ThickRoof

Holdheim, Samuel

2005-03-19T01:51:00.000-08:00

From 1836 to 1840 Holdheim officiated as a rabbi at Frankfurt an der Oder. In 1840 he went as Landesrabbiner (rabbi of a whole province) to Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Three years later

Muravyov, Mikhail Nikolayevich, Graf

2005-03-17T07:05:00.000-08:00

Muravyov was the grandson of Mikhail Nikolayevich Muravyov, known as the “hangman of Wilno” for his

Anthesteria

2005-03-14T01:28:00.000-08:00

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

World War I, Peace moves and U.S. policy to February 1917

2005-03-13T22:42:00.000-08:00

There were few efforts by any of the Central or Allied Powers to achieve a negotiated peace in the first two years of the war. By 1916 the most promising signs for peace seemed to exist only in the intentions of two statesmen in power—the German chancellor Bethmann and the U.S. president Woodrow Wilson. Wilson, having proclaimed the neutrality of the United States in August

Spoon

2005-03-11T23:01:00.000-08:00

An implement consisting of a small, shallow, bowl-shaped receptacle supported by a handle, used for eating, serving, and cooking foods. Spoons, together with forks, are known as flatware (q.v.).

Aniakchak National Monument And Preserve

2005-03-09T19:08:00.000-08:00

Large wilderness area in southwestern Alaska, U.S., on the southern shore of the Alaska Peninsula, about 450 miles (720 km) south of Anchorage. Proclaimed a national monument in 1978, the area underwent boundary changes in 1980 when the national preserve was established. The monument covers an area of 214 square miles (554 square km), while the preserve covers an additional 725 square miles (1,878 square

Devequt

2005-03-06T13:15:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Devekut (Hebrew: “attachment”), in Jewish religious thought, an adherence to or communion with God that stops short of mystical union. The notion of devequt apparently derived from the biblical reference to “loving the Lord your God, walking in all his ways, and holding fast to him” (Deuteronomy 11:22). As a fundamental concept of the Jewish mystical system called the Kabbala, devequt was

Dewas

2005-03-04T18:06:00.000-08:00

City, western Madhya Pradesh state, central India. It is located on the Malwa Plateau at the foot of the conical Chamunda Hill, which rises to a Devivasini shrine. Jaina and Hindu temple ruins lie just south of the city, in Nagara. The surrounding area consists chiefly of level plains of the Malwa Plateau, watered by the Narmada, Sipra, and Kali Sindh rivers. Wheat, sorghum, rice, cotton,

Ayrer, Jakob

2005-03-03T00:55:00.000-08:00

A lawyer by profession, Ayrer spent

Wolfgang, Marvin

2005-02-28T10:23:00.000-08:00

Wolfgang attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he received M.A. (1950) and Ph.D. (1955) degrees. He officially joined the faculty of the University

Nafusah Plateau

2005-02-26T15:45:00.000-08:00

Arabic Jabal Nafusah, Nafusah also spelled Nefusa, hilly limestone massif, northwestern Libya. It extends in a west-northeasterly arc between Al-Jifarah (Gefara) plain and Al-Hamra' Plateau. With heights ranging from 1,500 to 3,200 feet (460 to 980 m), the plateau runs east for 120 miles (190 km) from the Tunisian border to the Kiklah Trough and then curves northeast for 93 miles (150 km), ending in hills near the Mediterranean coast at Al-Khums. It is crowned by a

Frederick

2005-02-25T15:43:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1907) of Tillman county, southwestern Oklahoma, U.S. With the opening of the Kiowa-Apache-Comanche reservation to settlement in 1901, the community grew up around a stop on the Blackwell, Enid, and Southwestern Railway. Initially known as Gosnell and renamed in 1902 for the son of railroad magnate J.C. van Blarcom, Frederick developed as a shipping point for locally produced

Palau

2005-02-22T15:31:00.000-08:00

Officially Republic of Palau , Palauan Belu'u era Belau , Palau also spelled Pelew country in the western Pacific Ocean. It consists of some 340 coral and volcanic islands perched on the Kyushu-Palau Ridge. The Palau archipelago lies in the southwest corner of Micronesia, with the Philippines 550 miles (885 km) to the west, New Guinea 400 miles (644 km) to the south, and Guam 830 miles (1,336 km) to the northeast. It reaches from latitude 2°55¢ to 8°12¢ N and from longitude 131°05¢ to 134°44¢ E. A huge barrier reef

Banaba

2005-02-20T03:52:00.000-08:00

Also called Ocean Island, coral and phosphate formation 250 miles (400 km) west of the nearest Gilbert Islands, part of Kiribati, in the west central Pacific Ocean. It has a circumference of 6 miles and an area of 2 square miles (6 square km). Sighted in 1804 by the British ship Ocean, the island was annexed by Britain in 1900. In that same year the mining and shipping of phosphate from the island began. By the early 1970s, annual

Swallowing

2005-02-19T07:58:00.000-08:00

The first begins in the mouth. There, food is mixed with saliva for lubrication and placed on the back of the tongue. The mouth closes, and the soft portion of the roof of the mouth (soft palate) rises so that the passageway between

Insurance, Group health insurance

2005-02-16T16:33:00.000-08:00

Major types of health insurance written on a group basis include insurance against the losses occasioned by hospitalization, surgical expense, and disability. Hospitalization insurance is designed to cover daily room and board and other expenses. Surgical expense insurance usually provides specified allowances for physicians' charges for various operations.

To' Janggut

2005-02-15T08:51:00.000-08:00

Muhammad Hasan, known as To' Janggut because of his long white beard, was a peasant farmer and an itinerant rice trader in

Frýdek-místek

2005-02-13T22:33:00.000-08:00

City, Severomoravský kraj (region), Czech Republic. It lies along the Ostravice River just south of Ostrava. The town is dominated by the steeple of Frýdek Castle, which was originally a Gothic royal castle but was reconstructed during the 17th and 18th centuries. Also of interest are the twin-tower 18th-century Baroque church and the small St. Jodocus Church. The town is within

Religion

2005-02-10T13:54:00.000-08:00

More than 700 members of a Ugandan group called the Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments were found dead in several locations after having been killed by fire, poisoning, and strangulation. It appeared that the group's founder, former Roman Catholic catechist Joseph Kibwetere, and its “prophetess,” Credonia Mwerinde, had carried out the murders and then

Vesalius, Andreas

2005-02-09T18:37:00.000-08:00

(Latin), Flemish Andries Van Wesel Renaissance Flemish physician who revolutionized the study of biology and the practice of medicine by his careful description of the anatomy of the human body. Basing his observations on dissections he made himself, he wrote and

Daffodil

2005-02-08T13:36:00.000-08:00

Also called common daffodil , or trumpet narcissus (species Narcissus pseudonarcissus) bulb-forming flowering plant of the genus Narcissus (q.v.), native to northern Europe and widely cultivated there and in North America. The daffodil grows to about 16 inches (41 cm) in height and has five or six leaves that grow from the bulb and are about 12 inches (30 cm) long. The stem bears one large yellow blossom with a corolla deeply cleft into six lobes and a central bell-shaped

Cambridge

2005-02-06T16:54:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1686) of Dorchester county, eastern Maryland, U.S., on the Choptank River's south bank near Chesapeake Bay's eastern shore. Bisected by Cambridge Creek (a natural harbour), it was founded in 1684 as a plantation port and named in 1686 for the English university town. For more than two centuries it handled small coastwise traffic, but the addition of deepwater facilities and the

Ear, Human, Transmission of sound by air conduction

2005-02-06T03:09:00.000-08:00

The outer ear directs sound waves from the external environment to the tympanic membrane (Figure 1). The auricle, the visible portion of the outer ear, collects sound waves and, with the concha, the cavity at the entrance to the external auditory canal, helps to funnel sound into the canal. Because of its small size and virtual immobility, the auricle in humans is less useful

Maccarthy Island

2005-02-04T20:28:00.000-08:00

Also called Jangjangbure, originally Lemain Island, island, in the Gambia River, 176 miles (283 km) upstream from Banjul, central Gambia. It was ceded in 1823 to Captain Alexander Grant of the African Corps, who was acting for the British crown. Designated as a site for freed slaves, the island was renamed for Sir Charles MacCarthy, British colonial governor (1814–24). In the 1830s peanut (groundnut) cultivation was introduced by the Wesleyan Mission

Almanac

2005-02-03T13:00:00.000-08:00

Book or table containing a calendar of the days, weeks, and months of the year; a record of various astronomical phenomena, often with weather predictions and seasonal suggestions for farmers; and miscellaneous other data. An almanac provides data on the rising and setting times of the Sun and Moon, the phases of the Moon, the positions of the planets, schedules of high

Building Construction, Concrete

2005-02-03T10:34:00.000-08:00

Reinforced concrete is also a major structural material in these buildings. Indeed, outside of North America and western Europe, it is the dominant industrialized building material. Its component parts are readily available throughout the world at fairly low cost. Portland cement is easily manufactured by burning shale and limestone; aggregates such as sand

Viganò, Salvatore

2005-02-01T05:39:00.000-08:00

Viganò was born of a family of dancers and was the nephew

Houseplant, Flowering plants

2005-01-31T23:53:00.000-08:00

Most of the flowering potted plants seen at holiday times are not easy subjects for long-term indoor cultivation. They require high light intensity, careful watering, and day–night differences in temperature that are not usually available in the home; greenhouses offer better chances for successful cultivation. There are exceptions, however; one of the most successfully

Terminalia

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

Genus of about 200 species of trees of the family Combretaceae. Some species are commercially important for products such as gums, resins, and tanning extracts. T. arjuna, of Southeast Asia; T. hilariana, of tropical America; T. obovata, of the West Indies and South America; and T. superba, of West Africa yield woods used for cabinetwork, tools, and boat construction.

Biblical Literature, The divided monarchy: from Jeroboam I to the Assyrian conquest

2005-01-29T13:40:00.000-08:00

Jeroboam I, the first king of the new state of Israel, made his capital first at Shechem, then at Tirzah. Recognizing the need for religious independence from Jerusalem, he set up official sanctuaries at Dan and Bethel, at the two ends of his realm, installing in them golden calves (or bulls), for which he is castigated in the anti-northern account in the First Book of the Kings.

Tabula Rasa

2005-01-27T20:36:00.000-08:00

Comparison of the mind to a blank writing-tablet occurs in Aristotle's De anima (4th century BC), and the Stoics as

Maupeou, René-nicolas-charles-augustin De

2005-01-27T08:25:00.000-08:00

Chancellor of France who succeeded in temporarily (1771–74) depriving the Parlements (high courts of justice) of the political powers that had enabled them to block the reforms proposed by the ministers of King Louis XV. By rescinding Maupeou's measures, King Louis XVI (reigned 1774–92) lost his opportunity to institute fundamental reforms that might

Hopak

2005-01-26T20:56:00.000-08:00

Also spelled gopak Ukrainian folk dance, once for men only but later danced by couples, male soloists, and mixed groups of dancers. In the western Ukraine, as the hopak-kolo, it is danced in a closed circle. The hopak has no fixed pattern of steps. Men competitively improvise steps, high leaps, squatting kicks, and turns; women dance simple steps, sway, clap, or circle. Changes of step do not

Bradlaugh, Charles

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

Son of a poor legal clerk, Bradlaugh served in the British army (1850–53), followed his father's occupation for a time, and then became

Dalhousie, James Andrew Broun Ramsay, Marquess And 10th Earl Of

2005-01-24T05:23:00.000-08:00

Dalhousie also took advantage of every opportunity to acquire territory by peaceful means. The East India Company, which was no longer an independent corporation but largely under the control of the British government, was rapidly becoming the predominant power in India. It had concluded alliances with Indian rulers, promising to support them and their heirs

Peng Dehuai

2005-01-23T15:56:00.000-08:00

Peng was a military commander under Chiang Kai-shek but broke with him in 1927 when Chiang attempted

Tivoli

2005-01-22T01:09:00.000-08:00

Latin Tibur, town and episcopal see, Roma provincia, Lazio (Latium) regione, central Italy. It is picturesquely situated on the western slopes of the Sabine Hills, along the Aniene River where it enters the Campagna di Roma, just east of Rome. The site commanded the principal natural route eastward from Rome along the Via Tiburtina Valeria and has been continuously occupied since

Muir Woods National Monument

2005-01-20T22:57:00.000-08:00

One of the two virgin stands of coastal redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens) in the U.S. National Park Service. The groves lie near the Pacific coast of California, U.S., 15 mi (24 km) northwest of San Francisco at the foot of Mt. Tamalpais. Some of these trees are more than 300 ft (90 m) high and 15 ft in diameter and are more than 2,000 years old. The forest, established in 1908 with an area of 503 ac (204 ha), was a gift of Congressman

Gaugamela, Battle Of

2005-01-20T18:06:00.000-08:00

Also called Battle of Arbela (Oct. 1, 331 BC) clash between the forces of Alexander the Great of Macedonia and Darius III of Persia that decided the fate of the Persian empire. Attempting to stop Alexander's incursion into the Persian empire, Darius prepared a battleground on the Plain of Gaugamela, near Arbela (present-day Irbil in northern Iraq), and posted his troops to await Alexander's advance. Darius had

Carloforte

2005-01-18T00:19:00.000-08:00

Only town on the small Isola di San Pietro (area 20 sq mi [52 sq km]), just off the southwest coast of Sardinia, Italy. The island is administratively part of Cagliari province. The town was named after Charles Emmanuel III of Savoy, who resettled the island in 1738, after centuries of desertion, with Genoese fugitives from the North African island of Tabarka. It has an observatory, set

Wang, An

2005-01-17T21:02:00.000-08:00

The son of a teacher, Wang earned a bachelor's degree in science from Chiao-t'ung University in Shanghai in 1940. He immigrated to the United States in 1945 and earned a Ph.D. in applied physics and engineering from Harvard University in 1948. Having been

Shensi, Administration and social conditions

2005-01-16T04:03:00.000-08:00

The province has three prefecture-level municipalities (shih) directly subordinated to the provincial government. One of these municipalities includes the provincial capital, Sian. The rest of the province is organized into seven prefectures (ti-ch'ü); the northern plateau area is divided between the Yü-lin Prefecture in the far north and the Yen-an Prefecture farther

Berezniki

2005-01-15T15:05:00.000-08:00

City, Perm oblast (province), west-central Russia. It is situated on the left bank of the Kama River at the head of the Kama Reservoir. Huge local deposits of salt and potassium have resulted in the city's development as one of the largest chemical centres of Russia, producing nitrogenous fertilizers, potash, nitric and sulfuric acids, soda, chlorine, titanium sponge, and

Gymnure

2005-01-14T16:18:00.000-08:00

Also called Hairy Hedgehog, any of five species of Asian mammals composing the subfamily Echinosoricinae of the hedgehog (q.v.) family (Erinaceidae). These ratlike animals lack the short, barbless spines of spiny hedgehogs but have coarse guard hairs. Their tails are well developed. Gymnures are extremely malodorous. An example is the common gymnure (Echinosorex

Reference Frame

2005-01-14T03:21:00.000-08:00

Also called Frame Of Reference, in dynamics, system of graduated lines symbolically attached to a body that serve to describe the position of points relative to the body. The position of a point on the surface of the Earth, for example, can be described by degrees of latitude, measured north and south from the Equator, and degrees of longitude, measured east and west from the great circle passing through

China, Sun Yat-sen and the United League

2005-01-13T08:31:00.000-08:00

Sun's leadership in the league was far from undisputed. His understanding that the support of foreign powers was indispensable for Chinese revolution militated against the anti-imperialist trend of the young intellectuals. Only half-heartedly accepted was the principle of people's livelihood, or socialism, one of his Three Principles. Though various evaluations

Ambros, August Wilhelm

2005-01-11T02:31:00.000-08:00

Ambros studied law, entered the civil service in 1840, and became public prosecutor in Prague in 1850. A keen, well-trained musician and composer of a Czech opera, Bretislaw a Jitka, he also established himself as a brilliant writer on music. His pamphlet Über

Augusta

2005-01-10T23:40:00.000-08:00

City, river port, and seat (1777) of Richmond county, eastern Georgia, U.S. It lies on the Savannah River (there bridged to North Augusta, South Carolina), on the fall line where the Piedmont Plateau meets the Coastal Plain. The area was explored in 1540 by the Spanish conquistador Hernando de Soto, but not until 1735 was a fortified fur-trading post established on the site (now marked by a Celtic

Orange Free State

2005-01-09T22:13:00.000-08:00

Afrikaans Oranje Vry Staat, Boer state in southern Africa that became a province of the Republic of South Africa in 1910. One of the four traditional provinces of South Africa, it was bordered by the Transvaal to the north, Natal and the independent state of Lesotho to the east, and Cape Province to the south and west. The first postapartheid South African government renamed the province Free

Wynyard

2005-01-09T13:51:00.000-08:00

Town, northern Tasmania, Australia, at the mouth of the River Inglis on Bass Strait. Founded in 1841, it was made a municipality in 1856 and named Table Cape for a high promontory (380 feet [116 m]) to the south. It was gazetted a town in 1861, when its name was changed to honour Major General Edward Wynyard, commander in chief in 1850 of British forces in Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania). Located on a rail line

Argentina

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

Argentina's varied geography can be grouped into four major regions: the Andes, the North, the Pampas, and Patagonia. The Andean region extends some 2,300 miles (3,700 km) along the western edge of the country from Bolivia to southern Patagonia, forming most of the natural boundary with Chile. It is commonly subdivided into two parts: the Northwest and the Patagonian Andes, the latter

Manchu

2005-01-06T02:09:00.000-08:00

Also called Man, people who lived for many centuries in Manchuria and adjacent areas and who in the 17th century conquered China and ruled that country for more than 250 years. The term Manchu dates from the 16th century, but it is certain that the Manchu are descended from a group of peoples collectively called the Tungus (the Even and Evenk [Evenki] are also descended from that group). The Manchu,

Bowling

2005-01-05T20:16:00.000-08:00

The world

Porch

2005-01-05T18:55:00.000-08:00

There is little material evidence of the existence of the porch before the period of Classical antiquity, although Egyptian

Lorena

2005-01-04T08:19:00.000-08:00

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,

Flocculation

2005-01-03T19:29:00.000-08:00

In physical chemistry, separation of solid particles from a liquid to form loose aggregations or soft flakes. These flocculates are easily disrupted, being held together only by a force analogous to the surface tension of a liquid. In industrial processes, flocculation may be a desired or an undesirable phenomenon, and various methods may be used to cause or eliminate

Arcturus

2005-01-02T18:22:00.000-08:00

Also called Alpha Boötis one of the five brightest stars in the night sky, and the brightest star in the northern constellation Boötes, with an apparent visual magnitude of 0.00. It is an orange-coloured giant star about 40 light-years from the Earth. It lies in an almost direct line with the tail of Ursa Major (the Great Bear); hence its name, derived from the Greek words for “bear guard.”

A Moving Habitat:

2005-01-01T13:21:00.000-08:00

About once a week the three-toed sloth of Central and South America (Bradypus variegatus) descends from the trees, where it lives among the branches. For this slow-moving mammal, the journey is a dangerous and laborious undertaking, but it is one of great importance to members of the community among and aboard the sloth. Once the sloth has reached

Australian Ballet

2004-12-31T16:10:00.000-08:00

Peggy van Praagh was the first artistic director (1962–74). Since 1965 the company has made periodic tours

Livius Andronicus, Lucius

2004-12-29T20:27:00.000-08:00

His main work, the Odyssia, a translation of Homer's Odyssey, was possibly done for use as a schoolbook. Written

Crothers, Rachel

2004-12-28T02:54:00.000-08:00

Crothers graduated from the Illinois State Normal School (now Illinois State University) in 1892, then studied dramatic art in Boston and New York City, and for a time she appeared

Crailsheim

2004-12-26T17:19:00.000-08:00

City, Baden-Württemberg Land (state), southwestern Germany. It lies along the Jagst River, about 45 miles (70 km) northeast of Stuttgart. A Frankish settlement in the 6th and 7th centuries, it was chartered in 1320 and passed to the Hohenzollerns in 1399 and to Württemberg in 1810. Most of the old city with its historic buildings was destroyed in World War II, but the Romanesque church of St. John

China, Religious beliefs and social organization

2004-12-25T23:47:00.000-08:00

The inhabitants of Neolithic China were, by the 5th millennium if not earlier, remarkably assiduous in the attention they paid to the disposition and commemoration of their dead. There was a consistency of orientation and posture, with the dead of the northwest given a westerly orientation and those of the east an easterly one. The dead were segregated, frequently

Argyll, Archibald Campbell, 10th Earl And 1st Duke Of, Marquess Of Kintyre And Lorne, Earl Of Campbell And Cowall, Viscount Of Lochow And Glenyla, Lor

2004-12-25T14:37:00.000-08:00

Campbell was the eldest son of the 9th earl, and he tried to get his father's attainder reversed by seeking the favour of King James II. Being unsuccessful, however, he went over to The Hague and joined William of Orange as an active promoter

Ghaghara River

2004-12-24T23:27:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Gogra, Ghaghra , or Ghagra , Nepali Kauriala major left-bank tributary of the Ganges River, rising as the Karnali River (Chinese: K'ung-ch'iao Ho) in the Tibetan Himalayas and flowing southeast into Nepal. Cutting southward across the Siwalik Hills, it splits into two branches, to rejoin south of the Indian border and form the Ghaghara proper. It flows southeast through Uttar Pradesh and Bihar states to enter the Ganges

Aunis

2004-12-23T07:32:00.000-08:00

Ancient province (pays) of western France, corresponding to the northern part of the modern département of Charente-Maritime with the southern part of Deux-Sèvres. Subjected, from the 10th century on, to the counts of Poitiers, Aunis shared the political fortunes of neighbouring Poitou. In the pre-Revolutionary period it constituted, together with the islands of Ré

Hirst, Ivan

2004-12-21T23:16:00.000-08:00

British army officer (b. March 1, 1916, Saddleworth, Yorkshire, Eng.—d. March 10, 2000, Marsden, West Yorkshire, Eng.), was credited with resurrecting post-World War II German heavy industry when he retooled Volkswagen's bombed-out factory in Wolfsburg, Ger., convinced the British military to order 20,000 vehicles for local use, and began producing the homely, noisy, little “people's car” that came to

Catania, Gulf Of

2004-12-21T22:14:00.000-08:00

Italian Golfo Di Catania, inlet of the Ionian Sea on the eastern coast of Sicily. About 20 miles (32 km) long and 5 miles (8 km) wide, it lies between Cape Campolato (south) and Cape Molini (north). The gulf receives the Simeto River below Catania, its chief port.

Metal Point

2004-12-19T04:33:00.000-08:00

Descendant of the stylus of classical times and ancestor of the modern pencil, a small, sharpened metal rod used for drawing precise compositions on paper or parchment. The metal could be lead, silver, copper, or gold, but silverpoint was the most common choice because it is the most suited to permanent drawing, its stroke adhering unerasably. The silverpoint was of

Amarapura

2004-12-19T03:36:00.000-08:00

Town, central Myanmar (Burma). It lies on the left bank of the Irrawaddy River. A suburb of Mandalay, it is also known as Taung-myo (Southern Town) or Myohaung (Old City). Founded by King Bodawpaya in 1783 as his new capital, it supplanted Ava, 6 miles (10 km) southwest. Its population in 1810 was estimated at 170,000, but a fire that year and the return of the court to Ava in 1823 caused a decline to about 30,000 by 1827. King

Out Islands

2004-12-18T11:33:00.000-08:00

The islands that make up The Bahamas apart from New Providence Island. Extending eastward off the Florida coast to just north of Hispaniola are about 3,000 islands and rocks, with a combined area of about 4,000 square miles (10,500 square km). About 20 of the islands are permanently inhabited. Pop. (1980) 74,068.

Stein, Edith

2004-12-16T06:31:00.000-08:00

Born into an Orthodox Jewish family, Stein renounced her faith in 1904 and became

Allen, Paula Gunn

2004-12-14T02:07:00.000-08:00

Allen's father was Lebanese American, and her mother was part Laguna-Sioux. She left college to marry, divorced in 1962, and returned for further education. She studied English literature (B.A., 1966) and creative writing (M.F.A., 1968) at the University

Furniture, Bathroom furniture and fixtures

2004-12-13T11:21:00.000-08:00

Bathrooms in large private homes were not unknown in the 18th century, and splendidly equipped marble bathrooms are still preserved in several European palaces and mansions. But not until the 19th century did bathrooms in private homes become more commonplace. Fixtures generally include a toilet, bidet, washbasin, bath, mirror, and shelves. In the 20th century the equipping

Surabaya

2004-12-13T08:28:00.000-08:00

Surabaya has been the chief trading centre of eastern Java since the 14th century.

Gadara

2004-12-12T02:54:00.000-08:00

Modern Umm Qays ancient city of Palestine, a member of the Decapolis, located just southeast of the Sea of Galilee in Jordan. Gadara first appeared in history when it fell to the Seleucid Antiochus the Great (218 BC); the Jewish king Alexander Jannaeus took it after 10 months' siege (c. 100 BC). It was restored by the Roman general Pompey, and Augustus gave it to Herod the Great (30 BC). Archaeological remains include

Pérec, Marie-josé

2004-12-10T17:59:00.000-08:00

Pérec grew up on the West Indian island of Basse-Terre in Guadeloupe, an overseas administrative district of France. In 1984 she was recruited by a visiting French coach who took her to the mainland, where she placed second in the 200-metre dash at the

Calarasi

2004-12-10T08:46:00.000-08:00

City, capital of Calarasi judet (county), southeastern Romania. It is located at the border with Bulgaria on the Borcea arm of the Danube and along Lake Calarasi, about 60 mi (100 km) east-southeast of Bucharest. Calarasi is first documented in 1593, during the reign of Michael the Brave (Mihai Viteazul). A river port and trading centre, its chief industries are food processing (particularly fish),

Polaroid Corporation

2004-12-08T09:33:00.000-08:00

The company originated in 1932 as the Land-Wheelwright Laboratories, which Land founded with George Wheelwright to produce Land's first invention, an inexpensive plastic-sheet light polarizer. By 1936 Land began to use polarized material in sunglasses

Eusebio

2004-12-08T01:17:00.000-08:00

Eusebio began his career in the then Portuguese territory of Mozambique by playing on the Sporting Lourenço Marques. The Lisbon team of Benfica acquired

Riddah

2004-12-06T22:55:00.000-08:00

Despite the traditional resistance of the Bedouins to any restraining central authority, by 631 Muhammad was able to exact from the majority of their tribes at least nominal adherence to Islam, payment of the zakat, a tax levied on Muslims to support

Epistemology, The other-minds problem

2004-12-06T03:11:00.000-08:00

The second problem also involves seeing but in a somewhat unusual way. It deals with that which one cannot see, namely the mind of another. Suppose a woman is scheduled to have an operation on her right knee and her surgeon tells her that when she wakes up she will feel a sharp pain in her knee. When she wakes up, she does feel the pain the surgeon alluded to. He can hear her groaning

Leonardo Pisano

2004-12-04T21:10:00.000-08:00

Little is known about Leonardo's life beyond the few facts given in his mathematical writings. During Leonardo's boyhood his father, Guglielmo, a Pisan merchant, was appointed consul over the community of Pisan merchants in the North African port of Bugia (now Bejaïa, Alg.). Leonardo was sent to study calculation with an Arab master. He later went to Egypt, Syria, Greece,

Riddah

2004-12-04T00:08:00.000-08:00

An ancient lineage of mammals comprising the armadillos (order Cingulata) and the sloths and anteaters (order Pilosa). The namesake feature shared by all members of Xenarthra is seen in the lower backbone. The lumbar vertebrae are “xenarthrous”; that is, they have extra contacts (joints, or arthroses) that function to strengthen the lower back and hips. This aids use of

Yi-dam

2004-12-03T09:39:00.000-08:00

In Tibetan Buddhism, a tutelary, or guardian, deity with whom a lama (monk) has a special, secret relationship. The lama first prepares himself by meditation, then selects from among the guardian deities the one that reveals itself as offering the right guidance for a specific or lifelong goal. The lama will thereafter begin each day by worshiping his yi-dam. Any of the

Animal Development

2004-12-02T00:28:00.000-08:00

The processes that lead eventually to the formation of a new animal starting from cells derived from one or more parent individuals. Development thus occurs following the process by which a new generation of organisms is produced by the parent generation.

Cladophora

2004-11-30T15:41:00.000-08:00

Genus of green algae found growing attached to rocks or timbers submerged in shallow lakes and streams; there are some marine species. Coarse in appearance, with regular-branching filaments that have cross walls separating multinucleate segments, Cladophora grows in the form of a tuft or ball that may range up to 13 cm (5 inches) in length. Asexual reproduction involves

Baharampur

2004-11-29T08:33:00.000-08:00

The town has major rail and road connections and is an important agricultural trade centre. Silk weaving, rice

Winterthur

2004-11-28T21:57:00.000-08:00

City, Zürich canton, northern Switzerland. It lies in a wooded basin east of the Töss River, northeast of Zürich city. The Roman settlement of Vitodurum was on the site of the city's northeastern suburb of Ober-Winterthur. Winterthur was founded about 1175 by the counts of Kyburg, who granted it a charter with extensive privileges. It was inherited in 1264 by the Habsburgs, who sold

Chan Chan

2004-11-28T06:22:00.000-08:00

Great ruined and abandoned pre-Inca city on the present-day northern Peruvian coast, the capital of the Chimú kingdom (c. AD 1200–1400). The site is about 300 miles (480 km) north of Lima in the Moche Valley, between the Pacific and the city of Trujillo. The ruins, which cover nearly 14 square miles (36 square km), are in good condition because the area is rainless. The city was watered by irrigation ditches,

Chafarinas Islands

2004-11-27T04:39:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Zafarin, or Djaferin, three small rocky islets of the Spanish plaza (enclave) of Melilla, located off northeastern Morocco, 7 mi (11 km) northwest of the mouth of the Oued Moulouya. Probably the tres insulae (three islands) of the 3rd-century Roman roadbook Itinerarium Antonini, they have been occupied by Spain since 1847. Waterless and uncultivated, they form the best anchorage along the Moroccan Mediterranean

Pribilof Canyon

2004-11-25T13:25:00.000-08:00

A long submarine canyon rising from the Bering Abyssal Plain on the floor of the Bering Sea southeast of the Pribilof Islands, Alaska. It runs across the edge of the continental slope and is 265 miles (426 km) long with walls 6,000 feet (1,800 m) high. The canyon is characterized by a V-shaped valley with steep and rocky walls, and its floor is covered by sands and gravels. It is believed to have

Moses, Edwin

2004-11-24T03:32:00.000-08:00

Moses competed in cross-country, track, and gridiron football in high school and studied physics at Morehouse College (B.S., 1978) in Atlanta, Georgia. There he first ran the 400-metre race and the 120-yard high hurdles but began running

Black Obelisk

2004-11-23T01:38:00.000-08:00

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

López Rega, José

2004-11-22T20:48:00.000-08:00

A retired police corporal and longtime right-wing Peronista leader, López Rega acted as private secretary to Juan Perón during the latter's exile in Spain. López Rega returned to Argentina with Perón in 1973. When

Swazi

2004-11-22T04:31:00.000-08:00

Bantu-speaking people inhabiting the tree-studded grasslands of Swaziland, the neighbouring Eastern Transvaal province of South Africa, and Mozambique. The Swazi, who are chiefly agriculturists and pastoralists, numbered about 1,810,000 in the late 20th century. The language of the Swazi, called Swati or Swazi, belongs to the Benue-Congo group of the Niger-Congo languages;

Shamanism

2004-11-21T21:11:00.000-08:00

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

Nadig, Marie-thérèse

2004-11-20T17:01:00.000-08:00

At 17, Nadig had never won a World Cup race and was not considered a threat to the favoured Pröll. When Nadig finished the downhill course with a time of 1 min 36.68 sec,

Borsippa

2004-11-18T10:53:00.000-08:00

Modern Birs , or Birs Nimrud ancient Babylonian city southwest of Babylon in central Iraq. Its patron god was Nabu, and the city's proximity to the capital, Babylon, helped it to become an important religious centre. Hammurabi (reigned 1792–50 BC) built or rebuilt the Ezida temple at Borsippa, dedicating it to Marduk (the national god of Babylonia); subsequent kings recognized Nabu as the deity of Ezida and

Andong

2004-11-17T23:38:00.000-08:00

City, North Kyongsang do (province), east-central South Korea. It lies 215 miles (345 km) from the mouth of the Naktong River, at the terminus of its navigable section, near a multipurpose dam. The city has been in existence since the Three Kingdoms period (beginning c. 57 BC) under various names, and since the Koryo period (935–1392) it has been known by its present name. Until the end of the Choson (Yi) dynasty