Urine (from Latin Urina, ae, f.) is a typically sterile liquid by-product of the body secreted by the kidneys through a process called urination and excreted through the urethra. Cellular metabolism generates numerous by-products, many rich in nitrogen, that require elimination from the bloodstream. These by-products are eventually expelled from the body in a process known as micturition, the primary method for excreting water-soluble chemicals from the body. These chemicals can be detected and analyzed by urinalysis. Certain disease conditions can result in pathogen-contaminated urine.^[1]

Sample of human urine

Physiology[link]

Most animals have excretory systems for elimination of soluble toxic wastes. In humans, soluble wastes are excreted primarily by the urinary system and, to a lesser extent in terms of urea removed, by perspiration.^[2] The urinary system consists of the kidneys, ureters, urinary bladder, and urethra. The system produces urine by a process of filtration, reabsorption, and tubular secretion. The kidneys extract the soluble wastes from the bloodstream, as well as excess water, sugars, and a variety of other compounds. The resulting urine contains high concentrations of urea and other substances, including toxins. Urine flows from the kidney through the ureter, bladder, and finally the urethra before passing from the body.

Composition[link]

Urea structure

Exhaustive detailed description of the composition of human urine can be found in NASA Contractor Report No. NASA CR-1802, D. F. Putnam, July 1971.^[3] That report provided detailed chemical analyses for inorganic and organic constituents, methods of analysis, chemical and physical properties and its behavior during concentrative processes such as evaporation, distillation and other physiochemical operations. Urine is an aqueous solution of greater than 95% water, with the remaining constituents, in order of decreasing concentration urea 9.3 g/L, chloride 1.87 g/L, sodium 1.17 g/L, potassium 0.750 g/L, creatinine 0.670 g/L and other dissolved ions, inorganic and organic compounds.

Urine is sterile until it reaches the urethra, where epithelial cells lining the urethra are colonized by facultatively anaerobic Gram negative rods and cocci.^[4] Subsequent to elimination from the body, urine can acquire strong odors due to bacterial action,^{[citation needed]} and in particular the release of ammonia from the breakdown of urea.

Some diseases alter the quantity and consistency of urine, such as diabetes introducing sugar. Consuming beets can result in beeturia (pink/red urine containing betanin) for some 10–14% of the population.^[5]

Hazards[link]

Healthy urine is not toxic as such in concentrations as excreted.^[6] However, it contains compounds eliminated by the body as undesirable, and can be irritating to skin and eyes. After suitable processing it is possible to extract potable water from urine.

Characteristics[link]

Chemical analysis[link]

Urine is principally water. It also contains an assortment of inorganic salts and organic compounds, including proteins, hormones, and a wide range of metabolites, varying by what is introduced into the body.

Green urine during long term infusion of the sedative propofol

Color[link]

Urine varies in appearance, depending principally upon a body's level of hydration, as well as other factors. Normal urine is a transparent solution ranging from colorless to amber but is usually a pale yellow. In the urine of a healthy individual the color comes primarily from the presence of urobilin. Urobilin in turn is a final waste product resulting from the breakdown of heme from hemoglobin during the destruction of aging blood cells.

Colorless urine indicates over-hydration, generally preferable to dehydration (though it can remove essential salts from the body). Colorless urine in drug tests can suggest an attempt to avoid detection of illicit drugs in the bloodstream through over-hydration.^[7]

• Dark yellow urine is often indicative of dehydration.
• Yellowing/light orange may be caused by removal of excess B vitamins from the bloodstream.
• Certain medications such as rifampin and phenazopyridine can cause orange urine.
• Bloody urine is termed hematuria, a symptom of a wide variety of medical conditions
• Dark orange to brown urine can be a symptom of jaundice, rhabdomyolysis, or Gilbert's syndrome.
• Black or dark-colored urine is referred to as melanuria and may be caused by a melanoma.
• Pinkish urine can result from the consumption of beets.
• Greenish urine can result from the consumption of asparagus.
• Reddish or brown urine may be caused by porphyria (not to be confused with the harmless, temporary pink or reddish tint caused by (beeturia).

Odor[link]

The odor of normal human urine can reflect what has been consumed.

Eating asparagus can cause a strong odor reminiscent of the vegetable caused by the body's breakdown of asparagusic acid.^[8] Likewise consumption of saffron, alcohol, coffee, tuna fish, and onion can result in telltale scents.^{[citation needed]} Particularly spicy foods can have a similar effect, as their compounds pass through the kidneys without being fully broken down before exiting the body.^[9][10]

Turbidity[link]

Turbid (cloudy) urine may be a symptom of a bacterial infection, but can also be caused by crystallization of salts such as calcium phosphate.^{[citation needed]}

pH[link]

The pH of urine can vary between 4.6 and 8, with neutral (7) being norm. In persons with hyperuricosuria, acidic urine can contribute to the formation of stones of uric acid in the kidneys, ureters, or bladder.^[11] Urine pH can be monitored by a physician^[12] or at home.

A diet high in citrus, vegetables, or dairy can increase urine pH (more basic)^{[dubious – discuss]}. Some drugs also can increase urine pH, including acetazolamide, potassium citrate, and sodium bicarbonate.^{[citation needed]}

A diet high in meat can decrease urine pH (more acidic).^{[citation needed]} Cranberries, popularly thought to decrease the pH of urine, have actually been shown not to acidify urine.^[13] Drugs that can decrease urine pH include ammonium chloride, chlorothiazide diuretics, and methenamine mandelate.^[14][15]

Volume[link]

Average urine production in adult humans is about 1 – 2 L per day, depending on state of hydration, activity level, environmental factors, weight, and the individual's health. Producing too much or too little urine needs medical attention. Polyuria is a condition of excessive production of urine (> 2.5 L/day), oliguria when < 400 mL are produced, and anuria one of < 100 mL per day.

Density or specific gravity[link]

Normal urine density or specific gravity values vary between 1.003–1.035 (g·cm⁻³), and any deviations may be associated with urinary disorders.

Urine in medicine[link]

A Doctor Examining Urine. Trophime Bigot.

Examination[link]

Many physicians in history have resorted to the inspection and examination of the urine of their patients. Hermogenes wrote about the color and other attributes of urine as indicators of certain diseases. Abdul Malik Ibn Habib of Andalusia d.862 AD, mentions numerous reports of urine examination throughout the Umayyad empire.^[16] Diabetes mellitus got its name because the urine is plentiful and sweet. A urinalysis is a medical examination of the urine and part of routine examinations. A culture of the urine is performed when a urinary tract infection is suspected. A microscopic examination of the urine may be helpful to identify organic or inorganic substrates and help in the diagnosis.

The color and volume of urine can be reliable indicators of hydration level. Clear and copious urine is generally a sign of adequate hydration, dark urine is a sign of dehydration. The exception occurs when alcohol, caffeine, or other diuretics are consumed, in which case urine can be clear and copious and the person still be dehydrated.

Resource[link]

Urine contains proteins and other substances that are useful for medical therapy and are ingredients in many prescription drugs (e.g., Ureacin, Urecholine, Urowave)^{[citation needed]}. Urine from postmenopausal women is rich in gonadotropins that can yield follicle stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone for fertility therapy^{[citation needed]}. The first such commercial product was Pergonal^{[citation needed]}. Urine from pregnant women contains enough human chorionic gonadotropins for commercial extraction and purification to produce hCG medication. Pregnant mare urine is the source of estrogens, namely Premarin^{[citation needed]}. Urine also contains antibodies, which can be used in diagnostic antibody tests for a range of pathogens, including HIV-1.^[17]

Other uses[link]

Agriculture[link]

Urine contains large quantities of nitrogen (mostly as urea), as well as significant quantities of dissolved phosphates and potassium, the main macronutrients required by plants, with urine having plant macronutrient percentages (i.e. NPK) of approximately 11-1-2 by one study^[18] or 15-1-2 by another report,^[19] illustrating that exact composition varies with diet. Undiluted, it can chemically burn the roots of some plants, but it can be used safely as a source of complementary nitrogen in carbon-rich compost.^[20]

When diluted with water (at a 1:5 ratio for container-grown annual crops with fresh growing medium each season,^[21] or a 1:8 ratio for more general use^[20]), it can be applied directly to soil as a fertilizer. The fertilization effect of urine has been found to be comparable to that of commercial fertilizers with an equivalent NPK rating.^[22] Urine contains most (94% according to Wolgast^[18]) of the NPK nutrients excreted by the human body. Conversely, concentrations of heavy metals such as lead, mercury, and cadmium, commonly found in solid human waste, are much lower in urine (though not low enough to qualify for use in organic agriculture under current EU rules).^[23] The more general limitations to using urine as fertilizer then depend mainly on the potential for buildup of excess nitrogen (due to the high ratio of that macronutrient),^[21] and inorganic salts such as sodium chloride, which are also part of the wastes excreted by the renal system. The degree to which these factors impact the effectiveness depends on the term of use, salinity tolerance of the plant, soil composition, addition of other fertilizing compounds, and quantity of rainfall or other irrigation.

Urine typically contains 70% of the nitrogen and more than half the phosphorus and potassium found in urban waste water flows, while making up less than 1% of the overall volume. Thus far, source separation, or urine diversion and on-site treatment has been implemented in South Africa, China, and Sweden among other countries with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation provided some of the funding implemenations.^[24] China reportedly had 685,000 operating source separation toilets spread out among 17 provinces in 2003.^[25]

"Urine management" is a relatively new way to view closing the cycle of agricultural nutrient flows and reducing sewage treatment costs and ecological consequences such as eutrophication resulting from the influx of nutrient rich effluent into aquatic or marine ecosystems.^[19] Proponents of urine as a natural source of agricultural fertilizer claim the risks to be negligible or acceptable. Their views seem to be backed by research showing there are more environmental problems when it is treated and disposed of compared with when it is used as a resource.^[26]

It is unclear whether source separation, urine diversion, and on-site urine treatment can be made cost effective; nor whether required behavioral changes would be regarded as socially acceptable, as the largely successful trials performed in Sweden may not readily generalize to other industrialized societies.^[22] In developing countries the use of whole raw sewage (night soil) has been common throughout history, yet the application of pure urine to crops is rare. Increasingly there are calls for urine's use as a fertilizer, such as a Scientific American article "Human urine is an effective fertilizer".^[27]

Cleaning[link]

In pre-industrial times urine, being rich in ammonia, was used – in the form of lant – as a cleaning fluid.

Gunpowder[link]

Urine was used before the development of a chemical industry in the manufacture of gunpowder. Urine, a nitrogen source, was used to moisten straw or other organic material, which was kept moist and allowed to rot for several months to over a year. The resulting salts were washed from the heap with water, which was evaporated to allow collection of crude saltpeter crystals, that were usually refined before being used in making gunpowder.^[28]

Survival uses[link]

Numerous survival instructors and guides,^{[29][30][31][32][33]} including the US Army Field Manual,^[34] advise against drinking urine for survival. These guides explain that drinking urine tends to worsen, rather than relieve dehydration due to the salts in it, and that urine should not be consumed in a survival situation, even when there is no other fluid available. In hot weather survival situations where other sources of water are not available, soaking cloth (a shirt for example) in urine and putting it on the head can help cool the body.

During World War I the Germans experimented with numerous poisonous gases for use during war. After the first German chlorine gas attacks, Allied troops were supplied with masks of cotton pads that had been soaked in urine. It was believed that the ammonia in the pad neutralized the chlorine. These pads were held over the face until the soldiers could escape from the poisonous fumes, although it is now known that chlorine gas reacts with urine to produce toxic fumes (see chlorine and use of poison gas in World War I).^{[citation needed]}

Urban myth states that urine works well against jellyfish stings, and this scenario was demonstrated on a Season 4 episode of the NBC-TV show Friends, "The One With the Jellyfish", an early episode of the CBS-TV show Survivor and the documentary film The Real Cancun. At best, it is ineffective and in some cases this treatment may make the injury worse.^[35][36][37]

Tanning[link]

Tanners soaked animal skins in urine to remove hair fibers—a necessary step in the preparation of leather.^{[citation needed]}

Textiles[link]

Urine has often been used as a mordant to help prepare textiles, especially wool, for dyeing. In Scotland, the process of "walking" (stretching) tweed cloth is preceded by soaking in urine.^[38]

Hydrogen[link]

Urine can be used as a base material for the production of hydrogen.^[39] Unlike water, urea has four hydrogen atoms per molecule and has these atoms less tightly bonded than the hydrogen atoms found in water molecules.

History and language[link]

Prior to the acquisition of soap from the Germanic peoples during the first century AD, Ancient Romans used fermented human urine (in the form of lant) to cleanse grease stains from clothing.^[40] The emperor Nero instituted a tax (Latin: vectigal urinae) on the urine industry, continued by his successor, Vespasian. It is Vespasian to whom the Latin saying Pecunia non olet (money doesn't smell) is attributed – said to have been the emperor's reply to a complaint from his son about the unpleasant nature of the tax. Vespasian's name is still attached to public urinals in France (vespasiennes), Italy (vespasiani), and Romania (vespasiene).

Alchemists spent much time trying to extract gold from urine, which led to discoveries such as white phosphorus by German alchemist Hennig Brand when distilling fermented urine in 1669. In 1773 the French chemist Hilaire Rouelle discovered the organic compound urea by boiling urine dry.

The onomatopoetic term "piss" was the usual word for urination prior to the 14th century. "Urinate" was at first used mostly in medical contexts. "Piss" continues to be used, but is considered vulgar; it is also used in such colloquialisms as "to piss off" and "piss poor". Euphemisms and expressions used between parents and children such as "wee", "pee", and many others, arose.

See also[link]

References[link]

Further reading[link]

External links[link]

• Urine formation, excretion and osmoregulation.
• Urinanalysis at the University of Utah Eccles Health Sciences Library
• Urine Chemistry at drugs.com
• Urinary Health Education at redurine.com

• "US army food... just add urine". BBC Online. 22 July 2004. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3915659.stm. 

Bear Grylls
Born	Edward Michael Grylls (1974-06-07) 7 June 1974 (age 38) United Kingdom
Residence	A barge moored by Battersea Bridge on the River Thames, England[1] An island on Llŷn Peninsula, Abersoch, North Wales[2]
Occupation	Chief Scout Adventurer Explorer Author Motivational speaker[3] Television presenter
Spouse	Shara Cannings Knight[4]
Children	Jesse, Marmaduke,[5] and Huckleberry[6]
Parents	Sir Michael Grylls Lady Grylls (née Sarah Ford)
Website
BearGrylls.com

Edward Michael "Bear" Grylls (born 7 June 1974) is an English adventurer, writer and television presenter. He is best known for his television series Man vs. Wild, known as Born Survivor^[7] in the United Kingdom. In July 2009, Grylls was appointed the youngest ever Chief Scout at the age of 35.

Personal life[link]

Grylls grew up in Donaghadee, Northern Ireland until the age of 4 when his family moved to Bembridge on the Isle of Wight.^[8][9] He is the son of the late Conservative party politician Sir Michael Grylls and Lady Sarah Grylls.^[10] Lady Grylls was the daughter of Patricia Ford,^[11] briefly an Ulster Unionist Party MP, and cricketer and businessman Neville Ford. Grylls has one sibling, an elder sister, Lara Fawcett, a cardio-tennis coach, who gave him the nickname 'Bear' when he was a week old.^[12]

Grylls was educated at Eaton House, Ludgrove School, Eton College, where he helped start its first mountaineering club,^[13] and Birkbeck, University of London,^[14] where he graduated with a degree, obtained part-time, in Hispanic studies in 2002. From an early age, he learned to climb and sail from his father, who was a member of the prestigious Royal Yacht Squadron. As a teenager, he learned to skydive and earned a second dan black belt in Shotokan karate. He practices yoga and ninjutsu. At age eight he became a Cub Scout.^[15] He speaks English, Spanish, and French.^[16] Grylls is a Christian, describing his faith as the "backbone" in his life.^[17]

Although Grylls was christened 'Edward' he has legally changed his forename to 'Bear'.^[18] Grylls married Shara Grylls (née Cannings Knight) in 2000.^[4][11] They have three sons: Jesse, Marmaduke,^[19] and Huckleberry.^[6]

Military service[link]

After leaving school, Grylls considered joining the Indian Army and hiked in the Himalayan mountains of Sikkim.^[20] Grylls joined the British Army and served in the part-time United Kingdom Special Forces Reserve, with 21 Regiment Special Air Service, 21 SAS(R) for 3 years until 1996.

In 1996, he suffered a freefall parachuting accident in Zambia. His canopy ripped at 4,900 metres (16,000 ft), partially opening, causing him to fall and land on his parachute pack on his back, which partially crushed three vertebrae. Grylls later said: "I should have cut the main parachute and gone to the reserve but thought there was time to resolve the problem".^[21] According to his surgeon, Grylls came "within a whisker" of being paralysed for life and at first it was questionable whether he would ever walk again. Grylls spent the next 12 months in and out of military rehabilitation at Headley Court^[21] before being discharged and directing his efforts into trying to get well enough to fulfil his childhood dream of climbing Mount Everest.

In 2004, Grylls was awarded the honorary rank of Lieutenant Commander in the Royal Naval Reserve for services to charity and human endeavour.^[22]

Everest[link]

On 16 May 1998, Grylls achieved his childhood dream (an ambition since his father gave him a picture of Everest when he was eight) and entered the Guinness Book of Records, as the youngest Briton, at 23, to summit Mount Everest^[23], just eighteen months after injuring his back. (James Allen, an Australian-British climber who ascended Everest in 1995 with an Australian team, but who has dual citizenship, reached the summit at age 22.^[24][25] The feat has since been surpassed by Jake Meyer and, at age 19, by Rob Gauntlett.)

Other expeditions[link]

Circumnavigation of the UK[link]

In 2000, Grylls, led the first team to circumnavigate the UK on a personal watercraft or jet ski, taking about 30 days, to raise money for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI). He also rowed naked for 22 miles in a homemade bathtub along the Thames to raise funds for a friend who lost his legs in a climbing accident.^[26]

Crossing the North Atlantic[link]

Three years later, he led a team of five, including his childhood friend, SAS colleague, and Mount Everest climbing partner Mick Crosthwaite, on the first unassisted crossing of the north Atlantic Arctic Ocean, in an open rigid inflatable boat^[27]. Suffering weeks of frozen spray and icebergs, battling force 8 gale winds, hypothermia, and storms in an eleven-metre-long boat through some of the most treacherous stretches of water in the world including the Labrador Sea, the Denmark Strait, and the stretch made famous by The Perfect Storm, Grylls and his team were just barely able to finish the journey from Halifax, Nova Scotia to John o' Groats, Scotland.

Paramotoring over Angel Falls[link]

In 2005, Grylls led the first team ever to attempt to paramotor over the remote jungle plateau of the Angel Falls in Venezuela, the world's highest waterfall. The team was attempting to reach the highest, most remote tepuis.

Dinner party at altitude[link]

In 2005, alongside the balloonist and mountaineer David Hempleman-Adams and Lieutenant Commander Alan Veal, leader of the Royal Navy Freefall Parachute Display Team, Grylls created a world record for the highest open-air formal dinner party, which they did under a hot-air balloon at 7,600 metres (25,000 ft), dressed in full mess dress and oxygen masks. To train for the event, he made over 200 parachute jumps. This was in aid of The Duke of Edinburgh's Award and The Prince's Trust.

Paramotoring over the Himalayas[link]

In 2007, Grylls claimed to have broken a new world record by flying a Parajet paramotor over the Himalayas, higher than Mount Everest.^[28] Grylls took off from 4,400 metres (14,500 ft), 8 miles south of the mountain. Grylls reported looking down on the summit during his ascent and coping with temperatures of −60 °C (−76 °F). He endured dangerously low oxygen levels and eventually reached 9,000 metres (29,500 ft), almost 3,000 metres (10,000 ft) higher than the previous record of 6,102 metres (20,019 ft). The feat was filmed for Discovery Channel worldwide as well as Channel 4 in the UK.^[29]

While Grylls initially planned to cross over Everest itself, the permit was only to fly to the south of Everest, and he did not traverse Everest out of risk of violating Chinese airspace.^[30]

Journey Antarctica 2008[link]

In 2008, Bear lead a team of four to climb one of the most remote unclimbed peaks in the world in Antarctica. This was raising funds for Global Angels kids charity and awareness for the potential of alternative energies. During this mission the team also aimed to explore the coast of Antarctica by inflatable boat and jetski, part powered by bioethanol, and then to travel across some of the vast ice desert by wind-powered kite-ski and electric powered paramotor. However, the expedition was cut short after Grylls suffered a broken shoulder while kite skiing across a stretch of ice. Travelling at speeds up to 50 km/h (30 mph), a ski caught on the ice, launching him in the air and breaking his shoulder when he came down. He had to be medically evacuated.^[31]

Longest indoor freefall[link]

Grylls, along with the double amputee Al Hodgson and the Scotsman Freddy MacDonald, set a Guinness world record in 2008 for the longest continuous indoor freefall.^[32] The previous record was 1 hr 36 mins by a US team. Grylls, Hodgson, and MacDonald, using a vertical wind tunnel in Milton Keynes, broke the record by a few seconds. The attempt was in support of the charity Global Angels.

Northwest Passage expedition[link]

In August 2010 Grylls lead a team of five to take an ice-breaking rigid-inflatable boat (RIB) through 2,500 miles (4,000 km) of the ice strewn Northwest Passage. The expedition intended to raise awareness of the effects of global warming and to raise money for children's charity Global Angels.^[33]

Media[link]

Grylls entered television work with an appearance in an advertisement for Sure deodorant, featuring his ascent of Mount Everest. Bear was also used by the UK Ministry of Defence to head the Army's anti-drugs TV campaign, and featured in the first ever major advertising campaign for the world-renowned department store Harrods. Grylls has been a guest on television programs, including Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, The Oprah Winfrey Show, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Attack of the Show, The Late Show with David Letterman, Jimmy Kimmel Live! and Harry Hill's TV Burp. Grylls recorded two advertisements for Post's Trail Mix Crunch Cereal, which aired in the US from January 2009. He also appeared as a distinguished instructor in Dos Equis' Most Interesting Academy in a webisode named "Survival in the Modern Era". He appeared in a five-part web series that demonstrates urban survival techniques and features Grylls going from bush to bash. He also has marketed the Alpha Course, a course on the basics of the Christian faith. Warner Bros. had asked Grylls to appear in its remake of the film Clash of the Titans^[34]

Grylls is a best-selling author. Grylls' first book, titled Facing Up, went into the UK top 10 best-seller list, and was launched in the USA entitled The Kid Who Climbed Everest. About his expedition and achievements climbing to the summit of Mount Everest. Grylls' second book Facing the Frozen Ocean was shortlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award 2004. His third book was written to accompany the series Born Survivor: Bear Grylls. (Released in America in April 2008 to the Man vs. Wild Discovery television show) It features survival skills learned from some of the world's most hostile places. This book reached the Sunday Times Top 10 best-seller list. He also wrote an extreme guide to outdoor pursuits, titled Bear Grylls Outdoor Adventures. In 2011 Bear released his autobiography Mud, Sweat and Tears. and it is still currently the best-selling book in Australia and the United Kingdom.^{[citation needed]}

He has a series of children's adventure survival books titled: Mission Survival: Gold of the Gods, Mission Survival: Way of the Wolf, Mission Survival: Sands of the Scorpion and Mission Survival: Tracks of the Tiger.

[edit] Escape to the Legion

Grylls filmed a four-part TV show in 2005, called Escape to the Legion, which followed Grylls and eleven other "recruits" as they took part in a shortened re-creation of the French Foreign Legion's basic desert training in the Sahara. The show was broadcast in the UK on Channel 4,^[35] and in the USA on the Military Channel.^[36] In 2008, it was repeated in the UK on the History Channel.^[37]

[edit] Born Survivor / Man vs. Wild

Grylls hosts a series titled Born Survivor: Bear Grylls for the British Channel 4 and broadcast as Man vs. Wild in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the U.S.A., and as Ultimate Survival on the Discovery Channel in Europe, Asia, and Africa. The series features Grylls dropped into inhospitable places, showing viewers how to survive. Man vs. Wild debuted in 2006 and went on to become the number one cable show in all of America and now reaches a global audience of over 1.2 billion viewers.^[19] The second season premièred in the US on 15 June 2007, the third in November 2007, and the fourth in May 2008.

The show has featured stunts including Grylls climbing cliffs, parachuting from helicopters, balloons, and planes, paragliding, ice climbing, running through a forest fire, wading rapids, eating snakes, wrapping his urine-soaked t-shirt around his head to help stave off the desert heat, drinking urine saved in a rattlesnake skin, drinking fecal liquid from elephant dung, eating deer droppings, wrestling alligators, field dressing a camel carcass and drinking water from it, eating various "creepy crawlies" [insects], utilising the corpse of a sheep as a sleeping bag and flotation device, free climbing waterfalls and using a bird guano/water enema for hydration.^[38][39] Grylls also regales the viewer with tales of adventurers stranded or killed in the wilderness.

In some early episodes, Man vs. Wild / Born Survivor was criticised by some sources for misleading viewers about some of the situations in which Grylls finds himself. Discovery and Channel 4 television subsequently pledged production and editing transparency and clarification related to the criticism.

In March 2012, Discovery Channel terminated its productions with Grylls due to contract disputes.^[40]

[edit] Worst Case Scenario

Grylls' latest project is titled Worst Case Scenario and airs on Discovery in the USA. It is based on the popular books of the same name.^[41]

Chief Scout[link]

On 17 May 2009, The Scout Association announced Grylls would be appointed Chief Scout following the end of Peter Duncan's five year term in July 2009.^[42] He was officially made Chief Scout at Gilwell 24 on 11 July 2009 in a handover event featuring Peter Duncan in front of a crowd of over 3,000 Explorer Scouts. He is the tenth person to hold the position and the youngest Chief Scout since the role was created for Robert Baden-Powell in 1920.^[43][44]

Charities[link]

Many of Grylls' expeditions and stunts have raised money for charitable organisations.^{[citation needed]} Grylls is an ambassador for The Prince's Trust, an organisation which provides training, financial, and practical support to young people in the United Kingdom.^[19] He is also vice president for The JoLt Trust, a small charity that takes disabled, disadvantaged, abused or neglected young people on challenging month-long expeditions.

Global Angels, a UK charity which seeks to aid children around the world, were the beneficiaries of his 2007 accomplishment of taking a powered para-glider higher than Mount Everest. Grylls's held the highest ever dinner party at 7,600 metres (25,000 ft) in aid of The Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme, and launched the 50th anniversary of the Awards. His successfully circumnavigating Britain on jet skis raised money for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. Grylls' Everest climb was in aid of SSAFA Forces Help, a British-based charitable organisation set up to help former, and serving members of the British Armed Forces, and their families and dependents. His 2003 Arctic expedition detailed in the book Facing the Frozen Ocean was in aid of The Prince's Trust. His 2005 attempt to para-motor over the Angel Falls was in aid of the charity Hope and Homes for Children.^[45] In August 2010, Grylls continued his fund-raising work for Global Angels by undertaking an expedition through the Northwest Passage in a rigid inflatable boat. Many of his expeditions also support environmental causes such as his Antarctica expedition and his circumnavigation of Britain which tested a pioneering new fuel made from rubbish.

In 2011, Grylls was in New Zealand during the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake. Following the incident, he appeared on New Zealand advertisements encouraging people to donate money to help rebuild the city.

Other work[link]

Outside of TV, Grylls works as a motivational speaker, giving speeches worldwide to corporations, churches, schools, and other organisations.^[46] He is also a spokesperson for and owner of a Juice Plus franchise. Grylls has his own outdoor survival clothing range produced by British manufacturer Craghoppers as well as a knife manufactured by Gerber.

See also[link]

• Ranulph Fiennes, British adventurer and a hero of Grylls' growing up^[47]
• Bruce Parry, British adventurer and TV presenter
• Les Hiddins, Australian survival expert and TV presenter
• Les Stroud, Canadian survival expert and TV presenter
• Ray Mears, English survival expert and TV presenter

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Bear Grylls

• BearGrylls.com official website
• Bear Grylls on Twitter
• ScoutBase.org (UK) "Meet the Chiefs"

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Ajit Anantrao Pawar
MLA
In office 1991 - 1995, 1995 - 1999, 1999 - 2004, 2004 - 2009 2009 - Present
Constituency	Baramati
Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra State  India
In office November 10, 2010 – Present
Preceded by	Chhagan Bhujbal
Personal details
Born	(1959-07-22) 22 July 1959 (age 52) Deolali Pravara, Taluka - Rahuri, District - Ahmednagar
Political party	NCP
Spouse(s)	Mrs. Sunetra Pawar
Children	Parth Pawar (Elder son) Jay Pawar (Younger son)
Residence	Sahyog, Baramati, Pune
Religion	Hindu
Website	http://ajitdadapawar.net/
As of November 12, 2010

Ajit Anantrao Pawar (Marathi: अजित अनंतराव पवार) (born July 22, 1959), popularly known as Dada (Big Brother) is a Maharashtra politician currently serving as the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra. He is the nephew of Sharad Pawar, the Union Cabinet Minister of Agriculture and the chief of Nationalist Congress Party.

Early Life and Family History[link]

Ajit Pawar is the son of Anantrao Pawar who was an elder brother of Sharad Pawar. Anantrao followed a less conventional career of working for V. Shantaram's Rajkamal studio. His paternal grandfather, Govindrao Pawar was employed by the Baramati farmers' Cooperative ( Sahakari Kharedi Vikri Sangh) whilst his grandmother, Shardabai looked after the family farm at Katewadi, ten kilometers from Baramati.

Political life[link]

Ajit Pawar made his foray into politics in 1982 when he was elected to a sugar cooperative body. Ajit Pawar was then elected as a chairman of the Pune District Co-operative Bank (PDC) in 1991, the post he held for 16 years. It merits attention that when he took over, the bank deposits were just Rs 300 crore. When he relinquished office the bank deposits had increased to an astronomical figure of Rs 160000 crores (approximately $32 billion)^{[citation needed]} . During the same time he was elected to Lok Sabha from Baramati Lok Sabha constituency. He later vacated his Lok Sabha seat in favour of Mr. Sharad Pawar who had then become a Defense minister in Mr. P. V. Narasimha Rao's government.

Thereafter, he moved to the state legislature and was elected as a MLA from Baramati Vidhan Sabha constituency in 1991. He went on to become minister of state for Agriculture and Power (June 1991 - November 1992) in Mr. Sudhakarrao Naik's government. Later he became minister of state for Soil Conservation, Power and Planning (November 1992 - February 1993) when Mr. Sharad Pawar returned to the state as chief minister.

When Congress-NCP combine came into power in 1999 Mr. Ajit Pawar was promoted to the rank of a cabinet minister. He became minister for the coveted Irrigation department (October 1999 - December 2003) in Mr. Vilasrao Deshmukh's government. He was given additional charge of Rural Development department (December 2003 - October 2004) in Mr. Sushilkumar Shinde's government.

When Congress-NCP combine returned to power in 2004 he retained the Water Resources ministry (name changed from Irrigation department to Water Resources department) (November 2004 - October 2009) in Mr. Vilasrao Deshmukh's government and later in Mr. Ashok Chavan's government. He also became the Guardian minister for Pune district in 2004 and has held the post since then. There are allegations that as the minister for water resources he spared no efforts to help in the development of Lavasa,

^[1] a project touted as a "vision of Sharad Pawar". The Maharashtra Krishna Valley Development Corporation (MKVDC) leased 141.15 hectares to Lavasa in August 2002, which included part of Warasgaon dam reservoir. The lease between MKDVC and Lavasa was executed at rates far below the market rate.^[2] This transfer was illegal as the mandatory permission from the revenue department was not taken.^{[citation needed]}

Since 2007 corporation elections and subsequent Zilla Parishad elections,he has one umbrella control over cultural city of Maharashtra, Pune and its rural area.He is also regarded as stringent and hard liner administrator. He is credited for efforts taken to resolve traffic congestion in Pune and Pimpri-Cinchwad through vast constructions of flyovers,sub-ways and broad roads which were at times matters of criticism. He has also envisioned the implementation of Metro Rail project for mass transport in Pune. He make the Pimprichinchvad the good model of development in India.In 2011-12 Pimparichinchvadhas recived the frist national award in urban develpment.

See also[link]

• Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra
• Sharad Pawar

References[link]

External links[link]

• Ajit Pawar profile on hypermart .net