BadWalk

Araliaceae

2005-03-23T10:32:00.000-08:00

The ginseng family of flowering plants, in the order Apiales, comprising approximately 700 species centred in Southeast Asia and tropical America. Most members are shrubs or trees, though there are a number of climbers and a few herbs. The family has large, usually alternate, compound leaves, five-parted flowers arranged in compound umbels (flat-topped clusters), and a

Norfolk Island Pine

2005-03-22T02:44:00.000-08:00

The wood of large trees is used in construction, furniture,

Hancock, Thomas

2005-03-20T04:33:00.000-08:00

English inventor and manufacturer who founded the British rubber industry. His chief invention, the “masticator,” worked rubber scraps into a shredded mass of rubber that could be formed into blocks or rolled into sheets. This process, perfected in 1821, led to a partnership with the Scottish chemist and inventor of waterproof

Gippsland

2005-03-17T01:27:00.000-08:00

Region of southeastern Victoria, Australia, extending northeast from Western Port (near Melbourne) to the New South Wales border and south from the Eastern Highlands to the coast, with an area of 13,600 square miles (35,200 square km). Fertile and well watered (34 inches [860 mm] annually), Gippsland is the focus of the state's dairy industry, supplying most of Melbourne's liquid milk. Lignite

Armillaria

2005-03-16T13:25:00.000-08:00

Genus of about 40 species of fungi of the order Agaricales (q.v.), in the class Basidiomycetes, found throughout northern North America and Europe, principally in forests of hardwoods or mixed conifers. In suitable environments, members of this genus may live for hundreds of years, and certain specimens have been identified as among the largest and oldest living

Mauermayer, Gisela

2005-03-13T23:55:00.000-08:00

Mauermayer began participating in track-and-field competitions at the age of 13. By 1930 she was competing internationally, and in 1934 she won the first women's pentathlon, at the Women's

Kyogen

2005-03-11T05:55:00.000-08:00

Brief farce or comic interlude played during a Japanese No (lyric drama) cycle, expressed in the vernacular of the second half of the 16th century. Its effect is to relieve the tension of the drama. It is performed in ordinary dress and without masks (unless these are used in parody). There are normally four kyogen interspersed among the usual five No pieces.

Sabha

2005-03-09T15:53:00.000-08:00

The sabha differs from the panchayat (caste or subcaste council) in that its scope is much larger; rather than

Clarence, Thomas Plantagenet, Duke Of

2005-03-06T18:05:00.000-08:00

He twice visited Ireland, where he was nominally lord lieutenant, 1401–13. For a short time, in 1412, he replaced his elder brother, afterward King Henry V, as the chief figure in the government. Clarence favoured an alliance with the Orléanists and led an unsuccessful expedition

Chaeronea

2005-03-03T15:45:00.000-08:00

In ancient Greece, fortified town on Mt. Petrachus, guarding the entry into the northern plain of Boeotia. Controlled by the Boeotian city of Orchomenus (q.v.) in the 5th century BC, it was the scene of the battle in which Philip II of Macedon defeated Thebes and Athens (338 BC). The battle is commemorated by a statue of a large lion sitting on its haunches. In 86 BC Chaeronea was the scene of

Târgu Mures

2005-03-02T01:16:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Tîrgu Mures, Hungarian Marosvásárhely, city, capital of Mures judet (county), north-central Romania. It lies in the valley of the Mures River, in the southeastern part of the Transylvanian Basin. First mentioned in the 14th century, it was a cattle and crop market town called Neumarkt by the Germans, Agropolis by Greek traders, and Marosvásárhely by the Magyars. In the 15th century it had 30 guilds. The 18th–19th-century mathematician

Soter, Saint

2005-02-27T20:36:00.000-08:00

Succeeding St. Anicetus as pope, Soter sent a letter and alms to the church of Corinth, whose bishop, St. Dionysius, replied in a letter that acknowledged Soter's affection and theological advice. Soter continued Pope Anicetus' attack against Montanism, a heresy overemphasizing prophecy and rigid moral

Daniel, Gabriel

2005-02-25T08:12:00.000-08:00

Daniel entered the Society of Jesus in 1667, later became librarian of the professed house at Paris, and was appointed historiographer of France by King Louis XIV. In this last capacity he wrote a pioneering work, Histoire de France depuis l'établissement de la monarchie

Uzhhorod

2005-02-23T09:04:00.000-08:00

Russian Uzhgorod, also spelled Uzgorod, Hungarian Ungvár, city and administrative centre of Zakarpattya oblast (province), western Ukraine. It is situated along the Uzh River just east of the Slovakian border. It was first mentioned in 903, and its position has long given it trading and military significance. Formerly in Austria-Hungary, it passed to Czechoslovakia in 1919, to Hungary in 1938, back to Czechoslovakia in 1945, and to the Soviet

Literature, German.

2005-02-21T08:38:00.000-08:00

In his 2001 novel Rot, Uwe Timm sought to come to terms with the experiences of the generation of so-called 68ers, people who went through the cultural and political turmoil of the 1960s and '70s in West Germany. The protagonist of Rot is Thomas Linde, a 68er who makes his living as a eulogist at burials, a profession that becomes

Amphibian, Reproduction

2005-02-17T18:18:00.000-08:00

The three living groups of amphibians have distinct evolutionary lineages and exhibit a diverse range of life strategies. The breeding behaviour of each order will be discussed in its individual section below. One similar tendency among amphibians has been the evolution in some species of direct development of young in terrestrial eggs, thus eliminating the

Harding, Chester

2005-02-15T11:50:00.000-08:00

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

European Plain

2005-02-14T10:58:00.000-08:00

One of the greatest uninterrupted expanses of plain on the Earth's surface. It sweeps from the Pyrenees Mountains on the French-Spanish border across northern Europe to the Ural Mountains in Russia. In western Europe the plain is comparatively narrow, rarely exceeding 200 miles (320 kilometres) in width, but as it stretches eastward it broadens steadily until it reaches

Saarinen, (gottlieb) Eliel

2005-02-13T03:02:00.000-08:00

He became the foremost architect of his generation in Finland before he moved to the U.S. in 1923. By 1914 he was widely known in Europe

Stafford, William

2005-02-11T21:52:00.000-08:00

Stafford attended the University of Kansas (B.A., 1937; M.A., 1945) and the State University of Iowa, where he received a doctorate in 1955. A conscientious objector, he participated

Side-necked Turtle

2005-02-11T00:39:00.000-08:00

Pelomedusid turtles are aquatic reptiles found

Saudi Arabia, Demography

2005-02-10T18:49:00.000-08:00

The major

Alfonsine Tables

2005-02-10T01:22:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Alphonsine Tables the first set of astronomical tables prepared in Christian Europe. They enabled calculation of eclipses and the positions of the planets for any given time based on the Ptolemaic theory, which assumed that the Earth was at the centre of the universe. The introduction states that the work was prepared in Toledo, Spain, for King Alfonso X of León and Castile under the

Cinco De Mayo

2005-02-07T21:05:00.000-08:00

National holiday in Mexico in honour of a military victory in 1862 over the French forces of Napoleon III. When in 1861 Mexico declared a temporary moratorium on the repayment of foreign debts, English, Spanish, and French troops invaded the country. By April 1862 the English and Spanish had withdrawn, but the French, with the support of wealthy landowners, remained in an attempt

Hawes, Stephen

2005-02-07T11:14:00.000-08:00

Hawes's main work is a long allegorical poem, The Passetyme of Pleasure, the chief theme of which is the education and pilgrimage through life of the knight Graunde Amoure. Completed in 1506, it was printed by Wynkyn de Worde in 1509. Another allegory by Hawes, The Example

Augustine, Saint

2005-02-06T07:57:00.000-08:00

Augustine's impact on the Middle Ages cannot be underestimated. Thousands of manuscripts survive, and many serious medieval libraries—possessing no more than a few hundred books in all—had more works of Augustine than of any other writer. His achievement is paradoxical inasmuch as—like a modern artist who makes more money posthumously than in life—most of it was

Carrick On Suir

2005-02-05T09:16:00.000-08:00

Irish Carraig Na Siúire town, County Tipperary, Ireland, on the River Suir. Located beside the foothills of the Comeraghs and having steep, narrow streets, it is connected with its southern suburb Carrickbeg, in County Waterford, by two bridges across the Suir. Ormonde Castle, begun in 1309, was the seat of the Butlers, the dukes of Ormonde. Anne Boleyn, mother of Elizabeth I of England, is said to have

Murdock, William

2005-02-04T22:19:00.000-08:00

In 1777 Murdock entered the engineering firm of Matthew Boulton and James Watt in their Soho works at Birmingham and about two years later was sent to Cornwall to superintend the fitting

Silver

2005-02-03T09:53:00.000-08:00

In the majority of silver compounds the element has a valence of one. These compounds include such familiar substances as silver chloride (AgCl), silver bromide (AgBr), and silver iodide (AgI). Each of these salts is used extensively in photography. Silver chloride serves as the light-sensitive material in photographic printing papers and, together with silver bromide,

Interactionism

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

In Cartesian philosophy and the philosophy of mind, those dualistic theories that hold that mind and body, though separate and distinct substances, causally interact. Interactionists assert that a mental event, as when John Doe wills to kick a brick wall, can be the cause of a physical action, his leg and foot moving into the wall. Conversely, the physical event of his

Ijsselmeer Polders

2005-02-01T04:24:00.000-08:00

The Zuiderzee project, which involved the construction of a dam (Afsluitdijk; completed 1932) enclosing the IJsselmeer

Biblical Literature, Zephaniah

2005-01-31T21:52:00.000-08:00

The Book of Zephaniah, the ninth book of the Twelve (Minor) Prophets, is written in three chapters. Composed by the prophet Zephaniah in the latter part of the 7th century BCE, the book is an attack against corruption of worship in Judah, probably before the great Deuteronomic reform took place. Zephaniah attacked the religious syncretism that had become established, especially

Theobald I

2005-01-31T16:48:00.000-08:00

He was the son of Theobald III of Champagne,

Aesthetics, Post-Hegelian aesthetics

2005-01-28T04:32:00.000-08:00

Little of 19th-century aesthetics after Hegel has proved of lasting interest. Perhaps the most important exception is the controversial literature surrounding Richard Wagner, particularly the attack on the expressive theory of music launched by Wagner's critic Eduard Hanslick in his Vom musikalisch-Schönen (1854; On the Beautiful in Music). With this work modern musical

Yuzhno-sakhalinsk

2005-01-28T04:14:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Iuzhno-sakhalinsk, or Juzno-sachalinsk, city and administrative centre of Sakhalin oblast (province), far eastern Russia. It lies in the south of Sakhalin Island on the Susuya River, 26 miles (42 km) north of the port of Korsakov. Originally the Japanese settlement of Toyohara, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk passed to the Soviet Union in 1945 and was given its present name in 1946. It is a communications hub, with railways that extend to

Dwarf Star

2005-01-26T13:35:00.000-08:00

Any star of average or low luminosity, mass, and size. Important subclasses of dwarf stars are white dwarfs (see white dwarf star) and red dwarfs. Dwarf stars include most so-called main-sequence stars, among which is the Sun. The colour of dwarf stars can range from blue to red, the corresponding temperature varying from high (above 10,000 K) to low (a few thousand degrees).

China, Fiscal and legal system

2005-01-26T04:37:00.000-08:00

Kao-tsu had inherited a bankrupt state, and most of his measures were aimed at simple and cheap administration. His bureaucracy was very small, at both the central and local levels. The expenses of government were largely met out of endowments of land attached to each office, the rents from which paid office expenses and salaries; by interest on funds of money allocated

Bryennius, Nicephorus

2005-01-24T03:24:00.000-08:00

A favourite of the emperor Alexius I Comnenus, who gave him the title of caesar, Bryennius assisted Alexius in dealing with Godfrey of Bouillon, the leader of the First Crusade, by successfully

Sudan, The, Education

2005-01-23T19:59:00.000-08:00

A modern educational system was established in The Sudan in the 1970s when the government reorganized a haphazard system of schools inherited from the British colonial government. In the Muslim areas of the north, boys were long instructed in religious subjects according to traditional methods. Primary education was begun by the British in the northern Sudan after

Therapeutics, Peptic ulcer

2005-01-22T00:20:00.000-08:00

In the past a bland diet and frequent ingestion of milk and cream were the mainstays of ulcer treatment. Today the only dietary regimen is the avoidance of such irritating foods as spicy and highly seasoned foods and coffee. The newer drug therapies decrease gastric acidity much more than antacids and other dietary measures do. The infection of the stomach by Helicobacter

Bulganin, Nikolay Aleksandrovich

2005-01-21T20:46:00.000-08:00

Bulganin began his career as a Cheka (Bolshevik secret police) officer in 1918. Later, as manager of Moscow's leading electrical-equipment factory, he earned a reputation as an outstanding administrator. In 1931 he was made chairman

Theatre, Court theatres

2005-01-20T19:51:00.000-08:00

The Baroque architectural style, beginning in Italy and spreading across Europe, dominated theatre building between about 1650 and 1790. Its chief characteristics are refinement in detail of the proscenium stage and of the Renaissance horseshoe-shaped auditorium and seating plan. The innovations of the period were introduced in the private court theatres. As many as

Fischer, Edmond H.

2005-01-19T15:46:00.000-08:00

The son of Swiss parents, Fischer earned a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Geneva in 1947 and

Human-factors Engineering

2005-01-19T02:45:00.000-08:00

The term human-factors engineering is used to designate equally a body of knowledge, a process, and a profession. As a body of knowledge, human-factors engineering is a collection of data and principles about human

Augusta

2005-01-17T06:55:00.000-08:00

Capital (1831) of Maine, U.S., seat (1799) of Kennebec county, at the head of navigation on the Kennebec River, 57 miles (92 km) northeast of Portland. The city's establishment and early prosperity, which began with the arrival of traders from the Plymouth colony of Massachusetts in 1628, can be attributed to its location on navigable tidewater 39 miles (63 km) from the Atlantic Ocean. A trading post was

Lochmaben

2005-01-16T23:23:00.000-08:00

Royal burgh (town), Dumfries and Galloway council area, historic county of Dumfriesshire, Scotland, situated near several small lochs in Annandale valley. Robert the Bruce, who ruled Scotland as Robert I from 1306 to 1329, had close associations with the town and, according to local tradition, was born in Lochmaben Castle in 1274. In 1290 a peel tower (small fortified tower) was erected by

Tábor

2005-01-15T08:39:00.000-08:00

City, Jihoceský kraj (region), Czech Republic. It lies along a bend in the Luznice River 50 miles (80 km) south of Prague. Founded in 1420 by Jan Zizka and other followers of the Bohemian religious reformer Jan Hus, Tábor became the radical centre of the more militant members of the movement, known as the Taborites. These people fostered the national spirit and the preservation of the Czech

Judaism, Prophecy in the southern kingdom

2005-01-15T06:38:00.000-08:00

Judah was subjected to such intense pressure to join an Israelite–Aramaean coalition against Assyria that its 8th-century-BCE king Ahaz chose to submit himself to Assyria in return for relief. Ahaz introduced a new Aramaean-style altar in the Jerusalem Temple and adopted other foreign customs that are counted against him in the book of Kings. It was at this time that

Platt, Orville Hitchcock

2005-01-13T03:49:00.000-08:00

Platt began the practice of law in Meriden, Conn., in 1850 and was active in Connecticut politics, serving as secretary of state (1857), state senator (1861–62), and member of the

Ashburton

2005-01-12T07:59:00.000-08:00

Town (“parish”), Teignbridge district, administrative and historic county of Devon, England, lying on the southeastern margin of Dartmoor. It was designated a stannary (tin-mining) town in 1285. The priest of the Chantry Chapel of St. Lawrence kept a “free scole,” which survived as a grammar school from the late 16th century until 1938. The Church of St. Andrew in the town was built of granite

Kyoto

2005-01-11T08:45:00.000-08:00

City, seat of Kyoto fu (urban prefecture), west-central Honshu island, Japan. It is located some 30 miles (48 kilometres) northeast of the industrial city of Osaka and about the same distance from Nara, another ancient centre of Japanese culture. Gently sloping downward from north to south, the city averages 180 feet (55 metres) above sea level, and it covers an area of about 236 square miles

Min Languages

2005-01-09T15:19:00.000-08:00

Chinese spoken in Fukien sheng (province) and in parts of Kwangtung and Taiwan. The Min languages are divided into Northern Min, with its centre at Foochow, and Southern Min, with its centre at Amoy. Min speakers use a pronunciation (called T'ang Min) for the literary language that differs from the one used in other Chinese languages. The T'ang Min pronunciation of the standard

Annenberg, Walter H.

2005-01-09T04:18:00.000-08:00

Annenberg was the only son of Moses Annenberg (1878–1942), a poor immigrant from East Prussia who became the millionaire publisher of The Philadelphia Inquirer and the horse-racing publications Daily Racing Form and Morning Telegraph. In 1939 Moses Annenberg was

Mineral Deposit, Flowing surface water

2005-01-06T09:48:00.000-08:00

For effective concentration, placer minerals must not only have a high

Early Christian Art

2005-01-06T01:45:00.000-08:00

Also called Paleo-christian Art, or Primitive Christian Art, architecture, painting, and sculpture from the beginnings of Christianity until about the early 6th century, particularly the art of Italy and the western Mediterranean. (Early Christian art in the eastern part of the Roman Empire is usually considered to be part of Byzantine art; q.v.) The Christian religion was part of a general trend in the late Roman Empire toward

Hanks, Tom

2005-01-05T15:09:00.000-08:00

Roy Trakin, Tom Hanks: Journey to Stardom, updated ed. (1995).

Maha Bodhi Society

2005-01-05T04:07:00.000-08:00

An organization that was established to encourage Buddhist studies in India and abroad. The society was founded in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) in 1891 by Anagarika Dharmapala; one of its original goals was the restoration of the Mahabodhi temple at Buddh Gaya (Bihar state, India), the site of the Buddha's enlightenment, which at that time was in the hands of a Hindu landowner. In 1949 the

Egypt, Growth of Mamluk armies

2005-01-03T06:35:00.000-08:00

The only real security for Ayyubid Egypt lay in its independent military strength. This explains why one of the last sultans, al-Malik as-Salih Ayyub (died 1249), resorted to increased purchase of Turkish slaves—called Mamluks, a name derived from the Arabic word for slave—as a means of manning his armies. Although slave troops had formed an important part of Egyptian armies since

Ejectment

2005-01-02T05:29:00.000-08:00

The action, traceable to the Roman law, had its early development in feudal England. By the second half of the 16th century, ejectment was in common use to adjudicate title to any real property. In its technical

Mold

2005-01-01T20:02:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Mould, in manufacturing, a cavity or matrix in which a fluid or plastic substance is shaped into a desired finished product. A molten substance, such as metal, or a plastic substance is poured or forced into a mold and allowed to harden. Molds are made of a wide variety of materials, depending on the application; sand is frequently used for metal casting, hardened steel for molds

Biblical Literature, The role of the judges

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

Under these conditions, the successors to Joshua—the judges—arose. The Hebrew term shofet, which is translated into English as “judge,” is closer in meaning to “ruler,” a kind of military leader or deliverer from potential or actual defeat. In a passage from the so-called Ras Shamra tablets (discovered in 1929), the concept of the judge as a ruler is well illustrated:Our king is Triumphant

Mold

2004-12-30T16:49:00.000-08:00

Founded in New York City in 1976 as little more than a social club, the charter organization of the AWU grew into a major clearinghouse and support agency for Asian and Pacific American women in the United States. Having absorbed several scattered

Verdi, Giuseppe

2004-12-30T05:21:00.000-08:00

In full Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi leading Italian composer of opera in the 19th century, noted for operas such as Rigoletto (1851), Il trovatore (1853), La traviata (1853), Don Carlos (1867), Aida (1871), Otello (1887), and Falstaff (1893) and for his Requiem Mass (1874).

Usolye-sibirskoye

2004-12-28T22:46:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Usolje-Sibirskoje, or Usole-Sibirskoe, city, Irkutsk oblast (province), east-central Russia. It lies along the Angara River and the Trans-Siberian Railroad. The city is an old centre of salt production that continues as a major producer of caustic soda. Other plants produce machinery and synthetic rubber. A health resort is nearby. Pop. (1995 est.) 106,000.

Teacher Education

2004-12-27T19:18:00.000-08:00

While arrangements of one kind or another for the education of the young have existed at all times and in all societies, it is only recently that schools have emerged as distinctive institutions for this purpose on a mass scale, and

Adda River

2004-12-25T19:04:00.000-08:00

Italian Fiume Adda, river, in the Lombardia (Lombardy) regione of northern Italy, issuing from small lakes in the Rhaetian Alps at 7,660 feet (2,335 m). The Adda flows southward from Bormio to Tirano, where it turns west past Sondrio to enter Lake Como near its northern end after a course of 194 miles (313 km). The river's upper course is known as the Valtellina (q.v.). Leaving Lake Como at Lecco, it crosses the Lombardy

Abd Al-hafid

2004-12-25T09:15:00.000-08:00

Appointed caliph of Marrakech by Abd al-Aziz, Abd al-Hafid had no difficulty there in rousing the Muslim community against his brother's Western ways. With Marrakech his, Abd al-Hafid routed his brother's forces and pensioned off the sultan.

Belgium, History Of

2004-12-24T11:06:00.000-08:00

After the Burgundian regime in the Low Countries (1363–1477), the southern as well as the northern provinces had dynastic links with the Austrian Habsburgs, then with Spain and the Austrian Habsburgs together. Later, as a consequence of revolt in

Ahmad Ibn Hanbal

2004-12-23T05:06:00.000-08:00

Of pure Arab stock, Ibn Hanbal belonged to the tribe of Shayban through both parents. He was still an infant when his father died at 30. When Ibn Hanbal was 15 he began to study the Traditions (Hadith) of the Prophet Muhammad. Seeking to learn from the great masters of his day, he travelled to the cities of Kufah and Basra in Iraq; Mecca, Hejaz, and Medina in Arabia; and to the lands of Yemen and

Bukhara

2004-12-22T17:24:00.000-08:00

Uzbek Bukhoro, also spelled Buchara or Bokhara city and administrative centre, Bukhoro oblast (province), Uzbekistan, on the Shakhrud Canal in the delta of the Zeravshan River, at the centre of Bukhara oasis. Founded not later than the 1st century AD, it was already a major trade and crafts centre when the Arabs captured it in 709. The capital of the Samanid dynasty in the 9th–10th centuries, it later was seized by the Qarakhanids

Textile, Napping and shearing

2004-12-21T03:39:00.000-08:00

Napping is a process that may be applied to woollens, cottons, spun silks, and spun rayons, including both woven and knitted types, to raise a velvety, soft surface. The process involves passing the fabric over revolving cylinders covered with fine wires that lift the short, loose fibres, usually from the weft yarns, to the surface, forming a nap. The process, which increases

Olt

2004-12-20T10:46:00.000-08:00

Judet (county), south-central Romania. It is bounded on the south by Bulgaria. The sub-Carpathian Mountains lie in the northern portion of the county, overlooking settlement areas in intermontane valleys and lowlands. The eastward-flowing Danube River and the southeastward-flowing Olt and Vedea rivers drain the area. Slatina (q.v.) town, in existence since the 14th century,

N'djamena

2004-12-19T20:25:00.000-08:00

Formerly Fort-lamy, capital of Chad, on the southwestern border, adjacent to Cameroon. It lies on the east bank of the Chari (Shari) River at its confluence with the Logone River in an alluvial plain that is flooded during the rainy season (July–September). The city was founded in 1900 across the Chari River from Fort-Fureau (Kousseri), where French colonial troops defeated and killed the Sudanese

Aerospace Industry, The first decade

2004-12-17T17:46:00.000-08:00

The origin of the aerospace industry dates to 1903 when Wilbur and Orville Wright demonstrated an airplane capable of powered, sustained flight (see Wright flyer of 1903). The Wright brothers' success was due to detailed research and an excellent engineering-and-development approach. Their breakthrough innovation was a pilot-operated warping (twisting) of the wings to provide

Aerospace Engineering

2004-12-17T17:06:00.000-08:00

Also called aeronautical engineering, or astronautical engineering, field of engineering concerned with the design, development, construction, testing, and operation of vehicles operating in the Earth's atmosphere or in outer space. In 1958 the first definition of aerospace engineering appeared, considering the Earth's atmosphere and the space above it as a single realm for development of flight vehicles. Today the more encompassing

Ossory

2004-12-16T16:57:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Osraighe, an ancient kingdom of Ireland that won for itself a semi-independent position as a state within the kingdom of Leinster, probably in the 1st century AD. In the 9th century it was ruled by an able king, Cerball, who allied himself with the Norse invaders and figured in later centuries as an ancestor of some important families in Iceland. When surnames were introduced, the dynasts

Shensi, Culture

2004-12-16T07:31:00.000-08:00

Citizens of Shensi take pride in their region as a historic centre of Chinese civilization and in their distinctive traditions in art, ceramics, and folksinging. The Yang-ko is a local form of musical folk opera with comic themes. Shensi-style Ch'in-ch'iang opera is also popular, as are shadow plays using local leather puppets.

Urticaceae

2004-12-14T21:21:00.000-08:00

The nettle family comprising about 45 genera of herbs, shrubs, small trees, and a few vines, distributed primarily in tropical regions. The family is typical of the nettle order (Urticales). Many species, especially the nettles (Urtica; see photograph) and Australian nettle trees (Laportea), have stinging hairs on the stems and leaves. The leaves are varied and

Sweat

2004-12-14T13:56:00.000-08:00

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

Developmental Psychology

2004-12-11T16:30:00.000-08:00

Also called Life-span Psychology, the branch of psychology concerned with the changes in cognitive, motivational, psychophysiological, and social functioning that occur throughout the human life span. During the 19th and early 20th centuries, developmental psychologists were concerned primarily with child psychology. In the 1950s, however, they became interested in the relationship between personality

Sore Mouth

2004-12-11T15:06:00.000-08:00

Also called doby mouth, pustular dermatitis , or contagious ecthyma (CE) viral disease of sheep and goats. Blisters, pustules, ulcers, and scabs form on the lips especially but also on the face and ears. In severe cases sores form inside the mouth. Infections occur in the spring and summer and heal in about a month. Humans who work around the sheep sometimes become infected.

Haley, Bill

2004-12-10T23:37:00.000-08:00

If not the father of rock and roll, Haley is certainly one of its fathers. He cut his first record in 1948 and the next year settled into a job as a disc jockey in Chester, Pennsylvania. At the time his groups

Earth, The contribution of orbiting satellites

2004-12-10T07:08:00.000-08:00

The development of artificial satellites whose orbits could be observed from Earth totally revolutionized man's ability to define the shape of the Earth and its gravity field. A value for the flattening of the ellipsoid that superseded all previous values was obtained within weeks after the launching of the Soviet Sputnik I in 1957. Since that time, scientists have

Beijing

2004-12-07T16:46:00.000-08:00

Wade-Giles romanization Pei-ching , conventional Peking city, province-level shi (municipality), and capital of the People's Republic of China. Few cities in the world have served for so long as the political headquarters and cultural centre of an area as immense as China. The city has been an integral part of China's history over the past eight centuries, and nearly every major building of any age in Beijing has at least some

William Clito

2004-12-07T03:16:00.000-08:00

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

Action

2004-12-05T19:53:00.000-08:00

In theoretical physics, an abstract quantity that describes the overall motion of a physical system. Motion, in physics, may be described from at least two points of view: the close-up view and the panoramic view. The close-up view involves an instant-by-instant charting of the behaviour of an object. The panoramic view, on the other hand, reveals not only a complete picture

Schaumburg-lippe

2004-12-05T17:55:00.000-08:00

Schaumburg, or Schauenburg, northeast of Rinteln, was the ancestral seat of a line of counts recorded from the early 12th century. Lutheran from 1559, this

Arabia, History Of, Struggle for leadership

2004-12-03T13:47:00.000-08:00

In Arabia offices were generally hereditary and elective; but on Muhammad's death, Abu Bakr, the first caliph, aided by his own eventual successor, 'Umar, gained the leadership that Quraysh might have lost to others. They were not of the house of Hashim, which, from the outset, felt cheated of its rights. 'Ali, Muhammad's stepbrother and son-in-law, became the focus of legitimist

Chromosomal Disorder

2004-12-03T09:33:00.000-08:00

Normally, humans have 46 chromosomes arranged in 23 pairs; the pairs vary in size and shape and are numbered by convention. Twenty-two of the pairs are autosomes, and one pair, number 23, is the sex chromosomes. Any variation from

Zaporizhzhya

2004-12-01T13:36:00.000-08:00

Russian Zaporozhye, also spelled Zaporozhe, or Zaporozje, formerly (until 1921) Aleksandrovsk, city and administrative centre of Zaporizhzhya oblast (province), southeastern Ukraine, on the Dnieper River just below its former rapids. In 1770 the fortress of Aleksandrovsk was established to ensure government control over the Zaporizhzhya Cossacks, whose headquarters were on nearby Khortitsa Island. The settlement became a town in 1806. The growth of the city dates

Schleiermacher, Friedrich (ernst Daniel)

2004-12-01T02:20:00.000-08:00

German theologian, preacher, and classical philologist, generally recognized as the founder of modern Protestant theology. His major work, Der christliche Glaube (1821–22; 2nd ed. 1831; The Christian Faith), is a systematic interpretation of Christian dogmatics.

Handl, Jacob

2004-11-30T15:23:00.000-08:00

A Cistercian monk, Handl traveled in Bohemia, Moravia, and Silesia, was a member of the Viennese court chapel in 1574, and was choirmaster to the bishop of Olmütz (modern Olomouc, Czech Republic) in 1579–85. His most notable

Ribeiro, Bernardim

2004-11-29T13:33:00.000-08:00

Ribeiro was

Hessonite

2004-11-28T22:15:00.000-08:00

Also called Essonite, or Cinnamon Stone, translucent, semiprecious, reddish-brown variety of grossular (q.v.), a garnet mineral.

Abyssal Hill

2004-11-28T06:23:00.000-08:00

Small, topographically well-defined submarine hill that may rise from several metres to several hundred metres above the abyssal seafloor, in water 3,000 to 6,000 m (10,000 to 20,000 feet) deep. Typical hills have diameters of several to several hundred metres. Abyssal-hill provinces, areas of abyssal seafloor occupied exclusively by such hills, characteristically occur seaward of the

Fuller, R(ichard) Buckminster

2004-11-26T04:48:00.000-08:00

U.S. engineer and architect who developed the geodesic dome, the only large dome that can be set directly on the ground as a complete structure, and the only practical kind of building that has no limiting dimensions (i.e., beyond which the structural strength must be insufficient). Among the most noteworthy geodesic domes is the United

Aspar, Flavius Ardaburius

2004-11-25T23:34:00.000-08:00

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

Babbler

2004-11-23T02:23:00.000-08:00

Also called Chatterer, any of more than 250 Old World songbirds of the family Timaliidae (order Passeriformes); they are treated by many authorities as a subfamily of the Muscicapidae (q.v.). Noted for their continual and rapid vocalizations, babblers are sometimes called babbling thrushes or chatterers. The name babbler is often used in compound form suggesting habitat, appearance, or behaviour:

Norway, Union with Sweden

2004-11-23T00:03:00.000-08:00

Norwegian independence got no support from the Great Powers, and Sweden attacked Norway in late July 1814. After a brief war of 14 days, Christian resigned. Jean Bernadotte (later known as Charles XIV John; called Karl Johan in Sweden and Norway), the Swedish crown prince, accepted the Norwegian constitution and thus could no longer argue on the basis of the Treaty of Kiel. This

Atheism

2004-11-21T21:49:00.000-08:00

In general, the critique and denial of metaphysical beliefs in God or spiritual beings. As such, it is usually distinguished from theism, which affirms the reality of the divine and often seeks to demonstrate its existence. Atheism is also distinguished from agnosticism, which leaves open the question whether there is a god or not, professing to find the questions