HollowCup

Armstrong, Henry

2005-11-17T15:30:00.000-08:00

Armstrong fought as an amateur from 1929 to 1932. Early in his career he boxed under the name Melody Jackson. He first won the featherweight (126-pound) title by knocking out Petey Sarron in

Dabrowska, Maria

2005-07-28T09:15:00.000-07:00

Zbigniew Folejewski, Maria Dabrowska (1967), is a highly recommended English-language study.

Trading Stamp

2005-07-26T14:45:00.000-07:00

The Malabar spiny tree mouse (Platacanthomys lasiurus) lives only in the old-growth rainforests of southwestern India. Nocturnal and arboreal, it builds nests in tree cavities and eats fruits and nuts. The animal is named for its flat, grooved spines

Azide

2005-07-24T03:40:00.000-07:00

Any of a class of chemical compounds containing three nitrogen atoms as a group, represented as (-N3). Azides are considered as derived from hydrazoic acid (HN3), an inorganic salt such as sodium azide (NaN3), or an organic derivative in which the hydrogen atom of hydrazoic acid is replaced by a hydrocarbon group as in alkyl or aryl azide (RN3), or by an acyl (carboxylic acid) group

Averroës

2005-07-01T07:40:00.000-07:00

Medieval Latin Averrhoës , also called Ibn Rushd , Arabic in full Abu al-Walid Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Rushd influential Islamic religious philosopher who integrated Islamic traditions with ancient Greek thought. At the request of the Almohad caliph Abu Ya'qub Yusuf, he produced a series of summaries and commentaries on most of Aristotle's works (1169–95) and on Plato's Republic, which exerted considerable influence in

Paleography

2005-06-28T11:00:00.000-07:00

Precise boundaries for paleography are hard to define. For example, epigraphy, the study of inscriptions cut on immovable objects for permanent public inspection, is related to paleography. Casual graffiti, sale or election notices as found on the walls

Bruno Of Querfurt, Saint

2005-06-21T19:05:00.000-07:00

A member of the family of the counts of Querfurt, Bruno was educated at the cathedral school at Magdeburg, Saxony, and at the age of 20 he was attached to the clerical household of the Holy Roman emperor Otto III. In 997 he accompanied Otto to Rome, where he was

China, The Southeast Mountains

2005-06-16T22:40:00.000-07:00

Southeastern China is bordered by a rocky shoreline backed by picturesque mountains. In general, there is a distinct structural and topographic trend from northeast to southwest. The higher peaks may reach altitudes of 5,000 to 6,500 feet. The rivers are short and fast-flowing and have cut steep-sided valleys. The chief areas of settlement are on narrow strips of coastal plain

Trade, Board Of

2005-06-13T17:30:00.000-07:00

The first grain futures exchange in the United States, organized in 1848 in Chicago. The Board of Trade began as a voluntary association of prominent Chicago grain merchants. In 1849 it received a charter from the Illinois legislature, and in 1859 it was incorporated by a special legislative act. At first grain was sold by sample, but soon a system of inspection and grading was introduced

Antagonist

2005-06-02T00:35:00.000-07:00

In literature, the principal opponent or foil of the main character, who is referred to as the protagonist, in a drama or narrative. The word is from the Greek antagnistes, “opponent or rival.”

Journal De Genève

2005-05-31T07:35:00.000-07:00

Like the German-language Neue Zürcher Zeitung, the Journal de Genève was a national newspaper, serious in tone and generally liberal in outlook. Its careful and thorough

Albania, Flag Of

2005-05-16T22:35:00.000-07:00

On November 28, 1443, the national hero of Albania, a prince known as Skanderbeg (George Kastrioti), raised his flag over the fortress of Krujë in defiance of the Turks who ruled the country. His small mountainous nation was able to resist the forces of the Ottoman Empire, although after Skanderbeg's death in 1468 independence was lost again. His flag was red and bore a black eagle, even

La Marche, Olivier De

2005-05-14T20:15:00.000-07:00

After serving as a page to Philip the Good, duke of Burgundy, La Marche entered the service of the Duke's son, the count of Charolais (later called Charles the Bold). He became Charles's secretary and remained in

Binswanger, Ludwig

2005-03-15T06:33:00.000-08:00

Swiss psychiatrist and writer who applied the principles of existential phenomenology, especially as expressed by Martin Heidegger, to psychotherapy. Diagnosing certain psychic abnormalities (e.g., elation fixation, eccentricity, and mannerism) to be the effect of the patient's distorted self-image and his inadequate

Tz'u

2005-03-14T06:37:00.000-08:00

In Chinese poetry, song form characterized by lines of unequal length, with prescribed rhyme schemes and tonal patterns, each bearing the name of a musical air. The varying line lengths are comparable to the natural rhythm of speech and therefore easily understood when sung. First sung by ordinary folk, they were popularized by professional women singers and poets

Carloman

2005-03-11T04:37:00.000-08:00

Second son of Louis II and king of France or the West Franks (882 - 884). On Louis II's death (879) Carloman was associated with his brother Louis III as king of the West Franks, but both, as the children of a first marriage that had been unacceptable to their grandfather Charles the Bald, had difficulty in obtaining recognition. On Louis's death (882) Carloman became sole ruler. He died while

European Parliament

2005-03-07T17:58:00.000-08:00

Legislative assembly of the European Union (EU). Inaugurated in 1958 as the Common Assembly, the European Parliament originally consisted of representatives selected by the national parliaments of EU member countries. Beginning in 1979, members of the Parliament, who now number more than 600, were elected by direct universal suffrage to terms of five years. The number of members

Saint Albans Raid

2005-03-06T19:48:00.000-08:00

On Oct. 19, 1864, about 25 Confederate soldiers based in Canada raided the town of St. Albans, Vt., killed one man, robbed three banks, and then retreated to Canadian territory. A U.S. posse

Ghibelline

2005-03-05T03:55:00.000-08:00

In medieval Italy, member of the pro-imperial party, opponents of the pro-papal Guelfs. See Guelf and Ghibelline.

Arachnid

2005-03-04T08:37:00.000-08:00

Any member of the class Arachnida, part of the invertebrate phylum Arthropoda. Arachnida includes forms such as spiders (Araneida), harvestmen (daddy longlegs; Opiliones), scorpions (Scorpionida), and mites and ticks (Acari), as well as lesser-known groups. Only a few species are of economic importance, including the acarids that transmit diseases to humans, other animals,

Argentina, Confederation under Rosas, 1829 - 52

2005-03-02T17:48:00.000-08:00

The regime of Rosas in Buenos Aires enjoyed far broader support than any of its predecessors. Special interest groups, landholders, and export-import merchants (along with the British diplomatic contingent that was identified with these interests) all fell behind the new governor. Practically all the influential sectors in the province identified Rosas's triumph

Manasa

2005-03-01T17:49:00.000-08:00

Folk goddess of snakes, worshiped mainly in Bengal and other parts of northeastern India, chiefly for the prevention and cure of snakebite and also for fertility and general prosperity. As the protector of children, she is often identified with the goddess Sasthi (�the Sixth,� worshiped on the sixth day after birth). The antiquity of the goddess is a matter of conjecture. The

Camag�

2005-02-28T14:29:00.000-08:00

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

Taaffe, Eduard, Count (graf) Von

2005-02-27T16:10:00.000-08:00

Taaffe, who was of Irish descent

Lancaster, Henry, 3rd Earl Of, Earl Of Leicester, Lord Lancaster

2005-02-26T18:29:00.000-08:00

After his brother's execution in 1322, Henry was so little suspected of opposing King Edward II that he was allowed possession of another of the family titles, the earldom of Leicester (1324). He held lands adjacent to the increasing possessions in South Wales of Edward II's

Pyramids

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

British pocket-billiards game in which 15 red balls are arranged in a pyramid formation to begin. Players use a white cue ball in attempting to pocket the reds, scoring one point for each; the player who scores the highest number of pocketed balls is the winner. Players lose a point and respot a red ball each time they pocket the cue ball or fail to contact a red ball. A player

Fuchs, Leonhard

2005-02-24T02:23:00.000-08:00

Fuchs obtained a humanistic education under Catholic guidance

Biblical Literature, Form and content of John

2005-02-23T06:23:00.000-08:00

In John there is a mixture of long meditational discourses on definite themes and concrete events recalling the structure of Matthew (with events plus discourses); and, although the source problem is complex and research is still grappling with it, there can be little doubt that John depended on a distinct source for his seven miracles (the sign [or semeia] source): (1) turning

Karakhan Manifesto

2005-02-22T01:55:00.000-08:00

Manifesto issued on July 25, 1919, by Lev Karakhan, a member of the foreign ministry of the newly formed Soviet republic, in which he offered to relinquish all Soviet claims to the special rights and privileges won by the Russian tsarist government in China. The proposal, even after it was later somewhat modified, created a favourable impression in China; it was the first unilateral

Alumbrado

2005-02-21T11:14:00.000-08:00

Italian �Illuminato, �plural �Illuminati, � a follower of a mystical movement in Spain during the 16th and 17th centuries. Its adherents claimed that the human soul, having attained a certain degree of perfection, was permitted a vision of the divine and entered into direct communication with the Holy Spirit. From this state the soul could neither advance nor retrogress. Consequently, participation in the liturgy,

France, History Of

2005-02-20T18:07:00.000-08:00

In time, opinion

Earth

2005-02-19T18:44:00.000-08:00

The Earth's outermost rigid, rocky layer is called the lithosphere. It is broken, like a slightly cracked eggshell, into about a dozen separate rigid blocks, or plates. There are two types of plates, oceanic and continental. An example of an oceanic plate is the Pacific Plate, which extends from the East Pacific Rise to the deep-ocean trenches bordering the western part

Kirchner, N�stor

2005-02-18T06:37:00.000-08:00

Kirchner studied law at the National University of La Plata, where he was a member of the Peronist Youth organization. In 1975 he married Cristina Fern�ndez, a fellow law student. Following graduation in 1976, the couple returned to Santa Cruz, where they established

Oasis

2005-02-17T18:34:00.000-08:00

Fertile tract of land that occurs in a desert wherever a perennial supply of fresh water is available. Oases vary in size, ranging from about 1 hectare (2.5 acres) around small springs to vast areas of naturally watered or irrigated land. Underground water sources account for most oases; their springs and wells, some of them artesian, are supplied from sandstone aquifers

Los Angeles Zoo, The

2005-02-16T23:56:00.000-08:00

Byname �Griffith Park Zoo, � zoological park founded in 1912 in Los Angeles as the Griffith Park Menagerie. It is a completely outdoor zoo that has holdings of the emperor tamarin, mountain tapir, and California condor. The Los Angeles Zoo was also the first to breed the tarictic hornbill. Comprising a main zoo and a children's zoo, it occupies 46 hectares (113 acres) of Griffith Park, a large city-owned park. The

Nitric Acid

2005-02-15T17:07:00.000-08:00

The preparation and use of nitric acid were known to the early alchemists. A common laboratory process used for

Parys

2005-02-14T13:38:00.000-08:00

Resort town, northern Free State province, South Africa. It is situated on the southern bank of the Vaal River. Parys was founded in 1873 and most likely named by a German surveyor named Schilbach, who had fought in the siege of Paris in 1870. Parys officially became a town in 1887. Tobacco, corn (maize), sorghum, and cattle are raised in the surrounding area. Industries produce processed

Hardie, J(ames) Keir

2005-02-13T19:42:00.000-08:00

British labour leader, first to represent the workingman in Parliament as an Independent (1892) and first to lead the Labour Party in the House of Commons (1906). A dedicated socialist, he was also an outspoken pacifist (from the time of the South African, or Boer, War, 1899 - 1902) and the chief adviser (from 1903) to the militant suffragists headed by Emmeline

Mindaugas

2005-02-12T15:38:00.000-08:00

Mindaugas successfully asserted himself over other leading Lithuanian nobles and tribal chiefs, including his brother and his nephews, in 1236. The state thus formed under his leadership included Lithuania proper, Samogitia, and much of

Biblical Literature, Conditions aiding the formation of the canon

2005-02-11T04:55:00.000-08:00

The New Testament consists of 27 books, which are the residue, or precipitate, out of many 1st - 2nd-century-AD writings that Christian groups considered sacred. In these various writings the early church transmitted its traditions: its experience, understanding, and interpretation of Jesus as the Christ and the self-understanding of the church. In a seemingly circuitous

Mountain Mahogany

2005-02-10T14:28:00.000-08:00

It is said that the common name was given to species

Mercury Poisoning

2005-02-09T09:47:00.000-08:00

Harmful effects of various mercury compounds on body tissues and functions. Certain modern industrial and biological processes concentrate mercury compounds to dangerous levels. Mercury is used on a substantial scale in numerous industries, such as the manufacture of chemicals, paints and various household items, pesticides, and fungicides. In addition to

France, History Of, Liberation

2005-02-08T04:30:00.000-08:00

When the Allied forces landed in Normandy on June 6, 1944, the armed underground units had grown large enough to play an important role in the battles that followed - harassing the German forces and sabotaging railways and bridges. As the Germans gradually fell back, local Resistance organizations took over town halls and prefectures from Vichy incumbents. De Gaulle's

Kabila, Laurent Desire

2005-02-07T15:04:00.000-08:00

After having dropped out of sight for nearly a decade, Zairean opposition leader Laurent Kabila reemerged in October 1996 as leader of the newly formed Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo-Zaire. Supported by a nation outraged by the dictatorial leadership of Mobutu Sese Seko, Kabila rallied forces consisting mostly of Tutsi from eastern Zaire

Asyut

2005-02-06T00:11:00.000-08:00

Asy

Beast Fable

2005-02-05T20:29:00.000-08:00

A prose or verse fable or short story that usually has a moral. In beast fables animal characters are represented as acting with human feelings and motives. Among the best-known examples in Western literature are those attributed to the legendary Greek author Aesop. The best-known Asian collection of beast fables is the Pa�ca-tantra of India.

'antar, Romance Of

2005-02-04T00:18:00.000-08:00

Tales of chivalry centred on the black Arab desert poet and warrior 'Antarah ibn Shaddad, one of the poets of the celebrated pre-Islamic collection Al-Mu'allaqat. It was composed anonymously between the 8th and the 12th century, though the Romance itself credits the 9th-century philologist al-Asma'i with its authorship. Written in rhymed prose (saj') interspersed with 10,000 poetic verses,

France, History Of, Diffusion of political power

2005-02-03T03:58:00.000-08:00

During the period of insecurity and turbulence that marked the end of the Merovingian epoch, bonds of personal dependence, present in both Roman and Germanic institutions, can be seen to compete with weakened governmental institutions. In the 7th century these bonds took one of two forms: commendation (a free man placed himself under the protection of a more powerful

Yevreyskaya

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

Also spelled �Evreiskaia�, also called �Birobidzhan� autonomous oblast (province) in Khabarovsk kray (region), far eastern Russia, occupying an area of 13,900 sq mi (36,000 sq km) in the basin of the middle Amur River. Most of the oblast consists of level plain, with extensive swamps, patches of swampy forest, and grassland on fertile soils, now largely plowed up. In the north and northwest are the hills of the Bureya Range and the Lesser Khingan,

Indre River

2005-02-01T22:56:00.000-08:00

River, west-central France, a left-bank tributary of the Loire River. Rising on the northern flanks of the Massif Central, it flows 165 miles (265 km) northwestward through Indre and Indre-et-Loire d�partements, joining the Loire northwest of Chinon and draining a basin of about 5,200 square miles (13,500 square km). It flows exclusively through agricultural regions, crossing La Ch�tre, and

Trier

2005-01-30T06:31:00.000-08:00

French �Tr�ves, �Latin �Augusta Treverorum, � city, Rhineland-Palatinate Land (state), southwestern Germany, on the right bank of the Mosel (Moselle) River, surrounded by the foothills of the Eifel, Hunsr�ck, and Mosel mountains, just east of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg frontier. A shrine of the Treveri, a Germanic tribe, existed at the site (c. 400 BC). The Roman town was founded by the emperor Augustus about 15 BC. The city's strategic

Deep-sea Fish

2005-01-29T03:49:00.000-08:00

In general, any species of fishes (class Osteichthyes) that are found at extreme ocean depths, usually more than 600 m and even to as much as 2,700 m (2,000 to 9,000 feet). The species, which represent more than a dozen families of marine fishes, are characterized by huge mouths, enlarged eyes, and the presence of luminous organs on some or several parts of the body. The light-producing organs serve

Powhatan

2005-01-28T23:49:00.000-08:00

Confederacy of at least 30 Algonkian-speaking North American Indian tribes that once occupied most of what is now tidewater Virginia, the eastern shore of the Chesapeake Bay, and possibly southern Maryland. The confederacy had been formed by and named for a powerful chief, Powhatan, shortly before the colonial settlement of Jamestown in 1607. The tribes of the confederacy

Guimar�es, Bernardo (joaquim Da Silva)

2005-01-27T14:22:00.000-08:00

After a youthful bohemian life in S�o Paulo, Guimar�es retired to his native Minas Gerais to write and teach school. Guimar�es' subject, like that

Haber, Fritz

2005-01-26T23:08:00.000-08:00

German physical chemist, winner of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry (1918) for his development of a method of synthesizing ammonia. With Carl Bosch, he invented a process for the large-scale production of ammonia for use in nitrogen fertilizer.

Bohr, Aage N.

2005-01-25T16:18:00.000-08:00

Bohr was educated at the University of Copenhagen, where he received his doctorate in 1954. During the 1940s he worked as assistant to his father, Niels Bohr (1922 Nobel physics laureate),

Hadassah

2005-01-24T15:16:00.000-08:00

The organization is one of the largest volunteer women's organizations in the United States. It was founded in 1912 by Jewish scholar and activist Henrietta Szold and

Ricercare

2005-01-23T17:42:00.000-08:00

Also spelled �Ricercar (Italian: �to seek out�), �plural �Ricercari, � musical composition for instruments in which one or more themes are developed through melodic imitation; it was prominent in the 16th and 17th centuries. The earliest ricercari, which were for the lute, appeared in 1507. Well-suited to the technical capabilities of the lute, they mixed passages in chordal style, running scale passages, and alternation of high and low phrases

Egypt, Arabization

2005-01-22T20:43:00.000-08:00

The Arabization of Egypt continued at a gradual pace. The early Fatimids' reliance on Berber troops was soon balanced by the importation of Turkish, Sudanese, and Arab contingents. The Fatimids are said to have used thousands of nomadic Arabs in the Egyptian cavalry and to have further stimulated Arabization by settling large numbers of Arabian tribesmen in Upper Egypt

Automobile Racing

2005-01-21T16:47:00.000-08:00

The stunning success of Nigel Mansell, 1992 Formula One champion, in his first year in U.S. IndyCar competition highlighted a year in which virtuosity and tragedy shared centre stage. The 40-year-old Englishman, driving a Lola-Ford Cosworth for Newman-Haas Racing, edged 1993 Indianapolis 500 winner Emerson Fittipaldi for the Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) championship. Mansell

Neo-confucianism

2005-01-20T07:57:00.000-08:00

In Japan, the official guiding philosophy of the Tokugawa period (1603 - 1867). This philosophy profoundly influenced the thought and behaviour of the educated class. The tradition, introduced into Japan from China by Zen Buddhists in the medieval period, provided a heavenly sanction for the existing social order. In the Neo-Confucian view, harmony was maintained by a reciprocal

Ibn Ezra, Abraham Ben Meir

2005-01-19T05:05:00.000-08:00

As a young man, he lived in Muslim Spain. Not much is known about his early life. He was on friendly terms with the eminent poet and philosopher Judah

Pueblo

2005-01-18T21:40:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1861) of Pueblo county, south-central Colorado, U.S., situated on the Arkansas River, near its confluence with Fountain Creek, at an elevation of 4,690 feet (1,430 metres). Jim Beckwourth, a trader and onetime war chief of the Crow Indians, established a trading post, Fort Pueblo, on the site in 1842; the post was abandoned in 1854 following a period of hostilities between whites and Indians.

Libya, Resources

2005-01-17T21:47:00.000-08:00

Petroleum is Libya's most important mineral resource. First discovered in 1956 near the Algerian border, it has since been located mainly in the Surt Basin. The major oil fields are Zaltan, Amal, and Intisar A in the vicinity of Banghazi; the Dahra field is located near Misratah, and the Sarir field is near Darnah. Deposits have been located near Ghadamis on the western border, Murzuq in

Museums, History Of, Specialized personal collections

2005-01-16T18:02:00.000-08:00

The developing interest in human as well as natural history in the 16th century led to the creation of specialized collections. In Italy alone more than 250 natural history collections are recorded in that century, including the fine herbarium of Luca Ghini at Padua and the more eclectic collection of Ulisse Aldrovandi at Bologna. Other notable natural history collections

Kingu�l�

2005-01-15T13:50:00.000-08:00

Waterfall and site of a hydroelectric complex on the Mbei River of Gabon. Kingu�l� is situated near Kango and is about 95 miles (150 km) by road east of Libreville, the national capital. There are actually two sets of waterfalls. The upper Kingu�l� falls drop a total of 115 feet (35 m) in three consecutive leaps. The larger, lower falls drop 148 feet (45 m). Below the lower falls, the Mbei River continues

Sangallo Family

2005-01-14T15:54:00.000-08:00

Giuliano da Sangallo (1445? - 1516) was an architect, sculptor, and military

Baselevel

2005-01-13T10:20:00.000-08:00

In hydrology and geomorphology, limit below which a stream cannot erode. Upon entering a still body of water, a stream's velocity is checked and thus it loses its eroding power; hence, the approximate level of the surface of the still water body is the stream's baselevel. If a stream enters the sea, its baselevel is sea level; this is known as ultimate baselevel. If a stream

Arochukwu

2005-01-12T05:09:00.000-08:00

Also spelled �Arochuku, � town, Abia state, southern Nigeria. It lies along the road from Calabar to Umuahia. Arochukwu was the headquarters of the Aro, an Igbo (Ibo) subgroup that dominated southeastern Nigeria in the 18th and 19th centuries. It was the seat of the sacred Chuku shrine, the source of a much-feared oracle (called Long Juju by the Europeans) that acted as a judge for the Igbo supreme deity

Pacific Mountain System

2005-01-11T13:42:00.000-08:00

Series of mountain ranges that stretches along the Pacific coast of North America from northern British Columbia (Canada) to northwestern Mexico. They run for some 4,500 miles (7,250 kilometres) in the United States and extend northward into Canada for another 1,000 miles. The ranges may be divided into eight sections. Roughly from north to south they are the Coast Mountains of British

Plains Indian

2005-01-10T03:49:00.000-08:00

The Indians of the North American Great Plains are popularly regarded as the typical American Indians. They were essentially big-game hunters, the buffalo being a primary source of food and equally important as a source of materials for clothing,

Salchow, Ulrich

2005-01-09T22:58:00.000-08:00

Salchow was a generous competitor, and he acknowledged the talents of others. At the 1902 World Championships, Madge Syers finished second

Great Mogul Diamond

2005-01-08T00:28:00.000-08:00

The largest diamond ever found in India. It was discovered as a 787-carat rough stone in the Golconda mines in 1650 and subsequently was cut by the Venetian lapidary Hortentio Borgis. The French jewel trader Jean-Baptiste Tavernier described it in 1665 as a high-crowned rose-cut stone with a flaw at the bottom and a small speck within. Its present location is unknown, and some believe

Basra

2005-01-07T17:59:00.000-08:00

Basra

Adapazari

2005-01-06T22:20:00.000-08:00

City, northwestern Turkey, lying in a fertile plain west of the Sakarya River. It is situated along the old military road from Istanbul. The region came under Ottoman control in the early 14th century, and the city acquired its present name at the end of the 18th century. An agricultural and industrial centre, Adapazari is connected by a branch line to the main Anatolian railway

Furniture, Turned work

2005-01-05T14:43:00.000-08:00

Turning is a process by which parts of furniture, such as legs and posts, are shaped while turning on a lathe. Turned work is found on Greco-Roman furniture. It is not certain whether the technique was actually employed in Egyptian furniture, though some members look as though they might have been turned. It was particularly in the shaping of wooden chair legs that Greek

Spondylolisthesis

2005-01-04T21:39:00.000-08:00

Forward slipping of the body of one of the lumbar (lower back) vertebrae on the subjacent vertebra or on the sacrum, the triangular bone at the base of the spinal column. The condition is often associated with incompleteness of the vertebral arch, which surrounds the spinal cord. Pressure transmitted to the arch from above encourages slippage. Deformity (lordosis)

Goatsucker

2005-01-03T22:28:00.000-08:00

Alternative name of birds of the family Caprimulgidae, otherwise known as nightjars (q.v.). The name goatsucker is sometimes applied to the order, Caprimulgiform.

Powder-post Beetle

2005-01-02T23:50:00.000-08:00

Any member of the approximately 90 species of the small, widely distributed insect family Lyctidae (order Coleoptera). These beetles range in colour from reddish brown to black and in size from 1 to 7 mm (up to 0.3 inch). The larvae bore through seasoned wood, reducing it to a dry powder; they do not, however, enter varnished or painted wood. Powder-post beetle holes are often erroneously

Sweat

2005-01-01T01:07:00.000-08:00

The moisture excreted in visible quantities through the openings of the sweat glands. See perspiration.

Nitisol

2004-12-31T03:50:00.000-08:00

One of the 30 soil groups in the classification system of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Occupying 1.6 percent of the total land surface on Earth, Nitisols are found mainly in eastern Africa at higher altitudes, coastal India, Central America, and tropical islands (Cuba, Java, and the Philippines). They are perhaps the most inherently fertile of the tropical soils

Sea, Law Of The

2004-12-30T13:25:00.000-08:00

Law codified in a treaty signed Dec. 10, 1982, by 117 nations (and two republics of the U.S.S.R., Belorussia and Ukraine) in Montego Bay, Jamaica. It represented an attempt to codify international law regarding territorial waters, sea lanes, and ocean resources. It was not signed by the United States, the United Kingdom, West Germany, Israel, Italy, and several other industrialized or developing

Berceo, Gonzalo De

2004-12-29T21:15:00.000-08:00

Berceo's subjects were religious

Barani, Ziya'-ud-din

2004-12-28T10:12:00.000-08:00

Using mainly hearsay evidence and his personal experiences at court, Barani in 1357 wrote the Tarikh-e Firuz Shahi (�History of Firuz Shah�), a didactic work setting down the duties of the Indian sultan toward Islam. In his Fatawa-ye jahandari (�Rulings

Adams, John Coolidge

2004-12-27T13:42:00.000-08:00

Adams was

Pacific Ocean, Islands

2004-12-26T00:38:00.000-08:00

A geologically important boundary

Ikere-ekiti

2004-12-25T15:59:00.000-08:00

Also called �Ikere�, or �Ikerre� town, Ondo State, southwestern Nigeria, on the road from Akure to Ado-Ekiti. A major collecting point for cocoa, it also serves as an agricultural trade centre (yams, cassava [yuca], rice, corn [maize], palm oil and kernels, okra, pumpkins) for the Ekiti branch of the Yoruba people. Ikere-Ekiti has government and Christian teacher-training colleges; there is also a hospital. The

Bothe, Walther

2004-12-24T10:29:00.000-08:00

Bothe taught at the universities of Berlin (1920 - 31), Giessen (1931 - 34), and Heidelberg (1934 - 57). In 1925 he and Hans Geiger used two Geiger counters to gather data on the Compton

Husayn Shah 'ala' Ad-din

2004-12-23T22:23:00.000-08:00

The details of 'Ala' ad-Din's early life are obscured by myth and legend. His father is said to have been a direct descendant of the prophet Muhammad and an Arab who emigrated to Bengal. After completing his studies,

Horned Owl

2004-12-22T05:23:00.000-08:00

Any owl of the genus Bubo (family Strigidae), with hornlike tufts of feathers. The name refers especially to the great horned owl (B. virginianus) of America. The great horned owl ranges from Arctic tree limits southward to the Strait of Magellan. It is a powerful, mottled-brown predator that is often more than 60 cm (about 2 feet) in length, with a wingspread often approaching

Steichen, Edward

2004-12-21T19:55:00.000-08:00

Pioneer of American photography who, with Alfred Stieglitz, was a leader of the Photo-Secession Group. His style evolved from painterly impressionism to a sharp realism after World War I. His portraits of artists and celebrities from the 1920s and '30s are remarkable evocations of character. In 1955 he organized the �Family of Man� exhibition

Gaugamela, Battle Of

2004-12-20T05:01:00.000-08:00

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

Parallelism

2004-12-19T13:33:00.000-08:00

In rhetoric, component of literary style in both prose and poetry, in which coordinate ideas are arranged in phrases, sentences, and paragraphs that balance one element with another of equal importance and similar wording. The repetition of sounds, meanings, and structures serves to order, emphasize, and point out relations. In its simplest form parallelism consists

Biblical Literature, The American Standard Version

2004-12-18T14:27:00.000-08:00

According to the original agreement, the preferred readings and renderings of the American revisers, which their British counterparts had declined to accept, were published in an appendix to the Revised Version. In 1900 the American edition of the New Testament, which incorporated the American scholars' preferences into the body of the text, was produced. A year later

Lira

2004-12-17T10:29:00.000-08:00

Plural �lire � the former monetary unit of Italy. The lira was introduced in Europe by Charlemagne, who based it on the pound (libra) of silver. No lira coins were struck during the Middle Ages, and the lira remained strictly a money of account. By the 16th century several of the Italian states actually struck lira coins, but they varied considerably in weight. One of the states that used

Chaban-delmas, Jacques

2004-12-16T09:19:00.000-08:00

Delmas was educated in political science and law and worked as a journalist before joining the army in 1938. As one of the early members of the R�sistance (joined December 1940), he used Chaban as his code name, which he later legally added to his own. He was extremely active in

Nuclear Family

2004-12-15T03:22:00.000-08:00

Also called �elementary family� in sociology and anthropology, a group of persons united by ties of marriage and parenthood or adoption and consisting of a man, a woman, and their socially recognized children. This unit was once widely held to be the most basic and universal form of social organization. Anthropological research, however, has illuminated so much variability of this form that it is

Girl Groups

2004-12-13T23:34:00.000-08:00

Primarily American female vocal groups popular from the early to the mid-1960s, the period between the heyday of early rock and roll and the British Invasion. The girl group era produced a clearly identifiable hybrid of gospel, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, and quirky pop. The high-pitched, husky, teen-girl sound of acts such as the Ronettes and the Supremes epitomized the ebullient

Tarakanova, Yelizaveta Alekseyevna

2004-12-12T04:25:00.000-08:00

She claimed to have been reared in St. Petersburg, but she was probably not Russian, and her origins and real name are unknown. She appeared in various cities of western Europe

Aklavik

2004-12-10T09:09:00.000-08:00

Hamlet, Inuvik region, northwestern Northwest Territories, Canada. It is situated in the Mackenzie River delta near the Yukon border. Its Eskimo name can be translated �where there are bears.� Established as a Hudson's Bay Company trading post on the south bank of the Mackenzie River's West Channel in 1912, Aklavik was moved to the north bank in 1920. It is the site of a radio and meteorological