WhiteRoof

Sunbird

2005-04-05T22:32:00.000-07:00

Any of about 95 species of the songbird family Nectariniidae (order Passeriformes) that have brilliant plumage in breeding males. They are 9 to 15 cm (3 1/2 to 6 inches) long and live chiefly on nectar. Unlike hummingbirds, sunbirds rarely hover while feeding but instead perch on the flower stalk (see photo). Sunbirds are most numerous

Earth Sciences, Weather forecasting

2005-04-05T18:32:00.000-07:00

Efforts at incorporating numerical data on weather into mathematical formulas that could then be used for forecasting were initiated early in the century at the Norwegian Geophysical Institute. Vilhelm Bjerknes and his associates at Bergen succeeded in devising equations relating the measurable components of weather, but their complexity precluded the

Abenaki

2005-04-04T15:59:00.000-07:00

Also spelled Abnaki or Wabanaki a confederacy of Algonkian-speaking Indian tribes in northeastern North America, which was organized to furnish resistance and protection against the Iroquois Confederacy, especially the Mohawk, of what is now northern New York state. In its earliest known organization it consisted of tribes east and northeast of present New York: Malecite in present New Brunswick;

Bothnia, Gulf Of

2005-04-03T13:17:00.000-07:00

Swedish Bottniska Viken, Finnish Pohjan Lahti, northern arm of the Baltic Sea, between Sweden (west) and Finland (east). Covering an area of about 45,200 square miles (117,000 square km), the gulf extends for 450 miles (725 km) from north to south but only 50 to 150 miles (80 to 240 km) from east to west; it is nearly closed off by the Åland (Ahvenanmaa) Islands (south). Its maximum depth is 965 feet (295 m) in the west-central portion; its average depth is only about 200 feet (60 m). Because

Tzaddiq

2005-04-02T15:51:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Tsaddik, or Zaddik (Hebrew: “righteous man”), plural Tzaddiqim, Tsaddikim, or Zaddikim, one who embodies the religious ideals of Judaism. In the Bible, a tzaddiq is a just or righteous man (Genesis 6:9), who, if a ruler, rules justly or righteously (II Samuel 23:3) and who takes joy in justice (Proverbs 21:15). The Talmud (compendium of Jewish law, lore, and commentary) asserts that the continued existence of the world is due to the merits of 36 individuals, each of whom is gamur

Pigment

2005-04-02T04:37:00.000-08:00

Pigments are insoluble and are applied not as solutions but as finely ground solid particles mixed with a liquid. In general, the same pigments are employed in oil- and water-based paints, printing inks, and plastics. Pigments may be organic (i.e., contain carbon) or inorganic.

Arabia

2005-04-01T18:31:00.000-08:00

Roman province created out of the former kingdom of the Nabataeans and the adjacent Syrian cities of Gerasa and Philadelphia (modern Jarash and 'Amman, Jordan, respectively), after the formal annexation of the Nabataean kingdom by the Roman emperor Trajan in AD 105. The province was bounded by the western coast of the Sinai Peninsula, the present Syrian-Lebanese border to

Annelid, Tissues and fluids

2005-04-01T02:08:00.000-08:00

The body cavity of annelids is lined by epithelium. Successive body segments are separated by walls that correspond to the external rings. In grooves between the segments of some oligochaetes are dorsal pores through which coelomic fluid may be discharged. As the leech develops, its coelom becomes nearly filled with connective tissue. Internal features of the

Mckinley, Ida

2005-03-31T03:45:00.000-08:00

After William was shot in Buffalo, New York, in 1901, he whispered to an aide as he fell, “My wife, be careful how you tell her—Oh be careful.” Although deeply grieved by her husband's death, she apparently suffered no more seizures for the rest of her life, though some believe a seizure caused her death in 1907. She was entombed in the McKinley Memorial Mausoleum in Canton.

Paul Iii

2005-03-30T02:41:00.000-08:00

The Farnese cardinal's diplomatic skills made him an invaluable aid to the five pontiffs in whose election he participated—Pius III, Julius II, Leo X, Adrian VI, and Clement VII—before he himself emerged as the Roman pontiff on Oct. 13, 1534. At the age of 67, Pope Paul, though apparently frail, was a man of great charm and determination. He was described in diplomatic reports as shrewd

Culiacán

2005-03-29T21:39:00.000-08:00

City, capital of Sinaloa estado (“state”), western Mexico. It is on a small coastal plain (276 feet [84 m] above sea level) at the foot of the lofty Sierra Madre Occidental, on the Culiacán River. Founded in 1531, Culiacán played an important role in early colonial days as a base for Spanish expeditions. An elaborate irrigation system in the valley provides for a great variety of crops, including

Russell, Charles Taze

2005-03-29T06:02:00.000-08:00

By the time he was 20, Russell had left both Presbyterianism and Congregationalism because he could not reconcile the idea of an eternal hell with God's mercy. He had drifted into skepticism when a chance encounter with some Adventists

Glaucoma

2005-03-28T22:06:00.000-08:00

Disease caused by an increase in pressure within the eye as a result of blockage of the flow of aqueous humour, a watery fluid produced by the ciliary body. (The ciliary body is a ring of tissue directly behind the outer rim of the iris; besides being the source of aqueous humour, it contains the muscle that flattens the curvature of the lens for far vision.) The normal flow

Fibrous Dysplasia

2005-03-27T10:29:00.000-08:00

Also called Mccune-Albright syndrome rare congenital developmental disorder beginning in childhood, characterized by cyst formation and replacement of solid, calcified bone with fibrous tissue, often only on one side of the body, in the long bones and pelvis. Other signs include unilateral (one-sided) enlargement of the bones of the face and base of the skull, café au lait (pale brown) spots on the skin, and

Pig

2005-03-25T16:14:00.000-08:00

Wild or domestic swine, a mammal of the Suidae family. In Britain, the term pig refers to all domestic swine; in the United States, to younger swine not yet ready for market and weighing usually less than 82 kg (180 pounds), others being called hogs. Pigs are stout-bodied, short-legged, omnivorous mammals, with thick skins usually sparsely coated with short bristles. Their hooves

Literature, Swedish.

2005-03-25T08:25:00.000-08:00

A feeling of lost control and an urge to use language to beseech a present and a past that had gone out of hand served as a rough summary of preferred themes in Swedish literature in 2001. Per Olov Enquist's Lewis resa portrayed revivalist Lewi Pethrus, the founding father of the Swedish branch of the Pentecostal

Keel

2005-03-24T10:19:00.000-08:00

In shipbuilding, the main structural member and backbone of a ship or boat, running longitudinally along the centre of the bottom of the hull from stem to stern. It may be made of timber, metal, or other strong, stiff material. Traditionally it constituted the principal member to which the ribs were attached on each side and to which the stem and sternpost were also attached.

Abbess

2005-03-23T04:03:00.000-08:00

To be elected, an abbess must be at least 40 years old and a professed nun for at least 10 years. She is solemnly blessed

Nature Worship, Water as fructifying

2005-03-22T18:02:00.000-08:00

Wherever early archaic culture spread the myth of heaven and earth as the world parents, there also was a belief that heaven fructifies the earth with heaven's seed. The springs, pools, and rivers on the earth, therefore, may bring not only healing and expiation but also fertility. The Scamander (now Turkey's Küçükmenderes) River in ancient Greece evidently was so personified;

Solanales

2005-03-22T00:09:00.000-08:00

Order of dicotyledonous flowering plants, a division of the subclass Asteridae. The order includes the Solanaceae and usually other families from the large 19th-century order Tubiflorae (see below Evolution). Botanists have differed as to which families should be included, but, however the order is construed, it includes some of the plants most important to human

Yahweh

2005-03-19T22:23:00.000-08:00

The God of the Israelites, his name being revealed to Moses as four Hebrew consonants (YHWH) called the tetragrammaton. After the Exile (6th century BC), and especially from the 3rd century BC on, Jews ceased to use the name Yahweh for two reasons. As Judaism became a universal religion through its proselytizing in the Greco-Roman world, the more common noun Elohim, meaning “god,

Strasser, Gregor; And Strasser, Otto

2005-03-19T06:07:00.000-08:00

The brothers were born into a Bavarian middle-class family.

Australian Aboriginal Languages

2005-03-19T00:19:00.000-08:00

Group of approximately 260 interrelated languages whose speakers once occupied the entire Australian continent as well as the western islands of Torres Strait, but apparently not Tasmania. Virtually all are believed to have originated from a single proto-Australian language. These languages are not known to be related to any outside language. The great majority

Priesthood, Hinduism

2005-03-18T01:49:00.000-08:00

In Vedic India, the early period of Hinduism, when the priestly caste (Brahman, or Brahmana) was vested in a particular tribe or special class, it occupied the primary place of importance in the segmentation of Hindu society. The king was subordinate in some respects to the Brahmans, though at one time both sometimes were chosen from the Ksatriya, or warrior caste. Nevertheless,

Spanish Language

2005-03-18T00:00:00.000-08:00

Spanish is also known (particularly in Latin America) as Castilian, after the dialect from which modern standard Spanish developed.

Malatesta Family

2005-03-16T14:27:00.000-08:00

Italian family that ruled Rimini, south of Ravenna, in the European Middle Ages and led the region's Guelf (papal) party. Originating as feudal lords of the Apennine hinterland, the family became powerful in Rimini in the 13th century, when Malatesta da Verucchio (d. 1312) expelled Ghibelline (imperial party) leaders in 1295 and became lord of the city. Possibly the best-known episode

Ashmolean Museum Of Art And Archaeology

2005-03-16T07:23:00.000-08:00

One of the four museums of the University of Oxford and the oldest public museum of art, archaeology, and natural history in Great Britain. It was established to house collections donated to the university in 1677 by Elias Ashmole (1617–92), an antiquarian who had inherited the bulk of the collections from a friend, John Tradescant (1608–62). The museum was opened to the public in 1683 in a building

Salamanca

2005-03-15T22:04:00.000-08:00

As an important Iberian settlement, it was ravaged by the Carthaginian general Hannibal in 217 BC. A Roman

Kilis

2005-03-14T07:20:00.000-08:00

Town, extreme southern Turkey. It lies near the Syrian border north of Aleppo, Syria, and is often identified with the ancient town of Kilisi mentioned in Assyrian records. It was occupied by France after World War I but was returned to Turkey in 1921. The country around Kilis is fertile, producing olives, grapes, and pistachio nuts. The town's major industries are silk and cotton

Grande Encyclopédie, La

2005-03-14T02:43:00.000-08:00

(French: “The Great Encyclopaedia”), French general encyclopaedia, lavishly illustrated in 21 volumes and published in Paris (1971–78). The work has a French slant and an emphasis on 20th-century achievements in the fields of science and technology, political and social economy, and the social sciences. A completely new encyclopaedia, it is intended both to supplement and to replace

Waka

2005-03-13T03:32:00.000-08:00

The choka, “long poem,” is of indefinite length, formed of alternating lines of five and

Muqanna', Al-

2005-03-11T06:16:00.000-08:00

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

Kagawa Toyohiko

2005-03-10T23:03:00.000-08:00

As a youth Kagawa enrolled in a Bible class to learn English and was soon converted to Christianity. He continued his Christian studies in Japan and the United States. When he returned to Japan he became

Dagobert I

2005-03-10T14:18:00.000-08:00

The son of Chlotar II, Dagobert became king of Austrasia in 623 and of the entire Frankish realm in 629. Dagobert secured his realm by making a friendship treaty with the Byzantine emperor Heraclius, defeating the Gascons and Bretons, and campaigning against

Kuhn, Adalbert

2005-03-10T06:22:00.000-08:00

Kuhn first devoted himself to the study of German stories and legends, but he established

Schemochrome

2005-03-08T22:50:00.000-08:00

Any one of many colourless, submicroscopic structures in organisms that serve as a source of colour by the manner in which they reflect light. Among those physical structures in organisms that fractionate light into its component colours are ridges, striations, facets, successive layers, and multiple fine, randomly dispersed light-scattering bodies.

Jacobsen, Jens Peter

2005-03-08T01:33:00.000-08:00

The son of a Jutland merchant, Jacobsen was a student of the natural sciences. He became a follower of Charles Darwin and translated into Danish both On the Origin of Species, in 1871–73, and The Descent

Sa'adia Ben Joseph

2005-03-07T15:34:00.000-08:00

Sa'adia's opus magnum was on exegesis. He prepared

Graf, Urs

2005-03-07T02:42:00.000-08:00

The son of a goldsmith, Hugo Graf, he probably studied first under his father and later at Basel, following the style of Albrecht Dürer and of Dürer's assistant, the German painter and draftsman Hans Baldung-Grien. Settling in Basel in 1509, Graf executed his masterpiece

Cataract

2005-03-06T16:38:00.000-08:00

A waterfall (q.v.), especially one containing great volumes of water rushing over a precipice.

Rhapsodist

2005-03-05T23:46:00.000-08:00

Greek Rhapsoidos, plural Rhapsoidoi, any of the dramatic reciters of ancient Greece, dating from the 6th century BC. In the oral epic tradition, rhapsodists were preceded by Homeric singers (aoidoi) of their own epic songs and, like them, were musically accompanied on the lyre and aulos. To heighten dramatic effect, rhapsodists used a staff for symbolic gesturing. Their intonation of poetry probably involved

Ear, Human, Audiometry

2005-03-05T00:02:00.000-08:00

The audiometer consists of an oscillator or signal

Antacid

2005-03-03T23:35:00.000-08:00

Numerous nonprescription liquid antacids reduce the gastric acidity of indigestion

Byssinosis

2005-03-03T10:07:00.000-08:00

Also called Brown Lung, or Brown Lung Disease, respiratory disorder, a type of pneumoconiosis caused by dust from cotton and other fibres, common among textile workers. When inhaled, the dust stimulates histamine release, which causes constriction of the air passages, making breathing difficult. Over time the dust accumulates in the lung, producing a typical discoloration that gives the disease its common

Aerospace Industry, The space age

2005-03-03T04:23:00.000-08:00

Both the Soviet and the American space industries had much the same origins and impetus. The development of intermediate-range and intercontinental missiles provided not only the critical electronic technologies but also the rockets necessary to boost small payloads into orbit. Thus, the launch of Sputnik in 1957 signaled not only Soviet technical leadership

Harding, Chester

2005-03-02T20:35:00.000-08:00

Early in his life, Harding worked as a chair maker, peddler, innkeeper, and house painter. He eventually began to paint signs in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and became a self-taught, itinerant portrait

Regino Von Prüm,

2005-03-02T07:53:00.000-08:00

Born to a noble family, Regino joined the Benedictine monastic order at the flourishing Abbey of Prüm and studied theology and canon law. He was elected

Gamut

2005-03-01T13:53:00.000-08:00

In music, the full range of pitches in a musical system; also, the compass of a particular instrument or voice. The word originated with the medieval monk Guido of Arezzo (d. 1050) to identify his system of solmization, i.e., of using syllables to denote musical tones in a scale. Thus, to render in syllables the six tones of the hexatonic scale that prevailed, Guido started with the

Cp Violation

2005-02-28T11:39:00.000-08:00

In particle physics, violation of the combined conservation laws associated with charge conjugation (C) and parity (P) by the weak nuclear force, which is responsible for reactions such as the decay of atomic nuclei. Charge conjugation is a mathematical operation that transforms a particle into an antiparticle, for example, changing the sign of the charge. Charge

Indian Tobacco

2005-02-28T00:29:00.000-08:00

The Indian tobacco's leafy flower spike, about 1 m (3 feet) tall, begins blooming at the bottom

House Sparrow

2005-02-26T21:53:00.000-08:00

Also called English Sparrow (Passer domesticus), one of the world's best-known and most abundant small birds, sometimes classified in the family Ploceidae (q.v.; order Passeriformes) or separated as Passeridae. It lives in towns and on farms, worldwide, having accompanied Europeans from its original home—most of Eurasia and northern Africa. It was introduced into North America

Arrau

2005-02-26T15:05:00.000-08:00

This species, known in Brazil as tartaruga da Amazonia, can attain a shell

Abbotsford

2005-02-26T06:16:00.000-08:00

Former home of the 19th-century novelist Sir Walter Scott, situated on the right bank of the River Tweed, Scottish Borders council area, historic county of Roxburghshire, Scotland. Scott purchased the original farm, then known as Carley Hole, in 1811 and transformed it (1817–25) into a Gothic-style baronial mansion now known as Abbotsford House. Still the home of Scott's direct descendants,

Arts, Central Asian, Tibet

2005-02-24T20:07:00.000-08:00

Tibetan art comprises ancient pre-Buddhist decorative and domestic crafts and the all-pervading religious art that was gradually introduced from the 8th century onward from surrounding Buddhist countries and developed subsequently as recognizably distinct Tibetan imagery, sculpture, and decorative architectural motifs. In all its forms Tibetan art has

Childhood Disease And Disorder, Respiratory disorders

2005-02-23T11:56:00.000-08:00

Tonsillitis (acute infection of the tonsils) is more properly considered a part of the acute-pharyngitis (throat-inflammation) syndrome. Enlargement

Daghur

2005-02-23T08:01:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Daghor , or Dagur , Manchu Dahur , Russian Daur , Chinese (Wade-Giles) Ta-wo-erh , or (Pinyin) Dawoer , or Daur Mongol people living mainly in the northeastern portion of Inner Mongolia autonomous region and western Heilungkiang province of China and estimated to number about 121,000. Their language, once thought to be Tungusic or a mixture of Mongolian and Tungus, is now known to be an archaic Mongolian dialect preserving features found in 13th-century documents. Their own name

Min River

2005-02-22T05:34:00.000-08:00

Wade–Giles romanization Min Chiang, Pinyin Min Jiang, river in Fukien sheng (province), China. The Min River and its various tributaries rise in the mountains of the Fukien–Kiangsi border area and flow to the sea across the grain of the southwest to northeast mountain ranges that cross the province; this flowage results in a trellislike drainage pattern, with lateral tributaries following the direction of the valleys.

Gagern, Friedrich (ludwig Balduin Karl Moritz), Freiherr Von (baron Of)

2005-02-22T04:22:00.000-08:00

Hans Christoph von Gagern's eldest son, a German soldier and administrator, and military commander of several Dutch provinces, who served as chief of staff during the wars against the Belgian rebels opposing Dutch rule. Returning to Germany, he led the fight against the republican revolutionaries in Baden in

Asam, Cosmas Damian; And Asam, Egid Quirin

2005-02-20T07:55:00.000-08:00

Principal late Baroque exponents of illusionist decoration in religious architecture. The Asam brothers were part of a generation of Germans educated in Rome in the Italian Baroque tradition. Their works, primarily produced in collaboration, are notable

Daguerreotype

2005-02-20T04:42:00.000-08:00

First successful form of photography, named for Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre of France, who invented the technique in collaboration with Joseph-Nicéphore Niepce in the 1830s. Daguerre and Niepce found that if a copper plate coated with silver iodide was exposed to light in a camera, then fumed with mercury vapour and fixed (made permanent) by a solution of common salt,

Indes Orientales, Compagnie Française Des

2005-02-20T03:31:00.000-08:00

(French: “French Company of the East Indies”), one of the companies known as the French East India Company (q.v.).

Mammal, Reproduction

2005-02-19T15:34:00.000-08:00

In reproductively mature female mammals an interaction of hormones from the pituitary gland and the ovaries produces a phenomenon known as the estrous cycle. Estrus, or “heat,” typically coincides with ovulation, and during this time the female is receptive to the male. Estrus is preceded by proestrus, during which ovarian follicles mature under the influence of

Radcliffe, Ann

2005-02-18T23:06:00.000-08:00

Radcliffe's father was in trade, and the family lived in well-to-do gentility. In 1787, at the age of 23, she married William Radcliffe, a journalist who encouraged her literary pursuits.

Basel Zoological Garden

2005-02-17T20:15:00.000-08:00

German Zoologischer Garten Basel, also called Zolli, privately owned zoological garden in Basel, Switz., noted for its outstanding work in the breeding of the Indian rhinoceros and the pygmy hippopotamus. The zoo was founded in 1874 for the purpose of exhibiting local wildlife. (It opened with about 100 mammals and perhaps 400 birds, mostly European.) Financial difficulties, however, forced zoo administrators to obtain exotic animals

An Lu-shan

2005-02-17T04:48:00.000-08:00

Pinyin An Lushan , original name (Wade-Giles romanization) K'ang , imperial name Hsiung Wu , canonized name Yen La Wang Chinese general of Iranian and Turkish descent who, as leader of a rebellion in AD 755, proclaimed himself emperor and unsuccessfully attempted to found a dynasty to replace the T'ang dynasty. Despite its failure, the rebellion precipitated far-reaching social and economic change.

Kubrick, Stanley

2005-02-16T08:43:00.000-08:00

Having become interested in photography in high school, Kubrick became a staff photographer

Châtelet

2005-02-16T01:55:00.000-08:00

In Paris, the principal seat of common-law jurisdiction under the French monarchy from the Middle Ages to the French Revolution. Located on the right bank of the Seine River, the building was originally a small fort that guarded the northern approach to the Île de la Cité. Frequently rebuilt, it was known as the Grand Châtelet to distinguish it from the Petit Châtelet

Nitromersol

2005-02-14T16:50:00.000-08:00

Synthetic mercury-containing organic compound used as an antiseptic for the skin and mucous membranes and as a disinfectant for sterilizing surgical instruments. It is related to merbromin (Mercurochrome) and thimerosal (Merthiolate). Nitromersol disinfects by the action of the mercury in the molecule, which disrupts the enzymatic metabolism of the microorganism.

Macdonald, (james) Ramsay

2005-02-14T13:03:00.000-08:00

In 1885 he

China, Taoism

2005-02-13T22:50:00.000-08:00

Under the Chin dynasty several popular Taoist sects had flourished in northern China, and Genghis Khan had apparently been impressed by the Taoist patriarch Ch'ang-ch'un. In 1223 Genghis Khan granted to Ch'ang-ch'un and his followers full exemption from taxes and other duties demanded by the government; this was the first of a series of edicts granting special privileges

Icarus

2005-02-12T17:43:00.000-08:00

In Greek mythology, son of the inventor Daedalus who perished by flying too near the Sun with waxen wings. See Daedalus.

Raymond Of Peñafort, Saint

2005-02-12T16:45:00.000-08:00

He studied canon law at Bologna and taught there from 1218 to 1221. Among his works of this period were unpublished annotations

Schelling, Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Von

2005-02-11T10:48:00.000-08:00

German philosopher and educator, a major figure of German idealism, in the post-Kantian development in German philosophy. He was ennobled (with the addition of von) in 1806.

Alcorn State University

2005-02-10T20:18:00.000-08:00

Public, coeducational institution of higher learning near Lorman, Mississippi, U.S. It is a land-grant university consisting of schools of Arts and Sciences, Business, Education and Psychology, Nursing, and Agriculture and Applied Sciences. The university's School of Nursing is located in Natchez. In addition to undergraduate studies, Alcorn State offers several

Babel, Tower Of

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

In biblical literature, structure built in the land of Shinar (Babylonia) some time after the Deluge. The story of its construction, given in Genesis 11:1–9, appears to be an attempt to explain the existence of diverse human languages. According to Genesis, the Babylonians wanted to make a name for themselves by building a mighty city and a tower “with its top in the heavens.” God

Furniture, Bookcases

2005-02-09T19:42:00.000-08:00

Bookcases or bookshelves are a less interesting form of storage furniture from the viewpoint of furniture history. Perhaps the most significant innovation appeared in 18th-century England in the bookcase with adjustable shelves and a closed-off lower section for folio files. The shelves were protected by glass doors consisting of an ingenious trelliswork of

Boucicault, Dion

2005-02-09T11:05:00.000-08:00

Educated in England, Boucicault began acting in 1837 and in 1840 submitted his first play to Mme Vestris at Covent Garden; it was rejected. His second play, London Assurance (1841), which foreshadowed the modern social drama, was a huge success and was frequently

Berosus

2005-02-08T02:17:00.000-08:00

Chaldean priest of Bel in Babylon who wrote a work in three books (in Greek) on the history and culture of Babylonia; it was widely used by later Greek compilers, whose versions in turn were quoted by religious historians such as Eusebius and Josephus. Thus Berosus, though his work survives only in fragmentary

Soil

2005-02-07T01:28:00.000-08:00

The biologically active, porous medium that has developed in the uppermost layer of the Earth's crust. Soil is one of the principal substrata of life on Earth, serving as a reservoir of water and nutrients, as a medium for the filtration and breakdown of injurious wastes, and as a participant in the cycling of carbon and other elements through the global ecosystem. It

Dysprosium

2005-02-06T16:12:00.000-08:00

(Dy), chemical element, rare-earth metal of transition Group IIIb of the periodic table. A relatively hard and very reactive metal, it is oxidized by air and by water. Its high melting point and ability to absorb neutrons make it useful in control rods for nuclear reactors. Its compounds have been used for making laser materials, as components in some electronic equipment,

Malaita

2005-02-06T00:15:00.000-08:00

Also called Mala, volcanic island in the Solomon Islands, southwestern Pacific Ocean. It lies 30 miles (50 km) northeast of Guadalcanal across Indispensable Strait. The island is about 115 miles (185 km) long and 22 miles (35 km) across at its widest point, is mountainous (rising to Mount Ire [Mount Kolourat; 4,718 feet, or 1,438 m] in the centre), and is covered with dense forests. It is separated from Maramasike Island at its

Theme

2005-02-05T09:59:00.000-08:00

The organization of territory into themes began under Emperor Heraclius (reigned 610–641), who stationed troops in three large districts under the

Yukaghir

2005-02-05T05:34:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Yukagir or Jukagir , self-name Odul remnant of an ancient human population of the tundra and taiga zones of Arctic Siberia east of the Lena River in Russia, an area with one of the most severe climates in the inhabited world. Brought close to extinction by privation, encroachment, and diseases introduced by other groups, they numbered some 1,100 in the late 20th century. Although they still generally inhabit

Maccoll, Ewan

2005-02-03T21:09:00.000-08:00

MacColl's parents were singers and taught him many folk songs. He left school at 14, taking a variety of blue-collar jobs and working as a singer and actor. In 1945 he and Joan Littlewood founded Theatre Workshop; he was the company's artistic director until 1953 and wrote a number of plays for it. MacColl

Baetic Cordillera

2005-02-03T03:42:00.000-08:00

Spanish Sistema Penibético, mountain system comprising the Andalusian mountains of southern Spain, of which the northern range runs about 360 miles (580 km) from Cape Trafalgar to Cape Nao. The central and southern ranges, the Baetic proper, extend a shorter distance from Estepona to Cape Gata. Separating the two systems is a complex series of structures, traceable in longitudinal corridors and high

Estonia, Relief and drainage

2005-02-03T01:48:00.000-08:00

The Estonian landscape is largely the product of glacial activity; the south is covered with moraine hills, and the central part abounds in elongated hills with flat tops. The northern part of Estonia is characterized by long narrow swells consisting of deposits left by glacial rivers that formed during the melting of ice. Extensive sandy areas mark what was once

Gongola River

2005-02-01T15:27:00.000-08:00

Principal tributary of the Benue River, northeastern Nigeria. It rises in several branches (including the Lere and Maijuju rivers) on the eastern slopes of the Jos Plateau and cascades (with several scenic waterfalls) onto the plains of the Gongola Basin, where it follows a northeasterly course. It then flows past Nafada and takes an abrupt turn toward the south. Its

Alaska, Gulf Of

2005-02-01T02:37:00.000-08:00

Broad inlet of the North Pacific on the south coast of Alaska, U.S. Bounded by the Alaska Peninsula and Kodiak Island (west) and Cape Spencer (east), it has a surface area of 592,000 sq mi (1,533,000 sq km). The coast is deeply indented by fjords and other inlets, including Cook Inlet and Prince William Sound (on either side of the Kenai Peninsula). The gulf receives the Susitna and Copper rivers. Large

Low Countries, History Of, Lower and Middle Paleolithic (250,00035,000 BP)

2005-01-31T17:57:00.000-08:00

The earliest well-dated remains of human habitation in the region are flint objects that reflect the Levalloisian stone-flaking technique. Found in the loess-covered Belvedere quarry near Maastricht on the Netherlands-Belgium border, these objects have been dated to about 250,000 years BP, correlating with an early interstadial period during the Saale Glacial Stage.

Xerox Corporation

2005-01-30T15:11:00.000-08:00

The company was founded in 1906 as Haloid Company, changed its name to Haloid Xerox Company in 1958, and to Xerox Corporation in 1961. In 1960 Xerox first marketed the 914 xerographic copier; the process, which made photographic copies onto plain, uncoated paper, had been known

Damsel Bug

2005-01-30T00:08:00.000-08:00

Each foreleg of the damsel bug is slightly thickened and has a double row of

Antarctica

2005-01-29T22:39:00.000-08:00

Lying almost concentrically around the South Pole, Antarctica—the name of which means “opposite to the Arctic”—is the southernmost continent, a circumstance that has had momentous consequences for all aspects of its character. It covers about 5.5 million square miles

La Taille, Jean De

2005-01-29T02:39:00.000-08:00

While studying in Paris La Taille came under the influence, shown in his minor poems, of Pierre de Ronsard and Joachim du Bellay. His chief poems, prosaic but forceful, are

Ichikawa Family

2005-01-28T16:59:00.000-08:00

Kabuki actors flourishing in Edo (modern Tokyo) from the 17th century to the present. The most famous names are Danjuro, Ebizo, Danzo, and Ebijuro, and, according to kabuki convention, these names were assumed by a natural or adopted son of the Ichikawa family when his skill entitled him to inherit the mantle of a famous ancestor. Thus, there have been 12 Danjuros (the highest honorific

Dowden, Edward

2005-01-28T14:23:00.000-08:00

Educated at Queen's College, Cork, and Trinity College, Dublin, Dowden became professor of English literature at Trinity in 1867 and lectured at Oxford (1890–93) and Cambridge (1893–96). His Shakspere: A Critical Study of His Mind and Art (1875) was the first book in English to attempt

Sarapeum

2005-01-27T17:58:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Serapeum, or Sarapieion, either of two temples of ancient Egypt, dedicated to the worship of the Greco-Egyptian god Sarapis (Serapis). The original elaborate temple of that name was located on the west bank of the Nile near Saqqarah and originated as a monument to the deceased Apis bulls, sacred animals of the god Ptah. Though the area was used as a cemetery for the bulls as early as 1400 BC, it was Ramses

Lupercalia

2005-01-26T11:33:00.000-08:00

Ancient Roman festival that was conducted annually on February 15 under the superintendence of a corporation of priests called Luperci. The origins of the festival are obscure, although the likely derivation of its name from lupus (Latin: “wolf”) has variously suggested connection with a primitive deity who protected herds from wolves and with the legendary she-wolf

Calahorra

2005-01-26T08:40:00.000-08:00

Town, in the province and autonomous community (region) of La Rioja, northern Spain, on the south bank of the Río Cidacos near its confluence with the Ebro, southeast of Logroño city. Known as Calagurris to its original Celtiberian inhabitants, the town was famous for its four years' resistance to the Roman general Pompey (76–72 BC). The Romans later called it Calagurris Nassica

Strangler Fig

2005-01-25T05:35:00.000-08:00

Of the 150 or so species of New World figs, most are stranglers, including F. obtusifolia and F. nymphaeifolia. Beginning life as a sticky

William Clito

2005-01-24T22:25:00.000-08:00

Son of Duke Robert II Curthose (and grandson of William the Conqueror and Matilda of Flanders), William Clito was supported by Louis VI of France in claiming the duchy when his father