BoilingGrass

Mosquito

2005-04-04T21:18:00.000-07:00

As a night fighter, the Mosquito downed more than 600 Luftwaffe

Race, The problem of labour in the New World

2005-04-03T03:21:00.001-07:00

One of the greatest problems faced by settlers in the New World, particularly in the southern colonies, was the shortage of labour. Within a few decades after the settlement of Jamestown, planters had established indentured servitude as the main form of labour. Under this system, young men (and some women) worked for masters, to whom they were indebted for their transportation,

Daimbert

2005-04-03T03:21:00.000-07:00

Named bishop in 1088 and elevated to archbishop when Pisa was made an archdiocese in 1092, Daimbert accompanied Pope Urban II to France in 1095 to preach the First Crusade. Returning to Pisa the following year, he raised a

Ear, Human, Analysis of sound by the auditory nervous system

2005-04-02T16:59:00.000-08:00

Evidence of orderly spatial representations of the organ of Corti at the lower levels of the auditory pathway has been reported by many investigators. These patterns seem to be in accord with the place theory of the cochlear analysis of sound. Physiological evidence of tuning of the auditory system also has been obtained by recording with the electrical potentials

Abraham, Karl

2005-04-02T06:04:00.000-08:00

While serving as an assistant to the psychiatrist Eugen Bleuler at the Burghölzi Mental Hospital in Zürich (1904–07), Abraham met the psychoanalyst Carl Jung and made his initial

Papp, László

2005-04-01T14:15:00.000-08:00

Papp, a former railway clerk, competed as a middleweight (161 pounds [73 kg]) at the 1948 Olympic Games in London. A hard-hitting left-hander, he won the first of his gold medals by defeating Britain's John Wright in the final match. In 1952, when the

Christian Iii

2005-03-31T13:00:00.000-08:00

The eldest son of Frederick I, king of Denmark and Norway, Christian was educated as a Lutheran and showed Protestant

Obama, Barack, Jr.

2005-03-31T06:59:00.000-08:00

American politician who became the third African American, and the first African American male Democrat, to be elected to the U.S. Senate after the end of Reconstruction (1877). Obama's father, Barack Obama, Sr., was originally a goatherd in Kenya; he won a scholarship to study in the United States and eventually became a senior economist in the Kenyan

Ear, Human, Transduction of mechanical vibrations

2005-03-31T04:35:00.000-08:00

The hair cells located in the organ of Corti transduce mechanical sound vibrations into nerve impulses. They are stimulated when the basilar membrane, on which the organ of Corti rests, vibrates. The hair cells are held in place by the reticular lamina, a rigid structure supported by the pillar cells, or rods of Corti, which are attached to the basilar fibres. At the base

Russell, Morgan

2005-03-29T02:15:00.000-08:00

After studying under Robert Henri in New York City, Russell moved to Paris in 1906 and lived there for 40 years. In 1913–14 he and Stanton Macdonald-Wright established Synchromism (q.v.) as an avant-garde movement, issuing manifestos and exhibiting together in Munich, Paris, and New York

Backbone Mountain

2005-03-28T03:11:00.000-08:00

Highest point in Maryland, U.S., reaching an elevation of 3,360 feet (1,024 metres). It is located on a ridge of the Allegheny and Appalachian mountains, located in Garrett county 12 miles (19 km) south of Oakland. The ridge is 35 miles (56 km) long and extends southwestward into Preston and Tucker counties of West Virginia.

Ann, Cape

2005-03-28T01:06:00.000-08:00

Cape on the Atlantic Ocean comprising the eastern extremity of Essex county, northeastern Massachusetts, U.S., 30 miles (48 km) northeast of Boston. Sheltering Ipswich Bay, it is indented by Annisquam Harbor on the north and Gloucester Harbor on the south. The tidal Annisquam River, a 4-mile- (6.4-km-) long navigable waterway, connects the two harbours. The cape also shelters the northern

Intendant

2005-03-27T10:45:00.000-08:00

The origin of the office of intendant remains obscure, and no document has been

France, History Of, Attempts at a restoration

2005-03-26T10:35:00.000-08:00

The monarchists, however, still held a comfortable majority in the assembly and continued to hope and plan for a restoration. Legitimists and Orleanists remained at odds, but a compromise seemed possible. The Bourbon pretender, the Count de Chambord (“the miracle child” of 1820), was old and childless; the Orleanist pretender, Philippe, Count de Paris, was young and prolific.

Mahalwari System

2005-03-26T01:13:00.000-08:00

For revenue purposes the name was applied to any compact area containing one or more villages, which were called “estates.” The

Sangha River

2005-03-24T18:12:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Sanga, tributary of the Congo River, formed by the Mambéré and Kadeï headstreams at Nola, southwestern Central African Republic. The Sangha River flows 140 miles (225 km) south to Ouesso in Congo (Brazzaville), forming part of Cameroon's border with the Central African Republic and Congo. The river then turns south-southeast and southwest, flowing 225 miles (362 km) to its mouth on the Congo

Accomplice

2005-03-24T13:41:00.000-08:00

An abettor is one who is present actually or constructively at the commission

France, History Of, The July monarchy

2005-03-24T08:29:00.000-08:00

The renovated regime (often called the July monarchy or the bourgeois monarchy) rested on an altered political theory and a broadened social base. Divine right gave way to popular sovereignty; the social centre of gravity shifted from the landowning aristocracy to the wealthy bourgeoisie. The Charter of 1814 was retained but no longer as a royal gift to the nation; it

Bahamas, The

2005-03-23T05:43:00.000-08:00

A constitutional monarchy and member of the Commonwealth, The Bahamas comprises an archipelago of about 700 islands in the North Atlantic Ocean just southeast of the United States. Area: 13,939 sq km (5,382 sq mi). Pop. (1996 est.): 280,000. Cap.: Nassau. Monetary unit: Bahamian dollar, with (Oct. 11, 1996) a par value of B$1 to U.S. $1 (free rate of B$1.58 = £ 1 sterling). Queen, Elizabeth II; governor-general in 1996, Orville Turnquest; prime minister,

Cabrol, Fernand

2005-03-23T00:07:00.000-08:00

One of the most important of Cabrol's works was his widely circulated Livre de la

Trichur

2005-03-22T07:25:00.000-08:00

Town, administrative headquarters of Trichur district, central Kerala state, southwestern India. The town is located 12 mi (19 km) inland on an extensive lagoon system. A commercial and cultural centre, it is considered to be the oldest town on the west coast of India; its name means “small sacred place.” Trichur is built around a hillock topped by the Vatakkunatha temple, the focus

Balash

2005-03-21T18:00:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Valakhsh Sasanian king (reigned 484–488), succeeding his brother Firuz I. Soon after he ascended the throne, Balash was threatened by the dominance of invading Hephthalites, a nomadic eastern tribe. Supported by Zarmihr, a feudal chief, Balash suppressed an uprising by his rebel brother Zareh. Later, however, he was abandoned by Zarmihr, and shortly afterward he was deposed and blinded.

China, The clerical staff

2005-03-20T21:51:00.000-08:00

The norms for the clerks were even lower, especially in local government. Some 300 clerks in a large prefecture or nearly 100 in a small one were placed under the supervision of a few officials. The clerks had numerous dealings with various other elements in the community, whereas the officials, being outsiders, rarely had direct contacts. Holding practically lifelong tenure

Hyalophane

2005-03-20T07:08:00.000-08:00

A barium-rich variety of potassium feldspar; see celsian.

Pitted Shell Turtle

2005-03-19T17:13:00.000-08:00

Also called Fly River Turtle, or New Guinea Plateless Turtle (species Carettochelys insculpta), any member of a single species in the turtle family Carettochelyidae. The species lives in rivers in southern New Guinea and in a limited region in northern Australia. A combination of characteristics separates C. insculpta from other turtles, including a leathery shell with no scutes and sea turtlelike flippers. Little is known

Industrial Polymers, Major, Polyimides

2005-03-18T18:38:00.000-08:00

Polyimides are polymers that usually consist of aromatic rings coupled by imide linkages—that is, linkages in which two carbonyl (CO) groups are attached to the same nitrogen (N) atom. There are two categories of these polymers, condensation and addition. The former are made by step-growth polymerization and are linear in structure; the latter are synthesized by heat-activated

Skiing

2005-03-18T17:44:00.000-08:00

Recreation, sport, and mode of transportation that involves moving over snow by the use of a pair of long, flat runners, called skis, attached to shoes or boots.

Andean Geosyncline

2005-03-18T05:55:00.000-08:00

A linear trough in the Earth's crust in which rocks of the Mesozoic Era (245 to 66.4 million years ago) and Cenozoic Era (66.4 years ago to the present) were deposited in South America. An intense orogenic (mountain-building) event affected the older sediments in the geosyncline in the Late Cretaceous Epoch (97.5 to 66.4 million years ago) and, combined with later deformational episodes, produced

Argonne National Laboratory

2005-03-17T10:58:00.000-08:00

Laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy in Argonne, Ill., that is operated by the University of Chicago and the Argonne Universities Association. It was founded in 1946 to conduct basic atomic research and to develop the peaceful uses of nuclear energy. Argonne National Laboratory now carries out research on a broad range of science and engineering topics, including

Bone Lesion

2005-03-17T09:16:00.000-08:00

Malignant growth of the bone caused by metastatic spread from cancer in other organs. Primary bone cancer is fairly uncommon, but bone lesions from metastases are seen in more than half of all cancer patients at the time of death. There are two types of metastatic bone lesion: osteoblastic, in which new bone is laid down in a disorganized fashion, and osteolytic, in which

Aqtöbe

2005-03-16T14:48:00.000-08:00

Formerly Aktyubinsk, city, northwestern Kazakstan, on the Ilek River. It was founded in 1869 as Aktyube (“White Hill”), a small Russian fort; the first Russian peasant settlers arrived in 1878. In 1891 it became the capital of an uyezd (canton) and in 1932 of an oblast (province). During World War II a ferroalloys plant was built to smelt the nickel and chromium ores of the Mughalzhar (Mugodzhar) Hills. Now an important

Ellwangen

2005-03-16T06:55:00.000-08:00

City, Baden-Württemberg Land (state), southern Germany, on the Jagst River, north of Aalen. It originated around a Benedictine abbey, founded in 764 and transformed into a college of secular canons in 1460. Chartered in 1229, the town passed to Württemberg in 1802. Its castle, seat of the prince-abbots and priors, existed in 1266 and was rebuilt in Renaissance style about 1608. The Romanesque Collegiate

Hipparchus

2005-03-15T09:31:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Hipparchos Greek astronomer and mathematician who made fundamental contributions to the advancement of astronomy as a mathematical science and to the foundations of trigonometry. Although he is commonly ranked among the greatest scientists of antiquity, very little is known about his life, and only one of his many writings

Berchtesgaden

2005-03-15T07:45:00.000-08:00

Town, Bavaria Land (state), southern Germany, situated on the Berchtesgaden Stream in a deep valley surrounded on three sides by Austrian territory. The opening of its salt mines in the 12th century was the beginning of many centuries of bitter rivalry with Salzburg and Hallein. From 1300 the town was ruled by the provosts of its Augustinian abbey (founded c. 1102), who became princes

Anseriform

2005-03-15T04:50:00.000-08:00

Any member of the order Anseriformes, which includes the well-known ducks, geese, and swans (family Anatidae) and the little-known screamers (family Anhimidae). The Anatidae comprise about 142 species of medium to large birds, usually associated with aquatic or marine habitats and known collectively as waterfowl (in the United States) or wildfowl (in Europe). These birds

Musical Notation, Alphabetical notations

2005-03-14T08:26:00.000-08:00

Alphabets are historically a phenomenon of the Middle East, Europe, and the Indian subcontinent. Their ordering of letters provides a convenient reference system for the notes of musical scales in ascending or descending order. Alphabetical notations are among the most ancient musical scripts. Two Greek notations were of this type, the earlier using an archaic

Hop Tree

2005-03-13T22:41:00.000-08:00

Also called Wafer Ash (species Ptelea trifoliata), tree, of the rue family (Rutaceae), native to eastern North America. It has small, greenish white flowers; strong-smelling leaves in groups of three leaflets; and buff-coloured, wafer-shaped, winged fruits. The hop tree is cultivated as an ornamental.

Norfolk, Thomas Of Brotherton, Earl Of

2005-03-13T14:07:00.000-08:00

He was created Earl of Norfolk in 1312 and was given vast lands in England, Wales, and Ireland; Edward II further distinguished him by creating him marshal of England. However, although he at first sided with the king, he was one of the first

Dehua Porcelain

2005-03-13T08:21:00.000-08:00

Wade-Giles romanization Te-hua Chinese porcelain made at Dehua in Fujian province. Although the kiln began production some time during the Song period (960–1279), most examples of the porcelain are attributed to the Ming dynasty (1368–1644). The characteristic product of Dehua was the white porcelain known to the French as blanc de chine, which had the appearance of blancmange, or milk jelly. Figures of Buddhist deities,

Goncourt, Edmond And Jules

2005-03-11T23:18:00.000-08:00

In full Edmond-louis-antoine Huot De Goncourt and Jules-alfred Huot De Goncourt French brothers, writers and constant collaborators who, despite and partly because of neurotic sensibility, contributed solidly to the Naturalistic novel, social history, and art criticism. Above all, they are remembered for their perceptive, revealing Journal and for Edmond's legacy, the Académie

V-2 Missile

2005-03-11T21:19:00.000-08:00

Developed in Germany from 1936 through the efforts of scientists led by Wernher von Braun, it was first successfully launched on October 3, 1942, and was fired against Paris on September 6, 1944. Two days later the first of more than 1,100 V-2s was fired against Great Britain (the last on March

Madgaon

2005-03-11T00:21:00.000-08:00

Also called Margao, town, west-central Goa state, western India. Madgaon is situated on the railway that extends from Marmagao port to Castle Rock in Karnataka state. The third largest city in Goa, it gained importance with the development of Marmagao port, the best harbour between Bombay and Cochin. An industrial estate just outside the city, a cold-storage plant for fish, and a large agricultural-produce

Gaboriau, émile

2005-03-10T19:38:00.000-08:00

Gaboriau's prolific imagination and acute observation generated 21 novels (originally published in serial form) in 13 years. He made his reputation with the publication in 1866 of L'Affaire

Kidney

2005-03-09T16:13:00.000-08:00

In vertebrates and some invertebrates, organ that maintains water balance and expels metabolic wastes. Primitive and embryonic kidneys consist of two series of specialized tubules that empty into two collecting ducts, the Wolffian ducts (see Wolffian duct). The more advanced kidney (metanephros)

Dance

2005-03-09T13:03:00.000-08:00

Dance is a powerful impulse, but the art of dance is that impulse channeled by skillful performers into something that becomes intensely expressive and that may delight

Bridges, Harry

2005-03-09T06:52:00.000-08:00

Bridges left home to become a maritime seaman at the age of 16 and in 1920 legally entered the United States, where he worked as a seaman and dockworker

Pythagoreanism

2005-03-08T07:13:00.000-08:00

Philosophical school and religious brotherhood, believed to have been founded by Pythagoras of Samos, who settled in Croton in southern Italy about 525 BC.

Dbus-gtsang

2005-03-07T13:28:00.000-08:00

One of three regions into which the area of Central Asia inhabited by Tibetans is traditionally divided. Dbus and Gtsang were provinces in the days of the early kings of central Tibet, c. 7th century. The area of Dbus encompassed the Skyid-chu valley system in which Lhasa is located, as well as the Yar-klungs and 'Phyong-rgyas valleys on the south side of the Brahmaputra

Fable, Parable, And Allegory, Blending of rival systems: the Middle Ages

2005-03-06T08:46:00.000-08:00

At the time of the birth of Christ, ideological conditions within the Mediterranean world accelerated the mingling of Hellenic and Hebraic traditions. Philo Judaeus laid the groundwork; Clement of Alexandria and Origen followed him. The craft of allegorical syncretism—that is, making rival systems accommodate one another through the transformation of their

Debré, Olivier

2005-03-06T08:04:00.000-08:00

French abstract painter best known for his large-format commissions, including huge ornamental paintings for the French pavilions at the World's Fairs in Montreal (1967) and Osaka, Japan (1970), and the stage curtains for the Hong Kong Opera, the Shanghai Opera, and both the Comédie Française and the Théâtre des Abbesses in Paris (b. April 14/15, 1920, Paris, France—d. June 1, 1999, Paris).

Nervous System, Intracellular systems

2005-03-05T04:27:00.000-08:00

All living cells have the property of irritability, or responsiveness to environmental stimuli, which can affect the cell in different ways, producing, for example, electrical, chemical, or mechanical changes. These changes are expressed as a response, which may be the release of secretory products by gland cells, the contraction of muscle cells, the bending of a plant-stem

Maun

2005-03-04T23:08:00.000-08:00

Village, northwestern Botswana. It lies at the southern edge of the Okavango Swamp, northeast of Lake Ngami. The traditional capital of the Tswana people, Maun is the centre of the safari and game industry for the Okavango River delta and the Moremi Game Reserve. Pop. (1991) 26,768.

Gao Xingjian

2005-03-04T21:17:00.000-08:00

Gao was educated in state schools and from 1957 to 1962 attended the Beijing Foreign Languages Institute,

Jackson, Glenda

2005-03-04T06:58:00.000-08:00

The daughter of a bricklayer, Jackson quit school at age 16 to join an amateur theatre group and soon won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. After graduating she began working in repertory theatres as an actress and stage

Kafue River

2005-03-03T14:59:00.000-08:00

River rising on the Congo (Kinshasa)–Zambia border. It meanders generally southward until it turns west near the Lukanga Swamp (which it drains). The river then flows south and finally east through the Kafue Flats and Kafue Gorge to join the Zambezi River near Chirundu, Zimbabwe, after a course of 600 miles (960 km). One of Zambia's major rivers, its waters are used for irrigation.

Ear, Human, Endolymph and perilymph

2005-03-03T11:31:00.000-08:00

The perilymph, which fills the space within the bony labyrinth surrounding the membranous labyrinth, is similar, but not identical, in composition to other extracellular fluids of the body, such as cerebrospinal fluid. The concentration of sodium ions in the perilymph is high (about 150 milliequivalents per litre), and that of potassium ions is low (about 5 milliequivalents

Shamanism

2005-03-02T06:52:00.000-08:00

The residues of shamanism may be found among peoples who have been converted to religions of a later stage of culture—e.g., Finno-Ugric peoples who became Christians, Turkic peoples in Central Asia and Asia Minor who became Muslim, and Mongols who became Buddhists. Among the Finns, the tietäjä, a figure equivalent to the shaman, also is born with one more tooth than normal.

Assam

2005-03-02T05:28:00.000-08:00

State of India. It is located in the northeastern part of the country and has an area of 30,285 square miles (78,438 square kilometres). It is bounded to the north by the kingdom of Bhutan and the state of Arunachal Pradesh; to the east by the states of Nagaland and Manipur; to the south by the states of Mizoram and Tripura; and to the west by the state of Meghalaya, Bangladesh, and the state of West

Avranches

2005-02-28T22:41:00.000-08:00

In 1172 the excommunicated Henry II of England received absolution in Avranches for the

Zahir Shah, Mohammad

2005-02-28T11:43:00.000-08:00

The sons of Mohammed Nader Shah, Zahir Shah and his brothers reasserted central government control during a period of anarchy and banditry in the late 1920s. Zahir Shah came to the throne at the age of 19, after the assassination of his father in November 1933, having previously served as

Dentatus, Manius Curius

2005-02-28T02:07:00.000-08:00

Dentatus was born into a plebeian family that was possibly Sabine in origin. As consul in 290 BC, he gained a decisive victory over the Samnites, thereby ending a war that had lasted 50 years. The same year, he also reduced the Sabine insurgents to submission and granted them civitas sine

Paderewski, Ignacy (jan)

2005-02-28T01:21:00.000-08:00

The son of a steward of a Polish landowner, he studied music from 1872 at the Warsaw Conservatory and from 1878 taught piano there. In 1880 he married one of his pupils, Antonina Korsak, who died in childbirth the following year. Encouraged

North Germanic Languages, Danish

2005-02-27T08:17:00.000-08:00

The norms of the first printed books in Danish continued the norm of the royal chancery in Copenhagen, which was not based on any particular dialect and probably reflected a state of the language closer to that of 1350 than of 1550. Because of the influence of the written language, many speech forms used even by the aristocracy at that time were eliminated or branded as vulgar.

Karaganda

2005-02-27T06:03:00.000-08:00

The first settlement appeared in 1856, and small-scale coal mining began in 1857 to supply a nearby copper smelter. Mining ceased in the 1920s

China, The armed forces

2005-02-26T07:17:00.000-08:00

The command of the armed forces was also arranged so as to avoid giving excessive powers to a single individual. General officers were usually appointed in pairs, and, in times of emergency or when a campaign was being planned with a defined objective, officers were appointed for a specific task; when their mission was fulfilled, their commands were brought to a close.

Dialect

2005-02-26T02:24:00.000-08:00

A variety of a language. The word comes from the Ancient Greek dialektos “discourse, language, dialect,” which is derived from dialegesthai “to discourse, talk.” A dialect may be distinguished from other dialects of the same language by features of any part of the linguistic structure—the phonology, morphology, or syntax. In the sound system of American English, for example,

Bedford

2005-02-25T22:25:00.000-08:00

Borough (town), seat (1771) of Bedford county, southern Pennsylvania, U.S., on the Pennsylvania Turnpike and the Raystown Branch Juniata River, in the Allegheny Mountains, 38 miles (61 km) south of Altoona. A settlement made on the site about 1750 by John Wray (or Ray), a Scottish trader, was known as Raystown. Fort Bedford (built 1758 and apparently named for John Russell, 4th duke of Bedford) was a frontier

Avocet

2005-02-25T10:48:00.000-08:00

Any of several large shorebirds belonging to the genus Recurvirostra, family Recurvirostridae. Avocets have boldly contrasting plumage, long bluish legs, and a long black bill upturned at the tip. They inhabit fresh and salt marshes that have areas of open shallow water and mud flats, and they feed by sweeping the bill, held partly open, back

Antigonus Iii Doson

2005-02-24T20:45:00.000-08:00

Antigonus, a descendant of Antigonus I, was the son of Demetrius II (a half brother of Antigonus II) and Olympias of Larissa. On the death of Demetrius II (229 BC), Antigonus was made guardian of his son Philip. After

East Australian Current

2005-02-24T05:26:00.000-08:00

Surface oceanic current, a section of the counterclockwise flow in the Tasman Sea, southwestern Pacific Ocean. It is formed by water masses from the Coral Sea—equatorial water driven by monsoonal winds from January to March and eastward subtropical flow from April to December—which pass southeast between the Great Barrier and Chesterfield reefs (20° S latitude), paralleling

Anhwei, Relief

2005-02-23T13:48:00.000-08:00

The northern portion of Anhwei Province is occupied by the North China Plain—an immense level surface that has periodically been flooded by its dominant rivers. The southern section of the province, the Yangtze Valley, is separated from the northern plain by a series of mountains that stretch roughly from west to east. The Ta-pieh Mountains—an extension of the

East Detroit

2005-02-23T02:41:00.000-08:00

City, Macomb county, Michigan, U.S., 10 miles (16 km) north-northeast of Detroit. It is primarily a residential suburb of Detroit but does have such commerce as truck and poultry farming, as well as light manufacturing. First settled in 1837, it was on the military road (now Gratiot Avenue) connecting Fort Wayne (Detroit) with Fort Gratiot (Port Huron). Equidistant between Detroit and Mount

Yogyakarta

2005-02-22T11:29:00.000-08:00

In the 7th century the locality formed part of the Buddhist kingdom of Sailendras, which was contemporaneous with the Srivijaya empire of Palembang (Sumatra). It was probably included in

Grudziadz

2005-02-22T10:14:00.000-08:00

German Graudenz, city, Torun województwo (province), north-central Poland, on the lower Vistula River. Founded in the 10th century as a Polish stronghold against Prussian attack, Grudziadz in the 1230s came under the rule of the Teutonic Knights, who fortified the town and granted it municipal rights (1291). It was acquired by Poland in the mid-15th century, but after the First Partition of 1772 the town became

Conant, James B.

2005-02-21T19:25:00.000-08:00

Conant received his A.B. and Ph.D. (1916) degrees from Harvard and, after spending a year in the research division of the chemical warfare service during World War I, returned to Harvard as instructor

Yggdrasill

2005-02-21T02:19:00.000-08:00

Old Norse Mimameidr in Norse mythology, the world tree, a giant ash supporting the universe. One of its roots extended into Niflheim, the underworld; another into Jötunheim, land of the giants; and the third into Asgard, home of the gods. At its base were three wells: Urdarbrunnr (Well of Fate), from which the tree was watered by the Norns (the Fates); Hvergelmir (Roaring Kettle), in which dwelt Nidhogg

Hull, Isaac

2005-02-20T13:09:00.000-08:00

Already having been master of a ship at age 19, Hull was commissioned a lieutenant aboard

Thailand, Drainage and soils

2005-02-20T11:37:00.000-08:00

Thailand is drained largely by two river systems: the Chao Phraya in the west and the Mekong in the east. Three major rivers in the northern mountains—from west to east, the Ping and its tributary the Wang, the Yom, and the Nan—flow generally south through narrow valleys and onto the plains and then merge to form the Chao Phraya, Thailand's major river. The delta floodplain

Anthesteria

2005-02-19T15:29:00.000-08:00

One of the several Athenian festivals in honour of Dionysus, the wine god, held annually for three days in the month of Anthesterion (February–March) to celebrate the beginning of spring and the maturing of the wine stored at the previous vintage. On the first day libations were offered to Dionysus from the newly opened casks. The second day was a time of popular merrymaking,

Animal Magnetism

2005-02-19T06:05:00.000-08:00

A presumed intangible or mysterious force that is said to influence human beings. The term was applied by the German physician Franz Anton Mesmer to the hypnotism that he used in the treatment of patients. He believed that it was an occult force or invisible fluid emanating from his body and that, more generally, the force permeated the universe, deriving especially

Alderney

2005-02-19T00:12:00.000-08:00

French Aurigny one of the Channel Islands, in the English Channel, with an area of 3 square miles (8 square km), separated from the Normandy coast (Cap de la Hague) by the dangerously swift 10-mile (16-km) Race of Alderney. Swinge Race, on the west, separates it from the uninhabited Burhou, Ortac, and smaller islets, beyond which the notorious Casquets, a group of jagged rocks, carry a lighthouse. The nearest

San Angelo

2005-02-18T20:40:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1875) of Tom Green county, west-central Texas, U.S. It lies about 90 miles (145 km) southwest of Abilene. Founded in 1869 near Fort Concho (now a museum) at the confluence of the North, South, and Middle Concho rivers, it was first known as Over-the-River but was renamed Santa Angela (later masculinized) for a sister-in-law of Bart J. DeWitt, one of the founders. The rivers have there been impounded

Bendis

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

Apart from areas adjacent to Thrace, the cult of Bendis gained prominence only in Athens. At the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War, the Athenians allowed the founding of a sanctuary for the goddess and shortly afterward created a

Literature, Latin America.

2005-02-16T23:09:00.000-08:00

In 2001 many works explored Latin America's past and present social and political realities as well as offering variations on the theme of love. From Mexico, writer Carlos Fuentes returned to fantastic literature and to the theme of love's difficulties in Instinto de Inez. In La piel del cielo, Elena Poniatowska,

Lowe, Sir Hudson

2005-02-16T22:56:00.000-08:00

Lowe held several important commands in the war with France from 1793. He was knighted in 1814. He arrived on the island of St. Helena, Napoleon's last place of exile, in April 1816. Many persons,

Australian Alps

2005-02-16T17:35:00.000-08:00

Mountain mass, a segment of the Great Dividing Range (Eastern Uplands), occupying the southeasternmost corner of Australia, in eastern Victoria and southeastern New South Wales. In a more local sense, the term denotes the ranges on the states' border forming the divide between the watersheds of the Murray River system, flowing west, and the Snowy and other streams flowing

Rio Grande

2005-02-15T07:44:00.000-08:00

Port city, southeastern Rio Grande do Sul estado (“state”), southern Brazil. The city lies along the Rio Grande (river), which is the outlet to the Atlantic of the Patos Lagoon. It is built on a low peninsula, barely 5 feet (1.5 m) above sea level and 8 miles (13 km) from the river's mouth. Where it enters the ocean, the river passes over a submerged bar that has been dredged so that oceangoing vessels

Pyrochlore

2005-02-15T03:12:00.000-08:00

A complex oxide mineral composed of niobium, sodium, and calcium (NaCaNb2O6F) that forms brown to black, glassy octahedral crystals and irregular masses. Tantalum atoms replace niobium atoms in the chemical structure, so that pyrochlore forms a solid-solution series with the mineral microlite [(Na,Ca)2Ta2O6(O,OH,F)]. For detailed physical properties, see oxide mineral

Epistatic Gene

2005-02-14T14:35:00.000-08:00

In genetics, a gene that determines whether or not a trait will be expressed. The system of genes that determines skin colour in man, for example, is independent of the gene responsible for albinism (lack of pigment) or the development of skin colour. This gene is an epistatic gene. When the albino condition occurs, the genes that determine skin colour are present but not

Daniel, Peter V(ivian)

2005-02-14T02:11:00.000-08:00

Daniel studied law under Edmund Jennings Randolph and quickly rose in politics after his admission to the bar in 1808. He entered the Virginia legislature in 1809 and was elected to the Privy Council in 1812. In 1834 he was offered the post of U.S. attorney general by Pres. Andrew Jackson but

Aragon, Louis

2005-02-13T19:43:00.000-08:00

Through the Surrealist poet André Breton, Aragon was introduced to avant-garde movements such as Dadaism; and together with Philippe Soupault, he and Breton founded the Surrealist review Littérature (1919). Aragon's first poems, Feu de joie (1920; “Bonfire”) and

Scandinavian Literature, Developments in Finno-Swedish literature

2005-02-13T13:05:00.000-08:00

The second flourishing of Finno-Swedish literature occurred in the 1920s, with the development of modernism in lyric poetry. This trend was initiated by Edith Södergran, whose visionary, dreamlike poems proved influential throughout much of Scandinavia. After her came such poets as Gunnar Björling, noted for his impressionistic pictures of nature; Rabbe

Persian Gulf, Transportation

2005-02-12T09:28:00.000-08:00

For centuries a considerable sea trade has been carried on by local craft between the Persian Gulf and Africa and India; this has become completely dominated by an incessant traffic of large tankers that carry oil from the large marine terminals at Khark Island (Iran), Kuwait, Dhahran (Az-Zahran, in Saudi Arabia), Bahrain, Das Island (United Arab Emirates), and other locations

Ako

2005-02-12T04:00:00.000-08:00

City, Hyogo ken (prefecture), western Honshu, Japan. During the Heian period (794–1185), it was a seaside resort for courtesans from Kyoto. It became a castle town in the 17th century, when the powerful Ikeda clan took up residence. Since the beginning of the 20th century, the establishment of chemical factories and steel mills has transformed Ako into one of Japan's most polluted industrial

Hop Tree

2005-02-11T04:30:00.000-08:00

Amaravati Sculpture

2005-02-11T04:12:00.000-08:00

In addition to the ruins of the great stupa, or relic mound, at Amaravati, the style is also seen

Radical-socialist Party

2005-02-10T16:39:00.000-08:00

The first French “radical” party was

Costumbrismo

2005-02-10T04:38:00.000-08:00

(from Spanish costumbre, “custom”), a trend in Spanish literature that emphasized the depiction of the everyday manners and customs of a particular social or provincial milieu. Although the origins of costumbrismo go back to the Golden Age of Spanish literature in the 16th and 17th centuries, it grew into a major force in the first half of the 19th century, first in verse and

Pie

2005-02-09T13:38:00.000-08:00

Dish made by lining a shallow container with pastry and filling the container with a sweet or savoury mixture. A top crust may be added; the pie is baked until the crust is crisp and the filling is cooked through. Pies have been popular in the United States since colonial times, so much so that apple pie has become symbolic of traditional American home cooking. The typical

Accelerometer

2005-02-09T02:06:00.000-08:00

Instrument that measures the rate at which the velocity of an object is changing (i.e., its acceleration). Acceleration cannot be measured directly. An accelerometer, therefore, measures the force exerted by restraints that are placed on a reference mass to hold its position fixed in an accelerating body. Acceleration is computed using the relationship between restraint