], Chambers's Journal of September 17, 1904 suggests that the entire complement of Mary Celeste was plucked off one by one by a giant octopus or squid. The Mary Celeste: An Unsolved Mystery from History by Jane Yolen, illustrated Heidi E.Y. Conan Doyle's story "J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement" did not adhere to the facts. In December 1868, Amazon was registered as an American vessel with Collector of Customs in New York. The barratry charge against Parker was deferred, and he was allowed to go free. [133] None of those aboard was seen again, and a commission of inquiry failed to establish an explanation. [122][123], When the consul reported that what he had bought was almost worthless,[124] the ship's insurers began a thorough investigation, which soon revealed the truth of the over-insured cargo. 5. Benjamin Spooner Briggs (April 24, 1835 – likely November 1872) was an experienced United States seaman and master mariner.He was the Captain of the merchant ship Mary Celeste, which was discovered unmanned and drifting in the Atlantic Ocean midway between the Azores and the coast of Portugal on December 4, 1872. Nevertheless, his professional reputation was ruined, and he died in poverty three months later. The lack of damage from an explosion and the generally sound state of the cargo upon discovery tend to weaken this case. They had cut the bows to simulate a collision, then fled in the yawl to suffer an unknown fate. Two children were born: son Arthur in September 1865, and daughter Sophia Matilda in October 1870. )", "Solved: The mystery of the Mary Celeste", "Oldest Consul Is Dead: Horatio J. Sprague Had Represented This Country at Gibraltar Since 1848", "A Brig's Officers Believed to be Murdered at Sea", "A Mystery of the Sea: Fate of the Captain, his Wife, the Mate and Crew of the Mary Celeste", "Dating of Wreck's Timbers Puts Wind in Sails of the 'Mary Celeste' Mystery", "Author Says He's Solved MV Joyita Mystery, 47 Years Later", "Thinking With Your Hands: Dal students create outdoor cinema in Spencer's Island", "Skeptoid #289: The Mystery of the Mary Celeste", Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1867, Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1872, Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1885, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mary_Celeste&oldid=995964212, Missing person cases in the United States, Pages containing links to subscription-only content, Short description is different from Wikidata, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Articles with Encyclopædia Britannica links, Wikipedia articles with WorldCat-LCCN identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. [100] Hastings describes Keating's hoax as "an impudent trick by a man not without imaginative ability. [132] The vessel was found a month later, deserted and drifting north of Vanua Levu, 600 miles (970 km) from its route. The pursuing Daleks also materialise, in their own time machine, causing the terrified crew of Mary Celeste to throw themselves into the sea. It was launched in the same year which also happened to be the year when the American Civil War broke out. For the fictional ship Marie Celeste inspired by and often confused with it, see, Ship found abandoned in the Atlantic Ocean in 1872. [73] In 1931, an article in the Quarterly Review suggested that Morehouse could have lain in wait for Mary Celeste, then lured Briggs and his crew aboard Dei Gratia and killed them there. But let us go back in time to 1872 when ships were made of wood, powered by wind and sail, and the crew sometimes vanished... without any trace. 12. © 2020 | Facts Legend | A Unit of Akṣa Ventures. Mary Celeste was tasked with job of carrying a cargo of denatured alcohol from New York to Genoa. [47] There was about 3.5 feet (1.1 m) of water in the hold, a significant but not alarming amount for a ship of this size. [75][77], In Cobb's view, the transfer of personnel to the yawl may have been intended as a temporary safety measure. The remainder of the barrels were intact. [80] Macdonald Hastings points out that Briggs was an experienced captain and asks whether he would have effected a panicked abandonment. Mary Celeste Worksheet [48] A makeshift sounding rod (a device for measuring the amount of water in the hold) was found abandoned on the deck. 2. Mary Celeste was an American merchant brigantine that was found adrift and deserted in the Atlantic Ocean, off the Azores Islands, Portugal, on 4 december 1872, by the Canadian brigantine Dei Gratia.She was in a disheveled but seaworthy condition, under partial sail, with no one on board, and her lifeboat missing. Needless to say, despite the amazing demonstration, the theory was not taken as final one because there was no proof to back the theory. Here are 20 Facts about the mysterious Mary Celeste ghost ship. Williams argued that Briggs and his crew expected an explosion and abandoned the ship. [49], They found the ship's daily log in the mate's cabin, and its final entry was dated at 8 a.m. on November 25, nine days earlier. By October of 1872, Winchester’s share was reduced to six-twelfth and Benjamin Spooner Briggs became the new captain of the ship. [84] A severe waterspout strike before the abandonment could explain the amount of water in the ship and the ragged state of her rigging and sails. [15] Early in 1872, the ship underwent a major refit, costing $10,000, which enlarged her considerably. A couple of years after Edgar Tuthill died, the ship passed to Gilman C. Parker. However the 10 people on board were missing without trace. It was not a commercial success, although Begg considers it "a period piece well worth watching. The news of the Indonesian cargo vessel with no crew, which reappeared nine years after it disappeared off the coasts of Myanmar, brought back to mind the case, much more mysterious and yet to be resolved, of the brigantine, the Mary Celeste.. The story of her 1872 abandonment has been recounted and dramatized many times in documentaries, novels, plays, and films, and the name of the ship has become a byword for unexplained desertion. The consortium was headed by James H. Winchester. The MARY CELESTE sailed into oblivion when a boarding party from a passing ship found that her captain, his wife, two-year-old daughter and entire crew had inexplicably vanished. Habakuk Jepheson’s Statement” in which he made a wide variety of alterations to the story, which saw a vengeful slave laying waste to the crew and sailing to Africa. Seven years later, she was transferred to American ownership, and was re-christened as the Mary Celeste . 30 Solar System Facts Everyone Should Know. Dei Gratia, the British-registered brigantine was commandeered by David Morehouse who was also a very established and well-known seaman like Briggs and both of them knew each other. He also noticed that the sails of the vessel were very oddly set. [119][120], In November 1884, Parker conspired with a group of Boston shippers, who filled Mary Celeste with a largely worthless cargo, misrepresented on the ship's manifest as valuable goods and insured for US$30,000 ($850,000 today). Briggs retained four-twelfths of the share. Haines could not retain the ship for long and in 1869, his creditors seized the ship and sold her to a New York consortium. "Every sail was set, the tiller was lashed fast, not a rope was out of place. The lazaret and fore hatches were open while the main hatch was closed. The unusual markings and discovery of blood made it seem as if mutiny was the source of the Mary Celeste’s problems. — We don’t allow post or links that are not related to education. [23] In 1862, he married his cousin Sarah Elizabeth Cobb, and enjoyed a Mediterranean honeymoon on board his schooner Forest King. In 1872 she was found adrift off the Azores, with no sign of her crew. More than a decade after her infamous voyage, she was the central part of "one of the oldest cases of insurance fraud in U.S. 1 – Mutiny. 45 Strange Penis Facts Will Leave You Shocked! One of his co-defendants went mad, and another killed himself. [3] She was launched on May 18, 1861, given the name Amazon, and registered at nearby Parrsboro on June 10, 1861. In July 1885, Parker and the shippers were tried in Boston for conspiracy to commit insurance fraud. The Mary Celeste Fact not fiction . Amazon came under the captaincy of William Thompson in 1863 and stayed under his command till 1867. [118] During these years, the ship's port of registration changed several times, before reverting to Boston. This theory was refuted on the grounds, that Briggs left his son behind to stay with his (Brigg’s son) grandmother and never returned to take them along with him. It was under Briggs command that Mary Celeste was prepped up for her first voyage after the major structural overhaul. Riffian pirates were active off the North African coast in the 1870s so it was believed that … She was originally built in 1861 and named the Amazon, which was her name until 1867 when she ran aground off the coast of Nova Scotia. A local consortium of 9 people originally owned the ship. 20. [16] He made himself her captain, and in December 1868 registered her with the Collector of Customs in New York as an American vessel, under a new name, Mary Celeste. [116], Under this new ownership, Mary Celeste sailed mainly in the West Indian and Indian Ocean routes, regularly losing money. 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