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Tuffi

river, between Schwebebahn stations Alter Markt and Adlerbrücke of Tuffi by Jörg Mazur Tuffi (born 1946, India – died in 1989, Paris, France) was a female Asian elephant that became famous in West Germany during 1950 when she accidentally fell from the Wuppertal Schwebebahn into the River Wupper underneath. On 21 July 1950, the circus director had Tuffi, then four years old, transported on the suspended monorail in Wuppertal, as a publicity stunt. The elephant trumpeted wildly and ran through the carriage, broke through a window and fell into the River Wupper, suffering only minor injuries. A panic broke out in the carriage and some passengers were injured. Althoff helped the elephant out of the water. Both the circus director and the official who had allowed the ride were fined. Tuffi was sold to in 1968; she died there in 1989. No photograph of the incident is known; a widely circulated postcard picture is a montage. A building near the location of the incident, between the stations and , features a painting of Tuffi. A local milk-factory has chosen the name as a brand. The Wuppertal tourist information keeps an assortment of Tuffi-related souvenirs, local websites show original pictures. In 1970 Marguerita Eckel and Ernst-Andreas Ziegler published a children's picture book about the incident titled (“Tuffi and the suspension railway”).

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Article summary

river, between Schwebebahn stations Alter Markt and Adlerbrücke of Tuffi by Jörg Mazur Tuffi (born 1946, India – died in 1989, Paris, France) was a female Asian elephant that became famous in West Germany during 1950 when she accidentally fell from the Wuppertal Schwebebahn into the River Wupper underneath. On 21 July 1950, the circus director had Tuffi, then four years old, transported on the suspended monorail in Wuppertal, as a publicity stunt. The elephant trumpeted wildly and ran through the carriage, broke through a window and fell into the River Wupper, suffering only minor injuries. A panic broke out in the carriage and some passengers were injured. Althoff helped the elephant out of the water. Both the circus director and the official who had allowed the ride were fined. Tuffi was sold to in 1968; she died there in 1989. No photograph of the incident is known; a widely circulated postcard picture is a montage. A building near the location of the incident, between the stations and , features a painting of Tuffi. A local milk-factory has chosen the name as a brand. The Wuppertal tourist information keeps an assortment of Tuffi-related souvenirs, local websites show original pictures. In 1970 Marguerita Eckel and Ernst-Andreas Ziegler published a children's picture book about the incident titled (“Tuffi and the suspension railway”).

Key claims

  1. date of birth: 1946 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
  2. date of death: 1989 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95

Discussion questions

  1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
  2. The record states that the date of birth is "1946". What evidence would count against this claim?
  3. The record states that the date of death is "1989". What evidence would count against this claim?
  4. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
  5. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

Bibliography

  1. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1351991694

Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.