GoodPluto

Philepittidae

2005-04-05T08:04:00.000-07:00

Members range in size from 9 to 16.5 centimetres (3.5 to 6.5 inches) long. The two species of asities (Philepitta) are plump, stout-legged pitta-like birds that browse foliage for berries and other fruit. The false sunbirds (Neodrepanis

Arensky, Anton

2005-04-03T16:09:00.000-07:00

Although he was a composition student under Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov, Arensky's work was more akin to that of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky; the predominant moods of his music are lyrical and elegiac. Of his three

Wollaston, Lake

2005-04-02T16:19:00.000-08:00

Lake, northeastern Saskatchewan. It lies in the southern part of the Barren Grounds (a subarctic prairie region of northern Canada), 30 miles (50 km) northwest of Reindeer Lake. It is 70 miles (113 km) long and 25 miles (40 km) wide, has an area of 1,035 square miles (2,681 square km), and drains through two outlets: one northwestward through Fond du Lac River to Lake Athabasca and the Mackenzie River system,

Udaipur

2005-04-01T14:29:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Udaypur, city, southern Rajasthan state, northwestern India. It lies in the hills of the Aravali Range. Udaipur (“City of Sunrise”) was made the capital of the princely state of Udaipur in 1568 by Maharana Udai Singh after the sack of Chittaurgarh. A walled city, it stands on a ridge crowned by the Maharana's palace, which was begun in 1570. To the west lies Lake Pichola with its two small islands and marble

Limassol

2005-04-01T06:21:00.000-08:00

Limassol's rise from a humble market town between the ancient settlements of Amathus and Curium took place at the end of the Byzantine Empire, when Richard I the Lion-Heart landed

Pavese, Cesare

2005-03-30T17:43:00.000-08:00

Born in a small town in which his father, an official, owned property, he moved with his family to Turin, where he attended high school and the university. Denied an outlet for his creative powers by Fascist control of literature,

Ashikaga

2005-03-30T15:39:00.000-08:00

City, Tochigi ken (prefecture), Honshu, Japan. It is located on the Watarase River. Ashikaga Takauji, who established the Ashikaga shogunate in the 14th century, was born there. Ashikaga was a post town on the Nikko Highway during the Tokugawa era (1603–1867). It was a dyeing and weaving centre for several centuries, and after the national railway was opened in 1867 it flourished as a textile

Sardanapalus

2005-03-28T17:25:00.000-08:00

According to the Greek historian Diodorus Siculus, Sardanapalus was the last of a line of 30 kings of Assyria, who exceeded all his predecessors

Permafrost, Soil flow

2005-03-28T17:19:00.000-08:00

In areas underlain by an impermeable layer (seasonally frozen ground or perennially frozen ground), the active layer is often saturated with moisture and is quite mobile. The progressive downslope movement of saturated detrital material under the action of gravity and working in conjunction with frost action is called solifluction. This material moves in a

Vanir

2005-03-27T13:20:00.000-08:00

In Norse mythology, race of gods responsible for wealth, fertility, and commerce and subordinate to the warlike Aesir. As reparation for the torture of their goddess Gullveig, the Vanir demanded from the Aesir monetary satisfaction or equal status. Declaring war instead, the Aesir suffered numerous defeats before granting equality. The Vanir sent their gods Nj

Aeschylus

2005-03-26T08:53:00.000-08:00

First of classical Athens' great tragic dramatists, who raised that emerging art to great heights of poetry and theatrical power.

Arras Lace

2005-03-25T15:48:00.000-08:00

Bobbin lace made at Arras, Fr., from the 17th century onward and similar to that of Lille. Although Arras was known for its gold lace, its popularity rested on its exceptionally pure-white lace, stronger than Lille but with similar floral patterns. Arras lace was worn at the coronation (1714) of George I of England. In the 19th century Arras produced a light variety of lace called mignonette.

Gyliakian Series

2005-03-25T07:24:00.000-08:00

Major division of Cretaceous rocks and time in Japan (the Cretaceous Period began about 144,000,000 years ago and lasted about 77,600,000 years). Rocks of the Gyliakian Series overlie those of the Miyakoan Series and underlie rocks of the Urakawan Series. Two stages, the Upper and Lower Gyliakian stages, are recognized and represent shorter spans of time. Distinctive fossil cephalopods

Ecuador

2005-03-24T11:38:00.000-08:00

Officially Republic of Ecuador, Spanish República del Ecuador, country of northwestern South America. It straddles part of the Andes Mountains and occupies part of the Amazon basin. Lying on the Equator, from which its name derives, it borders Colombia to the north, Peru to the east and the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west; it includes the Pacific island group of the Galápagos Islands, or the Archipiélago de Colón. It is a relatively

Biblical Literature, Hellenistic religions

2005-03-24T10:34:00.000-08:00

With the expansion of Christianity into the Hellenistic world either to Jews or increasingly to Gentiles, there were various reasons why the Christian message that spread, for example by Paul, met the needs of the Hellenistic Age and world. There was no lack of religions, but there was a crisis of upheaval, unrest, and uncertainty and a desire to escape from mortality

Rambler, The

2005-03-23T13:13:00.000-08:00

A twopenny sheet issued twice weekly in London by the publisher John Payne between 1750 and 1752, each issue containing a single anonymous essay; 208 such periodical essays appeared, all but five written by Samuel Johnson. Johnson's intention in this project was that of a moralist aware of his duty to make the world better. This sense of responsibility determined the style of his

Ghana

2005-03-22T14:56:00.000-08:00

Although relatively small in area and population, Ghana is one of the leading countries

Anson, George Anson, Baron

2005-03-22T13:46:00.000-08:00

Anson entered the Royal Navy

Ba'al Shem Tov

2005-03-21T04:10:00.000-08:00

The Besht's life has been so adorned with fables and legends that a biography in the ordinary historical sense is not possible. He came from humble and obscure beginnings in a village known to contemporary Jews as Okop or Akuf, depending on the Hebrew vocalization. As a young orphan he held various semi-menial posts connected with synagogues and Hebrew elementary

Water Shield

2005-03-19T17:06:00.000-08:00

Each oval, floating leaf of water shield is 5 to 10 centimetres (about 2 to 4 inches) long. A long, jelly-coated

Cambric

2005-03-19T14:52:00.000-08:00

Lightweight, closely woven, plain cotton cloth first made in Cambrai, France, and originally a fine linen fabric. Printed cambric was used in London by 1595 for bands, cuffs, and ruffs. Modern cambric is made from choice American or Egyptian cotton, with both warp and weft, or filling, yarns ranging from 60 to 80 in size (count), and is usually lightly calendered to produce a slight gloss

Mu'tasim, Al-

2005-03-19T08:07:00.000-08:00

Succeeding his brother al-Ma'mun in 833, al-Mu'tasim was the first caliph to employ the Turkish mercenaries who later came to dominate the 'Abbasid dynasty. In 837 he crushed a revolt of Persian schismatics led by the rebel Babak, who was cooperating with the Greeks. After the Byzantine emperor Theophilus had laid waste the Muslim

Owendo

2005-03-18T08:08:00.000-08:00

Deepwater port, northwestern Gabon, on the north shore of the Gabon Estuary; it serves the national capital, Libreville (9 miles [15 km] north-northwest), and was designed to handle ore vessels. It has a seaplane base and road connections with Libreville, Cocobeach, Médouneu, and Kango. In 1978 the first 115-mile (185-kilometre) segment of the Trans-Gabon Railway was opened, linking Owendo

Shah Jahan Period Architecture

2005-03-17T01:57:00.000-08:00

Indian building style that flourished under the patronage of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan (reigned 1628–58); its crowning achievement is the magnificent mausoleum at Agra, the Taj Mahal (q.v.). Among the other landmarks of the style are several mosques at the emperor's first capital, Agra, and another great mosque and a huge fortress-palace complex at his second capital, Delhi. The use

Pitchblende

2005-03-17T01:34:00.000-08:00

Amorphous, black, pitchy form of the crystalline uranium oxide mineral uraninite (q.v.); it is one of the primary mineral ores of uranium, containing 50–80 percent of that element. Three chemical elements were first discovered in pitchblende: uranium by the German chemist Martin Klaproth in 1789, and polonium and radium by the French scientists Pierre and Marie Curie in 1898. Deposits,

Tablas De Damiel National Park

2005-03-16T19:52:00.000-08:00

Any of three species of large, slow aquatic mammals found along tropical and subtropical Atlantic coasts and associated inland waters. Dull gray, blackish, or brown in colour, all three manatee species have stout, tapered bodies ending in a flat, rounded tail used for forward propulsion. The forelimbs are modified into flippers; there are no hind

Cosmogony

2005-03-16T18:41:00.000-08:00

In astronomy, study of the evolutionary behaviour of the universe and the origin of its characteristic features. For scientific theories on the unsolved problem of the origin of the solar system, see planetesimal; protoplanet; solar nebula. For an outline of the development of astronomical ideas regarding the structure of the universe, see cosmology; for theories

La Pérouse, Jean-françois De Galaup, Count (comte) De

2005-03-16T10:38:00.000-08:00

Commanding the ship La Boussole, which was accompanied by the Astrolabe, La Pérouse sailed from France on Aug. 1, 1785. After rounding Cape Horn, one of his stops in the South Pacific was Easter Island (April 9, 1786). Investigating tropical Pacific waters, he visited the Sandwich Islands

Honduras, Gulf Of

2005-03-14T15:56:00.000-08:00

Also called Bay Of Honduras, wide inlet of the Caribbean Sea, indenting the coasts of Honduras, Guatemala, and Belize. It extends from Dangriga (formerly Stann Creek), Belize, southeastward to La Ceiba, Honduras, a straight-line distance between the two localities of about 115 miles (185 km). The gulf receives many rivers, including the Ulúa and the Motagua, and it contains the reefs known as the Pelican Cays

Korea Cold Current, North

2005-03-13T13:11:00.000-08:00

Surface oceanic current flowing southward east of Korea near Vladivostok, Russia. The North Korea Cold Current forms a small counterclockwise gyre in the Sea of Japan.

Bohuslän

2005-03-13T11:28:00.000-08:00

Hällristningar, or rock carvings,

Mitchell, Maria

2005-03-13T09:43:00.000-08:00

Mitchell was educated in schools on her native Nantucket, Massachusetts, including the one conducted by her father. Her interest in astronomy was stimulated by her father, who let her assist in his work of rating chronometers for the Nantucket whaling fleet and who encouraged

Gipp, George

2005-03-13T01:44:00.000-08:00

Gipp entered Notre Dame on a baseball scholarship, but he was recruited for football by the coach Knute Rockne, who saw Gipp drop-kicking and passing a football on a field adjacent to the practice field. Gipp played

Eureka

2005-03-11T22:24:00.000-08:00

Byname of European Research Agency, European cooperative organization inaugurated in April 1985 by 18 European nations and formally established with a secretariat in Brussels in 1986. Its purpose is to promote European high-technology industries by linking the efforts of various companies and channeling moneys for their research. The original 18 member nations are the 12 European Community nations (Belgium,

Beach, Sylvia

2005-03-11T11:46:00.000-08:00

Beach was educated mainly at home. In 1901 she accompanied her father, a Presbyterian

Earth, Mountain building

2005-03-11T05:57:00.000-08:00

The mid-oceanic ridge system is located along divergent plate boundaries. This system is an undersea

Steamer Duck

2005-03-10T18:17:00.000-08:00

(genus Tachyeres), any of four species of heavily built, big-billed sea ducks of southernmost South America and the Falkland Islands. The bird is named for its habit of running across the water with wings thrashing like a paddle-wheel steamboat. Of the four species, T. pteneres, T. brachypterus, and T. leucocephalus are flightless and a bit larger than the mallard-size flying

Moses Of Khoren

2005-03-10T15:47:00.000-08:00

Armenian Movses Khorenatzi author known as the father of Armenian literature. Traditionally believed to have lived in the 5th century, Moses has also been dated as late as the 9th century. Nothing is known of his life apart from alleged autobiographical details contained in the History of Armenia, which bears his name as author. His claims to have been the disciple of Isaac the Great (Sahak) and Mesrop

Epicureanism

2005-03-10T09:27:00.000-08:00

In a strict sense, the philosophy taught by Epicurus (341–270 BC). In a broad sense, it is a system of ethics embracing every conception or form of life that can be traced to the principles of his philosophy. In ancient polemics, as often since, the term was employed with an even more generic (and clearly erroneous) meaning as the equivalent of hedonism, the doctrine that pleasure or

Marriage Law

2005-03-09T23:25:00.000-08:00

The body of legal specifications and requirements and other laws that regulate the initiation, continuation, and validity of marriages. Marriage is a legally sanctioned union usually between one man and one woman. At the beginning of the 21st century, marriage between people of the same sex was legally recognized in two countries, The Netherlands (2001) and Belgium (2003), and

Hamilton, Alexander

2005-03-09T19:19:00.000-08:00

Lashed by criticism, tired and anxious to repair his private fortune, Hamilton left the cabinet on January 31, 1795. His influence, as an unofficial adviser, however, continued as strong as ever. Washington and his cabinet consulted him on almost all matters of policy. When Washington decided to retire, he turned to Hamilton, asking his opinion as to the best time to publish his

Nahyan, Shaykh Zayid Ibn Sultan Al

2005-03-08T22:45:00.000-08:00

Zayid was raised as a desert nomad and was governor of Abu Zabi's Eastern Province from 1946 to 1966, when he deposed his brother Sheikh Shakhbut ibn Sultan and became emir. Zayid was the principal

Morales, Cristóbal De

2005-03-08T15:12:00.000-08:00

Morales's first post was as maestro de capilla at the cathedral at Ávila (1526–29). After a short stay at Plasencia he joined the papal choir in Rome (1535), where he remained

Eurocommunism

2005-03-07T20:48:00.000-08:00

The term Eurocommunism was coined in the mid-1970s and received wide publicity after the publication

Poison, Drugs of abuse

2005-03-07T13:54:00.000-08:00

Mind-altering drugs commonly abused include amphetamines, cocaine, phencyclidine, heroin, and methaqualone. These drugs are primarily toxic to the central nervous system; amphetamine and cocaine cause stimulation of the system (hallucinations and delirium), and heroin causes the depression of the system (depressed respiration and coma). In contrast, phencyclidine

Nahavand, Battle Of

2005-03-06T10:22:00.000-08:00

At Nahavand some 30,000 Arab troops, under the command of Nu'man, attacked a Sasanian army alleged to number 150,000 men. The Sasanian troops, commanded

A Posteriori Knowledge

2005-03-06T08:45:00.000-08:00

Knowledge derived from experience, as opposed to a priori knowledge (q.v.).

Theatre, Western, Commedia dell'arte

2005-03-05T13:06:00.000-08:00

Around the mid-16th century, there emerged in Italy a lively tradition of popular theatre that fused many disparate elements into a vigorous style, which profoundly influenced the development of European theatre. This was the legendary commedia dell'arte (“theatre of the professionals”), a nonliterary tradition that centred on the actor, as distinguished from the

International Trade, The European Community

2005-03-05T03:05:00.000-08:00

The EEC remained a leading proponent of economic integration until 1993, when, renamed the European Community (EC), it became the principal component of the European Union (EU), a broader entity seeking economic and political cooperation. The EC was formed by the Maastricht Treaty (formally known as the Treaty on European Union; 1991), which went into force on November 1, 1993. The treaty

Rime

2005-03-04T21:23:00.000-08:00

White, opaque, granular deposit of ice crystals formed on objects that are at a temperature below the freezing point. Rime occurs when supercooled water droplets (at a temperature lower than 0° C [32° F]) in fog come in contact with a surface that is also at a temperature below freezing; the droplets are so small that they freeze almost immediately upon contact with the object.

A Posteriori Knowledge

2005-03-03T17:02:00.000-08:00

A soft, silvery-white or grayish metal in Group IVa of the periodic table. Lead is very malleable, ductile, and dense and is a poor conductor of electricity. Known in antiquity and believed by the alchemists to be the oldest of metals, lead is highly durable and resistant to corrosion, as is indicated by the continuing use of lead water pipes installed by the ancient

Literature, Canada.

2005-03-03T16:32:00.000-08:00

Though the French literary community in Canada viewed itself as a society distinct from the rest of the country, its tastes remained entirely global in 2001. The third installation of Pierre Godin's ongoing biography about the late René Lévesque, the popular provincial politician, attracted attention among

Lomas De Zamora

2005-03-03T03:55:00.000-08:00

Cabecera (county seat) and partido (county) of Gran (Greater) Buenos Aires, Arg. It lies immediately south of the city of Buenos Aires, in Buenos Aires provincia. The name and origin of the partido and cabecera date from the late 16th century, when Juan de Zamora, one of the founders of Buenos Aires, was granted a large landholding on the lomas (“slopes”) in the vicinity. In 1861 the partido

Lomas De Zamora

2005-03-02T08:22:00.000-08:00

Any of about a dozen species of tropical American rodents resembling the small forest-dwelling hoofed animals of tropical Africa and Asia (see chevrotain; duiker; royal antelope). Agoutis weigh up to 6 kg (13 pounds), with an elongated body measuring up to 76 cm (2.5 feet) long. They have a large head and rump but slender legs, comparatively small ears, and a tiny, inconspicuous,

Indigo

2005-03-02T07:21:00.000-08:00

Some species, particularly

Pacific Islands, Agriculture and natural resources

2005-03-02T06:07:00.000-08:00

Coconut products, including copra, from which oil is extracted, form the principal export from most islands. Agricultural production depends as much on native family enterprise as it does on plantation systems, which predominate in the larger islands. Perishable fruits, such as pineapples, bananas, and citrus fruits, require markets close at hand unless they are

Alcan Aluminium Limited

2005-02-28T18:03:00.000-08:00

Canadian multinational company incorporated in 1928 (as Aluminium Limited) and now the largest Canadian industrial enterprise, operating in more than 100 countries. It has mining and refining operations for bauxite; smelting plants for aluminum; hydroelectric plants; fabricating plants for a wide variety of aluminum products; transportation operations; facilities

épinay-sur-seine

2005-02-28T00:17:00.000-08:00

Town, northern suburb of Paris, Seine-Saint-Denis département, Paris region, north-central France, on the Seine River. Épinay originated from a Gallic-Roman settlement called Spinogelum (Place of Thorns and Gorse), and in the Middle Ages it was the site of La Brache, a castle of the Frankish kings. During the Franco-German War a battle was fought there (Nov. 30, 1870). The town has a chemical

Béjart, Maurice

2005-02-27T21:38:00.000-08:00

After studies in Paris, Béjart toured with the Ballets de Paris de Roland Petit (1947–49), the International Ballet (1949–50), and the Royal Swedish Ballet (1951–52). In 1954 he founded Les Ballets

Anchovy

2005-02-27T02:24:00.000-08:00

Any of numerous schooling saltwater fishes of the family Engraulidae (order Clupeiformes) related to the herring and distinguished by a large mouth, almost always extending behind the eye, and by a pointed snout. Most of the more than 100 species live in shallow tropical or warm temperate seas, where they often enter brackish water around river mouths.

Gabon, History Of

2005-02-26T23:57:00.000-08:00

Early history is presented in David E. Gardinier, “The Beginnings of French Catholic Evangelization in Gabon and African Responses, 1844–1883,” French Colonial Studies, no. 2 (1978), pp. 49–74, on the planting of Catholicism in Gabon, and “Les Frères de Saint-Gabriel au Gabon, 1900–1918, et la naissance d'une nouvelle élite africaine,” Mondes et Cultures, 46(3):593–606 (1986), on the education of the anticolonialist elite prominent in Gabon's political life since 1944. K. David Patterson, The Northern Gabon Coast to 1875 (1975), examines the economic and political evolution of northern Gabon. Brian Weinstein, Gabon: Nation-building on the Ogooue (1966), describes political development, especially from the 1940s to the early '60s. Charles F. Darlington and Alice B. Darlington, African Betrayal (1968), is an account by the American ambassador to Libreville who witnessed the coup of 1964 and the French intervention. François Gaulme, Le Gabon et son ombre (1988), traces the political, economic, and social evolution since 1960. Michael C. Reed, “Gabon: A Neo-Colonial Enclave of Enduring French Interest,” The Journal of Modern African Studies, 25(2):283–320 (June 1987), focuses on the recent modern period. David E. Gardinier, Historical Dictionary of Gabon (1981), concentrates on the political evolution in the 20th century, with a large bibliography.

Gelada

2005-02-26T04:39:00.000-08:00

(Theropithecus gelada), large baboon-like monkey, family Cercopithecidae, differing from true baboons (Papio) in having the nostrils some distance from the tip of the muzzle. The gelada, or lion baboon, is a stocky animal with white eyelids, brown fur, a tufted tail, and a naked pink chest. The male bears a long, heavy mane and may be more than 70 centimetres (28 inches) long, excluding

Chiaroscuro

2005-02-25T20:03:00.000-08:00

Some evidence exists that ancient Greek and Roman artists used chiaroscuro effects, but in European painting the technique was first brought to its full potential by Leonardo da Vinci in the late 15th century in such paintings as his “Adoration of the

Metatexis

2005-02-25T11:37:00.000-08:00

The process in which the magma-like portion of migmatites (mixed rocks that have granitic layers or veinlike bodies) is emplaced within a host rock of different composition. Migmatites may form by the injection of granitic magma (the metatect) into the host or by the partial fusion of the host itself; they form under the most extreme temperatures and pressures reached

Beyers, C.f.

2005-02-25T07:07:00.000-08:00

A graduate of Victoria College (now Stellenbosch University), Beyers migrated to the Transvaal, where he was naturalized and practiced as a lawyer. Joining the Boer forces in 1899, he rose

Laterality

2005-02-24T13:58:00.000-08:00

The most obvious example of laterality is handedness, the tendency to use one hand or the other to perform activities. It is the usual practice to classify persons as right-handed, left-handed, or ambidextrous (two-handed).

Dahl, Roald

2005-02-24T07:35:00.000-08:00

Following his graduation from Repton, a renowned British public school, in 1932, Dahl avoided a university education and joined an expedition to Newfoundland. He worked from 1937 to 1939 in Dar es Salaam, Tanganyika (now in Tanzania), but he enlisted

Teresina

2005-02-23T23:45:00.000-08:00

City, capital of Piauí estado (“state”), northeastern Brazil. The city lies along the Parnaíba River (there bridged to Timon in Maranhão state), 220 miles (354 km) upstream from the Atlantic port of Parnaíba. Founded in 1852 as the new capital of Piauí, it was originally named Therezina after the Brazilian empress Teresa Cristina. Since then, it has become the chief commercial centre of

Balaam

2005-02-22T19:04:00.000-08:00

A non-Israelite prophet described in the Old Testament (Num. 22–24) as a diviner who is importuned by Balak, the king of Moab, to place a malediction on the people of Israel, who are camped ominously on the plains of Moab. Balaam states that he will utter only what his god Yahweh inspires, but he is willing to accompany the Moabite messengers to Balak. He is met en route by an angel

Tariqa

2005-02-22T07:53:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Tariqah, Arabic Tariqah (“road,” “path,” or “way”), the Muslim spiritual path toward direct knowledge (ma'rifah) of God or Reality (haqq). In the 9th and 10th centuries tariqa meant the spiritual path of individual Sufis (mystics). After the 12th century, as communities of followers gathered around sheikhs (or pirs, “teachers”), tariqa came to designate the sheikh's entire ritual system, which was followed by the community

Ghee

2005-02-22T03:23:00.000-08:00

Ghee is produced as follows. Butter made from cow's milk is melted over a slow fire and then heated slowly until the separated water boils off. The vessel holding the butter is then allowed to cool; semifluid, clear butterfat, which

Ryegrass

2005-02-22T02:53:00.000-08:00

Any of about 10 species constituting the genus Lolium (family Poaceae), which includes forage and lawn grasses of temperate Eurasia and the noxious weed known as darnel (L. temulentum). Ryegrasses are about 0.3 to 1 m (1 to 3 feet) tall and have tough, dark green leaves. The flower spikelets grow in the angles of a zigzag rachis (flower stem). Both perennial ryegrass (L. perenne) and Italian

Chronology, Peoples of Oaxaca and the Isthmus of Tehuantepec

2005-02-21T05:51:00.000-08:00

Pictorial books of the Mixtec of Oaxaca record events in the lives of ruling families covering seven centuries, but, again, happenings are fixed only by the day on which each occurred and the year in which the day fell. Sequence is usually clear, but at times there is doubt as to which 52-year period is meant when parenthetical material, such as life histories of secondary

D.b.e.

2005-02-20T15:09:00.000-08:00

Dame commander of the British Empire, member of the second highest class of a British order of knighthood. See British Empire, The Most Excellent Order of the.

Avalonian Orogeny

2005-02-19T05:39:00.000-08:00

A mountain-building event that affected the eastern portion of the Appalachian Geosyncline in late Precambrian time (Precambrian time occurred from 3.96 billion to 540 million years ago). Evidence for the orogeny consists of igneous intrusions, folding of strata, and the development of angular unconformities in the Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland, the eastern portion

Infection, Temperature regulation

2005-02-19T04:24:00.000-08:00

Although it has been generally accepted that the usual range of deep body temperature is from 97.2° F to 100° F (36.2° C to 37.8° C), temperatures of 95.9° F to 101.2° F (35.5° C to 38.4° C) have been reported in normal individuals. The rectal temperature of a person may read 101° F (38.3° C) in the afternoon or after exercise. Core body temperature, in fact, varies with time of day, environmental temperature, physical activity, food intake,

Briand, Aristide

2005-02-18T20:06:00.000-08:00

As a law student, Briand became associated with left-wing causes,

Tytler, James

2005-02-18T13:37:00.000-08:00

Known in Edinburgh as a debt-ridden eccentric, between 1776 and 1784 Tytler almost single-handedly revised the original edition of Encyclopædia Britannica, enlarging it from three

Nabataean Alphabet

2005-02-17T23:07:00.000-08:00

Writing system used between approximately 150 BC and AD 150 in the Nabataean kingdom of Petra in the Arabian Peninsula. Used by the Nabataeans to write the Aramaic language, this alphabet was related to the Aramaic alphabet, one of the major Semitic scripts. The Nabataean script gave rise to the neo-Sinaitic alphabet, the ancestor of the Arabic alphabet. Like its Semitic precursors,

Switzerland, Celtic Switzerland

2005-02-17T14:57:00.000-08:00

During the Iron Age, from 850 BC on, the area that was to become Switzerland was inhabited by Celts in the west and Rhaetians in the east. A rough boundary between the tribes ran from Lake Constance to the Gotthard by way of the Linth valley. The Helvetii, one of the most powerful of the Celtic tribes, controlled much of the area between the Jura and the Alps. Because of pressures

Deerfield Beach

2005-02-17T10:44:00.000-08:00

City, Broward county, southeastern Florida, U.S., on the Atlantic Ocean, just south of Boca Raton. The site, once a pineapple- and vegetable-growing area, was first settled about 1890; in 1896 the Florida East Coast Railway came through the community, which was named Deerfield for the deer that roamed along the Hillsboro River. It developed as a shipping centre for fruits and vegetables.

Perched Rock

2005-02-16T17:34:00.000-08:00

Also called Mushroom Rock, or Pedestal Rock, boulder balanced on a pinnacle rock, another boulder, or in some other precarious position. Some perched rocks form in place, as where rainwash (and in some cases wind) has removed fine material from around the boulder. Others may be transported by tectonic forces (involved in deformation of the Earth's crust) or by ice (such as erratics, or glacier transports) and let down

Biblical Literature, The Samaritan canon

2005-02-16T16:22:00.000-08:00

As has been mentioned, the Samaritans accepted the Pentateuch from the Jews. They know of no other section of the Bible, however, and did not expand their Pentateuchal canon even by the inclusion of any strictly Samaritan compositions.

Utopia Planitia

2005-02-16T09:07:00.000-08:00

Northern lava plain on the planet Mars that was selected as the landing site of the U.S. Viking 2 planetary probe. Photographs transmitted from the Viking 2 lander, which touched down at 47.97° N, 225.74° W, on September 3, 1976, depicted a boulder-strewn plain that superficially resembles the Viking 1 landing site in Chryse Planitia. Soil-sample analyses conducted by the landers show that the

Denmark

2005-02-14T22:20:00.000-08:00

Officially Kingdom of Denmark , Danish Kongeriget Danmark , Faroese Kongaríkidh Danmark , Greenlandic Danmarkip Nâlagauvfia country occupying the peninsula of Jutland, which extends northward from the centre of continental western Europe, and an archipelago of more than 400 islands to the east of the peninsula. Of the country's total land area of 16,639 square miles (43,094 square km), the largest part, 11,497 square miles (29,777 square km), is Jutland; the largest of the islands are Zealand (Sjælland; 2,876 square miles [7,449 square

Novel

2005-02-14T10:31:00.000-08:00

An invented prose narrative of considerable length and a certain complexity that deals imaginatively with human experience, usually through a connected sequence of events involving a group of persons in a specific setting. Within its broad framework, the genre of the novel has encompassed an extensive range of types and styles: picaresque, epistolary, Gothic,

Mason, Bobbie Ann

2005-02-14T08:35:00.000-08:00

Mason was reared on a dairy farm and first experienced life outside rural Kentucky when she traveled throughout the Midwest as the teenage president of the fan club for a pop quartet, the Hilltoppers. She graduated from the University of Kentucky, Lexington

Residual Landform

2005-02-13T06:00:00.000-08:00

Also called Relict Landform, landform that was produced as the remains of an ancient landscape, escaping burial or destruction to remain as part of the present landscape. Residual landforms are often the result of changed climatic conditions, but they may be due to volcanism or to crustal uplift and downwarping. Examples of residual landforms are extinct volcanic cones, inactive stone rivers

Chand, Dhyan

2005-02-12T21:46:00.000-08:00

Chand is most remembered for his goal-scoring feats and for his three Olympic gold medals (1928, 1932, and 1936) in field hockey, while India was dominant in the sport. He joined the Indian army in 1922 and came to prominence when he toured New Zealand with the

Dadié, Bernard Binlin

2005-02-12T20:00:00.000-08:00

Dadié received his higher education in Senegal, where his involvement in a folklore and drama movement first encouraged him to

Fisher

2005-02-11T08:29:00.000-08:00

Also called fisher marten, fisher cat, Pennant's marten, Pennant's cat, big marten, black fox, black cat , or Pekan (species Martes pennanti) rare North American carnivore of northern forests, trapped for its valuable brownish black fur (especially fine in the female). It is a member of the weasel family (Mustelidae). The fisher has a weasellike body, bushy tail, tapered muzzle, and low, rounded ears. Adults are usually 50–63 cm (20–25 inches) long, excluding the 33–42-centimetre tail, and weigh 1.4–6.8 kg (3–15 pounds). Males are

Xavier, Saint Francis

2005-02-10T17:12:00.000-08:00

James Brodrick, Saint Francis Xavier, 1506–1552 (1952), a standard biography in English; Georg Schurhammer, Franz Xaver: Sein Leben und seine Zeit (1955–71; Francis Xavier: His Life and Times, 1973), the definitive biography.

Balkhash, Lake

2005-02-10T09:52:00.000-08:00

Kazak Balqash lake, situated in east-central Kazakstan. The lake lies in the vast Balqash-Alaköl basin at 1,122 feet (342 m) above sea level and is situated 600 miles (966 km) east of the Aral Sea. It is 376 miles (605 km) long from west to east. Its area varies within significant limits, depending on the water balance. In years in which there is an abundance of water (as at the beginning of the 20th century and in the decade

Gatlinburg

2005-02-10T04:46:00.000-08:00

City, Sevier county, eastern Tennessee, U.S. It lies about 30 miles (50 km) southeast of Knoxville, at the northwestern entrance to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. English and Scotch-Irish settlers began to arrive along the Little Pigeon River about 1795; by 1835 the settlement was called White Oak Flats. It was renamed in 1860 for Radford Gatlin, who opened a store there in 1855. In an American

Metallophone

2005-02-10T04:20:00.000-08:00

China had such instruments by the 7th century. Metallophones had reached northern Europe from Indonesia

Meson

2005-02-09T07:26:00.000-08:00

Any member of a family of subatomic particles composed of an even number of quarks and antiquarks. Mesons are sensitive to the strong force (the force that binds the components of the nucleus) because their constituent quarks are strongly interacting. Mesons consist of an even number of quarks with half-integral spin, and so they have integral spin. They vary widely

Powell, John Wesley

2005-02-08T18:21:00.000-08:00

After fighting in the American Civil War, Powell joined Illinois Wesleyan University as professor of geology. In 1867 he became a lecturer at Illinois Normal College

'alenu

2005-02-07T21:29:00.000-08:00

(Hebrew: “it is our duty”), the opening word of an extremely old Jewish prayer, which has been recited at the end of the three periods of daily prayer since the European Middle Ages. The first section of the 'alenu is a prayer of thanks for having set Israel apart for the service of God; the second section, omitted by those who follow the Sephardic (Spanish) rite, expresses a hope

Akrotiri

2005-02-07T06:52:00.000-08:00

British military enclave in south-central Cyprus that was retained as a “sovereign base area” by the United Kingdom under the London Agreement of 1959 granting the independence of Cyprus. Located southwest of Limassol, the enclave comprises Akrotiri Peninsula, the southernmost part of the island, and a small coastal area north of Episkopi Bay. The enclave has a hospital,

Chehab, Fuad

2005-02-06T03:42:00.000-08:00

Chehab received a military education in Syria and France and served with French mandatory forces in Syria after World War I. In 1945 he became commander of the Lebanese