NaturalBerry

Torchon Lace

2005-03-24T18:35:00.000-08:00

Coarse bobbin-made lace (see bobbin lace) made by peasants in most European countries in which simple geometric patterns are carried out. With other simple kinds of lace it was the mainstay of the lace makers of the Austrian Tirol. It is the type of lace on which apprentices generally begin learning the craft.

Deng Xiaoping

2005-03-21T20:36:00.000-08:00

The son of a landowner, Deng studied in France (1921–24), where he

Lahun, Al-

2005-03-20T22:39:00.000-08:00

Also spelled El Lahun, or Illahun, ancient Egyptian site situated just north of the turn of the Bahr Yusuf canal into the Fayum in al-Fayyum muhafazah (governorate); it was the location of a Middle Kingdom (1938–c. 1600? BC) pyramid and of a workmen's village of approximately the same date. The pyramid, built by King Sesostris II (reigned 1844–37 BC), fourth of the eight kings of the 12th dynasty, was unusual in that the entrance to the burial chamber

Salamis

2005-03-17T04:59:00.000-08:00

Principal city of ancient Cyprus, located on the east coast of the island, north of modern Famagusta. According to the Homeric epics, Salamis was founded after the Trojan War by the archer Teucer, who came from the island of Salamis, off Attica. This literary tradition probably reflects the Sea Peoples' occupation of Cyprus (c. 1193 BC), Teucer perhaps representing Tjekker of

Sculpture, Western, The Archaic period

2005-03-15T03:17:00.000-08:00

The kouroi, which had become standardized as freestanding statues of naked youths with hands to sides and one leg advanced, were the most representative examples of Archaic sculpture. At first their proportions were based on theory rather than observation; much the same was true of the anatomical details, which were treated as separate patterns applied to the

Kwashiorkor

2005-03-13T22:48:00.000-08:00

The condition in children

Hinduism, Philosophical sutras and the rise of the six schools of philosophy

2005-03-11T02:14:00.000-08:00

The most important of the Six Schools is the Vedanta (“End of the Vedas”), also called Uttara-Mimamsa, or later Mimamsa. The most renowned philosopher of this school and, indeed, of all Hinduism was Sankara

Action Painting

2005-03-09T19:48:00.000-08:00

Direct, instinctual, and highly dynamic kind of art that involves the spontaneous application of vigorous, sweeping brushstrokes and the chance effects of dripping and spilling paint onto the canvas. The term was coined by the American art critic Harold Rosenberg to characterize the work of a group of American Abstract Expressionists (see Abstract

Wade, Sir Thomas Francis

2005-03-08T14:13:00.000-08:00

The elder son of an English army officer, Wade graduated from Trinity College, Cambridge (1837), and entered the army. Sent to China in 1842, he began an earnest study of Chinese and eventually became an official interpreter,

Monaco, Flag Of

2005-03-06T14:43:00.000-08:00

The complex princely

Arabia, Oman

2005-03-04T09:01:00.000-08:00

The Al-Hajar mountain range is divided into Eastern Al-Hajar and Western Al-Hajar. The range, which exceeds a height of 9,000 feet in places, differs from other Arabian coastal highlands in being steep on both sides. Plains at the foot of the mountains fall away almost imperceptibly from the numerous towns of interior Oman to the Rub' al-Khali basin. No mountains bar Oman's

Daikoku

2005-03-02T01:20:00.000-08:00

In Japanese mythology, one of the Shichi-fuku-jin (Seven Gods of Luck); the god of wealth and guardian of farmers. He is depicted in legend and art as dark-skinned, stout, carrying a wish-granting mallet in his right hand, a bag of precious things slung over his back, and sitting on two rice bags. Rats are sometimes shown nibbling at the rice, further emphasizing the theme of

Literature

2005-02-28T04:22:00.000-08:00

By all accounts, 2001 was an eventful year for Persian literature, both in revisiting the achievements of the previous century from fresh perspectives and in providing glimpses into new literary experiments. Two important international conferences examined the literature of the 20th century, one by focusing on M.T. Bahar (1880–1951) and the other by surveying the entire literary

Madhyamika

2005-02-26T21:22:00.000-08:00

(Sanskrit: “Intermediate”), important school in the Mahayana (“Great Vehicle”) Buddhist tradition. Its name derives from its having sought a middle position between the realism of the Sarvastivada (“Doctrine That All Is Real”) school and the idealism of the Yogacara (“Mind Only”) school. The most renowned Madhyamika thinker was Nagarjuna (2nd century AD), who developed the doctrine that all

Egypt, The Kingdom of Egypt (192252)

2005-02-26T07:36:00.000-08:00

The new kingdom was in form a constitutional monarchy. The constitution, based on that of Belgium and promulgated in April 1923, defined the King's executive powers and established a bicameral legislature. An electoral law provided for universal male suffrage and the indirect election of deputies to the lower house: the Senate was half elected and half appointed. But

Ch'eng Huang

2005-02-24T07:47:00.000-08:00

Pinyin Cheng Huang (Chinese: “Wall and Moat”), in Chinese mythology, the spiritual magistrate and guardian deity of Chinese cities. Because dead spirits reputedly informed the god of all good and evil deeds within his jurisdiction, it was popularly believed that devout prayers offered in Ch'eng Huang's temple would be liberally rewarded. The wide popularity of his cult was also due in part

Hachette, Louis-christophe-françois

2005-02-23T18:01:00.000-08:00

After studying law in Paris, Hachette bought a small bookshop there (1826) and, following the revolution of 1830, began to publish textbooks for the new primary schools. His firm rapidly became a leading

Dehon, Léon-gustave

2005-02-22T21:35:00.000-08:00

Educated at the Sorbonne, Dehon was ordained priest in 1868 at Rome. After attending the first Vatican Council

Carthage

2005-02-22T00:44:00.000-08:00

City, seat of Jasper county, southwestern Missouri, U.S. It lies along Spring River, just east of Joplin. Established in 1842, it was named for ancient Carthage. During the Civil War, it was a centre of border warfare and was destroyed by Confederate guerrillas in 1863; it was rebuilt in 1866. Carthage is an agricultural-trade centre (fruits, small grains, dairy products) and is noted for its

Inkster, Juli

2005-02-20T18:26:00.000-08:00

On Sept. 26, 1999, American golfer Juli Inkster became the 17th member of the Ladies' Professional Golf Association Hall of Fame when she won the Safeway LPGA Golf Championship by six strokes. The victory climaxed an outstanding year for Inkster, who earlier had won four other tournaments, including two majors—the McDonald's LPGA championship and the U.S. Women's Open championship.

Marwan Ii

2005-02-19T20:44:00.000-08:00

The grandson of Marwan I, Marwan II was governor of Armenia and other territories for 12 years, gaining military experience which later led him to reorganize the Islamic army. In place of a clumsy system of divisions based on tribal

Antarctica, Climate

2005-02-18T10:21:00.000-08:00

Morton J. Rubin (ed.), Studies in Antarctic Meteorology (1966); S. Orvig (ed.), Climates of the Polar Regions (1970); W.S. Weyant, The Antarctic Atmosphere: Climatology of the Surface Environment (1967); and W. Schwerdtfeger, Weather and Climate of the Antarctic (1984), include topical studies and a few general review articles.

Belawan

2005-02-17T18:43:00.000-08:00

Also called Belewan Deli the most important port in northeastern Sumatra, Indonesia, located on Belawan Island at the estuary of the Deli and Belawan rivers in Sumatera Utara provinsi (“province”). The port was originally dredged and constructed by the Dutch in the first two decades of the 20th century. It exports tobacco, rubber, tea, resin, copra, spices, palm oil, and sisal, and it imports foodstuffs

Ayers Rock

2005-02-16T08:27:00.000-08:00

Also called Uluru giant monolith, one of the tors (isolated masses of weathered rock) in southwestern Northern Territory, Australia. It is perhaps the world's largest monolith. The monolith, which the Aboriginals of the region call Uluru, is composed of arkosic sandstone, which changes colour according to the attitude of the Sun. The rock is most impressive at sunset, when it is coloured

Utraquist

2005-02-16T05:15:00.000-08:00

Also called Calixtin, or Calixtine, any of the spiritual descendants of Jan Hus who believed that the laity, like the clergy, should receive the Eucharist under the forms of both bread and wine (Latin utraque, “each of two”; calix, “chalice”). Unlike the militant Taborites (also followers of Hus), the Utraquists were moderates and maintained amicable relations with the Roman Catholic Church. As a consequence,

Ectoplasm

2005-02-13T19:12:00.000-08:00

In occultism, a mysterious, usually light-coloured, viscous substance that is said to exude from the body of a spiritualist medium in trance and may then take the shape of a face, a hand, or a complete body. It is normally visible only in the darkened atmosphere of a séance (q.v.). Ectoplasm is said to be the substance involved in the materialization of spiritual bodies, and

Kobe

2005-02-13T07:33:00.000-08:00

Kobe is situated at the eastern end of the Inland Sea on Osaka Bay, about 20 miles (32 km) west of Osaka. The city is confined to a narrow shelf of land

Cape Verde

2005-02-11T17:35:00.000-08:00

The World Bank and International Monetary Fund structural-adjustment programs had profound implications for national politics in Cape Verde in 2000. Designed to help attract foreign investment, the government's privatization program—especially the privatization of the state petroleum company Enacol—was strongly criticized by the main opposition party, the

Drummond, William Henry

2005-02-11T14:19:00.000-08:00

Drummond immigrated to Canada about 1864, left school at the age of 15 to help support his family, but at 30 took a degree in medicine at Bishop's College in Quebec. After

Chancellorsville, Battle Of

2005-02-10T10:03:00.000-08:00

(May 1–5, 1863), in the American Civil War, bloody assault by the Union army in Virginia that failed to encircle and destroy the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. Following the “horror of Fredericksburg” (December 13, 1862), the Confederate army of General Robert E. Lee and the Union force under General Joseph Hooker had spent the winter facing each other across the Rappahannock River

Devrient, Emil

2005-02-09T05:48:00.000-08:00

Nephew of the great Romantic actor Ludwig Devrient, he made his debut in Brunswick in 1821. By way of Bremen, Leipzig, and Hamburg, he reached Dresden in 1831, where he remained associated with the court theatre there until his retirement in 1868. Devrient's greatest successes

World War I, Technology of war in 1914

2005-02-08T17:35:00.000-08:00

The planning and conduct of war in 1914 were crucially influenced by the invention of new weapons and the improvement of existing types since the Franco-German War of 1870–71. The chief developments of the intervening period had been the machine gun and the rapid-fire field artillery gun. The modern machine gun, which had been developed in the 1880s and '90s, was a reliable belt-fed gun

Zapolska, Gabriela

2005-02-07T18:42:00.000-08:00

Having tried unsuccessfully to pursue an acting career in Paris, Zapolska started writing cheap, sensationalist novels full of bitterness toward middle-class values, morality, and hypocrisy. Of her several novels written

Crompton, Samuel

2005-02-05T23:38:00.000-08:00

As a youth Crompton spun cotton on a spinning jenny for his family; its defects inspired him to try to invent a better device. In 1779, after devoting all his spare time and money to the effort, he produced a machine

Li Keran

2005-02-05T07:14:00.000-08:00

Li showed a gift for painting, calligraphy, and music as a child. When he was 13, he began to study landscape

Obbligato

2005-02-04T10:07:00.000-08:00

(Italian: “obligatory”), in music, essential but subordinate instrumental part. For example, in an 18th-century aria with trumpet obbligato, the trumpet part, although serving as accompaniment to the voice, may be as brilliant in its writing as that of the voice itself. The term obbligato accompaniment has a more specialized meaning in some 18th-century music (see accompaniment

Amphetamine

2005-02-03T01:12:00.000-08:00

Prototype of a series of synthetic drugs, all called amphetamines, that have pronounced stimulatory actions on the central nervous system. Amphetamine itself is a colourless liquid with an acrid taste and a faint odour; the most widely used preparation of the drug is amphetamine sulfate, marketed under the name Benzedrine, a white powder with a slightly bitter,

Lent

2005-02-02T06:36:00.000-08:00

In the Christian church, a period of penitential preparation for Easter. In Western churches it begins on Ash Wednesday, 6 1/2 weeks before Easter, and provides for a 40-day fast (Sundays are excluded), in imitation of Jesus Christ's fasting in the wilderness. In Eastern churches Lent begins on the Monday of the seventh week before Easter and ends on the Friday that is 9 days before

Architecture And Civil Engineering

2005-02-01T06:43:00.000-08:00

Privatization of power generation and its impact on dam building was under way in many countries. Zimbabwe was inviting private investment to

Udasi

2005-01-31T09:21:00.000-08:00

Sect within Sikhism, a religion of India. The Udasi (from the Sanskrit udas, “to renounce”) sect, which requires celibacy and asceticism of its members, originated with the followers of Siri Chand, the son of the first Sikh guru (religious teacher and leader of the Sikh community), Nanak. Under the leadership of Baba Gurditta, the eldest son of the sixth guru, Hargobind, they served as missionaries,

Romanian Literature

2005-01-30T10:11:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Rumanian, body of writings in the Romanian language, the development of which is paralleled by a rich folklore—lyric, epic, dramatic, and didactic—that has continued into modern times.

Aerospace Industry, General aviation aircraft

2005-01-28T23:03:00.000-08:00

By far the world's largest market for general aviation aircraft is the United States, with about 190,000 such aircraft (more than 70 percent single-piston-engine types) in active use in the late 1990s. Annually, these aircraft accounted for more than 27 million flight hours (nearly two times the flight hours of U.S. airlines) and 145 million passengers. Private airplanes used typically for

Insurance

2005-01-28T21:38:00.000-08:00

A system under which the insurer, for a consideration usually agreed upon in advance, promises to reimburse the insured or to render services to the insured in the event that certain accidental occurrences result in losses during a given period. It thus is a method of coping with risk. Its primary function is to substitute certainty for uncertainty as regards the

Levuka

2005-01-27T09:09:00.000-08:00

Town on the east coast of Ovalau island, central Fiji, South Pacific, and capital of Lomaiviti Province at the western edge of the country's Eastern Division. Settled by a U.S. adventurer in 1822, the area was the centre of a cotton boom during the U.S. Civil War (1861–65), when world cotton supplies were disrupted. Levuka was chosen as the capital of Fiji in 1874, when the islands were annexed by

Oberth, Hermann (julius)

2005-01-26T16:17:00.000-08:00

The son of a prosperous physician, Oberth studied medicine in Munich, but his education was interrupted by service in the Austro-Hungarian army during World War I. After being wounded in the war, he found time to pursue

Kodama Gentaro

2005-01-25T22:22:00.000-08:00

Kodama, born into the samurai class, fought in several battles before enrolling in the Osaka Heigakuryo (military training school). He was commissioned in 1881, and, as bureau chief of the General Staff, he upgraded and modernized the army military system. While serving as president

California, Animal life

2005-01-24T22:07:00.000-08:00

California's animal life is as varied as its geography; about 400 species of mammals and 600 species of birds are identified. The California grizzly bear is extinct, however, and the rare bighorn sheep are found mostly in remote desert mountains. The endangered California condor is being nurtured with the help of zoo hatching programs. Coyotes and pumas (cougars) prowl remote

Kabba

2005-01-23T03:14:00.000-08:00

Town, Kogi state, south-central Nigeria, in the Yoruba Hills (elevation 1,300 feet [400 m]). It lies near the Osse River, at the intersection of roads from Lokoja, Okene, Ikare, Ado-Ekiti, and Egbe. Kabba is a trade centre for the yams, cassava, corn (maize), sorghum, shea nuts, peanuts (groundnuts), beans, cotton, and woven cloth produced by the Yoruba, Igbira, and Bunu (Kabba) peoples of the surrounding

Duricrust

2005-01-23T00:16:00.000-08:00

Surface or near-surface of the Earth consisting of a hardened accumulation of silica (SiO2), alumina (Al2O3), and iron oxide (Fe2O3), in varying proportions. Admixtures of other substances commonly are present and duricrusts may be enriched with oxides of manganese or titanium within restricted areas. Thus, siliceous, ferruginous, and aluminous crusts constitute duricrusts

Lupercalia

2005-01-21T20:26:00.000-08:00

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

China, Five Dynasties, Ten Kingdoms, and Sung periods

2005-01-20T02:46:00.000-08:00

Further general information is available in the following: Edward A. Kracke, Jr., Civil Service in Early Sung China, 960–1067 (1953), a monumental work; James T.C. Liu, Ou-yang Hsiu, an Eleventh-Century Neo-Confucianist, trans. from the Chinese (1967), and Reform in Sung China: Wang An-shih (1021–1086) and His New Policies (1959), both works attempting to relate general trends through historical figures; and Brian E. McKnight, Village and Bureaucracy in Southern Sung China (1971), an account coming down to the later period as well as the local scene. Jacques Gernet, Daily Life in China on the Eve of the Mongol Invasion, 1250–1276 (1962; originally published in French, 1959), provides vivid descriptions. See also Patricia Buckley Ebrey (ed. and trans.), Family and Property in Sung China: Yüan Ts'ai's Precepts for Social Life (1984), an excellent picture of family relations as studied in the 12th-century work by Yüan Ts'ai; Thomas H.S. Lee, Government Education and Examinations in Sung China (1985), a description of education and its relationship to the civil service; and Brian E. McKnight (trans.), The Washing Away of Wrongs: Forensic Medicine in Thirteenth-Century China (1985), a translation of an early work on the topic.

Andersen Nexø, Martin

2005-01-19T16:51:00.000-08:00

Nexø came from an extremely poor family in the slums of Copenhagen but spent most of his childhood on the island of Bornholm, where he worked as a shepherd

Main Range

2005-01-19T10:23:00.000-08:00

Also called Central Range , or Buffalo Range mountain range in West Malaysia, the most prominent mountain group on the Malay Peninsula. Composed of granite with some patches of altered stratified rocks, the range extends southward for 300 miles (480 km) from the Thai border, with elevations rarely less than 3,000 feet (900 m) and some peaks exceeding 7,000 feet (2,100 m; high point Mount Korbu [Kerbau], or Buffalo Mountain, 7,162 feet [2,183 m]). The heavily forested

Computers, Living in cyberspace

2005-01-17T10:59:00.000-08:00

Peter J. Denning and Robert M. Metcalfe, Beyond Calculation: The Next Fifty Years of Computing (1997), the computer revolution is just beginning; essays by experts on the social, scientific, and economic impact of computers during the coming decades.

Houston

2005-01-17T04:21:00.000-08:00

The first settlement in the area, Harrisburg (1826), was

Avoidance Relationship

2005-01-14T23:20:00.000-08:00

In human societies, the institutionalized, formal avoidance of one individual by another, usually involving persons of opposite sexes standing in definite kinship relationship to one another. A classic example—and one found in numerous and diverse societies—is the culturally prescribed avoidance of a mother-in-law by her son-in-law. Similar patterns of avoidance

Ryan, Nolan

2005-01-14T22:48:00.000-08:00

Ryan was taught to play baseball by an elder brother and was a wild but fast pitcher in high school before he was signed by the National League New York Mets in 1965. He pitched for their minor league

Scandinavian Literature, Icelandic letters

2005-01-13T21:36:00.000-08:00

In Iceland the foremost poet of the 17th century was Hallgrímur Pétursson, a Lutheran pastor who struggled against poverty and ill health. His Passíusálmar (1666; “Hymns on the Passion”) is among the most popular books in Iceland. Another interesting poet was Stefán Ólafsson, remembered for both religious and secular works, the latter notable for exuberantly humorous portrayals

Cinquefoil

2005-01-13T00:47:00.000-08:00

(genus Potentilla), any of many flowering plants of the rose family (Rosaceae), comprising about 500 species of herbs and shrubs. The common name, which means “five-leaved,” refers to the number of leaflets in the compound leaf; some species, however, have three or seven leaflets. Most of the species are native to the North Temperate Zone and the Arctic and are

San Carlos

2005-01-11T13:51:00.000-08:00

City, northeastern Negros island, Philippines. Set in an area of concentrated sugarcane production, it is the site of a large sugar mill established in 1912. Frequent ferry service across Tanon Strait from Toledo on the island of Cebu brings large numbers of migrant workers to the surrounding sugar plantations. The city has deepwater port facilities and also has an airport.

Yukawa Hideki

2005-01-09T19:34:00.000-08:00

Yukawa graduated from Kyoto Imperial University (now Kyoto University) in 1929 and became a lecturer there; in 1933 he moved to Osaka Imperial University (now Osaka University), where he earned his doctorate in 1938. He rejoined Kyoto Imperial

International Trade, The European Community

2005-01-07T21:40:00.000-08:00

The EEC remained a leading proponent of economic integration until 1993, when, renamed the European Community (EC), it became the principal component of the European Union (EU), a broader entity seeking economic and political cooperation. The EC was formed by the Maastricht Treaty (formally known as the Treaty on European Union; 1991), which went into force on November 1, 1993. The treaty

Kwandebele

2005-01-06T16:49:00.000-08:00

Former nonindependent black state and enclave in central Transvaal province, South Africa, that was a self-governing “national state” for Transvaal Ndebele people from 1981 to 1994. KwaNdebele was located in a 3,500-foot- (1,060-metre-) high dry savanna area about 100 miles (160 km) northeast of Johannesburg. It was established in 1979, when many Transvaal Ndebele were expelled from the nearby Bophuthatswana

Ashley, Maurice

2005-01-05T01:05:00.000-08:00

Ashley moved to Brooklyn, New York, with his family when he was 12 years old. He soon took up chess and excelled at the game, becoming a national master in 1986 and an International Master in 1993. From 1991 to 1997 Ashley was the chess director of the Harlem Educational Activities Fund, Inc., where

Nuisance

2005-01-04T07:10:00.000-08:00

In law, a human activity or a physical condition that is harmful or offensive to others and gives rise to a cause of action. A public nuisance created in a public place or on public land, or affecting the morals, safety, or health of the community, is considered an offense against the state. Such activities as obstructing a public road, polluting air and water, operating

Ghazni

2005-01-03T17:22:00.000-08:00

Formerly Ghazna, city, east-central Afghanistan. It lies beside the Ghazni River on a high plateau at an elevation of 7,300 feet (2,225 m). Afghanistan's only remaining walled town, it is dominated by a 150-foot- (45-metre-) high citadel built in the 13th century. Around the nearby village of Rowzeh-e Sultan, on the old road to Kabul (the nation's capital, 80 miles [130 km] northeast), are the ruins of ancient Ghazna, including two

Mu'tadid, Al-

2005-01-02T18:32:00.000-08:00

The son of al-Muwaffaq, al-Mu'tadid was coregent, with al-Mu'tamid, in his father's last years. He became caliph on al-Mu'tamid's death in 892, having forced him to disinherit his own son. As caliph, al-Mu'tadid reorganized the

Baptiste

2005-01-01T11:58:00.000-08:00

After two provincial engagements, Baptiste went to Paris in 1791. In 1793 he joined the Théâtre de la République and in 1799 the Comédie-Française, from which he retired in 1828. He was not successful in tragedy. Parisians of the Napoleonic era primarily associated

Earth, Mantle convection

2004-12-30T22:12:00.000-08:00

Convection of mantle material, at velocities of centimetres per year, has been suggested as the driving force for plate motions, and it is natural to look for some expression of a system of mantle convection currents in the gravitational field. In a thermally driven convecting system, heated mantle material of lower density rises, moves horizontally dragging the

Henry The Navigator

2004-12-29T19:18:00.000-08:00

From 1420 onward he began to dispatch expeditions from the nearby port of Lagos, first with the aim of discovering more of the Moroccan Atlantic coast and later—when he began to think in terms of continents—with the aim of discovering the southerly route to India, in order to introduce Christianity there and to foster commerce. Little is known of the Prince's private life

Wyntoun, Andrew Of

2004-12-28T06:27:00.000-08:00

Wyntoun was a canon of St. Andrews, and, from about 1393 to his retirement because of old age in 1421, he served as prior of St. Serf's, Loch Leven (Kinross, Scotland). Written for Sir John Wemyss of Leuchars, Fife,

Ironbridge

2004-12-27T10:23:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Iron-bridge, structure that is generally considered the first cast-iron bridge, spanning the River Severn at Ironbridge, near Coalbrookdale, in Shropshire, England. It is now a British national monument. The bridge's semicircular arch spans 100.5 feet (30.6 m) and has five arch ribs, each cast in two halves. Designed by Abraham Darby or Thomas Pritchard, the bridge was erected by Darby in 1777–79. (A similar

Mab

2004-12-26T17:20:00.000-08:00

Also called Queen Mab in English folklore, the queen of the fairies. Mab is a mischievous but basically benevolent figure. In William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, she is referred to as the fairies' midwife, who delivers sleeping men of their innermost wishes in the form of dreams. In Michael Drayton's mock-epic fairy poem Nymphidia (1627), she is the wife of the fairy king Oberon and is the queen

Bacchelli, Riccardo

2004-12-25T02:26:00.000-08:00

Bacchelli attended the University of Bologna but left without a degree in 1912. He became a contributor to literary journals. Bacchelli published a

Lenya, Lotte

2004-12-24T01:38:00.000-08:00

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

Ejaculation

2004-12-23T11:21:00.000-08:00

The release of sperm cells and seminal plasma from the male reproductive system. Ejaculation takes place in two phases: in the first, or emission, stage, sperm are moved from the testes and the epididymis (where the sperm are stored) to the beginning of the urethra, a hollow tube running through the penis that transports either sperm or urine; in the second stage, ejaculation

Tacoma Narrows Bridge

2004-12-22T06:14:00.000-08:00

First suspension bridge across the Narrows of Puget Sound, connecting the Olympic Peninsula with the mainland of Washington state, U.S., and a landmark failure in engineering history. Four months after its opening, on the morning of November 7, 1940, in a wind of about 42 miles (67 km) per hour, the 2,800-foot (840-metre) main span, which had already exhibited a marked flexibility, went into a series

Sogn Fjord

2004-12-21T01:57:00.000-08:00

Fjord, Sogn og Fjordane fylke (county), western Norway. It is the longest and deepest fjord in Norway, and its mouth is located 45 miles (72 km) north of Bergen. Its length, from Solund on the offshore island of Sula in the North Sea to Skjolden, at the head of its longest branch, Lustra Fjord, is 127 miles (204 km). The fjord's maximum depth is 4,291 feet (1,308 m), and its main axis is east-west. Its narrow, deep tributary

Kshatriya

2004-12-20T15:38:00.000-08:00

The earliest Vedic literature listed the Kshatriya (holders of ksatra, or authority) as first in rank, then the Brahmans (priests and teachers of law), next the Vaisya (merchant-traders), and finally the Sudra (artisans and labourers). Movements

Hyesan

2004-12-19T20:27:00.000-08:00

City, northern North Korea. As a frontier city lying on the upper stream of the Yalu River (Amnok-kang), it was a fortress during the Yi dynasty (1392–1910), under the name of Hyesanjin. In winter it is one of the coldest places in Korea; a temperature of -44° F (-42° C) was recorded in 1915. It is the starting point of water transportation on the Yalu. Logs from the nearby Paektu Mountain area, which contains

Maxwell, William

2004-12-17T02:46:00.000-08:00

Educated at the University of Illinois (B.A., 1930) and Harvard University (M.A., 1931), Maxwell taught English at the University of Illinois before joining the staff of The New Yorker magazine, where he worked

North Germanic Languages, Orthography

2004-12-17T00:33:00.000-08:00

The five basic vowel symbols of the Latin alphabet are supplemented by a number of special symbols that are used mostly to represent umlauted vowels: thus, there is y (pronounced as German ü), æ (used in Danish, Norwegian, Icelandic, and Faroese) and the corresponding ä (used in Swedish), ø (in Danish, Norwegian, and Faroese) and the corresponding ö (in Swedish and Icelandic), and

Arts, Central Asian, Mongolian literature

2004-12-16T02:28:00.000-08:00

Mongolian literature begins with the Secret History of the Mongols, an Imperial chronicle dealing with the life and times of Genghis Khan and his successors, written about 1240. Üligers, orally transmitted epic stories in verse, form the bulk of native literary expression. Highly stylized, these tales relate adventures of legendary heroes and villains. In spite of their

Tonga

2004-12-15T22:07:00.000-08:00

Officially Kingdom of Tonga, Tongan Pule'anga Fakatu'i 'o Tonga, also called Friendly Islands, country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of 169 islands divided into three main island groups: Tongatapu in the south, Ha'apai in the centre, and Vava'u in the north. Isolated islands include Niuafo'ou, Niuatoputapu, and Tafahi in the far north and 'Ata in the far south. Tonga's total land area of 290 square miles (750 square kilometres) is dispersed between latitudes 15° to

Aetolia

2004-12-13T06:56:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Aitolia, district of ancient Greece, located directly north of the Gulf of Corinth and bounded by Epirus (north), Locris (east), and Acarnania (west). In modern Greece, Aetolia is linked with Acarnania in the department of Aitolía kai Akarnanía. Aetolia, particularly its cities Pleuron and Calydon, figures prominently in early legend. During the great migrations (1200–1000 BC) most of the region's

Aquinas, Thomas, Saint

2004-12-13T01:40:00.000-08:00

The biography of Thomas Aquinas is one of extreme simplicity; it chronicles little but some modest travel during a career devoted entirely to university life: at Paris, the Roman Curia, Paris again, and Naples. It would be a mistake, however, to judge that his life was merely the quiet life of a professional teacher untouched by the social and political affairs of his

Metachromatic Leukodystrophy

2004-12-12T17:51:00.000-08:00

Rare inherited metabolic disease in which the lack of a key enzyme causes loss of the protective myelin sheath from the white matter of the brain, resulting in psychological disturbances, mental deterioration, and sensory and motor defects. The absence of the enzyme cerebroside sulfatase (arylsulfatase A) allows certain specialized lipids (sphingolipids) to

Cellarette

2004-12-10T19:40:00.000-08:00

Small, movable wine cooler and, later, also a deep, metal-lined tray with compartments for holding bottles in a sideboard. The term was first used by 18th-century cabinetmakers. Most movable cellarettes were made of mahogany, and designs were varied, the shape governed to some degree by the shapes of wine bottles. Early wine bottles were short and squat, but in the late 18th

Zion National Park

2004-12-07T16:35:00.000-08:00

The park's principal feature is Zion Canyon, which received its name from the Mormons who discovered it (1858) and settled there in the early 1860s. A portion of the area was first set aside as the Mukuntuweap National Monument in 1909. The monument was enlarged and

Hero And Leander

2004-12-07T07:18:00.000-08:00

The story is preserved in

Kireyevsky, Ivan Vasilyevich

2004-12-06T13:08:00.000-08:00

Born into an aristocratic family, Kireyevsky studied metaphysics in Germany in 1830. Upon his return to Russia he founded in 1832 a literary journal called Yevropeyets (“European”), which was banned

Dachshund

2004-12-05T04:33:00.000-08:00

(German: “badger dog”), dog breed of hound and terrier ancestry developed in Germany to pursue badgers into their burrows. The dachshund is a long-bodied, characteristically lively dog with a deep chest, short legs, tapering muzzle, and long ears. Usually reddish brown or black-and-tan, it is bred in two sizes—standard and miniature—and in three coat types—smooth, long, and wiry.

Thelon River

2004-12-04T14:03:00.000-08:00

Stream in eastern Fort Smith region, Northwest Territories, and central Keewatin region, Nunavut territory, Canada. It drains a major portion of the Barren Grounds (a sub-Arctic prairie region). Arising from several lakes, including Whitefish and Lynx, east of Great Slave Lake, the river flows through Thelon Wildlife Sanctuary (where there are musk-oxen) in an easterly

Loyd, Sam

2004-12-03T18:36:00.000-08:00

Loyd studied engineering and took a license as a steam and mechanical engineer, but he engaged in a variety of business enterprises until he was able to earn a living exclusively from his chess

Astringent

2004-12-01T20:02:00.000-08:00

Any of a group of substances that cause the contraction or shrinkage of tissues and that dry up secretions. Astringents are usually classified into three groups according to their mode of action: (1) those that decrease the blood supply by narrowing the small blood vessels (e.g., epinephrine and cocaine), (2) those that abstract water from the tissue (e.g., glycerol and alcohol

Lea

2004-12-01T14:26:00.000-08:00

County in the High Plains of southeastern New Mexico, U.S., bordered on the east and south by Texas. The northwestern area of the county is located on the Llano Estacado, or Staked Plain, above the Mescalero Escarpment at over 4,000 feet (1,200 m) above sea level; the land slopes to the southeast to under 3,000 feet. There are no streams in Lea county, which includes several dry lakes and creek

Ekman, Gösta

2004-11-30T06:00:00.000-08:00

Ekman premiered in 1906 at Stockholm's Oscar Theatre and, after an apprenticeship on tour and in the provinces, returned to Stockholm (1913) to win acclaim for his classic portrayals, such as Lionel in Friedrich Schiller's Maid of Orleans (1914), Claudio in Much Ado About Nothing (1916), and

Lahbabi, Mohammed Aziz

2004-11-29T03:50:00.000-08:00

Moroccan writer and philosopher (b. Dec. 25, 1922, Fès, Morocco--d. Aug. 23, 1993, Rabat, Morocco), had influence in the Arab world through his many writings, some of which were translated into as many as 30 languages. Lahbabi was educated at the Sorbonne in Paris and received a doctorate of philosophy. He taught philosophy at Muhammad V University, Rabat, and the University of Algiers and held other

Devolution, War Of

2004-11-28T22:33:00.000-08:00

Devolution was a local custom governing the inheritance of land in certain provinces of the Spanish Netherlands, by which daughters of a first marriage were preferred to sons of subsequent marriages; and Louis XIV of France began the war on the pretext that this

Xerox Parc

2004-11-27T15:54:00.000-08:00

An excellent source on PARC's history is Michael Hiltzick, Dealers of Lightning: Xerox PARC and the Dawn of the Computer Age (1999).