MarriedGrass

Oman, Flag Of

2005-04-04T14:34:00.000-07:00

The ruling sultan was deposed on July 23, 1970, and the new sultan, Qabus ibn Sa'id, began to modernize the nation: he changed its name to Sultanate of Oman and, on December 17, 1970, introduced the new national flag. White symbolizes peace and prosperity, red

Forbes, Steve

2005-04-04T04:14:00.000-07:00

Forbes graduated from Princeton University in 1970 with a B.A. degree in American history. He then went to work as a researcher for Forbes magazine, which was headed by his father, Malcolm S. Forbes, Sr. In 1973 he began writing a column for the

Duricrust

2005-04-03T21:46:00.000-07:00

Surface or near-surface of the Earth consisting of a hardened accumulation of silica (SiO2), alumina (Al2O3), and iron oxide (Fe2O3), in varying proportions. Admixtures of other substances commonly are present and duricrusts may be enriched with oxides of manganese or titanium within restricted areas. Thus, siliceous, ferruginous, and aluminous crusts constitute duricrusts

Cbs Corporation

2005-04-02T23:42:00.000-08:00

Formerly (1928–74) Columbia Broadcasting System, or (1974–97) CBS Inc., major American broadcasting company and operator of the CBS national radio and television networks. The company was incorporated in 1927 as United Independent Broadcasters, Inc. Its name was changed a year later to Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc., and in 1974 it adopted the name CBS Inc. In 1995 CBS Inc. was bought by the Westinghouse Electric Corporation, which changed its name

Biblical Literature, Eastern Orthodoxy

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

The first Christians were Jews, and they worshipped along with other Jews in the synagogue. The earliest Gentile converts also attended the synagogue. When Christians met outside the synagogue, they still used its liturgy, read its Bible, and preserved the main characteristics of synagogue worship. Every historic liturgy is divided into (1) a Christian revision of

Girdle-tailed Lizard

2005-04-01T23:35:00.000-08:00

Their name is derived from the rings of spiny scales that encircle the tail, and sometimes the body, in a series of whorls. In some species the armoured girdles serve effectively as protection

Biblical Literature, Uncials

2005-03-31T20:50:00.000-08:00

A, Codex Alexandrinus, is an early-5th-century manuscript containing most of the New Testament but with lacunae (gaps) in Matthew, John, and II Corinthians, plus the inclusion of the extracanonical I and II Clement. In the Gospels, the text is of the Byzantine type, but, in the rest of the New Testament, it is Alexandrian.

Ulama

2005-03-30T18:09:00.000-08:00

Also spelled ulema , Arabic 'ulama' the learned of Islam, those who possess the quality of 'ilm, “learning,” in its widest sense. From the 'ulama', who are versed theoretically and practically in the Muslim sciences, come the religious teachers of the Islamic community—theologians (mutakallimun), canon lawyers (muftis), judges (qadis), professors—and high state religious officials like the shaikh al-Islam. In a narrower

Cacus And Caca

2005-03-30T11:16:00.000-08:00

In Roman religion, brother and sister, respectively, originally fire deities of the early Roman settlement on the Palatine Hill, where “Cacus' stairs” were later situated. The Roman poet Virgil described Cacus as the son of the flame god Vulcan and as a monstrous fire-breathing brigand who terrorized the countryside. He stole some of the giant Geryon's cattle from the

Fa-hsiang

2005-03-29T04:54:00.000-08:00

School of Chinese Buddhism derived from the Indian Yogacara school. See Yogacara.

Cacus And Caca

2005-03-28T23:28:00.000-08:00

International organization founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and world trade. Members in the late 1990s included Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United

Chen Shizeng

2005-03-28T15:11:00.000-08:00

Chen came from a family of prominent officials and scholars. He was well educated and something of a child prodigy who, by age 10, was painting, writing poetry, and excelling at calligraphy. In 1902 Chen went to Japan for further study.

Ahom

2005-03-27T04:22:00.000-08:00

Tribe that ruled much of Assam from the 13th century until the establishment of British rule in 1838. Their power in Assam reached its peak during the reign of King Rudra Singh (1696–1714). They originated in the Chinese province of Yunnan and began migrating into Indochina and northern Myanmar (Burma) in the first centuries AD. Their original language is now extinct, and they speak Assamese.

John George Ii

2005-03-26T19:23:00.000-08:00

In 1657, just after his accession, he made an arrangement with his three brothers with the object of preventing disputes over their separate territories, and in 1664 he entered into friendly relations with Louis XIV of France. He received money from the French

Catamaran

2005-03-25T22:08:00.000-08:00

Twin-hulled sailing and powered boat developed for sport and recreation in the second half of the 20th century. Its design is based on a raft of two logs bridged by planks that had earlier been used by peoples in the Indonesian archipelago and throughout Polynesia and Micronesia. Early catamarans were up to 21.3 m (70 ft) long, originally paddled by many men, and used for visiting,

Arctolepis

2005-03-24T10:57:00.000-08:00

Extinct genus of Early Devonian fishlike animals (408 to 387 million years ago), considered to be an early and primitive member of a group known as the arthrodires, or jointed-neck fishes. Arctolepis had a bony head and trunk shield but was unarmoured behind the trunk region; the body tapered to a pointed tail; a tail fin was developed only on the lower margin of the

Eugenius Iii, Blessed

2005-03-24T00:43:00.000-08:00

Possibly a member of the family Paganelli di Montemagno, he was a disciple of St. Bernard of Clairvaux and a Cistercian abbot of the monastery of SS. Vincent and Anastasius when he was elected on February 15. Eugenius, like others of western Europe, was shocked by the fall of Edessa, the capital of the first

Camagüey

2005-03-23T06:42:00.000-08:00

Provincia, east-central Cuba, bounded on the north by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Ciego de Ávila province, on the east by Las Tunas province, and on the south by the Caribbean Sea. It was established in 1879 as Puerto Príncipe; the province of Ciego de Ávila was separated from Camagüey province in 1976. It is Cuba's largest province. Camagüey's early importance as a cattle-raising

Moses

2005-03-23T01:39:00.000-08:00

Hebrew Moshe Hebrew prophet, teacher, and leader who, in the 13th century BCE (before the Common Era, or BC), delivered his people from Egyptian slavery. In the Covenant ceremony at Mt. Sinai, where the Ten Commandments were promulgated, he founded the religious community known as Israel. As the interpreter of these Covenant stipulations, he was the organizer of the community's

Tiepolo, Giovanni Domenico

2005-03-23T01:16:00.000-08:00

Also called Giandomenico Tiepolo son of the Venetian artist Giovanni Battista Tiepolo; he was a talented genre painter, especially of scenes from contemporary life and the popular theatre (as in the decorations of his villa at Zianigo, Italy, now in the Civico Museo Correr, Venice). Notable among his early works are the paintings of the Stations of the Cross for S. Polo, Venice (1747–49), and

Frederick I

2005-03-21T23:11:00.000-08:00

He was the second son of Frederick V, burgrave of Nürnberg. After his father's death, in 1398, he obtained Ansbach and, in 1420, on the death of his elder brother John, the principality of Bayreuth. In 1410 Sigismund, younger son of

Vedantadesika

2005-03-21T03:40:00.000-08:00

Vedantadesika was born into a distinguished Srivaisnava family that followed the teachings of Ramanuja, an 11th–12th-century

Bricker, John W.

2005-03-20T14:02:00.000-08:00

After graduation from Ohio State University in 1916 and admission to the Ohio bar in 1917, Bricker served as a World War I army officer before entering

Development

2005-03-19T17:07:00.000-08:00

The simplest form of development is a change (usually an increase) in size of an organ system or structure; simple growth, however, seldom occurs without accompanying chemical

Tigerfish

2005-03-18T14:56:00.000-08:00

Any of several fishes so named on the basis of their pugnacity when caught, their fiercely predaceous habits, or their appearance. In African freshwaters, tigerfishes of the genus Hydrocynus (sometimes Hydrocyon) are admired game fishes of the characin family, Characidae (order Cypriniformes). They are marked, depending on the species, with one

Field Artillery

2005-03-18T07:37:00.000-08:00

Any large-calibre, crew-operated, mounted firearm designed for easy movement in the field. See artillery.

Advisory Opinion

2005-03-18T06:43:00.000-08:00

In law, the opinion of a judge, a court, or a law official, such as an attorney general, upon a question of law raised by a public official or legislative body. Advisory opinions adjudicate nothing and are not binding, though courts sometimes cite them as evidence of the law. Federal courts in the United States will not issue advisory opinions, but such opinions are issued

Mason, Charlotte

2005-03-17T14:45:00.000-08:00

Mason was born into a wealthy family. She married a prominent physician and socialized with dignitaries and dilettantes.

Yan

2005-03-17T11:03:00.000-08:00

Pottery yan first appeared during the so-called Longshan culture

Oak Bay

2005-03-16T22:08:00.000-08:00

District municipality, southwestern British Columbia, Canada, on southeastern Vancouver Island. It is an eastern residential suburb of Victoria, the provincial capital, and is a popular retirement community, with one of the highest percentages of persons over 65 in Canada. Inc. 1906. Pop. (1991) 17,815.

Nizam-i Cedid

2005-03-15T10:21:00.000-08:00

In 1792–93 Selim III, assisted by a committee, promulgated a series of reforms that included new regulations on provincial governorships and taxation, on land

Belshazzar

2005-03-14T20:24:00.000-08:00

Belshazzar had been known only from the biblical Book of Daniel (chapters 5, 7–8) and from Xenophon's Cyropaedia until 1854, when references to him were found in Babylonian cuneiform inscriptions. Though he is referred to in the Book of Daniel as the son of Nebuchadrezzar, the Babylonian inscriptions

Wakayama

2005-03-14T14:51:00.000-08:00

Ken (prefecture), south-central Honshu, Japan. It occupies the Kii Peninsula, which faces the Kii Strait (west) and the Pacific Ocean (south). Most of its area of 1,824 square miles (4,725 square km) is mountainous and broken by deep river valleys, such as the Toro Gorge on the Kumano River. Despite frequent typhoons in summer, the climate is mild, and the coastal plain and some large valleys

West Bridgford

2005-03-14T07:54:00.000-08:00

Town, Rushcliffe district, administrative and historic county of Nottinghamshire, England. The town now functions largely as a residential suburb of Nottingham, which lies just to the northwest. West Bridgford's parish church was built in the 14th century. There is some modern light industry in the town. Trent Bridge cricket ground (one of England's most famous) and Nottinghamshire's

Glacial Landform, Permafrost, patterned ground, solifluction deposits, and pingos

2005-03-13T19:41:00.000-08:00

Permafrost is ground that remains perennially frozen (see permafrost). It covers about 20–25 percent of the Earth's land surface today. The “active layer” of soil close to the surface of permafrost regions undergoes many seasonal and daily freeze-thaw cycles. The constant change in the volume of water tends to move the coarser particles in the soil to the surface. Further

Europe, History Of, Aestheticism

2005-03-12T08:03:00.000-08:00

To those who dedicated their lives to Symbolist literature and criticism the name of aesthetes is often given, for it was at this time, from 1870 to the end of the century, that questions of aesthetics became the intense concern of artists, critics, and a portion of the public. The phrase “art for art's sake,” which the Romanticists had toyed with, was revived and made the hallmark

Ta-tu

2005-03-12T06:48:00.000-08:00

Pinyin Dadu , also spelled Taidu , Mongol Khanbaliq the city of Peking (q.v.) under the Mongols.

Stead, C.k.

2005-03-12T05:52:00.000-08:00

Stead studied at the University of Auckland (B.A., 1954; M.A., 1955) and the University of Bristol, England (Ph.D., 1961). From 1959 to 1986 he taught at the University of Auckland, becoming a full professor in 1968. His first book of poetry, Whether

Allbutt, Sir Thomas Clifford

2005-03-11T10:17:00.000-08:00

During a 28-year practice in Leeds, Allbutt made valuable clinical studies, primarily of arterial and nervous disorders. In 1866 he introduced the modern clinical thermometer,

Chebyshev, Pafnuty Lvovich

2005-03-10T01:52:00.000-08:00

Chebyshev became assistant professor of mathematics at the University of St. Petersburg (now St.

Dion

2005-03-09T03:51:00.000-08:00

When the younger Dionysius, who was weak and inexperienced, succeeded in 367, Dion assumed control and persuaded Plato, whose friendship he had acquired, to train the new tyrant in the practical application of his philosophical principles. The experiment

Chatelaine

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

Ornament, used by both men and women and usually fastened to belt or pocket, with chains bearing hooks on which to hang small articles such as watches, keys, seals, writing tablets, scissors, and purses. The word chatelaine is derived from a word meaning the keeper of a castle, thus the person entrusted with the keys. During the 18th century, chatelaines were particularly

Gobi

2005-03-08T04:43:00.000-08:00

Information on the Gobi is available in surveys of explorations in the area: Jack Autrey Dabbs, History of the Discovery and Exploration of Chinese Turkestan (1963), a comprehensive introduction with a bibliography; and Sven Hedin, Central Asia and Tibet, trans. from Swedish, 2 vol. (1903, reissued 1969), and Across the Goby Desert (1931, reprinted 1968; originally published in Swedish, 1928). Other records of archaeological and geographic explorations in the area include Aurel Stein, Ruins of Desert Cathay: Personal Narrative of Explorations in Central Asia and Westernmost China, 2 vol. (1912, reprinted 1987), and On Ancient Central-Asian Tracks: Brief Narrative of Three Expeditions in Innermost Asia and North-Western China (1933, reissued 1971); Owen Lattimore, Inner Asian Frontiers of China (1940, reprinted 1988); Paul Pelliot, Les Grottes de Touen-Houang: peintures and sculptures bouddhiques des époques des Wei, des T'ang, et des Song, 6 vol. in 4 (1914–24); Peter Hopkirk, Foreign Devils on the Silk Road: The Search for the Lost Cities and Treasures of Chinese Central Asia (1980); and Basil Davidson, Turkestan Alive: New Travels in Chinese Central Asia (1957). Specific treatments of the Gobi are Mildred Cable, The Gobi Desert (1942, reprinted 1987); and Alonzo W. Pond, Climate and Weather in the Central Gobi of Mongolia (1954). An overview of the contemporary economic and social situation is presented in Terry Cannon and Alan Jenkins (ed.), The Geography of Contemporary China: The Impact of Deng Xiaoping's Decade (1990).

Iraq, The end of Ottoman rule

2005-03-08T04:39:00.000-08:00

In spite of the European commercial

Tucholsky, Kurt

2005-03-07T13:44:00.000-08:00

After studying law and serving in World War I, Tucholsky left Germany in 1924 and lived first in Paris and after 1929 in Sweden. He contributed to Rote Signale (1931; “Red Signals”), a collection of

Amos

2005-03-07T04:16:00.000-08:00

The little that is known about Amos' life has been gleaned from his book, which was, in all likelihood, partly

Submarine Fan

2005-03-06T22:17:00.000-08:00

Accumulation of land-derived sediment on the deep seafloor; in configuration, a fan is like the section of a very low cone, with its apex at the lower mouth of a submarine canyon incised into a continental slope. Submarine canyons have steep courses with high walls and funnel occasional dense slurries of water and terrigenous sediment (turbidity currents) to the abyssal

Wright Flyer Of 1905

2005-03-06T04:41:00.000-08:00

The flyer took to the air for the first time on June 23, 1905, at Huffman Prairie, a pasture located on the streetcar line some 8 miles

Papandreou, Georgios

2005-03-05T22:47:00.000-08:00

Papandreou studied at the University of Athens (L.L.D., 1911) and in Germany. He began his political career in 1915, served as governor of the Aegean Islands (1917–20), and was minister of education (1929–33) in the liberal antimonarchist government of Eleuthérios Venizélos. He broke away from

United Nations

2005-03-05T21:31:00.000-08:00

Though UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's term was scheduled to end on Dec. 31, 2001, he announced on March 22 his availability for five more years. UN delegates credited him with having strengthened internal management, gained control over the organization's budget, and improved ties with the U.S., and they reelected him by acclamation on June 29. He was praised for his levelheadedness,

Tacuarembó

2005-03-05T18:25:00.000-08:00

Formerly San Fructuoso, city, north-central Uruguay. The Haedo Mountains dominate the adjoining area. Orchids and hardwoods, including quebracho, algarrobo, urunday, and guayabo, grow there. Founded in 1831 by Bernabé Rivera, it was first called Villa de San Fructuoso; later, it adopted the Guaraní Indian name Tacuarembó (from a firm, slender reed endemic to the region). The city's Indian and gaucho

Priesthood, Christianity

2005-03-04T01:47:00.000-08:00

At this critical juncture in Judaism, Christianity, with its own particular conception of priesthood and sacrificial redemption, began in Palestine and rapidly spread throughout the surrounding regions in the Greco-Roman world. In the New Testament the imminent destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem and its worship is predicted, and the culmination of its high

Syria

2005-03-02T16:05:00.000-08:00

As 1996 began, Syria resumed peace talks with Israel. Two rounds of

Amazon Rainforest

2005-03-02T14:41:00.000-08:00

Large, tropical rainforest occupying the drainage basin of the Amazon River and its tributaries in northern South America, and covering an area of 2,300,000 square miles (6,000,000 square km). Comprising about 40 percent of Brazil's total area, it is bounded by the Guiana Highlands to the north, the Andes Mountain Ranges to the west, the Brazilian central plateau to the south, and the Atlantic

Pius Ix

2005-02-28T23:37:00.000-08:00

Original name Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti Italian head of the Roman Catholic church whose pontificate (1846–78) was the longest in history and was marked by a transition from liberalism to conservatism. Notable events of his reign included the declaration of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception (1854) and the sessions of the First

Christophe, Henry

2005-02-28T08:23:00.000-08:00

The facts of Christophe's early life are questionable and confused. An official document issued on his own order gives the birth date and birthplace

Eyre, Lake

2005-02-28T03:10:00.000-08:00

Great salt lake in central South Australia, with a total area of 3,700 square miles (9,300 square km). It lies in the southwestern corner of the Great Artesian Basin, a closed inland basin about 440,150 square miles (1,140,000 square km) in area that is drained only by intermittent streams. Normally dry but susceptible to occasional flooding, the lake occupies the lowest part of the Australian continent.

Panama, Relief

2005-02-27T11:26:00.000-08:00

A central spine of mountain ranges extends almost the entire length of Panama, dividing the country into Atlantic- and Pacific-facing slopes. The two principal ranges, the Tabasará Mountains (Cordillera Central) in the west and the Cordillera de San Blas in the east, are separated near the centre of the country by a saddle of lower land. This depression (the Panama Canal

France, History Of, Early Middle Ages, c. 8501180

2005-02-27T02:19:00.000-08:00

This period as a whole is well treated in Jean Dunbabin, France in the Making, 843–1180 (1985). Jan Dhondt, Études sur la naissance des principautés territoriales en France, IXe–Xe siècle (1948), remains a seminal work on the principalities. Social change and feudalization are studied in Marc Bloch, Feudal Society (1961, reissued in 2 vol., 1974; originally published in French, 1939–40); and Georges Duby, The Three Orders: Feudal Society Imagined (1980; originally published in French, 1978). See also the same author's The Early Growth of the European Economy: Warriors and Peasants from the Seventh to the Twelfth Century (1974; originally published in French, 1973). The early Capetian monarchy is dealt with classically in Robert Fawtier, The Capetian Kings in France: Monarchy & Nation, 987–1328 (1960, reprinted 1982; originally published in French, 1942). The subject has been powerfully reinterpreted in Jean François Lemarignier, Le Gouvernement royal aux premiers temps capétiens, 987–1108 (1965); and Andrew W. Lewis, Royal Succession in Capetian France: Studies on Familial Order and the State (1981). Ferdinand Lot and Robert Fawtier (eds.), Histoire des institutions françaises au Moyen Age, 3 vol. (1957–62), contains solid but conceptually dated discussions of provincial and royal institutions and a fine treatment of the church. Among penetrating studies of the provinces are Georges Duby, La Société aux XIe et XIIe siècles dans la région mâconnaise (1953, reissued 1982); Robert Fossier, La Terre et les hommes en Picardie jusqu'à la fin du XIIIe siècle, 2 vol. (1968); and Pierre Bonnassie, La Catalogne du milieu du Xe à la fin du XIe siècle: croissance et mutations d'une société, 2 vol. (1975–76). Changing conceptions of peace, knighthood, and the noble family are studied in Georges Duby, The Chivalrous Society (1977; originally published in French, 1973).

Arakan Mountain Range

2005-02-26T22:26:00.000-08:00

Burmese Arakan Yoma mountain arc in western Myanmar (Burma), between the Arakan coast and the Irrawaddy River valley. The arc extends northward for about 600 miles (950 km) from Cape Negrais (Myanmar) to Manipur (India) and includes the Naga, Chin, Lushai, and Patkai hills. The mountain range itself is about 250 miles (400 km) long. Its highest point is Mount Victoria (10,150 feet [3,094 m]). Dividing the Arakan coast from the rest

Capture

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

In nuclear physics, process in which an atomic nucleus absorbs a smaller particle. See beta decay; neutron capture.

Ekofisk

2005-02-25T18:27:00.000-08:00

Group of Norwegian offshore natural-gas and oil fields located in the North Sea about 180 miles (290 km) southwest of Norway, halfway between Norway and the United Kingdom. The Ekofisk district includes the Ekofisk field itself (1969; petroleum) and the original, relatively small natural-gas discovery at Cod (1968), as well as petroleum fields at Tor (1970), West Ekofisk (1970), and

Motion Picture, Motion-picture design

2005-02-24T04:25:00.000-08:00

Under the heading of design, all the elements of a picture's setting may be included—art direction, scenic composition, set design, costume, and makeup. At its simplest and most naturalistic, the camera can choose and frame ordinary people in a real location. At its most elaborate, motion-picture production may involve the expenditure of vast sums to put up gigantic sets

Alembert, Jean Le Rond D'

2005-02-23T23:40:00.000-08:00

The illegitimate son of a famous hostess, Mme de Tencin, and one of her lovers, the chevalier Destouches-Canon, d'Alembert was abandoned on the steps of the Parisian church of Saint-Jean-le-Rond, from which he derived his Christian names. Although Mme de Tencin never recognized her son, Destouches eventually sought out the child and entrusted him to a glazier's wife, whom

Forel, Auguste-henri

2005-02-23T01:05:00.000-08:00

Forel studied medicine at the University of Zürich from 1866 to 1871 and then did work in neuroanatomy at the University of Vienna, where he received his medical degree in 1872. In 1879 he was appointed director of the Burghölzli Asylum

Conselheiro Lafaiete

2005-02-22T14:53:00.000-08:00

City, southeastern Minas Gerais state, Brazil. It lies in the highlands at 3,054 feet (931 m) above sea level. Formerly known as Lueluz, the settlement was made the seat of a municipality in 1790 and given city status in 1886. Agriculture (cassava, potatoes, corn [maize], feijão [beans]) and livestock raising are important economic activities. Also important are the rebuilding of locomotives

Gruppo 63

2005-02-21T16:41:00.000-08:00

The group was organized at a 1963 meeting in Palermo. Edoardo Sanguineti, Elio Pagliarani, Nanni Balestrini, Antonio Porta, Renato Barilli, Luciano Anceschi, Giorgio Manganelli,

Iambe

2005-02-20T10:05:00.000-08:00

French satiric verse form consisting of alternating lines of 8 and 12 syllables. The total number of lines is variable. Greek writers, especially Archilochus, used iambics as a vehicle for satire, but the name came into use as a French form in the late 18th and early 19th centuries when André Chénier's Ïambes and Auguste Barbier's Les Ïambes were published.

Heijermans, Herman

2005-02-20T04:38:00.000-08:00

After failing in business, Heijermans became a journalist in Amsterdam. His novel Kamertjeszonde (1898; “Petty Sin”), published under the pseudonym Koos Habbema, sharply criticizes prevailing sexual attitudes, and,

Annabergite

2005-02-19T11:09:00.000-08:00

Hydrated nickel arsenate mineral that is very similar to erythrite (q.v.).

Chemoreception, Mammals

2005-02-19T03:48:00.000-08:00

Chemoreceptively, mammals are the best studied of vertebrates by far, and man is probably the most studied of all, although experimental techniques that can be used with blowflies (Phormia) and rats are inappropriate for humans. The taste buds of mammals are mostly on the upper surface of the tongue, on so-called vallate, foliate, and fungiform papillae. Some taste buds

Gruppo 63

2005-02-18T05:38:00.000-08:00

Also called Court of Justice of the European Communities the judicial branch of the European Union (EU). Its headquarters are in Luxembourg. The ECJ originated in the individual courts of justice established in the 1950s for the European Coal and Steel Community, the European Economic Community, and the European Atomic Energy Community. The function of these courts was to ensure the observance of law in those organizations'

Wethered, Joyce (lady Heathcoat-amory)

2005-02-17T23:51:00.000-08:00

British golfer (b. Nov. 17, 1907, Brook, Surrey, Eng.--d. Nov. 18, 1997, London, Eng.), dominated women's golf in the 1920s and was considered one of the best female players in the history of the sport. Wethered, who took up golf as a child, received only one formal lesson. Instead, she studied the play of others, including her brother Roger, himself an accomplished golfer, to improve her game. In 1920 she won her first

Kiribati, Flag Of

2005-02-17T22:26:00.000-08:00

The British acquired extensive colonies and protectorates in the Pacific Ocean during the 19th century, including the Gilbert Islands, with their Micronesian population, and the nearby Ellice Islands, which were dominated by Polynesians. In anticipation of independence from Britain, a referendum was held and the two territories were separated in 1976. The former Gilbert

Chemoreception, Mammals

2005-02-17T01:47:00.000-08:00

Largest trade-union federation in India. INTUC was established in 1947 in cooperation with the Indian National Congress, which favoured a less militant union movement than the All-India Trade Union Congress. INTUC is largely anticommunist; it is affiliated with the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions.

Scilly, Isles Of

2005-02-15T05:38:00.000-08:00

Also called Scilly Isles group of about 50 small islands and many more islets lying southwest of Cornwall, England, 25–36 miles (40–58 km) off Land's End. Administratively, the islands are a distinct unit within England, though they form a part of the historic county of Cornwall. Because their council serves the functions of both a district and a county, they have a status similar to that of a unitary

Tjurunga

2005-02-14T18:18:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Churinga, in Australian Aboriginal religion, a mythical being and a ritual object, usually made of wood or stone, that is a representation or manifestation of such a being. An Aranda word, tjurunga traditionally referred to sacred or secret–sacred things set apart, or taboo; for example, certain rites, stone, and wooden slab objects, bull-roarers, ground paintings and earth mounds,

Indonesian Languages

2005-02-14T00:19:00.000-08:00

Broadly, the Austronesian languages of island Southeast Asia as a whole, including the languages of Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines, and Taiwan, and the outlying areas of Madagascar and of Palau and the Mariana Islands of western Micronesia. A more restricted core area includes only the languages of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei. The term has been used

Literature, Netherlandic.

2005-02-13T14:36:00.000-08:00

In 2001 well-known novelist and essayist Louis Ferron was awarded the Dutch national Constantijn Huygens Prijs for his uncompromisingly singular and “completely unfashionable and contrary” body of work. The Libris Literatuur Prijs went to Tomas Lieske for his novel Franklin (2000), which showcased his brilliant

Yemen

2005-02-13T10:59:00.000-08:00

A republic of the southwestern Arabian Peninsula, Yemen has coastlines on the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and the Arabian Sea. Area: 527,970 sq km (203,850 sq mi), including 55,871 sq km of undemarcated area bordered by Saudi Arabia and claimed by the former Yemen Arab Republic (North Yemen). Pop. (1995 est.): 13,058,000. Cap.: San'a`. Monetary unit: Yemen Rial, with (Oct. 6, 1995) an official par value of YRls 50 to U.S. $1 (YRls 79.04 = £1 sterling) and a free

Buzau

2005-02-13T01:28:00.000-08:00

Judet (county), southeastern Romania, occupying an area of 2,344 square miles (6,072 square km). The Buzau mountain range, part of the Eastern Carpathians and the sub-Carpathian mountains, lies in the west, rising above settlement areas in the valleys and lowlands. The Buzau River and its tributaries drain eastward. Buzau city, the county capital, has been an economic centre with ties to

Anderson, Mary

2005-02-11T21:23:00.000-08:00

Anderson early decided upon a career on the stage, and at age 16 she made her debut as Juliet in Louisville, Kentucky. She subsequently toured cities of the South and West and was a popular success,

Ashley, Maurice

2005-02-10T23:40:00.000-08:00

Ashley moved to Brooklyn, New York, with his family when he was 12 years old. He soon took up chess and excelled at the game, becoming a national master in 1986 and an International Master in 1993. From 1991 to 1997 Ashley was the chess director of the Harlem Educational Activities Fund, Inc., where

Applied Psychology

2005-02-10T21:51:00.000-08:00

The same intellectual

Gomberg, Moses

2005-02-09T23:05:00.000-08:00

At age 18 Gomberg migrated with his family to the United States because his father's antitsarist activities made them unwelcome in Russia.

Lorena

2005-02-09T00:52:00.000-08:00

City, southeastern São Paulo estado (“state”), Brazil. It lies along the Paraíba do Sul River, at 1,719 feet (524 m) above sea level. Formerly known as Pôrto de Guaipacaré and Freguesia de Nossa Senhora da Aparecida, it was given town status in 1782 and was made the seat of a municipality in 1788. The city is a trade centre for an agricultural hinterland in which rice, corn (maize), feijão (beans), potatoes,

Brazil, Visual arts

2005-02-09T00:43:00.000-08:00

The landscape architect Roberto Burle Marx has made urban Brazilians especially aware of the splendours of their natural environment by replacing the traditional, formal European-style gardens containing imported plants with a profusion of native species in approximation to their natural settings. Some of Marx's landscapes have been used to set off the imaginative

Ussuriysk

2005-02-07T13:27:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Ussurijsk city, Primorsky kray (region), far eastern Russia. It lies about 50 miles (80 km) north of Vladivostok along the Trans-Siberian Railroad at the junction with a line to Harbin in Heilungkiang province, China. Founded as the village of Nikolskoye in 1866, it became a city in 1897 and was renamed Nikolsk-Ussuriysk in 1926, Voroshilov in 1935, and Ussuriysk in 1957. It has food-processing, footwear, clothing,

Stradivari, Antonio

2005-02-07T07:33:00.000-08:00

Stradivari was still a pupil of Nicolò Amati in 1666 when he began to place his own label on violins of his making. These at first followed the smaller of Amati's models, solidly constructed, with a thick yellow varnish. In 1684 Stradivari began to

Ea

2005-02-07T01:45:00.000-08:00

(Akkadian), Sumerian Enki Mesopotamian god of water and a member of the triad of deities completed by Anu (Sumerian: An) and Enlil. From a local deity worshiped in the city of Eridu, Ea evolved into a major god, Lord of Apsu (also spelled Abzu), the fresh waters beneath the earth (although Enki means literally “lord of the earth”). In the Sumerian myth “Enki and the World Order,” Enki is said to have fixed national

Maurepas, Jean-frédéric Phélypeaux, Count (comte) De

2005-02-05T14:18:00.000-08:00

Secretary of state under King Louis XV and chief royal adviser during the first seven years of the reign of King Louis XVI. By dissuading Louis XVI from instituting economic and administrative reforms, Maurepas was partially responsible for the governmental crises that eventually led to the outbreak of the French

Holbach, Paul-henri Dietrich, Baron D'

2005-02-05T07:29:00.000-08:00

French encyclopaedist and philosopher, a celebrated exponent of atheism and Materialism, whose inherited wealth allowed him to entertain many of the noted philosophers of the day, some of whom (Comte de Buffon, J.-J. Rousseau, d'Alembert) reportedly withdrew from his gatherings, frightened by the audacity

Wang Pi

2005-02-04T01:20:00.000-08:00

By the time of his death at the age of 23, Wang was already the author of outstanding commentaries on the Taoist classic, the Tao-te Ching, or Lao-tzu, and the Confucian mystical classic, the I Ching (“Classic of Changes”). Through these commentaries he helped introduce metaphysics into Chinese

Canning Basin

2005-02-03T07:25:00.000-08:00

Also called Desert Artesian Basin arid sedimentary basin in northwestern Western Australia. Occupying a largely unexplored area of about 150,000 square miles (400,000 square km), it extends south from the Fitzroy River to the De Grey River and from the coast southeast almost to 128° E longitude. The basin underlies the western section of the Great Sandy Desert (q.v.). Most of its interior is covered by parallel sand dunes,

China, The development of the Republic (191220)

2005-02-02T18:11:00.000-08:00

The first half of the 20th century saw the gradual disintegration of the old order in China and the turbulent preparation for a new society. Foreign political philosophies undermined the traditional governmental system, nationalism became the strongest activating force, and civil wars and Japanese invasion tore the vast country and retarded its modernization.

Iran, Housing

2005-02-02T03:30:00.000-08:00

The flow of population to the cities has created serious housing shortages, and it was only in the 1990s that the government began to address the housing crisis, largely by providing government credits for private sector development. However, most of the nation's energies have been devoted to urban developments—most of those in the larger cities, particularly Tehran

Ramananda

2005-01-31T14:39:00.000-08:00

Ramananda left home as a youth and became a sannyasin (ascetic) before settling in Varanasi (Benares) to study Vedic texts, Ramanuja's philosophy,

Dygasinski, Adolf

2005-01-31T10:03:00.000-08:00

Dygasinski was a teacher by profession and a worshiper of science. He published about 50 volumes of short stories of uneven literary quality, the best pieces of which deal with the lives of domestic and wild animals.

Visigoth

2005-01-31T03:57:00.000-08:00

The Visigoths were settled agriculturists in Dacia (now in Romania) when they were attacked by the Huns in 376 and driven southward

O Dalaigh, Cearbhall

2005-01-30T22:18:00.000-08:00

Son of parents active in the struggle for Irish independence, O Dalaigh studied at University College, Dublin, earning a degree in Celtic studies in 1931. He was an Irish-language editor on The Irish Press (1931–42), meanwhile becoming a lawyer (1935). In 1945 he became Ireland's

MarriedGrass

Oman, Flag Of

Forbes, Steve

Duricrust

Cbs Corporation

Biblical Literature, Eastern Orthodoxy

Girdle-tailed Lizard

Biblical Literature, Uncials

Ulama

Cacus And Caca

Fa-hsiang

Cacus And Caca

Chen Shizeng

Ahom

John George Ii

Catamaran

Arctolepis

Eugenius Iii, Blessed

Camagüey

Moses

Tiepolo, Giovanni Domenico

Frederick I

Vedantadesika

Bricker, John W.

Development

Tigerfish

Field Artillery

Advisory Opinion

Mason, Charlotte

Yan

Oak Bay

Nizam-i Cedid

Belshazzar

Wakayama

West Bridgford

Glacial Landform, Permafrost, patterned ground, solifluction deposits, and pingos

Europe, History Of, Aestheticism

Ta-tu

Stead, C.k.

Allbutt, Sir Thomas Clifford

Chebyshev, Pafnuty Lvovich

Dion

Chatelaine

Gobi

Iraq, The end of Ottoman rule

Tucholsky, Kurt

Amos

Submarine Fan

Wright Flyer Of 1905

Papandreou, Georgios

United Nations

Tacuarembó

Priesthood, Christianity

Syria

Amazon Rainforest

Pius Ix

Christophe, Henry

Eyre, Lake

Panama, Relief

France, History Of, Early Middle Ages, c. 8501180

Arakan Mountain Range

Capture

Ekofisk

Motion Picture, Motion-picture design

Alembert, Jean Le Rond D'

Forel, Auguste-henri

Conselheiro Lafaiete

Gruppo 63

Iambe

Heijermans, Herman

Annabergite

Chemoreception, Mammals

Gruppo 63

Wethered, Joyce (lady Heathcoat-amory)

Kiribati, Flag Of

Chemoreception, Mammals

Scilly, Isles Of

Tjurunga

Indonesian Languages

Literature, Netherlandic.

France, History Of, Early Middle Ages, c. 8501180

China, The development of the Republic (191220)