TiredFowl

Christian Vi

2005-11-18T08:35:00.000-08:00

Tolerably gifted, he became a diligent and conscientious ruler, choosing able administrators; but he was shy, reserved, and unprepossessing in appearance. Like his consort, Sophie Magdalene

Churchill Falls

2005-10-16T04:55:00.000-07:00

Formerly Grand Falls, part of a series of cataracts and rapids on the Churchill River, southwest of Michikamau Lake in west Labrador, Newfoundland, Canada. Lying 250 miles (400 km) from the river's mouth, the falls drop 245 feet (75 m), forming part of the river's 1,100-foot (335-metre) descent within a 16-mile (26-kilometre) stretch. The falls plunge into the McLean Canyon, which is bounded by sheer cliffs several hundred feet high.

Aldabra Islands

2005-07-27T08:08:00.000-07:00

Atoll, one of the world's largest, in the Indian Ocean about 600 miles (1,000 km) southwest of the Seychelles group, and part of the Republic of the Seychelles. The Aldabras, together with Farquhar and Desroches islands and the Chagos Archipelago, formed part of the British Indian Ocean Territory from 1965 to 1976. The Aldabra Islands were formerly under the hegemony of the Seychelles, to

Tern

2005-07-25T13:25:00.000-07:00

Any of about 40 species of slender, graceful water birds that constitute the subfamily Sterninae, of the family Laridae, which also includes the gulls. Terns inhabit seacoasts and inland waters and are nearly worldwide in distribution. The largest number of species is found in the Pacific Ocean. Many terns are long-distance migrants, the most notable being the Arctic

Sea Kale

2005-07-23T02:05:00.000-07:00

(Crambe maritima), cabbagelike perennial plant of the mustard family (Brassicaceae), native to seashores and cliffs of Eurasia. Young or blanched leaves are cooked and eaten. The waxy, blue-green, coarsely toothed leaves are 30–90 cm (1–3 feet) long. Honey-fragrant, clustered sprays of white, four-petaled flowers rise from the basal leaves.

Middleton, Arthur

2005-07-06T04:09:00.000-07:00

After completing his education in England, Middleton returned to South Carolina in 1763 and was elected to the colonial legislature. In 1775–76 he was a member of the Council

Israel, Israel under Likud

2005-07-06T04:03:00.000-07:00

To general surprise, the Likud Party, led by Menachem Begin, won the May 1977 election, inaugurating the first non-Labour-led government in Israel's history. Begin's campaign benefited immensely from Sephardic resentment over the patronizing attitude of the Labour establishment and its treatment of non-European Jewish immigrants as second-class citizens. The Sephardim

Mcadam, John Loudon

2005-06-29T04:10:00.000-07:00

In 1770 he went to New York City, entering the countinghouse of a merchant uncle; he returned to Scotland with a considerable fortune in 1783. There he purchased an estate at Sauhrie, Ayrshire. McAdam, who had become a road trustee in his district, noted that the local highways were

Differential

2005-06-15T21:20:00.000-07:00

In mathematics, an expression based on the derivative (q.v.) of a function, useful for approximating certain values of the function. The derivative of a function at the point x0, written as f¢(x0), is defined as the limit as Dx approaches 0 of the quotient Dy/Dx, in which Dy is f(x0 + Dx) - f(x0). Because the derivative is defined as the limit, the closer Dx is to 0, the closer will be the quotient to the derivative. Therefore,

Caragiale, Costache

2005-06-03T06:10:00.000-07:00

Caragiale made his stage debut in 1835 in Bucharest, and in 1838 he organized a theatre of contemporary drama in Iasi (now Jassy). During the next 15 years he worked with regional theatres, notably those in Iasi, Botosani, and Craiova,

Digestive System, Vertebrate, Vitamin D

2005-05-17T15:45:00.000-07:00

Any of five species of large, robust, and primarily terrrestrial monkeys found in dry regions of Africa and Arabia. Males of the largest species, the chacma baboon (Papio ursinus), average 30 kg (66 pounds) or so, but females are only half this size. The smallest is the hamadryas, or sacred baboon (P. hamadryas), with males weighing about 17 kg and females only

2005-05-17T15:40:00.000-07:00

Oberfranken

2005-05-15T21:25:00.000-07:00

English Upper Franconia Regierungsbezirk (administrative district), northeastern Bavaria Land (state), east-central Germany. Oberfranken is bordered by Thuringia and Saxony Länder to the north, the Czech Republic to the east, and the Regierungsbezirke of Oberpfalz (Upper Palatinate) to the southeast, Mittelfranken (Middle Franconia) to the south, and Unterfranken (Lower Franconia) to the

Field Archery

2005-05-13T19:20:00.000-07:00

Also called roving form of archery in which targets of different sizes or shapes are placed at varying distances in uneven, often wooded, terrain in an attempt to simulate hunting conditions. As an organized sport it dates from the formation in 1939 of the National Field Archery Association of the United States. In 1969 a field event was included for the first time in the world archery championships

Amboise

2005-03-15T02:02:00.000-08:00

The town was first mentioned in 504 as Ambatia, when on the isle of Saint-Jean (now �le d'Or), Clovis, king of the Franks, met

Altitude Sickness

2005-03-14T05:25:00.000-08:00

The symptoms of altitude sickness fall into four main categories:

Aschelminth, Distribution and abundance

2005-03-11T17:32:00.000-08:00

Nematodes are the most abundant of all multicellular animals and are found wherever life can be supported. They reach their greatest numbers in estuarine mud flats, up to 20,000,000 per square metre, decreasing in density in marine muds and sands but often reaching one to several million per square metre. Typical densities for terrestrial soils, including forests, grasslands,

Alessandria

2005-03-07T09:41:00.000-08:00

City, capital of Alessandria provincia, in the Piemonte (Piedmont) regione of northwestern Italy. The city lies at the confluence of the Bormida and Tanaro rivers, southeast of Turin (Torino). It was founded in 1168 by the towns of the Lombard League as an Alpine-valley stronghold against the Holy Roman emperor Frederick I Barbarossa. The town was first called Civitas Nova,

Blood Disease

2005-03-06T00:51:00.000-08:00

Abnormal condition that involves the corpuscular elements of the blood - red cells, white cells, and platelets - and the tissues in which they are formed - the bone marrow, the lymph nodes, the spleen (i.e., the hematopoietic system). This definition, however, needs expansion and modification. In certain types of illness (e.g., pneumonia, appendicitis) the number of leukocytes

Chelmsford

2005-03-05T20:39:00.000-08:00

Remains of the Roman settlement of Caesaromagus have been discovered in the locality. In 1227 Chelmsford town became the regular seat of the county judicial gatherings known as assizes and quarter

Cohen, Albert

2005-03-04T07:49:00.000-08:00

From 1900 Cohen was reared in Marseilles, France. He studied law in Geneva, became a Swiss citizen, and began a career as a writer and as a civil servant, notably with the International Labour Organisation

Danish Literature

2005-03-03T21:43:00.000-08:00

The first written evidences of Danish may be found in runic inscriptions, the extant majority of which date from 800 to 1100. With the introduction of Christianity in the 12th century, Latin became the predominant literary language of Denmark and remained so until the Protestant Reformation of 1536, when a new literary movement was inaugurated

Quantum Computer

2005-03-02T15:24:00.000-08:00

As early as 1959 the American physicist and Nobel laureate Richard Feynman noted that, as electronic components begin to reach microscopic scales, effects predicted by quantum mechanics occur - which, he suggested, might be exploited in the design of more powerful computers. In

Gray, Thomas

2005-02-28T08:41:00.000-08:00

Born into a prosperous but unhappy home, Gray was the sole survivor of 12 children

Classical Scholarship, The 18th century: the age of Bentley

2005-02-27T11:45:00.000-08:00

Since the late 16th century little had been heard of English scholarship; once the study of Greek had been established by Linacre, Grocyn, Sir John Cheke, and their contemporaries, the English preoccupation with education had set in. John Selden is the most notable of few exceptions, and he was a jurist and antiquary, not an academic, though his De Diis Syris (1617) laid the foundations

Asanga

2005-02-26T08:01:00.000-08:00

Asanga was the eldest of three brothers who were the sons of a Brahman, a court priest at Purusapura, and who all became monks in the Sarvastivada order (which held the doctrine that �all is real�). Dissatisfied with the Hinayana concepts of sunyata (�emptiness

Perelman, S.j.

2005-02-25T13:40:00.000-08:00

Perelman attended but did not graduate from Brown University, where he edited the school humour magazine. He began writing for the early, frenetic Marx Brothers films and helped turn out the screenplays for such classics as Monkey Business (1931) and Horse

Sudan, The, Education

2005-02-23T14:04:00.000-08:00

A modern educational system was established in The Sudan in the 1970s when the government reorganized a haphazard system of schools inherited from the British colonial government. In the Muslim areas of the north, boys were long instructed in religious subjects according to traditional methods. Primary education was begun by the British in the northern Sudan after

Shiloh

2005-02-22T05:35:00.000-08:00

Canaanite town that became the central sanctuary site of the Israelite confederacy during the period of the judges (12th - 11th century BC). After the Israelite conquest of Canaan, the Tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant were installed in Shiloh until the Ark was captured by the Philistines (c. 1050 BC) in a battle with the Israelites at Ebenezer (site unknown), and Shiloh was soon thereafter

Philately

2005-02-21T13:09:00.000-08:00

The study of postage stamps, stamped envelopes, postmarks, postcards, and other materials relating to postal delivery. The term philately also denotes the collecting of these items. The term was coined in 1864 by a Frenchman, Georges Herpin, who invented it from the Greek philos, �love,� and ateleia, �that which is tax-free�; the postage stamp permitted the letter to come free of

Murfree, Mary Noailles

2005-02-20T16:50:00.000-08:00

Mary Murfree studied at Chegaray Institute, a French school in Philadelphia, in 1867 - 69. With the failure of her father's business in 1869 the family

Affective Fallacy

2005-02-19T02:28:00.000-08:00

Those who support the affective criterion

Muir, Edwin

2005-02-18T06:33:00.000-08:00

His stature as a poet

Islam, Shrines of Sufi saints

2005-02-17T18:09:00.000-08:00

By the late 20th century, the Sufi shrines, which were managed privately in earlier periods, were almost entirely owned

Lesser Slave Lake

2005-02-16T03:54:00.000-08:00

Lake in central Alberta, Canada, 130 miles (209 km) northwest of Edmonton and 400 miles (640 km) south of Great Slave Lake (in the Northwest Territories). It is 60 miles (97 km) long by 12 miles (19 km) wide and has an area of 451 square miles (1,168 square km). Fed by many small streams, it drains eastward into the Athabasca River via the Lesser Slave River. The name, first used by the Cree Indians, refers to the Slave (Dogrib)

National Women's Hall Of Fame

2005-02-15T10:12:00.000-08:00

Not-for-profit educational institution founded in 1969 to honour the accomplishments of outstanding American women. The Hall of Fame is located in Seneca Falls, New York, the site of the first Women's Rights Convention, in 1848. It contains information and exhibits about each of its inductees and also sponsors traveling exhibits, poster and essay contests, and other educational

Dacko, David

2005-02-13T07:42:00.000-08:00

Central African Republic politician (b. March 24, 1930, Bouchia, Moyen Congo, French Equatorial Africa - d. Nov. 20, 2003, Yaound�, Cameroon), was twice president (1960 - 65 and 1979 - 81) of the Central African Republic and twice was removed from office by a military coup. After then president Barth�lemy Boganda died in a plane crash in March 1959, Dacko established himself in the top post, and from 1960 he headed an autocratic

Mormon

2005-02-12T14:01:00.000-08:00

In western New York state in 1827, during a time of intense religious revivalism, Joseph Smith, Jr., a farmer's son, claimed an angel called Moroni gave him golden plates whose engraved records Smith translated into English as the Book of Mormon - so called after Mormon, an ancient American prophet who had made an abridgment of many previous plates. Smith published the Book

Alaska

2005-02-11T10:05:00.000-08:00

Constituent state of the United States of America. It lies at the extreme northwest of the North American continent and is the largest peninsula in the Western Hemisphere. Its 591,004 square miles (1,530,700 square km) include some 15,000 square miles (38,800 square km) of fjords and inlets, and its three faces to the sea have about 34,000 miles (54,400 km) of indented tidal coastline and 6,600 total miles (10,600 km) of coast fronting

Hyalophane

2005-02-10T00:42:00.000-08:00

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

Jew's Harp

2005-02-09T19:21:00.000-08:00

Also called �Jaw's Harp, or Guimbarde, � musical instrument consisting of a thin wood or metal tongue fixed at one end to the base of a two-pronged frame. The player holds the frame to his mouth, which forms a resonance cavity, and plucks the instrument's tongue. The notes produced are limited to the fourth through tenth tones of the harmonic series (in relative pitch, c - e - g - b [approximately] - c� - d� - e�). The tongue produces

Palladius

2005-02-08T21:20:00.000-08:00

Palladius took up the ascetical life himself, first at the Mount of Olives, the scene of Christ's Passion outside Jerusalem,

Palladius

2005-02-07T14:22:00.000-08:00

English �Vietnamese Nationalist Party� the first large-scale revolutionary nationalist organization in Vietnam. Founded officially in 1927, the VNQDD was modeled after the revolutionary Nationalist Party (Kuomintang) of China. Its aim, like that of the Nationalist Party, was the establishment of a republican democratic government free from foreign interference. Gaining the allegiance of many military

Nitrogen Fixation

2005-02-06T07:12:00.000-08:00

Under ordinary conditions nitrogen does not react with other elements. Yet nitrogenous compounds are found in all fertile soils,

Hawick

2005-02-05T11:06:00.000-08:00

Small burgh (town), largest town in the Scottish Borders council area of southeastern Scotland, in the historic county of Roxburghshire. It lies at the confluence of the Rivers Slitrig and Teviot 15 miles (24 km) from the English border. Border skirmishes were frequent in Hawick's history, and in 1570 the town was almost completely burned down. The only building to survive was the

Fiedler, Arthur

2005-02-04T06:31:00.000-08:00

Maestro of the Boston Pops Orchestra for 50 seasons and the best-selling classical conductor of all time; his recordings with the Pops sold some 50,000,000 discs. (The Pops Orchestra is the Boston Symphony minus its principal players.) Fiedler, whose principal aim was �to give audiences a good time,� led the Pops in performances of popular tunes, show

Catanduva

2005-02-03T19:51:00.000-08:00

City, in the highlands of north-central S�o Paulo estado (�state�) Brazil, on the S�o Domingos River at 1,630 feet (497 m) above sea level. Originally called Vila Adolfo, the settlement was given town status in 1909 and was made the seat of a municipality in 1917. Coffee is the principal crop of the region, which also raises cotton, corn (maize), rice, feij�o (beans), and peanuts (groundnuts). Catanduva's

Leonardo Pisano

2005-02-02T08:43:00.000-08:00

Joseph Gies and Frances Gies, Leonard of Pisa and the New Mathematics of the Middle Ages (1969), summarizes Leonardo's life and surveys his works, and contains a brief overview of the history of numerical notation and of medieval Pisa. Specialized treatments include Verner E. Hoggatt, Jr., Fibonacci and Lucas Numbers (1969), an introduction to the Fibonacci numbers and sequence, with propositions and exercises for mathematics students; N.N. Vorobev, The Fibonacci Numbers (1961); and Andreas N. Philippou, Gerald E. Bergum, and Alwyn F. Horadam (eds.), Fibonacci Numbers and Their Applications (1986).

Quadrilateral

2005-02-01T22:30:00.000-08:00

Famous combination of four fortresses mutually supporting one another, during the Austrian rule of northern Italy. The four fortified towns were Mantua, Peschiera, Verona, and Legnago, lying between Lombardy and Venetia; the former two were on the Mincio and the latter two on the Adige. The real value of the Quadrilateral, which gave Austria such a firm hold on Lombardy,

Harare

2005-01-31T00:43:00.000-08:00

Formerly �Salisbury, � capital of Zimbabwe, lying in the northeastern part of the country. The city was founded in 1890 at the spot where the British South Africa Company's Pioneer Column halted its march into Mashonaland; it was named for Lord Salisbury, then British prime minister. The name Harare is derived from that of the outcast Chief Neharawe, who, with his people, occupied the kopje (the hill

Bureaucracy

2005-01-30T10:48:00.000-08:00

A professional corps of officials organized in a pyramidal hierarchy and functioning under impersonal, uniform rules and procedures. In the social sciences, the term usually does not carry the pejorative associations of popular usage.

Cold War

2005-01-29T06:08:00.000-08:00

The open yet restricted rivalry that developed after World War II between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies. The Cold War was waged on political, economic, and propaganda fronts and had only limited recourse to weapons. The term was first used by the American financier and presidential adviser Bernard Baruch during a congressional

Cambrai, Battle Of

2005-01-28T07:34:00.000-08:00

Carried out by the 3rd Army under General Sir Julian Byng in order to relieve pressure on the French front, the offensive consisted of an assault against the Germans' Hindenburg line along a 10-mile (16-kilometre) front some 8 miles

Bone

2005-01-27T22:34:00.000-08:00

The functions of bone include (1) structural support for the mechanical action of soft tissues, such as contraction of

Bone

2005-01-26T09:00:00.000-08:00

Extinct aquatic lizards that attained a high degree of adaptation to the marine environment and were distributed worldwide during the Cretaceous Period (144 million to 65 million years ago). The mosasaurs competed with other marine reptiles - the plesiosaurs and ichthyosaurs - for food, which consisted largely of ammonoids, fish, and cuttlefish. Many mosasaurs of the

Malachite Green

2005-01-24T07:52:00.000-08:00

Malachite green also is used as a direct dye for silk, wool, jute, and leather and to dye

Tzotzil

2005-01-23T07:15:00.000-08:00

Mayan Indians of central Chiapas in southeastern Mexico. Linguistically and culturally the Tzotzil are most closely related to the neighbouring Tzeltal (q.v.). The habitat of the Tzotzil is highland, with mountains, volcanic outcroppings, and valley lowlands. The climate at high altitudes is cool to cold, and summers are very wet. The native Tzotzil live mainly in the

Pacific Scandal

2005-01-22T02:45:00.000-08:00

One of the conditions under which British Columbia entered the Dominion of Canada (1871) was that a railway to link that province with the east be constructed

Cartago

2005-01-21T04:48:00.000-08:00

City, east-central Costa Rica. Lying at 4,720 feet (1,439 m) above sea level, the city is located on the fertile Central Plateau, at the foot of Iraz� Volcano. Cartago was founded in 1563 and was the capital of Costa Rica until 1823. There are, however, no authentic colonial buildings since the town was attacked repeatedly by pirates during the 17th century and has also been damaged severely by earthquakes.

Trafalgar, Battle Of

2005-01-20T02:23:00.000-08:00

At the end of September 1805, Villeneuve had

Deva

2005-01-19T22:26:00.000-08:00

Iranian �Daeva� in Vedic India, one of many divine powers, roughly divided on the basis of their identification with the forces of nature into sky, air, and earth divinities (e.g., Varuna, Indra, Soma). In the later monotheistic systems the devas became subordinate to the one supreme being. During the Vedic period the gods were divided into two classes, the devas and the asuras (in Iranian, daeva

Minamoto Yoshiie

2005-01-18T11:49:00.000-08:00

The son of Minamoto Yoriyoshi, Yoshiie aided his father in the battles known as the Earlier Nine Years' War (1051 - 62), which ultimately resulted in

All Saints' Day

2005-01-17T19:21:00.000-08:00

In the Christian church, a day commemorating all the saints of the church, both known and unknown, celebrated on November 1 in the Western churches and on the first Sunday after Pentecost in the Eastern churches. Its origin cannot be traced with certainty, and it has been observed on various days in different places. A feast of all martyrs was kept on May 13 in the Eastern

Accounting

2005-01-16T06:41:00.000-08:00

The systematic development and analysis of information about the economic affairs of an organization. This information may be used in a number of ways: by the organization's managers to help them plan and control the organization's operations; by owners and legislative or regulatory bodies to help them appraise the organization's performance and make decisions

Montgomery (of Alamein, Of Hindhead), Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount

2005-01-15T00:14:00.000-08:00

Of Ulster stock, Montgomery was educated at St. Paul's School, London, and the Royal Military Academy (Sandhurst). He distinguished himself during World War I and remained in the army, acquiring a reputation as an efficient and tough leader. Early

Sadler, Michael Thomas

2005-01-14T21:29:00.000-08:00

An importer of Irish linens in Leeds, Yorkshire, Sadler served as a Tory member of the House

Terhune, Albert Payson

2005-01-13T08:27:00.000-08:00

After schooling in Europe, Terhune graduated from Columbia University in 1893, traveled in Egypt and Syria, and joined the staff of the New York Evening World in 1894. His first book was Syria from the Saddle (1896); his first novel, Dr. Dale (1900), was written

African Literature, Oral traditions

2005-01-12T01:47:00.000-08:00

The following works cover and analyze some of the best and most representative collections of oral art forms from many parts of Africa: Uchegbulam N. Abalogu, Garba Ashiwaju, and Regina Amadi-Tshiwala, Oral Poetry in Nigeria (1981), containing articles on a number of different oral genres in contemporary Nigeria; B.W. Andrzejewski and I.M. Lewis, Somali Poetry: An Introduction (1964), a detailed and authoritative account of the main genres and their social context by a linguist and a sociologist; Ulli Beier (comp. and ed.), Yoruba Poetry: An Anthology of Traditional Poems (1970), a good introduction to the rich and complex Yoruba oral traditions; James Stuart (comp.), Izibongo: Zulu Praise-Poems (1968), long poems to kings and chiefs, rich in imagery and allusions, with a discussion of their form, function, and social context; A. Coupez and Th. Kamanzi, Litt�rature de cour au Rwanda (1970), analysis and texts of the royal poetry of the kings of Rwanda and accounts of the poets responsible for them; Pierre Smith (ed.), Le R�cit populaire au Rwanda (1975), 30 popular tales from Rwanda that interpret the history of the region in a different way from the royal praises; M. Damane and P.B. Sanders (eds. and trans.), Lithoko: Sotho Praise-Poems (1974), an authoritative anthology of praise poems of Basotho chiefs, covering 200 years; Francis Mading Deng, The Dinka and Their Songs (1973), a careful account of the performed poetry of the Dinka people of The Sudan; Ruth Finnegan (comp. and trans.), Limba Stories and Story-Telling (1967, reprinted 1981), stories from the Limba of Sierra Leone, with attention to the creative role of individual narrators; Veronika G�r�g-Karady, Noirs et blancs: leur image dans la litt�rature orale africaine: �tude-anthologie (1976), an analysis of a large number of tales exploring the different perceptions of the relations between races that the stories reveal; Olatunde O. Olatunji, Features of Yor�b� Oral Poetry (1984), a full account of the oral genres from the point of view of Yoruba poetics; Denise Paulme, La M�re d�vorante: essai sur le morphologie des contes africains (1976), essays that discuss the social role of the tale and analyze eight archetypal African tales; Jeff Opland, Xhosa Oral Poetry: Aspects of a Black South African Tradition (1983), an analysis primarily of Xhosa praise poetry and poets, incorporating discussion of the interplay of print, literacy, and orality; and Harold Scheub, The Xhosa Ntsomi (1975), an important collection of Xhosa and Zulu stories with an emphasis on the creative role of the storyteller.

Calcareous Sponge

2005-01-11T09:20:00.000-08:00

Any of a class (Calcispongiae, or Calcarea) of sponges characterized by skeletons composed of calcium carbonate spicules (needlelike structures). Calcareous sponges occur mainly on the rocky bottoms of the continental shelves in temperate, shallow waters; they are usually dull in colour. Most are small, seldom exceeding 15 cm (6 inches).

Pozzolana

2005-01-10T06:32:00.000-08:00

Also spelled �pozzuolana�, or �pozzolan� hydraulic cement discovered by the Romans and still used in some countries, made by grinding pozzolana (a type of slag that may be either natural - i.e., volcanic - or artificial, from a blast furnace) with powdered hydrated lime. Roman engineers used two parts by weight of pozzolana mixed with one part of lime to give strength to mortar and concrete in bridges and other masonry

Hop

2005-01-09T21:29:00.000-08:00

Either of two species of the genus Humulus, nonwoody annual or perennial vines in the hemp family (Cannabeceae) native to temperate North America, Eurasia, and South America. The hops used in the brewery industry are the dried female flower clusters (cones) of the common hop (H. lupulus). The Japanese hop (H. japonicus) is a quick-growing annual species used

Black Obelisk

2005-01-08T01:13:00.000-08:00

Assyrian monument of King Shalmaneser III (reigned 858 - 824 BC). The most complete Assyrian obelisk yet discovered, it is decorated with cuneiform inscriptions and reliefs recording military campaigns and other triumphs, including payment of tribute by King Jehu of Israel (reigned 842 - 815). The 6-foot (1.8-metre) black basalt piece was discovered in 1845 at ancient Kalhu (or Kalakh; biblical Calah;

Metaphor

2005-01-07T08:54:00.000-08:00

The distinction is not simple. The metaphor makes a qualitative leap from a reasonable, perhaps prosaic comparison, to an identification or fusion of two objects, to make one new entity partaking of the characteristics

Wild Ginger

2005-01-06T01:14:00.000-08:00

Canadian wild ginger,

Extenuating Circumstance

2005-01-05T22:21:00.000-08:00

Many Anglo-American legal systems do not prescribe minimum punishments for all crimes. The judge is thus free to consider all the circumstances in setting the punishment up to a prescribed maximum. Some special circumstances

Hayden, Melissa

2005-01-04T10:01:00.000-08:00

Hayden began studying dance while a schoolgirl. In 1945 she went to New York City and found a position in the corps de ballet at Radio City Music Hall. Within a few months she had been accepted by the Ballet Theatre (now American Ballet Theatre)

O'brien, William Smith

2005-01-03T15:33:00.000-08:00

O'Brien sat in the British House of Commons from 1828 to 1848. Although he was a Protestant, he actively favoured Roman Catholic emancipation, but he also wished

Croesus

2005-01-02T02:23:00.000-08:00

A member of the Mermnad dynasty, Croesus succeeded to the throne of his father, Alyattes, after a struggle with his half brother. Croesus is said to have acted as viceroy and commander in

Gazelle Peninsula

2005-01-01T13:28:00.000-08:00

Peninsula extending northeast from the island of New Britain, Bismarck Archipelago, Papua New Guinea, southwestern Pacific. It is about 50 miles (80 km) wide but tapers to 20 miles (32 km) at the isthmus joining it to the main part of the island. From coastal plains its surface rises as high as 7,999 feet (2,438 m) at Mount Sinewit of the central Baining Mountains. The area is actively volcanic (Mount

Mid-atlantic Ridge

2004-12-31T20:43:00.000-08:00

Submarine ridge lying along the north-south axis of the Atlantic Ocean; it occupies the central part of the basin between a series of flat abyssal plains that continue to the margins of the continental coasts. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is in effect an immensely long mountain chain extending for about 10,000 miles (16,000 km) in a curving path from the Arctic Ocean to near the southern

Olympio, Sylvanus

2004-12-30T02:29:00.000-08:00

A leader of the Committee of Togolese Unity after World War II, Olympio was elected president of the first territorial assembly in 1946 and by 1947 was in open (though nonviolent) conflict

Bingham, Caleb

2004-12-29T19:16:00.000-08:00

Bingham was educated at local schools before entering Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H. He graduated in 1782 and took the position of master at Moor's Indian Charity School. In 1784 he moved to Boston in order to establish

Pausanias

2004-12-28T06:44:00.000-08:00

Before visiting Greece, Pausanias had traveled widely in Asia Minor, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, Macedonia, Epirus (now in Greece and Albania), and parts of Italy. His Description takes the form of a tour of Greece starting from Attica.

Caccia

2004-12-27T00:20:00.000-08:00

(Italian: �hunt,� or �chase�), one of the principal Italian musical forms of the 14th century. It consisted of two voices in strict canon at the unison (i.e., in strict melodic imitation at the same pitch), and often of a non-canonic third part, composed of long notes that underlay the canonic voices, followed by a ritornello. Caccia texts were typically realistic, animated scenes such

Baraita

2004-12-26T22:20:00.000-08:00

Also spelled �Baraitha (Hebrew: �Outside Teaching,� or �Exclusion�), �plural �Baraitot, Baraitoth, or Baraithoth, � any of the ancient oral traditions of Jewish religious law that were not included in the Mishna (the first authoritative codification of such laws). The Baraitot that are found dispersed singly throughout the Palestinian and Babylonian Talmuds are often recognizable by such introductory words as �it was taught� or �the rabbi taught.� Other Baraitot are found in independent

Guas, Juan

2004-12-25T03:38:00.000-08:00

Guas also spelled �Was � architect, the central figure of the group of Spanish architects who developed the Isabelline (q.v.) style, a combination of medieval structure, Mud�jar (Spanish Muslim) ornament, and Italian spatial design. Considered the finest architect of late 15th-century Spain, he originated designs for churches and residences that set the pattern for generations

Earth, Age of oceanic islands

2004-12-24T02:34:00.000-08:00

One of the earliest indications that some blocks of seafloor are moving relative to other such blocks was that while the age of young volcanic islands or seamounts shows no relationship to distance from spreading mid-oceanic ridges, old features of this sort are never found near the ridges. This relationship can be readily explained if new seafloor is created

Cambric

2004-12-23T23:25:00.000-08:00

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

Rovereto

2004-12-22T23:15:00.000-08:00

The 14th-century castle, once a Roman fortress, is now a war museum with the most extensive

Ear, Human, Tuning-fork tests

2004-12-21T11:48:00.000-08:00

In the Rinne test the sounding tuning fork is placed on the mastoid process, and the person

Binet, Alfred

2004-12-20T13:52:00.000-08:00

Fascinated by the work of the French neurologist Jean Charcot on hypnosis at the Salp�tri�re Hospital, Paris, Binet abandoned a law career in 1878 to devote himself

Qalandariyah

2004-12-19T11:00:00.000-08:00

Loosely organized group of wandering Muslim dervishes who form an �irregular� (bi-shar') or antinomian Sufi mystical order. The Qalandariyah seem to have arisen from the earlier Malamatiyah in Central Asia and exhibited Buddhist and perhaps Hindu influences. The adherents of the order were notorious for their contempt for the norms of Muslim society, their use of drugs, and

Insurance, Private health insurance

2004-12-18T00:54:00.000-08:00

In many countries health insurance has become a governmental institution. In some, doctors and other professional staff are employed, directly or indirectly, by a government agency on a full-time or part-time salaried basis, and health facilities are owned or operated by the government. This has been the practice in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Greece, Ireland,

Asti

2004-12-17T16:33:00.000-08:00

City, capital of Asti province, Piemonte (Piedmont) region, northwestern Italy. It lies at the confluence of the Tanaro and Borbera rivers, 28 miles (45 km) southeast of Turin. Asti was the Hasta, or Colonia, of the Romans and was the seat of a bishopric from AD 932. It reached its zenith as an independent commune in the 13th century, after which it fell to several overlords before coming under

Algeria, World War II and the movement for independence

2004-12-16T16:02:00.000-08:00

World War II brought with it the collapse of France and, in 1942, the Anglo-American occupation of North Africa. The occupation forces were to some extent automatically agents of emancipation; both Allied and Axis radio stations began to broadcast in Arabic, promising a new world for formerly subject peoples. The effect was further heightened by the June 1941 promise of emancipation

Ba�f, Jean-antoine De

2004-12-15T16:36:00.000-08:00

Ba�f received a classical education and in 1547 went with Pierre de Ronsard to study under Jean Dorat at the Coll�ge de Coqueret, Paris, where they planned, with Joachim du Bellay, to transform French poetry by imitating the ancients and the Italians.

Aramaean

2004-12-14T06:27:00.000-08:00

In the Old Testament the Aramaeans are represented as being closely akin to the Hebrews and living in northern Syria around Harran from

Pigeon Racing

2004-12-13T05:08:00.000-08:00

The earliest record of the domestication of pigeons is from the fifth Egyptian dynasty (about 3000 BC). The sultan of Baghdad established a pigeon post system in AD 1150, and Genghis Khan used such a system as his conquests

Obama, Barack, Jr.

2004-12-11T16:14:00.000-08:00

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

Sunderland

2004-12-10T14:32:00.000-08:00

In the year 674 a monastery was founded in an area on the north riverbank known later as Monkwearmouth. St. Bede the Venerable (672/673 - 735), noted chronicler of Anglo-Saxon affairs, was born in the area and studied there.