The Gay Head cliffs in Martha's Vineyard consist almost entirely of clay.

Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter.^[1] Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.

Formation[link]

Deforestation for clay extraction in Rio de Janeiro city - Brazil. The picture is of Morro da Covanca - Jacarepaguá.

Clay minerals are typically formed over long periods of time by the gradual chemical weathering of rocks, usually silicate-bearing, by low concentrations of carbonic acid and other diluted solvents. These solvents, usually acidic, migrate through the weathering rock after leaching through upper weathered layers. In addition to the weathering process, some clay minerals are formed by hydrothermal activity. Clay deposits may be formed in place as residual deposits in soil, but thick deposits usually are formed as the result of a secondary sedimentary deposition process after they have been eroded and transported from their original location of formation. Clay deposits are typically associated with very low energy depositional environments such as large lakes and marine basins.

Primary clays, also known as kaolins, are located at the site of formation. Secondary clay deposits have been moved by erosion and water from their primary location.^[2]

Definition[link]

electron microscope photograph of smectite clay - magnification 23,500

Clays are distinguished from other fine-grained soils by differences in size and mineralogy. Silts, which are fine-grained soils that do not include clay minerals, tend to have larger particle sizes than clays, but there is some overlap in both particle size and other physical properties, and there are many naturally occurring deposits which include silts and also clay. The distinction between silt and clay varies by discipline. Geologists and soil scientists usually consider the separation to occur at a particle size of 2 µm (clays being finer than silts), sedimentologists often use 4-5 μm, and colloid chemists use 1 μm.^[1] Geotechnical engineers distinguish between silts and clays based on the plasticity properties of the soil, as measured by the soils' Atterberg Limits. ISO 14688 grades clay particles as being smaller than 2 μm and silts larger.

Quaternary clay in Estonia.

Grouping[link]

Depending on the academic source, there are three or four main groups of clays: kaolinite, montmorillonite-smectite, illite, and chlorite. Chlorites are not always considered a clay, sometimes being classified as a separate group within the phyllosilicates. There are approximately 30 different types of "pure" clays in these categories, but most "natural" clays are mixtures of these different types, along with other weathered minerals.

Varve (or varved clay) is clay with visible annual layers, formed by seasonal differences in erosion and organic content. This type of deposit is common in former glacial lakes. When glacial lakes are formed there is very little movement of the water that makes the lake, and these eroded soils settle on the lake bed. This allows such an even distribution on the different layers of clay.^[2]

Quick clay is a unique type of marine clay indigenous to the glaciated terrains of Norway, Canada, Northern Ireland, and Sweden. It is a highly sensitive clay, prone to liquefaction, which has been involved in several deadly landslides.

Historical and modern uses[link]

Clay layers in a construction site. Dry clay is normally much more stable than sand with regard to excavations.

Clays exhibit plasticity when mixed with water in certain proportions. When dry, clay becomes firm and when fired in a kiln, permanent physical and chemical changes occur. These reactions, among other changes, cause the clay to be converted into a ceramic material. Because of these properties, clay is used for making pottery items, both utilitarian and decorative. Different types of clay, when used with different minerals and firing conditions, are used to produce earthenware, stoneware, and porcelain. Prehistoric humans discovered the useful properties of clay, and one of the earliest artifacts ever uncovered is a drinking vessel made of sun-dried clay.^{[citation needed]} Depending on the content of the soil, clay can appear in various colors, from a dull gray to a deep orange-red.

Clay tablets were used as the first known writing medium, inscribed with cuneiform script through the use of a blunt reed called a stylus.

Clays sintered in fire were the first form of ceramic. Bricks, cooking pots, art objects, dishware, and even musical instruments such as the ocarina can all be shaped from clay before being fired. Clay is also used in many industrial processes, such as paper making, cement production, and chemical filtering. Clay is also often used in the manufacture of pipes for smoking tobacco. Until the late 20th century bentonite clay was widely used as a mold binder in the manufacture of sand castings.

Clay, being relatively impermeable to water, is also used where natural seals are needed, such as in the cores of dams, or as a barrier in landfills against toxic seepage (lining the landfill, preferably in combination with geotextiles).^[3]

Recent^[when?] studies have investigated clay's absorption capacities in various applications, such as the removal of heavy metals from waste water and air purification.

Medical and agricultural uses[link]

Recent research indicates that various animals visit clay licks periodically to eat from them, apparently because either the clay contains one or more antidotes for the various poisons in plants and seeds the animals eat, or because the clay coats the animals' guts to protect them from those substances.^{[citation needed]}

A traditional use of clay as medicine goes back to prehistoric times. An example is Armenian bole, which is used to soothe an upset stomach, similar to the way parrots (and later, humans) in South America originally used it.^[4] Kaolin clay and attapulgite have been used as anti-diarrheal medicines.

Clay as a building material[link]

Clay is one of the oldest building materials on Earth, among other ancient, naturally-occurring geologic materials such as stone and organic materials like wood. Between one-half and two-thirds of the world's population, in traditional societies as well as developed countries, still live or work in a building made with clay as an essential part of its load-bearing structure. Also a primary ingredient in many natural building techniques, clay is used to create adobe, cob, cordwood, and rammed earth structures and building elements such as wattle and daub, clay plaster, clay render case, clay floors and clay paints.

See also[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Clay

Footnotes[link]

References[link]

• Guggenheim, Stephen; Martin, R. T. (1995), "Definition of clay and clay mineral: Journal report of the AIPEA nomenclature and CMS nomenclature committees", Clays and Clay Minerals 43 (2): 255–256, DOI:10.1346/CCMN.1995.0430213, http://www.clays.org/journal/archive/volume%2043/43-2-255.pdf 
• Clay mineral nomenclature American Mineralogist.

• Ehlers, Ernest G. and Blatt, Harvey (1982). 'Petrology, Igneous, Sedimentary, and Metamorphic' San Francisco: W.H. Freeman and Company. ISBN 0-7167-1279-2.

• Hillier S. (2003) Clay Mineralogy. pp 139–142 In: Middleton G.V., Church M.J., Coniglio M., Hardie L.A. and Longstaffe F.J.(Editors) Encyclopedia of sediments and sedimentary rocks. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht.

External links[link]

Look up clay in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Clay

• Building the Phyllosilicates University of New Hampshire
• The Clay Minerals Group of the Mineralogical Society
• Clay Whistles
• Information about clays used in the UK pottery industry
• The Clay Minerals Society
• Plasticity of clay
• Organic Matter in Clays

Andrew Dice Clay (born Andrew Clay Silverstein; September 29, 1957) is an American comedian and actor^[1] who played the lead role in the film The Adventures of Ford Fairlane.^[2]

Clay has been in several movies and has released a number of stand-up albums. He is the only comedian in history to sell out Madison Square Garden two nights in a row, a feat he accomplished in 1990.^[3][4][5]

Early life[link]

Clay was born in the Brownsville neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, the son of Doris and Fred Silverstein, who worked in real estate sales.^[6] Clay is of Jewish heritage.^[7][8][9] Clay was doing impressions and entertaining his family in the living room by the time he was 5. He was a fairly proficient drummer at James Madison High School, and played bar mitzvahs and casual dates as "Clay Silvers."

Career[link]

In 1978, he auditioned at Pips, a local comedy club in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, doing comedic impressions, then headlined there the following week as "Andrew Clay." His act at the time included an impression of John Travolta in Grease and Jerry Lewis as The Nutty Professor. Clay graduated to the major Manhattan comedy clubs, including Budd Friedman's The Improv, Catch a Rising Star and Dangerfield's. His move to Los Angeles came in 1980. He was "adopted" there by Mitzi Shore, owner of the famed Comedy Store. His work at the Store led to sitcom appearances on M*A*S*H and Diff'rent Strokes. He later landed roles in movies such as Making the Grade (1984) and Pretty in Pink (1986).^[10]

He had a regular role on Crime Story from 1986 – 1988.^[11] He eventually turned from acting to pursue a career in stand-up comedy, focusing on the character "Dice" from Making the Grade. His big break came in 1988 when he did a seven-minute set at Dangerfield's during the Rodney Dangerfield special "Nothing Goes Right." It was there that he met his agent Dennis Arfa and later got his first HBO special.^[12]

Later works[link]

Clay retreated from the media spotlight for several years. For several years he ran a fitness gym in Brooklyn. 1995 saw him try to reclaim his fame with the broadcast of the HBO special Assume the Position. The special failed to reignite Clay's career.

In 1998, Clay released the triple-live album "Filth" via the Internet. Soon afterward, Clay aligned himself with New York City-based talk program The Opie and Anthony Show.

To coincide with the release of 2000's "Face Down, Ass Up," Opie and Anthony teamed up with Clay to allow him to perform at Madison Square Garden.

In 2005, Clay signed a deal with Sirius to produce and broadcast his own show, Out of the Cage.

In 2007, he attempted a comeback with the reality TV series Dice: Undisputed on VH1, which lasted seven episodes.^[13]

He appeared as a part of NBC's The Celebrity Apprentice 2 and was the first celebrity to be fired, after he openly entertained the idea of quitting while in Donald Trump's presence. On The Howard Stern Show, Clay stated that the show was edited to exclude situations where Trump treated Clay poorly based on his comic treatment of women rather than his accomplishments.^[14] Clay deserves credit for goading Trump into bringing snacks into the War Room. Throughout the season, each celebrity was raising money for a charity of their choice; Clay had selected StandUp For Kids.^[15]

In July 2011, Clay was featured in the eighth and final season of Entourage as Johnny Drama's co-star in the fictional program Johnny's Bananas.^[16] He also appeared in an episode of Raising Hope as himself which aired on November 29, 2011

In May of 2012, Clay appeared on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast.

Controversy[link]

Clay is known for a style of comedy that has sparked controversy and much media coverage. He is loved by some and reviled by others, who feel that his act is crude, misogynistic, racist, homophobic and degrading. Clay has been widely opposed by women's rights groups and he has been banned from many radio and television shows for his explicit language and socially and politically charged humor. MTV banned him for life in 1989 for reciting what he called "adult nursery rhymes" during the annual Video Music Awards ceremony (September 6, 1989).^[17] In 2011, he was unbanned by MTV. The Biography Channel refuses to produce a biography of him.^[18]

In 1990, Clay was invited to guest host the weekly comedy TV show, Saturday Night Live. Cast member Nora Dunn declared her refusal to ever appear on the same broadcast as Clay and did not participate in the episode of his guest appearance (May 12). Invited musical guest Sinéad O'Connor also boycotted Clay's appearance.^[19]

Personal life[link]

In 2002, he divorced his wife and focused in part on raising his two sons.^[20] One of his sons, Max, has since followed his father into stand-up comedy,^[21] and occasionally opens for him on tour.^[22]

Discography[link]

• ADC: The Mixtape That Hates You, 1988
• Dice, 1990
• The Day the Laughter Died, 1990
• Dice Rules, 1991
• 40 Too Long, 1992
• The Day the Laughter Died, Part II, 1993
• No Apologies (Video), 1993^[23]
• Filth, 1999
• Face Down, Ass Up, 2000

Filmography[link]

• M*A*S*H, Cpl. Hrabosky in "Trick or Treatment" Episode (1982)
• Diff'rent Strokes, recurring character, named Larry, in Willis and Kimberly's high school (1982–83)
• Wacko (1982)
• Night Patrol (1984)
• Making the Grade (1984)
• Private Resort (1985)
• Pretty in Pink (1986)
• Amazon Women on the Moon (1987)
• Casual Sex? (1988)
• Crime Story (1986–1988)
• The Adventures of Ford Fairlane (1990)
• Dice Rules (1991)
• Brainsmasher... A Love Story (1993)
• No Contest (1994)
• Bless This House (1995)
• National Lampoon's Favorite Deadly Sins (1995)
• Hitz (1997)
• Foolish (1999)
• My 5 Wives (2000)
• One Night at McCool's (2001)
• Dice Undisputed (2007)
• Entourage (2011)
• Raising Hope (2011)

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Andrew Dice Clay

• Official website
• Andrew Dice Clay at the Internet Movie Database
• Andrew Dice Clay at AllRovi
• Andrew Dice Clay on Myspace
• Rotten.com: Andrew Dice Clay biography
• Vegas Video Network: Awkward Silence 2.1 Interview with Andrew Dice Clay