StickyPig

Halide Mineral

2005-04-04T03:53:00.000-07:00

Compositionally and structurally, three broad categories of halide minerals are recognized; these categories, which are

Downhill Skiing

2005-04-04T03:20:00.000-07:00

Ski race for speed on an adjusted downhill course that is marked by gates formed by paired poles, set at least 8 metres (26 feet) apart, through which the racer has to pass. Contestants make at least one timed practice run, then compete singly in an order set by previous performance and starting in one-minute intervals. The one who completes the course in the shortest time, without

Aerobatics

2005-04-03T22:26:00.000-07:00

Essential to aerobatic technique is the ability to fly an aircraft inverted (upside down), which was first demonstrated on September 1, 1913, by the Frenchman Adolphe Pégoud, test pilot for aviator Louis Blériot. Pégoud also flew other advanced maneuvers as part of a research program. Other aerobatic innovators include the Russian military pilot Petr Nesterov, who was

Encyclopaedia, China

2005-04-01T23:36:00.000-08:00

The contribution from the East to the history of encyclopaedias is distinctive and covers a longer period than that of the West. The Chinese have produced encyclopaedias for approximately 2,000 years, but traditionally they differ from the modern Western encyclopaedia in that they are mainly anthologies of significant literature with some elements of the dictionary.

Culture System

2005-04-01T23:21:00.000-08:00

According to the system, a villager should provide land rent to the government by setting aside one-fifth

Sardinian Language

2005-03-31T16:42:00.000-08:00

Sardinian Sardo Romance language spoken on the Italian-ruled island of Sardinia; it is most similar to Vulgar Latin of all the modern Romance languages. Major dialects of Sardinian are Logudorian, spoken in central Sardinia; Campidanian, spoken in the south; Sassarian, spoken in the northwest; and Gallurian, spoken in the northeast. There is no standard form of Sardinian except the

Park, Maud Wood

2005-03-30T23:24:00.000-08:00

Park attended St. Agnes School in Albany, New York, and after graduating in 1887 she taught school for eight years. She then attended Radcliffe College,

Insurance, Sue and labour clause

2005-03-29T21:58:00.000-08:00

The sue and labour clause requires the ship owner to make every attempt to reduce or save the exposed interests from loss. Under the terms of the clause, the insurer pays for any necessary costs incurred in carrying out the requirements of the sue and labour clause. Thus, if a ship is stranded, under the sue and labour clause the hull owner would be required to hire salvors

Crime And Punishment, Incapacitation

2005-03-29T20:49:00.000-08:00

Incapacitation is an object of punishment that has been known since early times. The idea is simply that the offender should be dealt with in a manner that will make it impossible for him to repeat his offense—by execution or banishment in earlier times, in more modern times by execution or lengthy periods of incarceration. This is the only objective of punishment

Coracle

2005-03-28T09:33:00.000-08:00

Irish curragh primitive, light, bowl-shaped boat with a frame of woven grasses, reeds, or saplings covered with hides. Those still used, in Wales and on the coasts of Ireland, usually have a canvas and tar covering. American Indians used the similar bullboat, covered with buffalo hides, on the Missouri River, and the corita, often sealed with bitumen, on the Colorado.

Narcissus

2005-03-26T21:25:00.000-08:00

Any member of a genus (Narcissus) of bulbous, often fragrant, ornamental plants in the family Amaryllidaceae. The genus contains about 40 species, native primarily to Europe. Daffodil, or narcissus (N. pseudonarcissus), jonquil (N. jonquilla), and poet's narcissus (N. poeticus) are popular garden flowers. The central crown of each yellow, white, or pink flower ranges in shape from

Economic Affairs

2005-03-26T15:34:00.000-08:00

The year 2002 was a strange, tumultuous one that held few moments of rest for weary investors and companies. The recession seemed to continue unabated; many sectors were rife with bankruptcies; and executives were hauled before judges and congressional investigators. (For the 10 Largest U.S. Bankruptcies Filed Since 1980, see Table.) Behind the chaos lurked the possibility of

Cosmopolitanism

2005-03-24T18:15:00.000-08:00

In Stoic philosophy, position taken by the Stoics against the traditional (Greek) distinction between Greeks and barbarians, made by applying to themselves the term cosmopolitans, thereby implying that their polis, or city-state, was the entire cosmos, or the whole world. Alexander the Great discouraged this distinction by allowing his generals to marry women native

Bacau

2005-03-24T17:51:00.000-08:00

Judet(county), eastern Romania, occupying an area of 2,551 sq mi (6,606 sq km). The Eastern Carpathians and the sub-Carpathians rise above the settlement areas that are situated in intermontane valleys and lowlands. The county is drained southeastward by the Siret River and its tributaries. It was formerly included in feudal Moldavia. Manufactures of Bacau (q.v.) city, the county capital,

France, History Of, The kings and the royal government

2005-03-23T14:10:00.000-08:00

The French monarchy was greatly strengthened by Louis VII's successor, Philip II Augustus (ruled 1180–1223), who could claim descent from Charlemagne through his mother. Philip proved to be the ablest Capetian yet to reign. He was practical and clear-sighted in his political objectives; the extension of territorial power and the improvement of mechanisms with which to govern

Manresa

2005-03-23T11:45:00.000-08:00

Town, Barcelona provincia, in the comunidad autónoma (“autonomous community”) of Catalonia, northeastern Spain. It lies along the Cardoner River. The town—which probably originated as Minorisa, the Roman capital of Jacetani—was important during the European Middle Ages. Three bridges span the Cardoner, and on a rock above the oldest bridge stands the yellow Church

Darshan

2005-03-21T17:13:00.000-08:00

Sanskrit Darsana (“auspicious viewing”), in Hindu worship, the beholding of an auspicious deity, person, or object. The experience results in a blessing of the viewer. The rathayatras (car festivals), in which images of gods are taken in procession through the streets, enable even those who in former days were not allowed to enter the temple to have darshan of the deity. The capability of darshan

Aram, Eugene

2005-03-20T00:24:00.000-08:00

In 1745, when Aram was schoolmaster at Knaresborough, a man named Daniel Clark, his intimate friend, after obtaining a considerable quantity of goods from tradesmen, disappeared.

Caucasian Languages, Grammatical characteristics

2005-03-19T20:22:00.000-08:00

In a number of languages (Lezgi, Udi) noun differentiation by classes has disappeared. The class of

Poland, Flag Of

2005-03-18T02:28:00.000-08:00

The first recorded use of the coat of arms of Poland, a white eagle on a red shield, dates from the 13th century. The reason for the choice of colours is not known, but it may simply have been a desire to make a clear contrast to the arms of the neighbouring Holy Roman Empire (a black eagle on a golden shield). The early flags of Poland were armorial: the arms were transformed directly

Sanjo, Go-

2005-03-17T19:01:00.000-08:00

One of the few Japanese rulers of the period not born of a Fujiwara mother, Takahito became emperor in 1068, taking the reign name Go-Sanjo

Reservoir

2005-03-17T04:26:00.000-08:00

Changes in weather cause the natural flow of streams and rivers to vary greatly with time. Periods of excess flows and valley flooding may alternate with low flows or droughts. The role of water-storage reservoirs, therefore,

Stingray

2005-03-16T07:48:00.000-08:00

The dasyatid

Arab Economic Unity, Council Of

2005-03-15T09:46:00.000-08:00

The organization is devoted to achieving economic integration

Hitogami

2005-03-14T11:28:00.000-08:00

(Japanese: “man-god”), a way of distinguishing certain characteristics of Japanese religion by focusing on the close relationship between a deity and his transmitter, such as a seer or a shaman. The Japanese scholar Hori Ichiro contrasts hitogami as a religious system with the ujigami (“guardian deity”) type of belief. Membership in the circle of believers is not dependent

Alabama

2005-03-13T13:27:00.000-08:00

Studies of the state's history include Virginia Van der Veer Hamilton, Alabama (1977, reissued 1984), a brief synthesis including more recent scholarship; Thomas Perkins Abernathy, The Formative Period in Alabama, 1815–1828, 2nd ed. (1965), the story of Alabama as a part of the Mississippi Territory; J. Mills Thornton III, Politics and Power in a Slave Society: Alabama, 1800–1860 (1978, reprinted 1981), on the decades leading to the Civil War; Walter L. Fleming, Civil War and Reconstruction in Alabama (1905, reprinted 1978), which includes an account of the factors leading to the secession of Alabama from the Union in 1861; Sarah Woolfolk Wiggins, The Scalawag in Alabama Politics, 1865–1881 (1977); and Allen J. Going, Bourbon Democracy in Alabama, 1874–1890 (1951, reprinted 1972). Historical discussions of race relations are provided in Peter Kolchin, First Freedom: The Response of Alabama's Blacks to Emancipation and Reconstruction (1972); Robert J. Norrell, Reaping the Whirlwind: The Civil Rights Movement in Tuskegee (1985); and Dan T. Carter, Scottsboro: A Tragedy of the American South, rev. ed. (1979). Scholarly journal articles on historical topics may be found in The Alabama Review (quarterly).

Coello, Claudio

2005-03-13T09:50:00.000-08:00

The son of a famous Portuguese sculptor, Faustino Coello, he studied under Francisco

Western Cape

2005-03-12T18:14:00.000-08:00

Province, Republic of South Africa, situated in the southern extremity of the African continent. The provincial capital, Cape Town, is also the nation's legislative capital. Western Cape province was part of former Cape of Good Hope province until 1994. Coastline fronting the Atlantic and Indian oceans forms Western Cape's western and southern boundaries, respectively.

ar Mountains

2005-03-10T19:13:00.000-08:00

Serbo-Croatian Šar Planina mountain range in western Macedonia, one of the most rugged and impassable in the Balkans, extending northeast–southwest for about 47 miles (75 km). A southern continuation along the Albanian frontier, which includes the Korab, Bistra, Jablanica, and Galicica massifs, makes the total length of about 100 miles (160 km). The Pindus mountain system in Greece is the southward extension

Botswana, Transport

2005-03-10T03:52:00.000-08:00

The 400-mile railway along the eastern side of the country was completed in 1897, linking South Africa and Zimbabwe, but had limited impact on the Botswana economy until the 1970s, when the first branch lines were opened to serve mining areas. At independence in 1966, there were only a few miles of paved roads—all inside town boundaries. Since then the major towns have been linked by paved

Epicurus

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

Greek philosopher, author of an ethical philosophy of simple pleasure, friendship, and retirement. He founded schools of philosophy that survived directly from the 4th century BC until the 4th century AD.

Theatre, Western, National theatres

2005-03-08T03:44:00.000-08:00

Since the early 1960s, Britain's theatrical reputation had rested mainly on the work produced by its two national companies. Peter Hall formed the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1961 as a reorganization of the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre at Stratford-upon-Avon. The following year, he was supported by two codirectors, Peter Brook and Michel Saint-Denis, and the company opened

Siberia

2005-03-07T21:27:00.000-08:00

All but the extreme southwestern area of Siberia lies in Russia. In Russian usage the

Ubon Ratchathani

2005-03-06T10:14:00.000-08:00

The area in which Ubon Ratchathani is situated produces rice, freshwater fish, cattle, pigs, sugarcane, timber, and cotton. There are large numbers of

Parallax

2005-03-06T05:54:00.000-08:00

In astronomy, the difference in direction of a celestial object as seen by an observer from two widely separated points. The measurement of parallax is used directly to find the distance of the body from the Earth (geocentric parallax) and from the Sun (heliocentric parallax). The two positions of the observer and the position of the object form a triangle; if the base

Pordenone

2005-03-05T20:22:00.000-08:00

Pordenone was a pupil of Pellegrino da S. Daniele and other Friulian masters, but his early style is founded on Venetian models and in particular on Andrea Mantegna. Later he was influenced by Titian, Correggio, and also

Hawke, Robert

2005-03-04T13:35:00.000-08:00

After graduating from the University of Western Australia with a degree in law, Hawke spent three years at the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. He was briefly an economics researcher at the Australian National University in Canberra and in 1958 joined the Australian

Kabba

2005-03-04T11:06:00.000-08:00

Town, Kogi state, south-central Nigeria, in the Yoruba Hills (elevation 1,300 feet [400 m]). It lies near the Osse River, at the intersection of roads from Lokoja, Okene, Ikare, Ado-Ekiti, and Egbe. Kabba is a trade centre for the yams, cassava, corn (maize), sorghum, shea nuts, peanuts (groundnuts), beans, cotton, and woven cloth produced by the Yoruba, Igbira, and Bunu (Kabba) peoples of the surrounding

Voznesensky, Andrey Andreyevich

2005-03-03T09:56:00.000-08:00

Voznesensky spent his early childhood in the city of Vladimir. In 1941 he moved with his mother and sister to Kurgan, in the Ural Mountains, while his father assisted in the evacuation of factories from besieged Leningrad. The profound

Manchu-tungus Languages

2005-03-02T10:46:00.000-08:00

Also called Tungusic languages, smallest of three subfamilies of the Altaic language family. The Manchu-Tungus languages are a group of 10 to 17 languages spoken by fewer than 70,000 people scattered across a vast region that stretches from northern China across Mongolia to the northern boundary of Russia. Apart from the moribund Manchu and the now-extinct Juchen (Jurchen) languages, these languages have

Space Exploration

2005-03-01T11:03:00.000-08:00

On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched the world's first artificial satellite, Sputnik

Kunlun Mountains, Climate

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

The Kunluns are almost totally isolated from the climatic influence of the Indian and Pacific Ocean monsoons. Instead, they are under the constant influence of the continental air mass, which causes great annual and diurnal temperature fluctuations. Maximum aridity occurs in the middle segment of the mountain system; to the west and east, however, the climate is

Tokyo National Museum

2005-02-28T05:38:00.000-08:00

The original collection, formed in 1871 and initially housed in temporary residences, was a mixture of artistic, historical, scientific, technological, and natural-history exhibits composed mostly of Japanese objects displayed at international expositions, as in Paris (1867, 1878) and Vienna (1873). In 1882 the collection

Durham

2005-02-27T02:25:00.000-08:00

The historic core of the city is located on a peninsula in a bend of the River Wear. This natural defensive site, chosen by William the Conqueror (reigned 1066–87) as a fortress and bulwark against the Scots to the north, soon became a seat of the feudal prince-bishops of Durham, entrusted

Ibn Al-'awwam

2005-02-26T16:32:00.000-08:00

Agriculturist who wrote the Arabic treatise on agriculture, Kitab al-fila-hah, the outstanding medieval work on the subject. The Spanish translation, published in the early 1800s, consists of 35 chapters dealing with agronomy, cattle and poultry raising, and beekeeping. It deals with 585 plants; explains the cultivation of more than 50 fruit trees; and includes

Hertfordshire

2005-02-26T04:59:00.000-08:00

Administrative and historic county of southern England, adjoining Greater London to the south. The administrative county and the historic county cover slightly different areas. The administrative county comprises 10 districts: East Hertfordshire, North Hertfordshire, Three Rivers, and Welwyn Hatfield; the boroughs of Broxbourne, Dacorum, Hertsmere, Stevenage

Gullah

2005-02-25T19:12:00.000-08:00

Creole language based on English, spoken by former black slaves and their descendants (also called Gullahs and Geechees, West African tribal names) on the Sea Islands of South Carolina and Georgia and on the mainland nearby. Gullah consists of an English pidgin base characteristic of 17th- and 18th-century British colonists' speech, with additional vocabulary and some

Nahman Ben Simhah Of Bratslav

2005-02-24T11:45:00.000-08:00

The great-grandson of the Ba'al Shem Tov, the founder of the Hasidic movement, Nahman was an ascetic from childhood. Married at age 13, he became a self-appointed religious leader and teacher at about age 20. After studying (1798–99) in Tiberius,

Ufj Holdings, Inc.

2005-02-24T01:17:00.000-08:00

Japanese bank holding company that became one of the world's largest banking institutions through the merger of Sanwa Bank, Tokai Bank, and Toyo Trust in 2001. With headquarters in Osaka, UFJ operates banks, issues credit cards, provides venture capital funding, and offers other banking and financial management services.

Daigo, Go-

2005-02-22T19:38:00.000-08:00

In full Go-daigo Tenno, personal name Takaharu emperor of Japan (1318–39), whose efforts to overthrow the shogunate and restore the monarchy led to civil war and divided the imperial family into two rival factions.

Iron Mountain

2005-02-22T13:32:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1891) of Dickinson county, southwestern Upper Peninsula of Michigan, U.S., 52 miles (84 km) west of Escanaba. Settled in 1879 and incorporated in 1889, it was named for its proximity to a bluff heavily stratified with iron ore. In the 1930s underground mining became uneconomic, but the industry has revived with open-pit mining and the pelletizing of ore. Tourism and winter sports (based

Hal

2005-02-22T01:15:00.000-08:00

Plural Ahwal, in Sufi Muslim mystical terminology, a spiritual state of mind that comes to the Sufi from time to time during his journey toward God. The ahwal are graces of God that cannot be acquired or retained through an individual's own efforts. When the soul is purified of its attachments to the material world, it can only wait patiently for those spiritual gifts of God, which, when they

Palestine, History Of, Israeli Arabs

2005-02-21T20:15:00.000-08:00

In the years following the 1967 war, circumstances changed dramatically for Israeli Arabs. As a result of their resumed contact with the Palestinians of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, they began to recover from their long period of inactivity. Following the Arab-Israeli war of 1973, Arab Israelis took a greater part in Israeli institutions. They also were significantly

Yampi Sound

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

Portion of the Indian Ocean off the north coast of Western Australia, between King Sound and Collier Bay. It contains the four island clusters of the Buccaneer Archipelago, named for the buccaneer William Dampier. High-grade iron-ore deposits occur on the islands, the largest of which are Koolan, Irvine (with extensive underwater iron deposits), and Cockatoo. On Cockatoo,

Theatre, Court theatres

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

The Baroque architectural style, beginning in Italy and spreading across Europe, dominated theatre building between about 1650 and 1790. Its chief characteristics are refinement in detail of the proscenium stage and of the Renaissance horseshoe-shaped auditorium and seating plan. The innovations of the period were introduced in the private court theatres. As many as

Devizes

2005-02-19T04:40:00.000-08:00

Town (“parish”), Kennet district, administrative and historical county of Wiltshire, England. It lies along the disused Kennet and Avon Canal, at the edge of Roundway Down. It was the site of a Roman fortification, Castrum Divisarum; and Roger, bishop of Salisbury, built a castle there about 1132. The name Devizes possibly came from a medieval Latin reference to the castle ad

Earth, Secular variation of the main field

2005-02-19T04:20:00.000-08:00

The main magnetic field of the Earth, as observed at the surface, changes continuously with time. Changes of very short duration compared with geologic processes are called secular variation. Observations of declination made in London since 1540, for example, show that the direction of the field at that site has nearly completed a full cycle with a peak-to-peak amplitude

Orange River

2005-02-18T20:25:00.000-08:00

The first white man known to cross the river to the north bank was an Afrikaner elephant hunter, Jacobus Coetsee, who forded the Groot River, as it was then called, near the river mouth in 1760. Later expeditions across the river in the 18th century were led by the Afrikaner explorer Hendrik Hop; Robert Jacob Gordon, a Dutch officer; William Paterson, an English traveler; and the

Aranyakas

2005-02-17T11:37:00.000-08:00

(Sanskrit: “Books of the Forest”), a later development of the Brahmanas, or expositions of the Vedas, which were composed in India in about 700 BC. The Aranyakas are distinguished from the Brahmanas in that they may contain information on secret rites to be carried out only by certain persons, and more philosophic speculation. Thus they were intended to be studied only by the initiated,

Breckinridge, John C(abell)

2005-02-17T08:09:00.000-08:00

His formal expulsion from the Senate in December was a meaningless gesture because he had already been commissioned a brigadier general in the Confederate Army in November. After the Battle of Shiloh (April 6–7, 1862), in which he commanded the reserve, he was promoted to the rank of major general and thereafter took part in many campaigns, including Vicksburg (June 1863), the Wilderness (May 1864), and Shenandoah Valley (1864–65). In the final months of the war, Breckinridge served as Confederate secretary of war, and at the end of the hostilities he fled to England. After a self-imposed exile of three years, he returned to resume his law practice in Lexington, where he died seven years later.

Eadric Streona

2005-02-16T06:19:00.000-08:00

Little is known of Eadric's origins. His appointment to the office of ealdorman was probably an attempt by Ethelred to unite south-central England under one command. He is generally considered

Lilar, Suzanne

2005-02-15T21:33:00.000-08:00

Lilar was of Flemish origins. She began her career as

Smith, Amanda

2005-02-15T20:23:00.000-08:00

Born a slave, Berry grew up in York county, Pa., after her father bought his own freedom and that of most of the family. She was educated mainly at home and at an early age began working as a domestic. An unhappy first marriage ended with the disappearance

Pet Shop Boys, The

2005-02-14T01:17:00.000-08:00

Formed in London in 1981 by vocalist Tennant (then a writer for the music magazine Smash Hits) and keyboardist Lowe, the Pet Shop

Bonaparte, Jérôme

2005-02-13T19:20:00.000-08:00

A member of the consular guard

Quinn, Anthony Rudolph Oaxaca

2005-02-13T04:13:00.000-08:00

Mexican-born American actor (b. April 21, 1915, Chihuahua, Mex.—d. June 3, 2001, Boston, Mass.), appeared in more than 150 films but was universally identified with one role especially—the earthy full-of-life title character in Zorba the Greek (1964), whom he inhabited so completely and comfortably that many of his later parts seemed also to be infused with that character's spirit. He embraced his offscreen

Zaghlul, Sa'd

2005-02-12T01:27:00.000-08:00

Abbas Mahmud al-Aqqad, Sa'd Zaghlul (1936), a full-length biography (in Arabic and not available in translation), is uncritically favourable to the subject. In English see E. Kedourie, “Sa'ad Zaghlul and the British,” in A. Hourani (ed.), Middle Eastern Affairs: Number Two, pp. 139–160 (1961), written by a hostile critic with a wide knowledge of Arabic sources; and the reasonably impartial obituary notice in The (London) Times (Aug. 24, 1927).

Furniture, Italy

2005-02-10T21:39:00.000-08:00

Though it was in Italian architecture, painting, and sculpture that the Baroque style was evolved, Italy was not the first to apply this style to furniture. But by the mid-17th century Italy was producing flamboyantly carved, painted, and gilded furniture, decorated with such typical motifs as cupids, acanthus, shells, and boldly drawn scrolls, and was further enriching

Seurat, Georges

2005-02-10T06:12:00.000-08:00

Painter, founder of the 19th-century French school of Neo-Impressionism whose technique for portraying the play of light using tiny brushstrokes of contrasting colours became known as Pointillism. Using this techique, he created huge compositions with tiny, detached strokes of pure colour too small to be distinguished when looking at the

Este, House Of

2005-02-10T02:14:00.000-08:00

Princely family of Lombard origin that played a great part in the history of medieval and Renaissance Italy. It first came to the front in the wars between the Guelfs and Ghibellines during the 13th century. As leaders of the Guelfs, Estensi princes received at different times Ferrara, Modena, Reggio, and other fiefs and territories. Members of the family ruled in Ferrara

Lagash

2005-02-08T18:56:00.000-08:00

Modern Telloh one of the most important capital cities in ancient Sumer, located midway between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in southeastern Iraq. The ancient name of the mound of Telloh was actually Girsu, while Lagash originally denoted a site southeast of Girsu, later becoming the name of the whole district and also of Girsu itself. The French excavated at Telloh between

Asia, Petroleum and natural gas

2005-02-08T05:42:00.000-08:00

At least two-thirds of the world's known crude oil and natural gas reserves are found in Asia; the proportion may prove higher as Siberia, the Caspian basin, and the seas of southeastern Asia are further explored. Many of the island chains bordering eastern Asia have geologic formations favouring petroleum accumulation, and oil fields—both on land and offshore—are

Packing

2005-02-08T02:57:00.000-08:00

In mathematics, a type of problem in combinatorial geometry that involves placement of figures of a given size or shape within another given figure—with greatest economy or subject to some other restriction. The problem of placement of a given number of spheres within a given volume of space is an example of a packing problem.

Biblical Literature, The role of Samuel

2005-02-07T03:55:00.000-08:00

The first section (chapters 1–15) begins with the story of Samuel's birth, after his mother Hannah (one of the two wives of the Ephraimite Elkanah) had prayed at the shrine at Shiloh, the centre of the tribal confederacy, for a son. She vowed that, if she bore a son, he would be dedicated to Yahweh for lifetime service as a Nazirite, as indicated by the words “and no razor shall touch

Melampus

2005-02-06T22:43:00.000-08:00

In Greek mythology, a seer who as a child received the understanding of the language of birds after two young snakes, whose lives he had saved, licked his ears when he was asleep. He later helped his brother Bias to marry Pero, daughter of King Neleus of Pylos. According to another legend, Melampus cured the insanity of the daughters of Proitus, prince of Tiryns; he and Bias

Pedestal

2005-02-06T20:35:00.000-08:00

In Classical architecture, support or base for a column, statue, vase, or obelisk. Such a pedestal may be square, octagonal, or circular. The name is also given to the vertical members that divide the sections of a balustrade. A single pedestal may also support a group of columns, or colonnade. A pedestal is divided into three parts, from bottom to top: the plinth (or foot), the

Elista

2005-02-04T05:32:00.000-08:00

Formerly (1944–57) Stepnoy, city and capital of Kalmykia republic, southwestern Russia. It was founded in 1865 and became a city in 1930. In 1944, when the Kalmyks were exiled by Joseph Stalin for their alleged collaboration with the Germans, the republic was dissolved and the city became known as Stepnoy (“Steppe”). The Kalmyk A.S.S.R. and the name Elista were restored in 1957. Agriculture employs the most workers, though

Pereira

2005-02-04T04:25:00.000-08:00

City, capital of Risaralda departamento, west-central Colombia. It is situated in the western foothills of the Cordillera Central above the Cauca River valley. It was founded in 1863 on the former site of Cartago by Remigio Antonio Cañarte and was named for Francisco Pereira Gamba, who donated lands for the enterprise. Pereira serves as a centre for coffee and cattle and

Jane

2005-02-04T01:09:00.000-08:00

Chicago-based women's collective that provided more than 11,000 safe albeit illegal abortions between 1969 and 1973. The underground clinic, a small branch of the Chicago Women's Liberation Union, strove to strengthen the pro-choice movement and abolish expensive, unsafe, and callously performed abortion services. They did so by providing medically sound, low-cost abortions at

Solar Calendar

2005-02-03T21:06:00.000-08:00

Any dating system based on the seasonal year of approximately 365 1/4 days, the time it takes the Earth to revolve once around the Sun. The Egyptians appear to have been the first to develop a solar calendar, using as a fixed point the annual sunrise reappearance of the Dog Star—Sirius, or Sothis—in the eastern sky, which coincided with the annual flooding of the Nile River. They

Welhaven, Johan Sebastian Cammermeyer

2005-02-03T19:29:00.000-08:00

Welhaven began the study of theology but dropped it. He earned

'abd Al-rahman Iii

2005-02-02T08:19:00.000-08:00

Accounts of 'Abd ar-Rahman's reign may be found in W. Montgomery Watt, A History of Islamic Spain (1965, reissued 1977); and Stanley Lane-Poole, The Story of the Moors in Spain (1886, reprinted as The Moors in Spain, 1967).

Welhaven, Johan Sebastian Cammermeyer

2005-02-01T21:26:00.000-08:00

Cystic fibrosis is the most common inherited disorder affecting people of European ancestry. It is estimated to occur in 1 per 2,000 live births in these populations and is particularly concentrated

Tsimshian

2005-01-31T10:44:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Chimmesyan, Indians of the North Pacific Coast of North America, inhabiting the mainland and islands around the Skeena and Nass rivers and Milbanke Sound in what is now British Columbia and Alaska. They speak any of three Tsimshian dialects: Niska, spoken along the Nass River; coastal Tsimshian, along the lower Skeena and the coast; and Kitksan (or Gitksan), along the upper Skeena.

Schenker, Heinrich

2005-01-31T01:36:00.000-08:00

Austrian music theorist whose insights into the structural hierarchies underlying much of 18th- and 19th-century music led to a new understanding of the laws of melodic and harmonic construction and form. Schenker was not well known in his time; he worked as a private teacher in Austria. He studied composition with Anton Bruckner

Schenker, Heinrich

2005-01-30T13:08:00.000-08:00

Also called cocoa tropical tree, whose scientific name means “food of the gods” in Latin. Originating in the lowland rainforests of the Amazon and Orinoco river basins, cacao is grown commercially in the New World tropics as well as western Africa and tropical Asia for its seeds called cocoa beans, which are processed into cocoa powder, cocoa butter, and chocolate. This

Hába, Alois

2005-01-29T04:43:00.000-08:00

A striking innovator and important teacher and writer,

Omaha

2005-01-29T02:31:00.000-08:00

North American Plains Indian people of the Dhegiha branch of the Siouan language stock. With the other members of this subgroup (the Osage, Ponca, Kansa, and Quapaw [qq.v.]), the Omaha migrated westward from the Atlantic coast. An early settlement was in Virginia and the Carolinas. After a time they moved to the Ozark Plateau and the prairies of what is now western Missouri.

Yung-lo

2005-01-27T23:11:00.000-08:00

In the early years of his reign, he seems to have been fascinated by the regions beyond China's southern borders, perhaps in part because of rumours that the emperor Chu Yün-wen had escaped overseas. In 1403 the Yung-lo emperor sent out three fleets under eunuch commanders to proclaim his accession throughout Southeast Asia as far as Java and southern India. More vigorously

China, State and society

2005-01-27T15:25:00.000-08:00

The state barred literati from using the academies and literary societies for explicitly political activities. Scholars in Peking and in the rich cities of the Yangtze Delta turned from politics to the study of texts that marked the empirical school of scholarship (k'ao-cheng hsüeh). Influenced by their knowledge of European mathematics and mathematical astronomy,

Malaspina Family

2005-01-27T00:14:00.000-08:00

Feudal family powerful in northern Italy in the Middle Ages. Descended from Marquis Oberto I, who was created count palatine by the Holy Roman emperor Otto I, the family at first controlled Tuscany, eastern Liguria, and the March of Lombardy. Early in the 11th century the Este, Pallavicino, and Massa-Corsica family branches separated from the Malaspina. The situation

Palangkaraya

2005-01-26T04:46:00.000-08:00

Kotamadya (municipality), capital of Kalimantan Tengah provinsi (“province”), Borneo, Indonesia. Palangkaraya lies west of the Kahayan River. It was occupied by the Japanese during World War II and was the principal city of Great Dayak, an autonomous state (one of five) created in 1945 that became part of Indonesia in 1950. The population consists mainly of the native Dayaks together

Alcor

2005-01-26T00:56:00.000-08:00

Also called 80 Ursae Majoris star with apparent magnitude of 4.03. The ability to see the dim star Alcor with the unaided eye may have been regarded by the Arabs (and others) as a test of good vision. Alcor makes a visual double with the brighter star Mizar in the middle of the handle of the Big Dipper (Ursa Major); the pair have also been called the Horse and Rider.

Cabrillo, Juan Rodríguez

2005-01-25T22:09:00.000-08:00

Virtually nothing is known of Cabrillo's early life, though he might have been born in Portugal. As a young man, he appears to have accompanied the Spanish soldier Pánfilo de Narváez (1520) in his unsuccessful punitive expedition against

Alcor

2005-01-24T10:59:00.000-08:00

The EEC was created in 1957 by the Treaty of Rome, which was signed by Belgium

Muqanna', Al-

2005-01-24T06:30:00.000-08:00

Byname of Hashim Ibn Hakim religious leader, originally a fuller (cloth processor) from Merv, in Khorasan, who led a revolt in that province against the 'Abbasid caliph al-Mahdi. Preaching a doctrine combining elements of Islam and Zoroastrianism, al-Muquanna' carried on warfare for about three years in the field and for two years longer in his fortress of Sanam before he was eventually defeated and

Annaba

2005-01-23T06:05:00.000-08:00

Formerly Bône , or Bona town and Mediterranean port, northeastern Algeria. It lies near the mouth of the Wadi Seybouse, close to the Tunisian border. Its location on a natural harbour (Annaba Gulf) between Capes Garde and Rosa early attracted the Phoenicians, probably in the 12th century BC. It passed to the Romans as Hippo Regius, was the residence of the Numidian kings, and achieved independence

Zagros Mountains

2005-01-22T16:34:00.000-08:00

Mountain range in southwestern Iran, extending northwest-southeast from the Sirvan (Diyala) River to Shiraz. The Zagros range is about 550 miles (900 km) long and more than 150 miles (240 km) wide. Formed primarily of limestone and shale, the mountain range consists of numerous parallel ridges whose highest peaks rise above 12,000 feet (3,600 m) and have permanent snow cover. Passes through the mountains

Sarajevo

2005-01-21T20:05:00.000-08:00

Capital and cultural centre of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It lies in the narrow valley of the Miljacka River at the foot of Mount Trebevic. The city retains a strong Muslim character, having many mosques, wooden houses with ornate interiors, and the ancient Turkish marketplace (the Bašcaršija); much of the population is Muslim. The city's principal mosques are the Gazi Husreff-Bey's

Van Der Waals Forces

2005-01-19T14:10:00.000-08:00

Relatively weak electric forces that attract neutral molecules to one another in gases, in liquefied and solidified gases, and in almost all organic liquids and solids. The forces are named for the Dutch physicist Johannes van der Waals, who in 1873 first postulated these intermolecular forces in developing a theory to account for the properties of real gases. Solids

StickyPig

Halide Mineral

Downhill Skiing

Aerobatics

Encyclopaedia, China

Culture System

Sardinian Language

Park, Maud Wood

Insurance, Sue and labour clause

Crime And Punishment, Incapacitation

Coracle

Narcissus

Economic Affairs

Cosmopolitanism

Bacau

France, History Of, The kings and the royal government

Manresa

Darshan

Aram, Eugene

Caucasian Languages, Grammatical characteristics

Poland, Flag Of

Sanjo, Go-

Reservoir

Stingray

Arab Economic Unity, Council Of

Hitogami

Alabama

Coello, Claudio

Western Cape

ar Mountains

Botswana, Transport

Epicurus

Theatre, Western, National theatres

Siberia

Ubon Ratchathani

Parallax

Pordenone

Hawke, Robert

Kabba

Voznesensky, Andrey Andreyevich

Manchu-tungus Languages

Space Exploration

Kunlun Mountains, Climate

Tokyo National Museum

Durham

Ibn Al-'awwam

Hertfordshire

Gullah

Nahman Ben Simhah Of Bratslav

Ufj Holdings, Inc.

Daigo, Go-

Iron Mountain

Hal

Palestine, History Of, Israeli Arabs

Yampi Sound

Theatre, Court theatres

Devizes

Earth, Secular variation of the main field

Orange River

Aranyakas

Breckinridge, John C(abell)

Eadric Streona

Lilar, Suzanne

Smith, Amanda

Pet Shop Boys, The

Bonaparte, Jérôme

Quinn, Anthony Rudolph Oaxaca

Zaghlul, Sa'd

Furniture, Italy

Seurat, Georges

Este, House Of

Lagash

Asia, Petroleum and natural gas

Packing

Biblical Literature, The role of Samuel

Melampus

Pedestal

Elista

Pereira

Jane

ar Mountains