Hashtags and viral challenges usually represent funny or iconic moments in pop culture, but there is a new viral movement that has taken off whose goal isn't to entertain - but to help save the planet.
1.3 billion tonnes of household waste is generated per year and only 258 -368 million tons of it ends up in the 50 largest dumpsites, and million tons of it ends up in the ocean, 80% of which comes from mainland waste. Well, the new hashtag #trashtag wants everyone to chip in to chip away at this trash problem. People are challenged to take a before photo of an area that is in need of intense trash clean-up, followed by an after photo of the beautified area.
The hashtag blew up on social media after a reddit user posted a screenshot of someone who had completed the challenge, with the caption: "Here is a new #challenge for all you bored teens. Take a photo of an area that needs some cleaning or maintenance then take a photo after you have done something about it, and post it here.” Scroll down below to see some of the best photos from this environmentally-friendly hashtag and don't forget to upvote your favs!
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#trashtag from Vietnam, youngsters gather voluntarily to clean up the environment and to raise public awareness
Even when waste is put into dump sites it finds other ways of getting out into the world. As trash decomposes it can release toxins and harmful chemicals that leak into the soil, which then spreads into the water and air. While this can seem life a slow process that might not directly affect you, improper waste management can have deadly consequences in real time. In 1998 and 1999 thousands of people were killed in Bangladesh by flood waters caused by piled up waste in the sewers.
#trashtag seems to be trending. This one's from Nepal
#trashtag Manila Bay has been considered one of the dirtiest bays across the world. After 11 years, the Supreme Court finally issued a cleanup order which thousands of volunteers joined last January 27, 2019.
Worldwide, each individual person generates an average of 0.74 kilograms of waste per day, but ranges widely, from 0.11 to 4.54 kilograms. High-income countries generate about 34 percent, or 683 million tonnes, of the world’s waste, even though they only account for 16 percent of the world’s population.
Around 500 volunteers helped with the cleanup of 5 million kg of trash from this Mumbai beach.
This should be the new challenge to make the world a better place
Americans love to supersize everything and that includes waste. Even though Americans make up roughly 5% of the world's population, they generate close to 40% of the world's total waste.
Just one of the many days cleaning up our local water ways. Featuring Selma Kayak and Large Marge the Garbage Barge
While every tip of the planet seems to be filled with waste, the only place where you can almost escape the endless litter is Antartica. It is protected by the Antarctic Treaty, a treaty that prohibits military activity, mineral mining, nuclear explosions and nuclear waste disposal.
Took me a few days, but finally finished!!
This is just a work of an hour! #trashtag
Even though small, still helping. (Would’ve taken me at least 3 hours)
Landfills are the designated place where trash belongs and with so much waste being thrown in them things get densely packed in. For trash degradation it goes through an anaerobic process (without air), which creates huge amounts of methane gas - a greenhouse gas with an environmental impact 25x greater than carbon dioxide.
Students from @tetsocollege, Dimapur, accepted the #Trashtag challenge
You might not think of plastic packaging and food to be equals, but food does fall under the waste category. Roughly one-third of food produced in the world for human consumption every year (approximately 1.3 billion tons) is wasted. Each American throws out around 1,2000 pounds of organic garbage that could be composted.
My aunt is a 70 year old retired school teacher and she has been making these signs and going around cleaning up our neighborhood in the Bronx for a few months now #Trashtag
Took the whole Sunday morning for 10 people. But finally completed the #trashtag challenge
Annually, more than 14 billion pounds of garbage is dumped into the world’s ocean (mainly marine life toxic plastic).This has contributed to what is called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch or Pacific trash vortex, a cluster of marine debris in the Pacific Ocean that is twice the size of the U.S.
Along the Potomac River south of Washington, DC. We have to clean up the existing mess, but bottle deposit laws and styrofoam bans would prevent most of it. Contact your local, state, and federal representatives and insist on this.
Ever think about what happened to that outdated flip phone of yours? It probably ended up in a landfill along with the over 140 million cell phones thrown into landfills by Americans yearly. Every year, over 50 million tons of electronic waste like cell phones, computers, TVs, etc is created.
People are starting to accept the challenge
There's an organisation I volunteer at and we basically do cleanups like this in the city. Places that have been forgotten by the local government and make them accessible for the public
Love seeing this become a challenge! Keeping the beaches clean here in Florida
40 Norwegian Folk High School students from Alta spent one week picking trash at a local beach, gathering a total of 12,400kg
We’ve picked up tons from Durban beaches over the years
Hoora, a trash free zone! Many thanks for taking on the trash challenge and clearing the beach for the wildlife and humans to enjoy!
My girlfriend and I doing our part for #trashtag at the beach the other day
We did our first “official” beach clean-up in Belize that past December. Before this I’d say we were classified as “beach(trash)combers”, picking up the odd straw and plastic bottle we saw on our walks. However, for Belize, we travelled there with the intention of dedicating time to picking up any trash we came across on our hikes and beach walks. We even created a social media “clean-up crew” by partnering with other travellers to do a clean-up with us at the same time.
Cleaning up floating debris in Jamaica Bay, NY
Wow brave person, as a bit of a Germaphobe, I don’t know I’d be able to sit in a small boat with damp trash lol.
Did our part today for #trashtag while offroading in the mountains of California
Cudos to these folks. Leave it better than you find it is a good motto.
Lots of this is due to underage drinkers finding excluded places to get smashed. Many places don't offer trash cans because the same youngsters, after they are smashed, set the trash cans on fire. Also note..It is unsafe to have glass on a beach as broken bottles can end up being hidden in the sand waiting for some unexpected victim to come along and step on it. If you are going to drink on the beach, plastic and cans only..no glass!
Another #trashtag challenge accepted! Help keep our streets clean
We collected all this from our small beach at Kites Cove
Some state parks in the USA used to pay a "bounty" on trash brought out above and beyond what the person brought in. It was a free fishing license or camping permit for a weekend in the future. They stopped that program just before I moved. My friends and I used to raffle the bounty off at our scout meetings or use them for rewards.
Why did they get rid of it? That's a wonderful incentive.
Load More Replies...This is truly great, but I am afraid that the AFTER will soon turn to BEFORE again, because this problem needs to be stopped at the source. Nevertheless, great effort and an amazing change, for as long as it may last.
I know the Mumbai beach above was back to trash within three months, sadly
Load More Replies...I wish people weren't that disgusting to begin with. I also notice a severe lack of trash cans which would help with the issue. And I fear it won't take long before it is just as bad again as it was before the clean up...
When in the wildernes and beaches, people should really take all the trash with them (and recycle). I'm learning to do this to all my trash too when it's possible. Of course public places should have enough of trash cans but I mean we should really take responsibility of our own waste, the endcome of products we buy and consume. Corporations don't make it easy tho with all the overpacking
Load More Replies...Holy Texas. Why on earth would the local councils completely ignore that?! Part of our taxes go towards stuff like that. Those people did some mighty good work.
We have that challenge in Sweden since 1983 (Håll Sverige rent- Keep Sweden clean), that is why it's so clean here that tourists get shocked. But we have one spot along our coast where other countries junk float ashore and it's in Bohuslän. We are also the country where plogging started, so get yourself a bag and go for a run!
Okay, am I the only one who thinks this looks so so fun? I love bagging stuff, lol. It sounds stupid but it’s like an organizational thing. Any form of it is so satisfying. I need to start paying more attention to see if I can spot anywhere dirty that needs to be bagged.
Keep it going! Whenver I hike/walk along any trail, I have gloves and a bag for picking up any litter within reach of the trail. (Where I live, going off-trail more than a few yards can mean a nasty fall...) Been doing it for years and only recently did a neighbor say, "Thank you!" Now i know why... A hashtag!
My mother in law leaves in a small town near a mountain and she often goes for walks/hikes. She always brings a trash bag with her to pick the trash around the trail. Sadly, most of her neighbors think she is an eccentric, they don't really appreciate the great nature they have there.
Load More Replies...I just want to add that some of the comments say that people are disgusting or other wise hinting they are leave their trash on propose, not to say thats not true but we also are quick to forget of "natural"ways trash would end up somewhere, trash bin tips over and the wind takes it to the local wash, people drop something out of their pocket or purse without knowing and the rain washes it way to these areas you see, etc
My husband and I have been doing this for years. When we go for a walk or take the dogs for a walk, we each take 2 bags, 1 for recyclables 1 for garbage, some days we just bring the bags home, some days we come back for more bags. We actually do this everywhere we go, we clean up beaches, rest areas and neighbourhoods we visit all over north america. It's actually a habit for us now, love to see this catch on/ instead of some of the other stupid nonsense that does.
This is great. You have to be careful about laws in certain states however. Like in NH it is illegal to pick up trash in the White Mountain National Forest, that does not belong to you.
Why is it illegal? I feel like I would be more nervous about accidentally trespassing. A law against picking up litter is something I wouldn’t be careful about because it’s stupid. And stupid laws are made to be ignored!
Load More Replies...Trash attracts trash, sadly. On most Dutch beaches, you can grab a net from the cafes and for a net full of trash, you get a free drink. There is not much trash on our beaches.. we love free drinks :) It's my birthday tomorrow. I'll get myself a grabber. Then in the morning when I walk my dog, I'll bring it and a bag and clean my hood.
I'm a fiend for this. I pick up trash when I see it and always carry an extra bag around when I'm camping to grab any junk I see. I hope this is a challenge that sticks.
Now this is a great challenge. Who cares about the Vans throwing challenge. Do something useful like this. Thank you everyone.
I just looked up the Vans challenge. Jeez, that looks boring AF.
Load More Replies...The entire population of Seattle would have to participate to clean up the mess there. And wear biohazard suits and metal mesh gloves to protect from human waste and used needle pokes. It’s becoming an incredible dump just like SF.
here do all these bags of rubbish go though? I heard they were sold to Eastern countries for disposal, many were just dumped on the ocean on the way there.
Not only is putting trash the right thing to do, but it helps everybody feel better. Those who have to take that route every day to school or work -it raises their levels of happy. And for those doing the pick up, it's good exercise. So it wont just be a tidier world, but an emotionally and physically healthy world. Thank you everyone who got involved! And this should be a permanent thing, not just a one-off challenge!
Animals are known for NOT filthing up their own environment and we, as humans, are thought to be superior. In instances such as this, I doubt we are.
It's simply awing your collections. I check yours collections area unit feeling higher. you're conjointly invited to go to mine website and check my collection... https://luckysuperstorenj.business.site/ Thanks for sharing
I remember years ago, being at the park with some young (9, 11) cousins. After we were done eating, I told them to clean up our trash. One said "Why, someone else will clean it up." I just about lost every brain cell I had, I was so mad! I then told them that we shouldn't leave it to others to clean up after ourselves, and go pick up your trash. They were mad at me the rest of the day, but maybe they'll think twice before spreading their garbage around.
We have a (non official) National Cleaning Day in Romania, "Let's do it, Romania!" and over 1.8 milion volunteers has been participated since 2009 with remarkable results. So, kudos to everyone involved in this action, every single action is a step forward to a cleaner world.
Excellent, we need do this job in Mexico our country is very dirty and mess
Not a lot of humanity in the human race today, thanks for giving props to some of those that do. Maybe this thread will cause some others to do the same. Well done Panda.
When, in the course of human events, did it ever, EVER, BECOME OUR RIGHT, TO TRASH OUR WORLD???? As far as I know, it never was,it never is, and never will be! Even animals know not to shot where they sleep, make a home and live! Except humans! For some reason, we feel a strong entitlement, to leave our mark on this world, in trash, with trash! It makes me sick! Let’s clean this world up, do our best to reverse climate change, teach it in schools. If we don’t, we can only blame ourselves,and we will a world the future comes to see, thatdestroyed itself with sloth and dirty ways. Greed and money get you nothing. Think about it. Do we fight and live? Or do we stay careless, and die at our own hands....it can start, with just one piece of trash, one light in the darkness, one helping hand. One, simple kindness for the present and the future. I don’t want to be an example, I want to be the reason things changed...one, of many. Be a cause, be a reason, be ... the future.
I think that what it's going to take is for our society to turn littering into such a social taboo that no one would think of doing it. It works in Japan and Singapore.
Our app Dawar in Egypt has helped remove almost 800 tons of trash from our streets! Our community takes pictures of street trash and pooof we send them an after picture of the same place cleaned up! Please support us by liking our page https://www.facebook.com/dawar.street/ https://www.instagram.com/dawar.app/?hl=en Dawar app available for IOS and Android https://bit.ly/2SUqJOm (Download for Android) https://apple.co/2AtDQzK (Download for Apple) #challengeforchange #trashtag #trashtags #thisisegypt #egypt #walklikeanegyptian #dawarapp
In Australia we have Clean Up Australia Day, this years was just 2 weeks ago. It's the same premise, and has been held since 1989. It's not as widely practiced as it was when it first began, unfortunately. One of the founders of the idea, Ian Kiernan passed away late last year; he would have loved this.
Honestly the only people to care about pollution are people trying to get laid. Girls done care about environmental queef balloons anymore! Grow up!
Trying to be the new TJler? Also, guys, don't downvote. He wants it. Don't let him get his way.
Load More Replies...David Sedaris was invited to meet the Queen because of his litter picking. He now has a garbage truck named after him and covers as many as 37 miles a day picking up garbage
Unless you can change the fundamental nature of the human animal we will continue to fight this battle. It was a big deal 40+ years ago then sort of fell out of vogue for a couple decades. Now it's popular again. Two things really need to take place to make a more or less lasting change, first is a change in production of trash - better packaging and suchlike, second is more effective disposal of trash - cheaper and certainly not involving hauling barges of it out into the ocean to dump. I seriously doubt you will ever eliminate people leaving their picnic trash behind, at least not until every inch of the planet is covered with security cameras, but cost of disposal and ease of disposal are two of the biggest factors.
Had not really heard of this before. Am planning to get some latex gloves and a couple of bags and next time I go for a walk out of town will do my bit. As a former dog owner I will even take poo bags for the ignorant owners - not that hard to pick it up. Was disgusted a couple of months ago when someone let their large dog/small horse poo 2 kg on my doorstep.
A young couple threw their empty mcdonalds wrappers out of the window and there was a bin right next to their car, until people change the world will suffer. This is a great idea though and so nice to see. I will do the same in my area, i just need to remember to take some binbags out with me as i always forget! I certainly don't litter though i don't understand why people litter their own neighbourhoods and then complain its a dive
Wow. I really started to lose my belief in humanity, but seeing what people are doing here lets my optimism awake again. You who did this are great people. I hope that many more start to SEE and rethink and act. Out planet needs it and many people will be thankful. I am, deeply!
good job guys, really! i appriciate every single person who picks up trash, even if it ain't theirs. but i'm always asking myself...what now? what happens with the trash they all picked up? will it be disposed of correctly? like, for example: i know that in the US most of the trash ends up in landfills anyway, that is NO different! the trash has to be sorted, recycled and taken care of in a matter our society is still not able to handle! as long as we are not able to handle trash the way it should, we are just going to stay in a vicious cycle!
This is wonderful! Wish more people would stop the #notmyproblem attitude and change to #leavingitbetterthanIfoundit. My neighbor, our dogs, and I take not only poop bags on our walks, but a trash bag and rubber gloves and pick up the trash we see along our walks. Exercise and cleaning up the place as we go!
Some state parks in the USA used to pay a "bounty" on trash brought out above and beyond what the person brought in. It was a free fishing license or camping permit for a weekend in the future. They stopped that program just before I moved. My friends and I used to raffle the bounty off at our scout meetings or use them for rewards.
Why did they get rid of it? That's a wonderful incentive.
Load More Replies...This is truly great, but I am afraid that the AFTER will soon turn to BEFORE again, because this problem needs to be stopped at the source. Nevertheless, great effort and an amazing change, for as long as it may last.
I know the Mumbai beach above was back to trash within three months, sadly
Load More Replies...I wish people weren't that disgusting to begin with. I also notice a severe lack of trash cans which would help with the issue. And I fear it won't take long before it is just as bad again as it was before the clean up...
When in the wildernes and beaches, people should really take all the trash with them (and recycle). I'm learning to do this to all my trash too when it's possible. Of course public places should have enough of trash cans but I mean we should really take responsibility of our own waste, the endcome of products we buy and consume. Corporations don't make it easy tho with all the overpacking
Load More Replies...Holy Texas. Why on earth would the local councils completely ignore that?! Part of our taxes go towards stuff like that. Those people did some mighty good work.
We have that challenge in Sweden since 1983 (Håll Sverige rent- Keep Sweden clean), that is why it's so clean here that tourists get shocked. But we have one spot along our coast where other countries junk float ashore and it's in Bohuslän. We are also the country where plogging started, so get yourself a bag and go for a run!
Okay, am I the only one who thinks this looks so so fun? I love bagging stuff, lol. It sounds stupid but it’s like an organizational thing. Any form of it is so satisfying. I need to start paying more attention to see if I can spot anywhere dirty that needs to be bagged.
Keep it going! Whenver I hike/walk along any trail, I have gloves and a bag for picking up any litter within reach of the trail. (Where I live, going off-trail more than a few yards can mean a nasty fall...) Been doing it for years and only recently did a neighbor say, "Thank you!" Now i know why... A hashtag!
My mother in law leaves in a small town near a mountain and she often goes for walks/hikes. She always brings a trash bag with her to pick the trash around the trail. Sadly, most of her neighbors think she is an eccentric, they don't really appreciate the great nature they have there.
Load More Replies...I just want to add that some of the comments say that people are disgusting or other wise hinting they are leave their trash on propose, not to say thats not true but we also are quick to forget of "natural"ways trash would end up somewhere, trash bin tips over and the wind takes it to the local wash, people drop something out of their pocket or purse without knowing and the rain washes it way to these areas you see, etc
My husband and I have been doing this for years. When we go for a walk or take the dogs for a walk, we each take 2 bags, 1 for recyclables 1 for garbage, some days we just bring the bags home, some days we come back for more bags. We actually do this everywhere we go, we clean up beaches, rest areas and neighbourhoods we visit all over north america. It's actually a habit for us now, love to see this catch on/ instead of some of the other stupid nonsense that does.
This is great. You have to be careful about laws in certain states however. Like in NH it is illegal to pick up trash in the White Mountain National Forest, that does not belong to you.
Why is it illegal? I feel like I would be more nervous about accidentally trespassing. A law against picking up litter is something I wouldn’t be careful about because it’s stupid. And stupid laws are made to be ignored!
Load More Replies...Trash attracts trash, sadly. On most Dutch beaches, you can grab a net from the cafes and for a net full of trash, you get a free drink. There is not much trash on our beaches.. we love free drinks :) It's my birthday tomorrow. I'll get myself a grabber. Then in the morning when I walk my dog, I'll bring it and a bag and clean my hood.
I'm a fiend for this. I pick up trash when I see it and always carry an extra bag around when I'm camping to grab any junk I see. I hope this is a challenge that sticks.
Now this is a great challenge. Who cares about the Vans throwing challenge. Do something useful like this. Thank you everyone.
I just looked up the Vans challenge. Jeez, that looks boring AF.
Load More Replies...The entire population of Seattle would have to participate to clean up the mess there. And wear biohazard suits and metal mesh gloves to protect from human waste and used needle pokes. It’s becoming an incredible dump just like SF.
here do all these bags of rubbish go though? I heard they were sold to Eastern countries for disposal, many were just dumped on the ocean on the way there.
Not only is putting trash the right thing to do, but it helps everybody feel better. Those who have to take that route every day to school or work -it raises their levels of happy. And for those doing the pick up, it's good exercise. So it wont just be a tidier world, but an emotionally and physically healthy world. Thank you everyone who got involved! And this should be a permanent thing, not just a one-off challenge!
Animals are known for NOT filthing up their own environment and we, as humans, are thought to be superior. In instances such as this, I doubt we are.
It's simply awing your collections. I check yours collections area unit feeling higher. you're conjointly invited to go to mine website and check my collection... https://luckysuperstorenj.business.site/ Thanks for sharing
I remember years ago, being at the park with some young (9, 11) cousins. After we were done eating, I told them to clean up our trash. One said "Why, someone else will clean it up." I just about lost every brain cell I had, I was so mad! I then told them that we shouldn't leave it to others to clean up after ourselves, and go pick up your trash. They were mad at me the rest of the day, but maybe they'll think twice before spreading their garbage around.
We have a (non official) National Cleaning Day in Romania, "Let's do it, Romania!" and over 1.8 milion volunteers has been participated since 2009 with remarkable results. So, kudos to everyone involved in this action, every single action is a step forward to a cleaner world.
Excellent, we need do this job in Mexico our country is very dirty and mess
Not a lot of humanity in the human race today, thanks for giving props to some of those that do. Maybe this thread will cause some others to do the same. Well done Panda.
When, in the course of human events, did it ever, EVER, BECOME OUR RIGHT, TO TRASH OUR WORLD???? As far as I know, it never was,it never is, and never will be! Even animals know not to shot where they sleep, make a home and live! Except humans! For some reason, we feel a strong entitlement, to leave our mark on this world, in trash, with trash! It makes me sick! Let’s clean this world up, do our best to reverse climate change, teach it in schools. If we don’t, we can only blame ourselves,and we will a world the future comes to see, thatdestroyed itself with sloth and dirty ways. Greed and money get you nothing. Think about it. Do we fight and live? Or do we stay careless, and die at our own hands....it can start, with just one piece of trash, one light in the darkness, one helping hand. One, simple kindness for the present and the future. I don’t want to be an example, I want to be the reason things changed...one, of many. Be a cause, be a reason, be ... the future.
I think that what it's going to take is for our society to turn littering into such a social taboo that no one would think of doing it. It works in Japan and Singapore.
Our app Dawar in Egypt has helped remove almost 800 tons of trash from our streets! Our community takes pictures of street trash and pooof we send them an after picture of the same place cleaned up! Please support us by liking our page https://www.facebook.com/dawar.street/ https://www.instagram.com/dawar.app/?hl=en Dawar app available for IOS and Android https://bit.ly/2SUqJOm (Download for Android) https://apple.co/2AtDQzK (Download for Apple) #challengeforchange #trashtag #trashtags #thisisegypt #egypt #walklikeanegyptian #dawarapp
In Australia we have Clean Up Australia Day, this years was just 2 weeks ago. It's the same premise, and has been held since 1989. It's not as widely practiced as it was when it first began, unfortunately. One of the founders of the idea, Ian Kiernan passed away late last year; he would have loved this.
Honestly the only people to care about pollution are people trying to get laid. Girls done care about environmental queef balloons anymore! Grow up!
Trying to be the new TJler? Also, guys, don't downvote. He wants it. Don't let him get his way.
Load More Replies...David Sedaris was invited to meet the Queen because of his litter picking. He now has a garbage truck named after him and covers as many as 37 miles a day picking up garbage
Unless you can change the fundamental nature of the human animal we will continue to fight this battle. It was a big deal 40+ years ago then sort of fell out of vogue for a couple decades. Now it's popular again. Two things really need to take place to make a more or less lasting change, first is a change in production of trash - better packaging and suchlike, second is more effective disposal of trash - cheaper and certainly not involving hauling barges of it out into the ocean to dump. I seriously doubt you will ever eliminate people leaving their picnic trash behind, at least not until every inch of the planet is covered with security cameras, but cost of disposal and ease of disposal are two of the biggest factors.
Had not really heard of this before. Am planning to get some latex gloves and a couple of bags and next time I go for a walk out of town will do my bit. As a former dog owner I will even take poo bags for the ignorant owners - not that hard to pick it up. Was disgusted a couple of months ago when someone let their large dog/small horse poo 2 kg on my doorstep.
A young couple threw their empty mcdonalds wrappers out of the window and there was a bin right next to their car, until people change the world will suffer. This is a great idea though and so nice to see. I will do the same in my area, i just need to remember to take some binbags out with me as i always forget! I certainly don't litter though i don't understand why people litter their own neighbourhoods and then complain its a dive
Wow. I really started to lose my belief in humanity, but seeing what people are doing here lets my optimism awake again. You who did this are great people. I hope that many more start to SEE and rethink and act. Out planet needs it and many people will be thankful. I am, deeply!
good job guys, really! i appriciate every single person who picks up trash, even if it ain't theirs. but i'm always asking myself...what now? what happens with the trash they all picked up? will it be disposed of correctly? like, for example: i know that in the US most of the trash ends up in landfills anyway, that is NO different! the trash has to be sorted, recycled and taken care of in a matter our society is still not able to handle! as long as we are not able to handle trash the way it should, we are just going to stay in a vicious cycle!
This is wonderful! Wish more people would stop the #notmyproblem attitude and change to #leavingitbetterthanIfoundit. My neighbor, our dogs, and I take not only poop bags on our walks, but a trash bag and rubber gloves and pick up the trash we see along our walks. Exercise and cleaning up the place as we go!