LoudStamp

Ren Essential Moroccan Rose Oil

2006-12-07T00:30:00.000-08:00

This is one of the most amazing natural bath oils I have used. It is a rich, sensuous and luxurious. Only a small amount of the Moroccan Otto Rose Oil in the bath will fill the room with this incredible smell. This rose oil really penetrates the skin during the bath leaving it soft as silk and with the beatiful scent of the rose oil

Kagamigahara

2005-04-04T17:16:00.000-07:00

City, Gifu ken (prefecture), Honshu, Japan, east of Gifu city. Upon the Meiji Restoration in 1868, an army base was established in the city. It was taken over by the U.S. Army after World War II and is now used by the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force. The city contains aircraft and transport equipment factories and textile mills. It is included in the Chukyo Industrial Region. Pop. (1989 est.)

Argonne National Laboratory

2005-04-03T17:52:00.000-07:00

Laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy in Argonne, Ill., that is operated by the University of Chicago and the Argonne Universities Association. It was founded in 1946 to conduct basic atomic research and to develop the peaceful uses of nuclear energy. Argonne National Laboratory now carries out research on a broad range of science and engineering topics, including

Curtea De Arges

2005-04-03T16:18:00.000-07:00

Town, Arges judet (county), south central Romania. It is on the Arges River, at an elevation of 1,480 ft (450 m), on the southern slopes of the Transylvanian Alps (Southern Carpathians), about 80 mi (130 km) northwest of Bucharest. Curtea de Arges succeeded Câmpulung as capital of feudal Walachia. Outstanding architectural monuments include the St. Nicholas church, one of the oldest churches in

Allen, Richard

2005-04-01T15:22:00.000-08:00

Soon after Allen was born, to slave parents, the family was sold to a Delaware farmer. At age 17 he became a Methodist convert and at 22 was permitted to preach. Two years later (1784), at the first general conference of the

Tibet

2005-04-01T10:06:00.000-08:00

According to legend the Tibetan people originated from the union of a monkey and a female demon. The Chinese T'ang annals (10th century) place the Tibetans' origin among the nomadic, pastoral Ch'iang tribes recorded about 200 BC as inhabiting the great steppe northwest of China. That region, where diverse racial elements met and mingled for centuries, may be accepted as the original

Howard, Oliver O.

2005-04-01T08:11:00.000-08:00

A graduate of the U.S. Military Academy, West Point, N.Y. (1854), Howard resigned his regular army commission at the beginning of the war to become colonel of a Maine volunteer regiment. He was

Chamberlain, Owen

2005-03-31T23:19:00.000-08:00

Chamberlain worked on the U.S. atom bomb project from

Torah

2005-03-31T08:04:00.000-08:00

In Judaism, in the broadest sense the substance of divine revelation to Israel, the Jewish people: God's revealed teaching or guidance for mankind. The meaning of “Torah” is often restricted to signify the first five books of the Old Testament, also called the Law or the Pentateuch. These are the books traditionally ascribed to Moses, the recipient of the original revelation

Aspar, Flavius Ardaburius

2005-03-30T09:34:00.000-08:00

Aspar led an East Roman fleet in 431 to expel the Vandals from Africa, but he was defeated and was forced to withdraw in 434, in which year he served as consul. Although Aspar fought the Persians successfully in 441, the Huns under Attila triumphed over him outside

Ashley, William Henry

2005-03-29T13:56:00.000-08:00

Having arrived in Missouri sometime after 1802, Ashley prospered in mining, gunpowder manufacture, surveying, and land speculation.

Augustus, Caesar

2005-03-28T15:54:00.000-08:00

The inscriptions of the Augustan Age are used to explicate the history of the period in P.A. Brunt and J.M. Moore (eds.), Res Gestae Divi Augusti: The Achievements of the Divine Augustus (1967, reprinted 1988); and Victor Ehrenberg and A.H.M. Jones (compilers), Documents Illustrating the Reigns of Augustus & Tiberius, 2nd ed. (1955, reprinted with addenda, 1976). Books that examine numismatic evidence from the reign of Augustus include C.H.V. Sutherland, Coinage in Roman Imperial Policy, 31 BC–AD 68 (1951, reprinted 1978), and Roman History and Coinage, 44 BC–AD 69 (1987); and Michael Grant, From Imperium to Auctoritas: A Historical Study of Aes Coinage in the Roman Empire, 49 BC–AD 14 (1946, reprinted with corrections, 1969). The art, architecture, and decoration of this period are treated by J.M.C. Toynbee, The Art of the Romans (1965); Axel Boëthius, Etruscan and Early Roman Architecture, 2nd integrated ed., rev. by Roger Ling and Tom Rasmussen (1978); and Paul Zanker, The Power of Images in the Age of Augustus, trans. from (1988).

Benue-congo Languages

2005-03-28T11:41:00.000-08:00

The 60 Cross River languages are situated around the Cross River in southeastern Nigeria and westward toward the Niger Delta. The largest of these languages is Ibibio, which together with its written cousin, Efik, has some 3,500,000 speakers. Other languages with more than 100,000 speakers are Anang, Khana, Ogbia, Loko, Mbembe, Obolo, and Gokana.

Pacific Mountain System

2005-03-27T14:55:00.000-08:00

Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, a Portuguese explorer in the service of Spain, probably was the first European to explore the coast of California. He is thought to have sailed north in 1542, and his pilot, Bartolomé Ferrelo, may have reached as far as the present southern border of Oregon. Sir Francis Drake sailed the coast in 1579 and may have landed in Oregon. Juan Pérez landed on the

Hohenstaufen Dynasty

2005-03-26T23:39:00.000-08:00

Also called Staufer Dynasty, German dynasty that ruled the Holy Roman Empire from 1138 to 1208 and from 1212 to 1254. The founder of the line was the count Frederick (died 1105), who built Staufen Castle in the Swabian Jura Mountains and was rewarded for his fidelity to Emperor Henry IV by being appointed duke of Swabia as Frederick I in 1079. He later married Henry's daughter Agnes. His two sons, Frederick II, duke of Swabia, and Conrad,

Gum

2005-03-26T03:26:00.000-08:00

Also called Gingiva, plural Gingivae, in anatomy, mucous membrane attached to and surrounding the necks of the teeth and adjacent alveolar bone. Before the erupting teeth enter the mouth cavity, gum pads develop; these are slight elevations of the overlying oral mucous membrane. When tooth eruption is complete, the gum embraces the neck region of each tooth. As well as being attached to adjacent alveolar

Taifa

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

, Arabic ta'ifah , plural tawa'if a faction or party, as applied to the followers of any of the petty kings who appeared in Muslim Spain in a period of great political fragmentation early in the 11th century after the dissolution of the central authority of the Umayyad caliphate of Córdoba. After the dictatorship of al-Muzaffar (reigned 1002–08), civil war reduced the caliphate to a puppet institution and allowed

Semitic Languages

2005-03-24T13:42:00.000-08:00

Group of languages spoken in northern Africa and the Middle East that constitutes one of the branches of the Afro-Asiatic (formerly Hamito-Semitic) language family. (The other branches are Egyptian, Berber, Cushitic, and Chadic.) The Semitic languages are divided into four groups: (1) Northern Peripheral, or Northeastern, with only one language, ancient Akkadian; (2) Northern

Neo-hegelianism

2005-03-24T01:48:00.000-08:00

The doctrines of an idealist school of philosophers that was prominent in Great Britain and in the United States between 1870 and 1920. The name is also sometimes applied to cover other philosophies of the period that were Hegelian in inspiration—for instance, those of Benedetto Croce and of Giovanni Gentile. Neo-Hegelianism in Great Britain developed originally as a natural

Torgau

2005-03-23T02:03:00.000-08:00

City, Saxony Land (state), eastern Germany. It is a port on the Elbe River, northeast of Leipzig. First mentioned in 973 and chartered in 1255–67, it was, after 1456, a frequent residence of the electors of Saxony, who built the Hartenfels Castle (1533–44 and 1616–23; now a museum). In 1526 the Torgauer Bund, a league of evangelical princes against the Roman Catholic princes, was formed there. During that period Martin

Fukien, Education

2005-03-23T00:03:00.000-08:00

One of the most notable institutions of higher learning in Fukien is Amoy University. Fu-chou, famous since the Sung dynasty as a cultural centre, is the site of Fu-chou University, Fukien Medical College, Fukien Agricultural Institute, Fukien Normal College, and the Fukien Institute of Epidemiology of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. Illiteracy has generally

Denikin, Anton Ivanovich

2005-03-22T19:44:00.000-08:00

A professional in the Imperial Russian Army, Denikin served in the Russo-Japanese War (1904–05) and in World War I (1914–16). After the February Revolution of 1917, which overthrew the Romanov dynasty, he became chief of staff

Genetic Disease, Human

2005-03-21T05:09:00.000-08:00

Most imbalances involving autosomes

Kubaba

2005-03-21T00:13:00.000-08:00

Goddess of the ancient Syrian city of Carchemish. In religious texts of the Hittite empire (c. 1400–c. 1190 BC), she played a minor part and appeared mainly in a context of Hurrian deities and rituals. After the downfall of the empire her cult spread westward and northward, and she became the chief goddess of the successor kingdoms (the neo-Hittite states) from Cilicia to the Halys

Aerospace Industry, Fabrication processes and materials

2005-03-20T09:38:00.000-08:00

Fabrication involves the manufacture of individual components that make up larger assemblies or end products. This activity encompasses the working of metals and the incorporation of electrical and electronic devices into processors, circuit boards, and subassemblies for the components of navigation, communication, and control systems. Most of the basic

Kerch

2005-03-19T19:37:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Kerc , ancient (Greek) Panticapaion , or (Latin) Panticapaeum city and seaport, Crimea republic, southern Ukraine, on the western shore of the Strait of Kerch at the head of a small bay. Founded in the 6th century BC by Miletan Greeks, it flourished as a trading centre, and in the 5th century it became the capital of the kingdom of the Cimmerian Bosporus. Abundant archaeological evidence of its wealth occurs in catacombs and burial mounds,

Køge

2005-03-18T14:45:00.000-08:00

City, Roskilde amtskommune (county commune), eastern Sjælland (Zealand), Denmark. The city lies on Køge Bay of The Sound (Øresund). First mentioned in the 11th century and chartered in 1288, it became a market centre and base for herring fisheries in the late 13th century. In 1677 Admiral Niels Juel won a great naval victory over the Swedes in the bay. Medieval remains include St. Nicholas

Anti-fascist Council For The National Liberation Of Yugoslavia

2005-03-18T07:15:00.000-08:00

AVNOJ was first convened at the Bosnian town of Bihac (Nov. 26–27, 1942). The participation of noncommunists allowed a National Liberation Movement

Lauzun, Antonin-nompar De Caumont, Count And Duke (comte Et Duc) De

2005-03-18T02:43:00.000-08:00

The son of Gabriel de Caumont, comte de Lauzun, he was at first known as the marquis de Puyguilhem. In 1658 he was appointed colonel of Louis XIV's foreign dragoons.

Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden

2005-03-17T22:24:00.000-08:00

English Dresden State Art Collections art museum in Dresden, Ger., that includes collections of painting, sculpture, graphic and applied arts, and coins. It is best known for its picture gallery, the core of which is the collection of paintings that originally belonged to the Kunstkammer, founded by Prince August in 1560. Its most popular works, however, were later acquisitions dating from the 18th century. There

Switzerland, History

2005-03-16T08:09:00.000-08:00

Historical overviews are provided by Handbuch der schweizer Geschichte, 2 vol. (1972–77); Peter Dürrenmatt, Schweizer Geschichte (1957, reissued in 2 vol., 1976); Edgar Bonjour, H.S. Offler, and G.R. Potter, A Short History of Switzerland (1952, reprinted 1985); Georg Thürer, Free and Swiss: The Story of Switzerland (1970; originally published in German, 3rd ed., 1964); Marc-R. Sauter, Switzerland, from Earliest Times to the Roman Conquest (1976); and William Martin, Switzerland: From Roman Times to the Present (1971; originally published in French, 6th ed., 1966). Hektor Ammann and Karl Schib (eds.), Historischen Atlas der Schweiz, 2nd ed. (1958), is an excellent atlas of Swiss history.

Gobi, Plant life

2005-03-16T07:02:00.000-08:00

Vegetation, as mentioned above, is sparse and rare. On the plateau and on the plains beneath the mountains, small bushlike vegetation occurs: echinochloa (a type of succulent grass found in warm regions), yellowwood bean caper, winter fat (a shrub covered with densely matted hairs), Dzungarian reaumur, nitre bush, and bushlike halophytic vegetation. In the salt marshes,

Schuyler, James

2005-03-16T04:57:00.000-08:00

Schuyler was educated at Bethany (West Virginia)

Orbison, Roy

2005-03-15T22:01:00.000-08:00

Raised in West Texas, Orbison formed his first musical group at age 13. He dropped out of college to pursue music, and as a member of the Teen-Kings

Pei-p'iao

2005-03-15T19:07:00.000-08:00

Pinyin Beipiao, mining town, western Liaoning Province, China. Located northwest of the Ta-ling Stream and east of the Ta-ch'ing Mountains, it is the site of a coal combine. The vertical shafts, which extend nearly 3,280 feet (1,000 m), are among the deepest mines in China. They produce coking coal from a southwestern extension of the Fu-hsin basin. Pop. (mid-1970s est.) 100,000–300,000.

Vening Meinesz, Felix Andries

2005-03-14T21:45:00.000-08:00

Participating in a gravimetric survey of The Netherlands soon after he graduated from Delft Technical University as a civil engineer in 1910, Vening Meinesz devised an apparatus based on pendulums swinging together in opposite phase for use on the

Caribbean Literature

2005-03-14T03:01:00.000-08:00

Literary works of the Caribbean area written in Spanish, French, or English. The literature of the Caribbean has no indigenous tradition. The pre-Columbian American Indians left few rock carvings or inscriptions (petroglyphs), and their oral traditions did not survive 16th-century Spanish colonization. The West Africans who replaced them were also without a written

Constantine Ii

2005-03-13T15:58:00.000-08:00

The second son of Constantine the Great (ruled 306–337), he was given the title of caesar by his father on March 1, 317. When Constantine the Great died in 337, Constantine II and his brothers, Constans and Constantius II, each adopted the title augustus and divided the empire among themselves. Constantine II became ruler

Alapayevsk

2005-03-13T00:10:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Alapaevsk, city, Sverdlovsk oblast (province), west-central Russia, on the Neyva River. It is one of the oldest centres of the iron and steel industry in the Urals (an ironworks was established there in 1704). It also has machine-tool, timbering, and metalworking industries. Pop. (1991 est.) 50,300.

Asvaghosa

2005-03-13T00:06:00.000-08:00

Asvaghosa was born a Brahman. Legend obscures the man, but it is known that he was an outspoken opponent of Buddhism until, after a heated debate with a noted Buddhist scholar

Egypt, Political life

2005-03-12T17:05:00.000-08:00

The political history of the Mamluk state is complex; during their 264-year reign, no fewer than 45 Mamluks gained the sultanate, and once, in desperate circumstances, a caliph (in 1412) was briefly installed as sultan. At times individual Mamluks succeeded in establishing dynasties, most notably Sultan Qala'un (ruled 1279–90), whose progeny ruled Egypt, with two short interruptions, until 1382. Often

Temple, Shirley

2005-03-11T17:05:00.000-08:00

At age three Temple was picked from her dancing class to appear in Baby Burlesks, a series of one-reel comedies. In 1934 she gained recognition in her first feature film, the musical Stand Up and

Van Peebles, Melvin

2005-03-11T16:48:00.000-08:00

After graduating from Ohio Wesleyan University (B.A., 1953), Van Peebles traveled extensively

Likud

2005-03-10T17:05:00.000-08:00

In full Likud-Liberalim Leumi , Hebrew Unity-National Liberals right-wing Israeli political party. It was founded in September 1973 to challenge the Israel Labour Party, which had governed the country since its independence in 1948, and first came to power in 1977, with Menachem Begin as prime minister. Thereafter, Likud alternated in government with the Labour Party, forming coalitions with minor parties, especially those with an ultrareligious

Biblical Literature, Anagogical interpretation

2005-03-10T16:43:00.000-08:00

Anagogical (mystical or spiritual) interpretation seeks to explain biblical events or matters of this world so that they relate to the life to come. Jordan is thus interpreted as the river of death; by crossing it one enters into the heavenly Canaan, the better land, the “rest that remains for the people of God.” “The Jerusalem that now is” points to the new Jerusalem that

Juantorena, Alberto

2005-03-09T14:05:00.000-08:00

A member of the Cuban national basketball team, Juantorena switched to track at age 20. Standing 1.88 metres (6 feet 2 inches) tall with a powerful 2.75-metre (9-foot) stride, Juantorena became known as “El

La Farina, Giuseppe

2005-03-09T04:29:00.000-08:00

The son of a Sicilian magistrate and scholar, La Farina received a law degree in 1835 and soon became involved with a secret committee for Italian unity; he was forced into exile after it attempted an insurrection in 1837. Receiving

Lomonosov, Mikhail Vasilyevich

2005-03-08T14:04:00.000-08:00

Russian poet, scientist, and grammarian who is often considered the first great Russian linguistic reformer. He also made substantial contributions to the natural sciences, reorganized the St. Petersburg Imperial Academy of Sciences, established in Moscow the university that today bears

Chelmno

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

As the first camp to conduct mass executions of Jews, Chelmno

Mesopotamia, History Of, Political fragmentation

2005-03-07T20:12:00.000-08:00

It is probable that the definitive separation from Ur III came about through changing components of the population, from “Sumerians and Akkadians” to “Akkadians and Amorites.” An Old Babylonian liver omen states that “he of the steppes will enter, and chase out the one in the city.” This is indeed an abbreviated formula for an event that took place more than once: the usurpation

Vaccine

2005-03-06T22:35:00.000-08:00

A vaccine can confer active immunity against a specific harmful agent by stimulating the immune system to attack the agent. Once stimulated by a vaccine, the antibody-producing cells, called B lymphocytes,

Resheph

2005-03-06T18:40:00.000-08:00

Ancient West Semitic god of the plague and of the underworld, the companion of Anath, and the equivalent of the Babylonian god Nergal. He was also a war god and was thus represented as a bearded man brandishing an ax, holding a shield, and wearing a tall, pointed headdress with a goat's or gazelle's head on his forehead. Resheph was worshiped especially at Ras Shamra, Byblos,

Clovio, Giulio

2005-03-06T10:14:00.000-08:00

Clovio is said to have studied at Rome under Giulio Romano and at Verona under Girolamo de' Libri. His book of 26 pictures representing the procession of Corpus Domini, in Rome, was the work of nine years, and the covers were executed by Benvenuto Cellini. The British Museum has

Arunachal Pradesh, Climate

2005-03-05T14:07:00.000-08:00

The climate of Arunachal Pradesh varies with topography and altitude. The foothill zone is subtropical and has a hot and humid climate; in the lower valleys, maximum summer temperatures reach 95° F (35° C), while winter minimums drop below 57° F (14° C). Annual rainfall in the state averages about 80 inches (2,000 millimetres), falling mostly between April and September; in East and West Siang districts

Aleutian Range

2005-03-04T20:57:00.000-08:00

Segment of the Pacific Coast Ranges of western North America, extending southwestward for about 600 miles (970 km) from the west end of the Alaska Range to the head of Cook Inlet of the Gulf of Alaska, U.S. The Aleutian Islands represent a southwest extension of the mountain peaks, which stretch the length of the Alaska Peninsula and include many volcanoes, notably Katmai (6,716 feet

Peter Claver, Saint

2005-03-04T15:15:00.000-08:00

Peter entered the Society of Jesus in 1602 and eight years later was sent to Cartagena, where he was ordained in 1616. The miserable condition of the slaves aboard ship and in the pens

Anthony Lagoon

2005-03-04T08:45:00.000-08:00

Settlement, east-central Northern Territory, Australia, on the Barkly Tableland. Named for a permanent water hole in the course of Creswell Creek, sighted in 1878 by Ernest Favenc, it became an important watering point on a cattle route from Western Australia to Queensland. Anthony Lagoon has an airfield and is an important station on the “beef road,” which carries linked

Lenya, Lotte

2005-03-03T21:04:00.000-08:00

Lenya studied ballet and drama in Zurich from 1914 to 1920, was a member of the corps de ballet at the Zürich Stadttheater, and played

Wu Mountains

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

Wade–Giles romanization and Pinyin Wu Shan mountain complex on the borders of Hupeh, Szechwan, and Kweichow provinces, China. They are often referred to by Western writers as the Gorge Mountains, owing to the fact that the Yangtze River cuts its way through the area from the Szechwan Basin into the central Yangtze Basin, below I-ch'ang, through a series of deep and impressive gorges. The area is one of great complexity,

Crusade, The institutions of the First Kingdom

2005-03-02T20:26:00.000-08:00

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

Cereal Processing, Testing

2005-03-02T06:16:00.000-08:00

Cooking tests are used to ensure that the final product is satisfactory. Considerable research has been carried out to control factors tending to destroy the desirable yellow colour. Destruction of the colouring matter, a xanthophyll, can occur in mixing owing to excessive lipoxidase. Certain types of durum wheat may possess a high degree of lipoxidase activity,

Kwahu Plateau

2005-03-01T00:51:00.000-08:00

Plateau, southern Ghana. It comprises the uplifted southern edge of the Volta River basin and extends for 160 miles (260 km) northwest-southeast from Wenchi to Koforidua. It forms the main watershed of Ghana, separating rivers in the western half of Ghana that flow due south to the Atlantic Ocean (Birim, Pra, Ankobra) from those of the Volta system (Afram, Pru, Sene) in the eastern

Korean Art

2005-02-28T17:59:00.000-08:00

A number of artifacts, including pottery and bronze and iron objects, indicate the early influence of China on Korean art. There is also evidence that Scythian, Siberian, and other non-Chinese cultures had an effect on the design and decoration

Sankt Wolfgang

2005-02-28T02:24:00.000-08:00

Also called Sankt Wolfgang Im Salzkammergut, town, Oberösterreich Bundesland (federal state), central Austria. It lies on the east shore of Wolfgang (Aber) Lake in the Salzkammergut lake region, west of Bad Ischl. A cog, or rack, railway ascends the Schafberg (5,850 feet [1,783 m]) from the town. The Late Gothic-style Pilgrimage Church (1430–77) has a magnificent carved wooden altar (1481) by the sculptor Michael Pacher. The town's Zum Weissen Rossl

Biblical Literature, Daniel

2005-02-28T00:47:00.000-08:00

The Book of Daniel presents a collection of popular stories about Daniel, a loyal Jew, and the record of visions granted to him, with the Babylonian Exile of the 6th century BCE as their background. The book, however, was written in a later time of national crisis—when the Jews were suffering severe persecution under Antiochus IV Epiphanes (reigned 175–164/163 BCE), the second Seleucid ruler

Quinceañera

2005-02-27T18:47:00.000-08:00

Also called quince años Mexican celebration of a girl's 15th birthday, marking her passage from childhood to adulthood. The traditional quinceañera is both a religious and a social event that emphasizes the importance of the family and society in the life of young people. The celebration begins with a mass attended by the girl and her family and godparents. This is followed by a reception,

Nigeria

2005-02-27T15:04:00.000-08:00

At the beginning of 1998, Nigeria teetered on a precipice. Gen. Sani Abacha, the country's head of state, maintained his iron grip on the

Athanasius I

2005-02-27T11:53:00.000-08:00

A monk who emigrated to a monastery in the hallowed region of Mt. Athos,

Sea Spider

2005-02-26T16:35:00.000-08:00

Most pycnogonids have four pairs of long legs attached to four trunk segments. The body size ranges from 3 millimetres ( 1/8 inch) in

Side-necked Turtle

2005-02-25T17:16:00.000-08:00

Pelomedusid turtles are aquatic reptiles found

Alessandro

2005-02-24T19:07:00.000-08:00

Alessandro was an illegitimate child, whose paternity is ascribed either to Lorenzo de' Medici (1492–1519), Duke di Urbino, or, with more likelihood, to Cardinal Giulio, nephew of Lorenzo the Magnificent. Cardinal Giulio received the lordship of Florence in 1519; but, upon being elected pope in 1523 (Clement VII), he made Silvio, Cardinal

Giant Mountains

2005-02-24T04:09:00.000-08:00

The traditional textile industry—wool, cotton, and

Oak Harbor

2005-02-24T03:09:00.000-08:00

Town, Island county, northwestern Washington, U.S., on Whidbey Island in Puget Sound. It was settled in 1849 by seafaring men, and its first industry was shipbuilding. Dutch immigrants arrived in 1890 and began developing the rich farmland; their presence on the island is celebrated in the town's annual Holland Happenings festival. The chief agricultural products are dairy foods,

Skelton Glacier

2005-02-23T20:22:00.000-08:00

Antarctic glacier situated on the Hillary Coast of Victoria Land, to the northeast of the Cook Mountains, near McMurdo Sound. It flows sluggishly southward into the Ross Ice Shelf. The greatest known thickness of ice along its 39-mi (62-km) length occurs at a point about 30 mi from the tip of its floating terminus. There the ice is about 4,760 ft (1,450 m) thick. The east side of the glacier is covered

Nitro Compound

2005-02-23T14:52:00.000-08:00

Any of a family of chemical compounds in which the nitro group (-O-N=O) forms part of the molecular structure. The most common examples are organic substances in which a carbon atom is linked by a covalent bond to the nitrogen atom of the nitro group. Nitro compounds are polar, and those with no other chemically reactive grouping are colourless or pale yellow liquids that

Brugnon, Jacques

2005-02-22T08:11:00.000-08:00

Brugnon won the French singles championship in 1921, but he was most famous for his supremacy in doubles. He won four Wimbledon doubles championships (1926, 1928, 1932, 1933), twice with

Bahram I

2005-02-22T04:34:00.000-08:00

A son of Shapur I, during his father's reign he governed the province of Atropatene. His succession to his brother Hormizd I strengthened the position of the Zoroastrian clergy and their high priest Karter, and at their insistence Bahram imprisoned Mani, the founder of the antimaterialist, ascetic religion of Manichaeism. Subsequent religious

Thomas, Gwyn

2005-02-21T23:19:00.000-08:00

Thomas was educated at Oxford and the University of Madrid and began writing seriously in the 1930s. His first novel, The Dark Philosophers (1946), built on the conversations of four unemployed Welsh miners, reminded critics

Wilde, Cornel

2005-02-20T19:29:00.000-08:00

Wilde, a member of the 1936 Olympic fencing team, studied to become a physician at Columbia University in New York City, before finding

Westchester

2005-02-20T16:57:00.000-08:00

The original inhabitants of Westchester, Algonquian-speaking Wappinger Indians, were displaced in the 1640s by Dutch colonists along the Hudson and by colonists

Aquarium

2005-02-19T14:12:00.000-08:00

The earliest known aquarists were the Sumerians, who kept fishes in artificial ponds at least 4,500 years ago; records of fish keeping also date from ancient Egypt and Assyria. The Chinese, who raised carp for food as early as 1000 BC, were probably the first to breed fish with any degree of success. Their selective breeding of ornamental goldfish was later introduced to Japan, where

Pacific Mountain System, Animal life

2005-02-19T11:36:00.000-08:00

The anadromous (river-spawning) salmon is the most distinctive creature of the coastal ranges. Five species—pink, chum, coho, sockeye, and chinook—are found in the streams draining the mountains, each with its own distinctive range and environmental conditions. The pink and chum spawn in coastal streams near the ocean, while the sockeye usually spawns in upstream lakes.

Water Buffalo

2005-02-18T20:09:00.000-08:00

(Bubalus bubalis), also called Indian Buffalo, a ruminant mammal of the ox family (Bovidae). The water buffalo was domesticated in Asia from earliest recorded times. Large and massively built, the animal stands 1.5–1.8 m (5–6 feet) or more at the shoulder, reaches a length of 2.4–2.8 m, and weighs about 1,000 kg (2,200 pounds). It has a dull black or dark gray body with little hair and huge horns, which may measure

Caledonian Orogenic Belt

2005-02-18T15:54:00.000-08:00

Range of mountains situated in northwestern Europe, developed as a result of the opening, closure, and destruction of the Iapetus Ocean in the period from the start of the Cambrian (540 million years ago) to the end of the Silurian (about 408 million years ago). The final collision was between a northwestern European and a North American–Greenland continent, and it gave rise

Differential Equation

2005-02-17T20:13:00.000-08:00

Mathematical statement containing one or more derivatives, that is, terms representing the relationships between the rates of change of continuously varying quantities. Differential equations are very common in science and engineering, other fields of quantitative study. The solution of a differential equation is, in general, an algebraic equation expressing

Ear, Human, Transduction of mechanical vibrations

2005-02-16T23:39:00.000-08:00

The hair cells located in the organ of Corti transduce mechanical sound vibrations into nerve impulses. They are stimulated when the basilar membrane, on which the organ of Corti rests, vibrates. The hair cells are held in place by the reticular lamina, a rigid structure supported by the pillar cells, or rods of Corti, which are attached to the basilar fibres. At the base

Nicholas Brothers

2005-02-16T07:45:00.000-08:00

Tap-dancing duo whose suppleness, strength, and fearlessness made them one of the greatest tap dance acts of all time. Fayard Antonio Nicholas (b. October 20, 1914, Mobile, Alabama, U.S.) and his brother Harold Lloyd Nicholas (b. March 17, 1921, Winston-Salem, North Carolina—d. July 3, 2000, New York, New York) developed a type of dance that has been dubbed “classical tap,” combining jazz dance, ballet, and dazzling

Jena Glass

2005-02-16T00:33:00.000-08:00

Jena glass was first produced by the German glass chemist Friedrich Otto Schott, who, with Ernst Abbe and Carl Zeiss, founded a glassworks in Jena, Ger., in 1884. The early Jena

Mu'izz, Al-

2005-02-15T13:16:00.000-08:00

He was about 22 years of age when he succeeded his father, al-Mansur, in 953 with the title of al-Mu'izz. His authority was acknowledged over the greater part of the region now comprising Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia, and he soon took the island

Trigère, Pauline

2005-02-14T23:01:00.000-08:00

Trigère was the daughter of a tailor. She early learned to sew and helped her mother custom-tailor women's clothes. After graduating from the Collège Victor Hugo in Issy-les-Moulineaux, near

Aguascalientes

2005-02-14T13:51:00.000-08:00

City, capital of Aguascalientes state, central Mexico. It stands on the central plateau at 6,194 ft (1,888 m) above sea level, on the left bank of the Río de Aguascalientes. Founded as a mining settlement in 1575 and designated a town in 1661, Aguascalientes was named capital when the state was created during the 1850s. It is sometimes called La Ciudad Perforada (The Perforated City) because of a labyrinth

China

2005-02-14T01:48:00.000-08:00

Two major cultures can be identified in the northwest: Lao-kuan-t'ai, in eastern and southern Shensi and northwestern Honan, and Ta-ti-wan I—a development of Lao-kuan-t'ai culture—in eastern Kansu and western Shensi. In these cultures pots were low-fired, sand-tempered, and mainly red in colour, and bowls with three stubby feet or ring feet were common. The painted bands of

David De Mayrena, Marie-charles

2005-02-13T02:32:00.000-08:00

After defrauding French authorities in Saigon, David de Mayrena fled to Kontum in the Central Highlands, where he impressed the French missionaries and persuaded the members

Paraíba Do Sul River

2005-02-13T00:03:00.000-08:00

Portuguese Rio Paraíba Do Sul, river, in eastern Brazil, formed by the junction of the Paraibuna and Paraitinga rivers, east of São Paulo, between Mogi das Cruzes and Jacareí. It flows east-northeastward, receiving tributaries from the Serra da Mantiqueira and the Serra do Mar and forming part of the border between Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro states. From its initial elevation of 5,000 ft (1,500 m), the river

Clog Dance

2005-02-12T11:42:00.000-08:00

Kind of dance in which the dancer accentuates the rhythm of his feet by wearing wooden-soled shoes, or clogs. Clog dancing appears in many dance forms—e.g., in some bourrées of Auvergne, in Swiss ländler, and often in Irish step dances (solo jigs, reels, and hornpipes). In northern England, notably among the miners of Northumbria and Durham, dances such as the Lancashire and

Bhagavata-purana

2005-02-12T09:43:00.000-08:00

(Sanskrit: “Ancient Stories of the Lord”), the most celebrated text of a variety of Hindu sacred literature in Sanskrit that is known as the Puranas, and the specific text that is held sacred by the Bhagavata sect. Scholars are in general agreement that the Bhagavata-Purana was probably composed about the 10th century, somewhere in the Tamil country of South India;

Reuben

2005-02-10T21:52:00.000-08:00

After the Exodus out of Egypt, Joshua led the Israelites into the Promised Land and divided the territory among the 12 tribes. The tribe of Reuben apparently settled east of

Sundarbans

2005-02-10T14:03:00.000-08:00

Formerly Sunderbunds, vast tract of forest and saltwater swamp forming the lower part of the Ganges Delta, extending about 160 miles (260 km) along the Bay of Bengal from the Hooghly River Estuary (India) to the Meghna River Estuary in Bangladesh. The whole tract reaches inland for 60–80 miles (100–130 km). A network of estuaries, tidal rivers, and creeks intersected by numerous channels, it encloses flat, marshy islands

Wallas, Graham

2005-02-10T09:38:00.000-08:00

Wallas studied at Oxford (1877–81) and was a teacher (1881–90). He joined the Fabian Society in 1886 and was a contributor to Fabian Essays in Socialism (1889). Growing dissatisfied with the anti-liberal

Faraj

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

Faraj's father, Barquq, died in 1399. While he was a child, two guardians, representing the rival