RoundFloor

Wood Working Machinery

2006-10-19T02:40:00.000-07:00

Morgan Rogers WoodWorking Machinery supply quality affordable used Woodworking Machinery and New Woodworking Machineryall over the world. With over 40 years experience in the Wood Working Machines industry no order is to small

Arbeau, Thoinot

2005-03-18T09:36:00.000-08:00

Orchésographie is

Condottiere

2005-03-16T21:30:00.000-08:00

The first mercenary armies in Italy (often called free companies) were made up of foreigners. The earliest (1303) was composed

Wild Mango

2005-03-14T15:24:00.000-08:00

Also called Dika (Irvingia gabonensis), tropical African tree, of the family Ixonanthaceae (Irvingiaceae), notable for its edible yellow fruit, which somewhat resembles the mango. The seed is rich in a fat used locally to make both bread and a type of butter. The wood is very hard and is used locally in building construction.

Cole, Nat King

2005-03-13T02:47:00.000-08:00

Cole grew up in Chicago where, by age 12, he sang and played organ in the church

Mahé Island

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

Largest island of the Seychelles archipelago, Republic of Seychelles, in the western Indian Ocean. The island is 4 miles (6 km) wide and 16 miles (26 km) long and has an area of 57 square miles (148 square km). The island is granitic in origin and mountainous; the highest peak is Morne Seychellois, which rises to 2,969 feet (905 m) and forms part of a national park of the same name. Port Launay Marine National

Earth, Crustal magnetization

2005-03-07T04:52:00.000-08:00

Magnetic fields measured at the Earth's surface are not entirely produced by the internal dynamo. Radially outward from the Earth's core, the next major source of magnetic field is crustal magnetization. The temperature of the materials constituting the crust is cool enough for them to exist in solid form. The solids may become magnetized by the Earth's main field

Lathrop, Julia Clifford

2005-03-05T15:48:00.000-08:00

Lathrop attended Vassar College, graduating in 1880. Over the next 10 years she worked in her father's law office and interested herself in various reform movements. In 1890 she moved to Chicago and joined Jane Addams at the newly established Hull House settlement.

Düren

2005-03-03T22:02:00.000-08:00

City, North Rhine-Westphalia Land (state), western Germany. It lies along the Ruhr River, on the northeastern slopes of the Eifel Hills. A Frankish settlement first mentioned in 748, it grew from the Villa Duria of Pippin III the Short, the king of the Franks. It was subsequently the seat of diets and synods under Charlemagne and the base for several of his Saxon campaigns. After

Tu Bi-shevat

2005-02-28T11:03:00.000-08:00

(Hebrew: “Fifteenth of Shevat”), Jewish festival of the new year of trees, or arbor day. It occurs on Shevat 15 (January or early February), after most of the annual rain in Israel has fallen and when, thereafter, the fruit of a tree is considered, for tithing, to belong to a new year. Tu bi-Shevat is considered a minor holiday: certain penitential prayers are omitted from the liturgy, and

Gulf Intracoastal Waterway

2005-02-26T01:48:00.000-08:00

An improved navigable waterway along the Gulf Coast of the United States, extending from Apalachee Bay, Florida, westward to the Mexican border at Brownsville, Texas, a distance of more than 1,100 miles (1,770 km). In part artificial, the waterway consists of a channel paralleling the coast behind barrier beaches, the channel being linked by a series of canals. The Gulf Intracoastal

Károlyi, Mihály, Count (gróf)

2005-02-23T05:57:00.000-08:00

In full Mihaly, Count Károlyi von Nagykárolyi Hungarian statesman who before World War I desired a reorientation of Austro-Hungarian foreign policy toward friendship with states other than Germany. He also advocated concessions to Hungary's non-Magyar subjects. After the war, as president of the Hungarian Democratic Republic in 1919, Károlyi was

China, The Chinese Revolution (191112)

2005-02-18T06:12:00.000-08:00

The Chinese Revolution was not triggered by the United League itself but by the Hupeh army troops urged on by the local revolutionary bodies not incorporated in the league. An accidental exposure of a mutinous plot forced a number of junior officers to choose between arrest or revolt in Wu-han. The revolt was initially successful because of the determination of

Reproductive System, Animal, Sponges, coelenterates, flatworms, and aschelminths

2005-02-16T06:44:00.000-08:00

Sponges are at a cellular level of organization and thus do not have organs or even well-developed tissues; nevertheless, they produce sperm and eggs and also reproduce asexually. Some species of sponge are monoecious, others are dioecious. Sperm and eggs are formed by aggregations of cells called amoebocytes in the body wall; these are not considered gonads because

Arts, East Asian, Textiles

2005-02-15T20:20:00.000-08:00

Silk weaving became a major industry and one of China's chief exports in the Han dynasty. The caravan route across Central Asia, known as the Silk Road, took Chinese silk to Syria and on to Rome. In the 4th century BC, the Greek philosopher Aristotle mentions sericulture on the island of Cos (Kos), but the art was evidently lost and reintroduced into Byzantium from China in the

Baltic Religion, Religious personages

2005-02-12T10:27:00.000-08:00

There is no reliable information that the Balts had a priestly class, let alone religious hierarchy. The 11th-century German historian Adam of Bremen, in describing conflicts between Christian missionaries and Latvians, said that “every house is filled with seers, augurers, and necromancers,” which indicates that the Balts had sacral persons, probably the patriarchs

Bond, Julian

2005-02-10T19:05:00.000-08:00

The son of prominent educators, Bond attended Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, where he helped found a civil rights group and led a sit-in movement intended to desegregate Atlanta lunch

Gryphaea

2005-02-08T08:40:00.000-08:00

Extinct molluskan genus found as fossils in rocks from the Jurassic period to the Eocene epoch (between 208 million and 36.6 million years ago). Related to the oysters, Gryphaea is characterized by its distinctively convoluted shape. The left valve, or shell, was much larger and more convoluted than the flattish right valve. Fine markings extended across the shell

Irwin, James B.

2005-02-06T20:11:00.000-08:00

In full James Benson Irwin American astronaut, pilot of the Lunar Module on the Apollo 15 mission (July 26–Aug. 7, 1971), in which he and the mission commander, David R. Scott, spent almost three days on the Moon's surface investigating the Hadley-Apennine site, 462 miles (744 km) north of the lunar equator. The two spent 18 hours outside the Lunar Module, traveled on the Moon's

Staffordshire Figure

2005-02-04T16:07:00.000-08:00

Type of pottery figurine made in Staffordshire, England, from the 18th century. The earliest figures, made from about 1740, are naive but effective renderings of the human body in salt-glazed stoneware—e.g., the pew groups, or figures seated on a high-backed settle. Later some particularly happy effects were achieved in clouded, lead-glazed earthenware in which a subdued range

Mime And Pantomime

2005-02-03T17:25:00.000-08:00

Latin mimus and pantomimus , Greek mimos and pantomimos in the strict sense, a Greek and Roman dramatic entertainment representing scenes from life, often in a ridiculous manner. By extension, the mime and pantomime has come to be in modern times the art of portraying a character or a story solely by means of body movement (as by realistic and symbolic gestures). Analogous forms of traditional non-Western theatre are sometimes

Wied, Gustav

2005-02-01T06:34:00.000-08:00

Wied was the son of a well-to-do farmer. He spent most of his life in provincial surroundings, which provide the usual background for his works. He was a private tutor for years, and then an actor, before he became

Ijoid Languages

2005-01-29T04:31:00.000-08:00

The smallest branch of the Niger-Congo language family. It consists of a language cluster, Ijo (Ijaw), comprising seven other language clusters with a total of approximately two million speakers, and Defaka (Afakani), a solitary language spoken by very few. All these languages are found in the relatively narrow coastal Niger River delta region of Nigeria. The Ijo language

Crab Spider

2005-01-28T19:45:00.000-08:00

The body of the crab spider is gray or brown in colour and is about 12 mm (0.5 inch) long. Members of Misumena

Destouches, André Cardinal

2005-01-25T23:14:00.000-08:00

André Cardinal was the son of a wealthy Parisian merchant, Etienne Cardinal, Seigneur des Touches et de Guilleville, but he did not take any form of the patronym until 1694, after which he was known as Destouches. He was educated by the Jesuits and traveled with a priest

Crusade, The institutions of the First Kingdom

2005-01-21T20:18:00.000-08:00

The four principalities established by the crusaders—three after the loss of Edessa in 1144—were loosely connected, and such limited suzerainty as the king of Jerusalem exercised over the others became largely nominal after the midcentury. Each of the states was organized into a pattern of feudal lordships by the ruling minority. The institutions of the Kingdom of

Kirov

2005-01-19T17:21:00.000-08:00

Formerly (until 1934) Vyatka, or Viatka, city and administrative centre of Kirov oblast (province), western Russia, on the Vyatka River. The city was founded as Khlynov in 1181 by traders from Novgorod and became the centre of the “Vyatka Lands,” settled by Russians in the 14th to the 15th century. In 1489 it was captured by Moscow. Renamed Vyatka in 1780, it became a provincial seat, but development was slow, and it was used as a place

Buraq

2005-01-17T13:30:00.000-08:00

In Islamic tradition, a creature said to have transported the Prophet Muhammad to heaven. Described as “a white animal, half-mule, half-donkey, with wings on its sides . . . ,” Buraq was originally introduced into the story of Muhammad's night journey (isra') from Mecca to Jerusalem and back, thus explaining how the journey between the cities could have been completed in a single night.

Salamanca

2005-01-15T15:15:00.000-08:00

Provincia, in the comunidad autónoma (“autonomous community”) of Castile-León, western Spain. Salamanca is bounded by Portugal (west) and the provinces of Zamora and Valladolid (north), Ávila (east), and Cáceres (south); its northwestern boundary with Portugal is marked by the Duero (Portuguese: Douro) River. More than half the province is situated in the Meseta Central, the central

Anne Of Cleves

2005-01-13T20:34:00.000-08:00

Fourth wife of King Henry VIII of England. Henry married Anne because he believed that he needed to form a political alliance with her brother William, duke of Cleves, who was a leader of the Protestants of western Germany. He thought the alliance was necessary because in 1539 it appeared that the two major Roman Catholic powers, France and the Holy Roman

Rashi

2005-01-11T00:54:00.000-08:00

Acronym of Rabbi Shlomo Yitzhaqi renowned medieval French commentator on the Bible and Talmud (the authoritative Jewish compendium of law, lore, and commentary). Rashi combined the two basic methods of interpretation, literal and nonliteral, in his influential Bible commentary. His commentary on the Talmud was a landmark in Talmudic exegesis, and his work still serves

Santa-clara

2005-01-09T11:15:00.000-08:00

Cape situated on the Atlantic coast of northwestern Gabon, Africa. Extending south from the larger peninsula that separates the Gabon estuary from Corisco Bay, the cape juts into the mouth of the estuary. Santa-Clara is located 12 miles (20 km) north of Libreville and just north of Owendo, one of Gabon's major ports. Like Cape Esterias, still farther north, Santa-Clara has fine

Van Vogt, A.e.

2005-01-07T02:03:00.000-08:00

Van Vogt attended the University of Ottawa and began his writing career in the early 1930s, selling fictional

East China Sea

2005-01-06T04:18:00.000-08:00

Chinese (Wade-Giles) Tung Hai, or (Pinyin) Dong Hai, arm of the Pacific Ocean and part of the China Sea (q.v.). It covers about 290,000 square miles (752,000 square km) and is bounded by the islands of Cheju (north), Kyushu (northeast), the Ryukyu chain (east), and Taiwan (south) and by China (west). It is connected to the South China Sea by the Taiwan Strait. Its Chinese name means “eastern sea.”

Nador

2005-01-03T03:27:00.000-08:00

City, northeastern Morocco. The city is a small Mediterranean port on the Bou Areg Lagoon and a trading centre for fish, fruits, and livestock. It is linked to the Spanish plaza (North African enclave) of Melilla, 9 miles (15 km) north, by road and railway. Pop. (1994) 112,450.

Constans Ii Pogonatus

2005-01-02T18:28:00.000-08:00

The son of the emperor Constantine III, Constans came to the throne in September 641, at age 11, after his father's death; during his minority the regency was under the control of the Senate

Amelanchier

2004-12-31T09:49:00.000-08:00

Genus of flowering shrubs and small trees of the rose family (Rosaceae), several species of which have entered cultivation as ornamental plants. Most species are North American; exceptions include the shrubby A. ovalis, which ranges over Europe, and A. asiatica, a small tree of East Asia. A number of amelanchiers are variously called juneberry,

Basalt

2004-12-28T21:30:00.000-08:00

Some basalts are quite glassy (tachylytes), and many are very fine-grained and compact; it is more usual, however, for them to exhibit porphyritic structure, with larger crystals (phenocrysts) of olivine, augite, or feldspar in a finely crystalline

Macdiarmid, Hugh

2004-12-27T14:57:00.000-08:00

The son of a postman, MacDiarmid was educated at Langholm Academy and the University of Edinburgh. After serving in World War I he became a journalist in Montrose, Angus, where he edited three issues of the first

Switzerland

2004-12-25T09:09:00.000-08:00

With its economy in good shape and a substantial budget surplus expected, Switzerland sailed through the year 2000. The nation's exports, particularly pharmaceuticals and watches, benefited from the strong dollar. While strains were experienced in some industrial sectors, average unemployment remained under 3%. Despite a sharp rise in fuel prices, long lines at filling

Chadic Languages

2004-12-23T00:34:00.000-08:00

Group of languages spoken in northern Nigeria, northern Ghana, Niger, and Cameroon and in parts of Togo, Benin, Chad, and the Central African Republic and generally classified as a branch of the Afro-Asiatic (formerly Hamito-Semitic) language family. The group includes many languages that are spoken by small numbers of people and that have no written form; among these

Disasters

2004-12-20T22:10:00.000-08:00

January 2-3, Fiji. Deadly Cyclone Kina ripped across the islands and caused widespread damage with winds swirling to 185 km/h (115 mph); at least 12 persons were known dead, hundreds of homes were destroyed, and three major bridges were washed

Argentina, The Pampas

2004-12-18T22:25:00.000-08:00

The principal Pampas vegetation is monte forest in the Dry Pampa and grassland in the Humid Pampa. The boundary between the Dry and Humid Pampas lies approximately along longitude 64° W. Knee-high grasses are found in the most humid areas, whereas to the north, west, and south, where precipitation decreases, tougher grasses give way to the monte of the Dry Pampa. Planted

Tadpole Shrimp

2004-12-17T08:18:00.000-08:00

(order Notostraca), any member of a small group of crustaceans (class Branchiopoda), composed of the genera Triops and Lepidurus. The approximately 15 known species are strictly freshwater forms, inhabiting lakes, ponds, and temporary pools, chiefly in Europe and North America. The common name tadpole shrimp derives from the animal's distinctive body shape—a large, oval

Duricrust

2004-12-15T00:16:00.000-08:00

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

Koh-i-noor

2004-12-12T07:18:00.000-08:00

According to some experts, Sultan 'Ala'-ud-Din Khalji is credited

Paeligni

2004-12-10T01:52:00.000-08:00

Ancient people of central Italy, whose territory lay inland on the eastward slopes of the Apennines. Though akin to the Samnites, they formed a separate league with their neighbours the Marsi, Marrucini, and Vestini. This league appears to have broken up after the Second Samnite War (304 BC), when each tribe came into an alliance with the Romans that lasted until the Social

Xochimilco

2004-12-09T15:55:00.000-08:00

Annelid, Distinguishing taxonomic features

2004-12-06T08:57:00.000-08:00

Classification of free-living and sedentary polychaetes relies almost exclusively on external characters, such as the shape of the head, and on the number and nature of structures, such as appendages (including anal ones), parapodia, and setae, and on tube construction. Oligochaete classification relies largely on internal structures, especially the arrangement

Achilles Painter

2004-12-05T01:54:00.000-08:00

The “Achilles and Briseis” amphora is a red-figure vase (that is, the figures are painted in red

Bhutto, Zulfikar Ali

2004-12-02T02:16:00.000-08:00

Born into a noble Rajput family that had accepted Islam, Bhutto was the son of a prominent political figure in the Indian colonial government. He was educated in Bombay and at the University

Spore

2004-12-01T07:00:00.000-08:00

Spores are produced by bacteria

Poznan Riots

2004-11-27T02:59:00.000-08:00

After the death of the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin (March 1953), the rigidly authoritarian Communist regime in Poland relaxed some of its policies. It abolished

World War I, The Battle of Jutland

2004-11-25T22:39:00.000-08:00

Admiral Reinhard Scheer, who became commander in chief of the High Seas Fleet in January 1916, planned to contrive an encounter on the open sea between his fleet and some

Earth

2004-11-22T06:34:00.000-08:00

Helical fluid motions in the Earth's electrically conducting liquid outer core have an electromagnetic dynamo effect, giving rise to the Earth's magnetic field. The Earth's sizable, hot core, along with the planet's rapid spin, probably accounts for the exceptional strength of the magnetic field of the Earth as compared with those of the other terrestrial

English Literature, Problems of dating

2004-11-21T13:12:00.000-08:00

Few poems can be dated as closely as Caedmon's “Hymn.” King Alfred's compositions fall into the late 9th century, and Bede composed his “Death Song” within 50 days of his death on May 25, 735. Historical poems like “The Battle of Brunanburh” (after 937) and “The Battle of Maldon” (after 991) are fixed by the dates of the events they commemorate. A translation of one of Aldhelm's riddles is found not only

Rasmussen, Poul Nyrup

2004-11-19T00:31:00.000-08:00

When Prime Minister Poul Schlüter was forced from office by Denmark's ongoing "Tamilgate" affair on Jan. 14, 1993, Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, the leader of the Social Democrats, was faced not only with the challenge of forming a new government but also with the task of overseeing Denmark's key second referendum on the Maastricht Treaty. Furthermore, the country had just taken over

Argentaffin Cell

2004-11-17T14:00:00.000-08:00

One of the round or partly flattened cells occurring in the lining tissue of the digestive tract and containing granules thought to be of secretory function. These epithelial cells, though common throughout the digestive tract, are most concentrated in the small intestine and appendix. The cells locate randomly within the mucous membrane lining of the intestine

Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway

2004-11-15T14:36:00.000-08:00

Shipping route paralleling the eastern coast of the United States, serving ports from Boston to Key West, Fla. It is part of the Intracoastal Waterway (q.v.).

Shamanism, Basic tasks

2004-11-13T21:47:00.000-08:00

It is the obligation of the shaman to know all matters that human beings need to know in everyday life but are unable to learn through their own capacities. He foresees events distant in time and space, discovers the place of a lost animal, forecasts prospects for fishing and hunting, and assists in increasing the gain. Besides these everyday functions, he is a healer

Gonorrhea

2004-11-11T07:32:00.000-08:00

Venereal disease characterized by inflammation of the mucous membranes of the genital tract and urethra. It is caused by the gonococcus, Neisseria gonorrhoeae—a bacterium with a predilection for the type of mucous membranes found in the genito-urinary tract and adjacent areas. All gonococcal infections except eye infections in newborn infants (ophthalmia

Saint Bernard

2004-11-09T03:19:00.000-08:00

Working dog credited with saving the lives of some 2,500 people in 300 years of service as pathfinder and rescue dog at the hospice founded by St. Bernard of Montjoux in Great St. Bernard Pass in the Pennine Alps. Probably descended from mastifflike dogs that were introduced from Asia to Europe by the Romans, the St. Bernard appears to have been brought to the hospice in the late

Mone, Jean

2004-11-06T07:05:00.000-08:00

Mone worked from 1512 to 1513 in Aix-en-Provence on sculptures for that city's cathedral. From 1517 to 1519 he collaborated

Sarcophagus

2004-11-04T02:20:00.000-08:00

Stone coffin. The original term is of doubtful meaning; Pliny explains that the word denotes a coffin of limestone from the Troad (the region around Troy) which had the property of dissolving the body quickly (Greek sarx, “flesh”; phagein, “to eat”). This explanation is questionable; religious and folkloristic ideas may have been involved in calling a coffin a body eater. The

Belgium

2004-11-03T09:01:00.000-08:00

The Belgian Parliament approved a further decentralization of power to the country's three regions during 2001. After six months of intense negotiations between the major political parties, it was agreed in July that responsibility for agricultural policy, foreign trade, development cooperation, and control over communal and provincial councils would pass from

Shahdol

2004-10-31T00:36:00.000-07:00

The surrounding

Mitchell, Arthur

2004-10-29T07:03:00.000-07:00

Mitchell attended the High School for the Performing Arts in New York City and began performing in Broadway musicals and with the companies of Donald McKayle and John Butler. In 1956 Mitchell became the only black dancer in the New York City Ballet. He soon became a principal

New England Range

2004-10-27T03:51:00.000-07:00

Also called Northern Tableland, section of the Eastern Highlands, or Great Dividing Range, northeastern New South Wales, Australia. The range extends 200 mi (320 km) north from the Moonbi Range (near Tamworth) to the Queensland border and 80 mi from east to west (10–50 mi inland from the coast). It is Australia's largest plateau, having 9,000 sq mi (23,000 sq km) above an elevation of 3,000 ft (900 m). The loftiest point is at Round Mountain (5,300 ft) on the eastern

Peter Ii

2004-10-25T20:58:00.000-07:00

On succeeding his uncle Peter I, he took the title of Peter II rather than his

Arts, Central Asian, Dance and theatre

2004-10-24T17:51:00.000-07:00

Mircea Eliade, Le Chamanisme et les techniques archaïques de l'extase (1951; 2nd ed., 1968; Eng. trans., Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy, rev. ed., 1964), a classic study of the rituals, costumes, and symbolisms of shamanic performances; Luther G. Jerstad (op. cit.), an analytical and descriptive study of 'cham as performed in the Tengpoche monastery of northern Nepal. Materials and translations of some morality plays have been published by Marion H. Duncan in his Harvest Festival Dramas of Tibet (1955) and More Harvest Festival Dramas of Tibet (1967); and a study of the “Moon-cuckoo” play of the Mongols has been published in Japanese by Hidehiro Okada. Information on the performing arts may be found scattered in various other publications, but it is usually descriptive in nature and deals with only one genre. As yet no scholar has carried out a comprehensive analytical study of the origins and interrelations of dance and theatre in Central Asian regions.

Ecstasy

2004-10-23T17:23:00.000-07:00

MDMA (3,4, Methylenedioxymethamphetamine), euphoria-inducing stimulant and hallucinogen. The use of Ecstasy, commonly known as “E,” has been widespread despite the drug's having been banned worldwide in 1985 by its addition to the international Convention on Psychotropic Substances. It is a derivative of the amphetamine family and a relative of the stimulant methamphetamine

Shad

2004-10-22T16:29:00.000-07:00

Any of several saltwater food fishes of the herring family (Clupeidae) that swim up rivers to spawn. Shad of the genus Alosa are rather deep bodied and have a notch in the upper jaw into which the tip of the lower fits. Young shad have small teeth, but the adults are toothless. The flesh of these fishes is considered very good to eat, though bony; the eggs,

Nadir Shah

2004-10-20T01:43:00.000-07:00

Nadr Qoli Beg had an obscure beginning in the Turkish Afshar tribe, which was loyal to the Safavid shahs of Iran. After serving under a local chieftain, Nadr formed and led a band of robbers, showing marked powers of leadership.

Hawkshaw, Sir John

2004-10-19T01:20:00.000-07:00

In 1845 Hawkshaw became chief engineer of the Manchester and Leeds Railway, introducing steeper gradients than any previously

Australia

2004-10-18T15:23:00.000-07:00

The Australian mainland extends from west to east for nearly 2,500 miles (4,000 km) and

Sabine, Wallace Clement (ware)

2004-10-18T04:48:00.000-07:00

After graduating from Ohio State University in 1886, Sabine did graduate work at Harvard University, where he later joined the faculty. A brilliant researcher, he enjoyed teaching and never bothered to get his doctorate; his papers were modest in number but exceptional

Theatre, African

2004-10-17T03:15:00.000-07:00

The content and style of urban African theatre are influenced by both African dramatic traditions and Western theatre. The influence of Western styles is the result of

Tadjoura, Gulf Of

2004-10-16T19:04:00.000-07:00

French Golfe De Tadjoura, gulf indenting the coastline of Djibouti, eastern Africa, located at the extreme western end of the Gulf of Aden. It provides some shelter for the port of Djibouti on the southeastern shore of the gulf. The gulf is 35 miles (56 km) wide at the mouth and 50 miles long, with a depth of as much as 3,550 feet (1,082 m) near the centre. It is about 164 feet deep off the coast of Djibouti. The coastline is rather

Adams, Henry (brooks)

2004-10-14T09:08:00.000-07:00

Adams was the product of Boston's Brahmin class, a cultured elite that traced its lineage to Puritan New England. He was the great-grandson of John Adams and the grandson of John Quincy Adams, both presidents

Argentina, Sports

2004-10-13T09:23:00.000-07:00

Argentina's worldwide preeminence on the polo field reflects the nation's divided social base, the hardiness of its horses, and the skills of its riders. Steeped in the gaucho tradition and with the open fields of the Pampas on which to practice, a ranch hand with the necessary talent can attain high renown and modest wealth at either polo or horse racing. Both the wealthy

X-trisomy

2004-10-12T20:03:00.000-07:00

Sex chromosome disorder of human females, in which three X chromosomes are present, rather than the normal pair. More common than Turner's syndrome, where only one X chromosome is present, X-trisomy usually remains undetected because affected individuals appear normal, experience puberty, and are usually fertile. Statistical studies suggest a slightly increased

Locke, Bobby

2004-10-11T18:48:00.000-07:00

A meticulous putter who was considered among the best in golf, Locke won the Vardon Trophy for lowest scoring average among male professional golfers in 1946, 1950, and 1954. Nine times the winner of the South African Open championship (1935, 1937–40, 1946, 1950–51, and 1955) and six times the winner of the South

Mölln

2004-10-11T01:06:00.000-07:00

City, Schleswig-Holstein Land (state), northern Germany, situated south of Lübeck, on the Elbe-Lübeck Canal, and built around two small lakes. First mentioned in 1188, it was chartered about 1220. According to legend, the prankster Till Eulenspiegel, the representative of Low German humour and the subject of both literary and musical works, died there in 1350, and his tombstone (16th century)

Scaevola, Quintus Mucius

2004-10-10T18:16:00.000-07:00

Instructed in law by his father and in philosophy by the stoic Panaetius of Rhodes, Scaevola became governor of the province of Asia about 120. Although accused of extortion on his return to Rome, he defended himself successfully

Gregory, Dick

2004-10-09T22:52:00.000-07:00

Byname of Richard Claxton Gregory African-American comedian, civil rights activist, and spokesman for health issues, who became nationally recognized in the 1960s for a biting brand of comedy that attacked racial prejudice. By addressing his hard-hitting satire to white audiences, he gave a comedic voice to the rising Civil Rights Movement. In the 1980s his nutrition business venture targeted

Mars

2004-10-08T17:16:00.000-07:00

Blood-red in colour and sometimes called the Red Planet, Mars has long been associated with warfare and slaughter. It is named for the Roman god of war. As

Cracow, Republic Of

2004-10-07T23:28:00.000-07:00

Also called Free City of Cracow , Cracow also spelled Kraków , Polish Krakowska Rzeczpospolita , or Wolne Miasto Kraków tiny state that, for the 31 years of its existence (1815–46), was the only remaining independent portion of Poland. Established by the Congress of Vienna at the conclusion of the Napoleonic Wars (1815), the free Republic of Cracow consisted of the ancient city of Cracow and the territory surrounding it. Containing a population of 95,000, it was placed under the joint protection of Austria, Prussia,

Adolf

2004-10-06T11:45:00.000-07:00

The son of Duke William of Nassau-Weilburg and Charlotte of Saxony, Adolf became duke of Nassau upon his father's death (1839). Educated in Vienna and a military supporter of the Habsburgs, he sided with Austria

Narayanan, Kocheril Raman

2004-10-05T03:28:00.000-07:00

Despite his family's poverty and social status, Narayanan's intellect won him a government-sponsored scholarship. After graduating

China, The Mongol conquest of China

2004-10-04T08:13:00.000-07:00

Genghis Khan rose to supremacy over the Mongol tribes in the steppe in 1206, and within a few years he attempted to conquer northern China. By securing the allegiance of the Tangut state of Hsi Hsia in what are now Kansu and northeastern Tibet (1209), he disposed of a potential enemy and prepared the ground for an attack against the Chin state of the Juchen in northern China. At that

Mirambo

2004-10-03T21:59:00.000-07:00

Nyamwezi warlord of central Africa whose ability to unite the many hitherto separate Nyamwezi clans into a powerful kingdom by the 1870s gave him strategic control of Arab trade routes and threatened the preeminence of the Arabs' colony in Unyanyembe (near present Tabora, Tanzania). His capital, Urambo (now in Tanzania), became a major rival trading

Regeneration, Annelids

2004-10-02T06:37:00.000-07:00

The segmented worms exhibit variable degrees of regeneration. The leeches, as already noted, are wholly lacking in the ability to replace lost segments, whereas the earthworms and various marine annelids (polychaetes) can often regenerate forward and backward. The expression of such regenerative capacities depends very much on the level of amputation. Anteriorly

Rhyme-tag

2004-10-01T04:36:00.000-07:00

A word or phrase used primarily to produce a rhyme. Rhyme-tags are used to comic effect in much light verse, as in W.S. Gilbert's “The Modern Major-Gineral,” which reads in partI am the very pattern of a modern Major-Gineral,I've information vegetable, animal, and mineral;I know the kings of England, and I quote the fights historical,From Marathon to Waterloo, in order

Bologna

2004-09-29T11:25:00.000-07:00

Latin Bononia, city, capital of Bologna province and of Emilia-Romagna region, in northern Italy, north of Florence, between the Reno and Savena rivers. It lies at the northern foot of the Apennines, on the ancient Via Aemilia, 180 ft (55 m) above sea level. Originally the Etruscan Felsina (q.v.), it was occupied by the Gallic Boii in the 4th century BC and became a Roman colony and municipium (Bononia) c.

Priesthood

2004-09-29T00:24:00.000-07:00

Throughout the long and varied history of religion, the priesthood has been the official institution that has mediated and maintained a state of equilibrium between the sacred and the profane aspects of human society

Mystery Story

2004-09-28T20:36:00.000-07:00

Ages-old popular genre of tales dealing with the unknown; it may be a narrative of horror and terror, a pseudoscientific fantasy, a crime-solving story, an account of diplomatic intrigue, an affair of codes and ciphers and secret societies, or any situation involving an enigma. By and large, mystery stories may be divided into two sorts: tales of the supernatural and riddle

A Priori Knowledge

2004-09-26T21:00:00.000-07:00

In Western philosophy since the time of Immanuel Kant, knowledge that is independent of all particular experiences, as opposed to a posteriori knowledge, which derives from experience alone. The Latin phrases a priori (“from what is before”) and a posteriori (“from what is after”) were used in philosophy originally to distinguish between arguments from causes and arguments

Pilaster

2004-09-26T18:37:00.000-07:00

In Greco-Roman Classical architecture, shallow rectangular column that projects slightly beyond the wall into which it is built and conforms precisely to the order or style of the adjacent columns. The anta of ancient Greece was the direct ancestor of the Roman pilaster. The anta, however, which served a structural purpose as the terminus of the sidewall of a temple,

Margaret Of Austria

2004-09-24T16:28:00.000-07:00

The daughter of the Habsburg archduke Maximilian (later the Holy Roman emperor Maximilian I) and his consort, Mary, duchess of Burgundy, Margaret was first betrothed

Henrietta Maria

2004-09-24T01:27:00.000-07:00

Henrietta