DirtyParcel

organic bed linen

2006-10-29T13:50:00.000-08:00

Livs range of soft luxurious bed linenis sourced ethically from India and using a fair trade policy. Liv also provide duvet cover set and bath towel set.

Rye House Plot

2005-04-04T22:48:00.000-07:00

(1683), alleged Whig conspiracy to assassinate or mount an insurrection against Charles II of England because of his pro-Roman Catholic policies. The plot drew its name from Rye House at Hoddeston, Hertfordshire, near which ran a narrow road where Charles was supposed to be killed as he traveled from a horse meet at Newmarket. By chance, according to the official narrative,

Chandigarh

2005-04-04T04:11:00.000-07:00

City and union territory of India. Located on the plain just south of the Shiwalik Hills, about 150 miles (240 kilometres) north of New Delhi, Chandigarh is bounded by the state of Haryana on the east and by the state of Punjab on all other sides. The territory is administered by a chief commissioner, who is appointed by the president of India's union (central) government. The city of

Recessiveness

2005-04-03T21:36:00.000-07:00

In genetics, the failure of one of a pair of genes (alleles) present in an individual to express itself in an observable manner because of the greater influence, or dominance, of its opposite-acting partner. Both alleles affect the same inherited characteristic, but the presence of the recessive gene cannot be determined by observation of the organism; i.e., although

Miracle, Sacred places

2005-04-02T14:43:00.000-08:00

Miracles are often connected with special sacred places. Normally these are natural shrines, such as sacred groves, or temples and sanctuaries in which a god or spirit lives or has manifested himself or in which his statue, symbol, holy objects, or relics are enshrined. Holy places, such as Mecca and the Ka'bah in Islam or the Buddhist stupas, are centres of pilgrimages

K.c.m.g.

2005-04-01T03:41:00.000-08:00

Knight commander of St. Michael and St. George, member of the second highest rank of a British order of knighthood. See Saint Michael and Saint George, The Most Distinguished Order of.

Aerobatics

2005-04-01T01:22:00.000-08:00

For a historical overview of the sport, see Annette Carson, Flight Fantastic: The Illustrated History of Aerobatics (1986). Information on aerobatic techniques may be found in Geza Szurovy and Michael Goulian, Advanced Aerobatics (1997); and Peter Mallinson, The Handbook of Glider Aerobatics (1999). Detailed information on the latest competition events and their formats may be obtained by contacting the International Aerobatics Commission of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale in Paris.

Jouffroy D'abbans, Claude-françois-dorothée, Marquis De

2005-03-31T08:30:00.000-08:00

At the age of 20 Jouffroy d'Abbans entered the army, and a year later he became involved in a duel that resulted in his banishment to Provence. There he began to work with boats and built a 43-foot (13-metre) steamboat

Game

2005-03-30T15:01:00.000-08:00

A universal form of recreation generally including any activity engaged in for diversion or amusement and often establishing a situation that involves a contest or rivalry. Card games are the games most commonly played by adults. Children's games include a wide variety of amusements and pastimes primarily for children. See also card game; children's game.

Raddall, Thomas Head

2005-03-30T11:36:00.000-08:00

Raddall immigrated to Nova Scotia with his family in 1913 after his father, a military officer, was transferred to Halifax. The younger Raddall was briefly employed as a wireless operator before becoming

Wilde, Oscar (fingal O'flahertie Wills)

2005-03-29T01:39:00.000-08:00

Irish wit, poet, and dramatist whose reputation rests on his comic masterpieces Lady Windermere's Fan (1892) and The Importance of Being Earnest (1895). He was a spokesman for the late 19th-century Aesthetic movement in England, which advocated art for art's sake; and he was the object of celebrated civil and criminal suits involving homosexuality and ending

Jungle Babbler

2005-03-28T11:09:00.000-08:00

Any of about 32 species of songbirds constituting the tribe Pellorneini of the babbler family Timaliidae. Found from Africa to Malaysia and the Philippines, these drab birds with slender, often hook-tipped bills skulk in forest undergrowth. An example is the striped jungle babbler, or spotted babbler (Pelloreum ruficeps), of Southeast Asia—16 centimetres (6 1/4 inches) long,

France, History Of, Mitterrand's second term

2005-03-28T10:14:00.000-08:00

Restraint paid dividends when Mitterrand ran for a second term in April–May 1988. In the first round of balloting, Chirac managed to defeat his conservative rivals (Giscard, Barre, and Le Pen), but in the second round Mitterrand scored a clear victory (54 to 46 percent). The resurgent president chose the Socialist Michel Rocard as prime minister and once again dissolved the National

Howard, Oliver O.

2005-03-26T19:05:00.000-08:00

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

Tragedy

2005-03-26T02:48:00.000-08:00

The origins of the tragic form are Greek, as are those of the term itself, meaning “goat-song” and possibly referring originally to the sacrifice of a

California, U.S. colonization and acquisition

2005-03-25T03:14:00.000-08:00

Secularization of the missions was sought by Spanish-Mexican settlers known as Californios when Mexico became independent of Spain in 1821. Between 1833 and 1840 the mission ranches were parceled out to political favourites by the Mexican government. The padres withdrew, and the Indians were cruelly exploited and diminished. In 1841 the first wagon train of settlers left Missouri

Bonstetten, Karl Viktor Von

2005-03-24T18:25:00.000-08:00

Of a conservative and patrician family, Bonstetten for 12 years had to resist being forced into the traditional career of municipal magistrate. Instead he studied Horace and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, traveled abroad, and cultivated friendships in the liberal intellectual

Gnetophyte

2005-03-24T09:08:00.000-08:00

Any member of the division Gnetophyta, a small group of vascular gymnospermous plants that are represented by three genera: Ephedra, Gnetum, and Welwitschia. There are about 35 species in the genus Ephedra, 30 or more in Gnetum, but only one in Welwitschia. The three genera exhibit their great diversity in the immense variety of form and size among the various species.

Toronto, Theatre's Third City

2005-03-22T22:28:00.000-08:00

By the 1990s Toronto had quietly become the third-largest theatre centre in the English-speaking world, after New York City and London. With a population approaching four million in the metropolitan area, Toronto had come to serve as host to a wide range of theatrical activity, from fringe festivals in the summer to several midsize, not-for-profit theatres, national and

Wachsmann, Konrad

2005-03-22T13:49:00.000-08:00

Originally apprenticed as a cabinetmaker, Wachsmann studied at the arts-and-crafts schools of Berlin and Dresden and at the Berlin Academy of Arts (under the Expressionist architect Hans Poelzig). During

Earth Exploration

2005-03-22T03:37:00.000-08:00

The overall oblate shape of the Earth was established by French Academy expeditions between 1735 and 1743. The Earth's mean density and total mass were determined by the English physicist and chemist Henry Cavendish in about 1797. It was later ascertained that the density of rocks on the Earth's surface is significantly less than the mean density, leading to the assumption that

Referendum And Initiative

2005-03-21T21:41:00.000-08:00

The referendum may be obligatory or optional. Under the obligatory type, a statute or constitution requires that certain classes of legislative action be referred to a popular vote for approval or rejection. For

R.e.m.

2005-03-21T03:08:00.000-08:00

Robert Christgau, Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s (1990), provides provocative discussions of R.E.M.'s albums from Chronic Town (“every so often a chaotic undertow suggests there's more to their romanticism than Spanish moss”) to Green. Christgau struggles with the lack of literary specificity in the band's lyrics, promotes some understanding of their Southern origins, slightly underrates Fables of the Reconstruction while noting that the album “clinches it: their formal frame of reference is folk-rock,” and uses the crucial word to explain R.E.M.'s appeal for a certain sort of rock-based fan and commentator: “reassuring.” Patricia Romanowski, Holly George-Warren, and Jon Pareles (eds.), The New Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll, revised and updated ed. (1995), pp. 826–827, presents a focused and informed narrative of the band's formation, development, and recording history through the Monster album. Mike Mills, “Our Town,” in Clinton Heylin (ed.), The Penguin Book of Rock & Roll Writing (1992), pp. 401–408, is an essay about Athens written in 1985 by R.E.M.'s bassist. The first sentence—“When you mention ‘the Athens scene' to anyone who's been here for four or five years, they get weird”—accurately establishes both the tone and ambition of the piece.

Xerox Parc

2005-03-20T22:26:00.000-08:00

Among the many inventions of the 1970s, few are as important as the personal computer, and, because the Xerox Alto was developed in 1973, PARC can claim credit for having made the first one. However, the mindset at Xerox, like that of all computer manufacturers of that time, was that a market did not exist for such machines. Corporate analysts asserted that the computer would be too

Arts, Central Asian, Ghaznavids and Ghurids

2005-03-19T17:55:00.000-08:00

Alp Tigin, a slave of Turkic origin at the Samanid court, escaped in AD 962 to Kabul, where he rapidly gained control of the town. He transferred his headquarters to Ghazna in central Afghanistan and established his dynasty there. Few Ghaznavid works of art have survived, but the admirably proportioned and decorated mortuary towers at Ghazna are architectural achievements

Malathion

2005-03-19T15:16:00.000-08:00

Trade name for an organic phosphorus compound that is a general-purpose insecticide considerably less toxic to humans than parathion and is thus suited for the control of household and garden insects. It is important in the control of mosquitoes, flies, and lice. Malathion is a yellow-to-brown liquid with a characteristic unpleasant odour. It is generally prepared

Erik I

2005-03-19T02:31:00.000-08:00

Byname Erik Bloodax, Norwegian Eirik BlodØks king of Norway (c. 930–935) and later king of Northumberland (948, 952–954). On the death of his father, Harald I Fairhair, first king of united Norway, Erik attempted to make himself sole king of Norway, defeating and slaying two of his brothers to whom vassal kingdoms had been assigned by their father; but his tyranny fostered the reaction that had set in against the strong rule

Jacotot, Jean-joseph

2005-03-19T00:33:00.000-08:00

Jacotot began his career as a teacher and mathematician and was appointed subdirector of the Polytechnic School in Dijon (1795), where he became, in succession, professor of the method of sciences, of Latin and Greek literature, and of Roman law. During the Napoleonic Wars he

Lipa

2005-03-17T16:17:00.000-08:00

Chartered city, Batangas province, southwestern Luzon, Philippines. Formerly a Spanish military headquarters, it is a market town for a fruit-growing region. Lipa was rebuilt (including its cathedral) after a disastrous volcanic eruption in 1754 and again after its virtual destruction under Japanese occupation in World War II. Industries include clothing manufacture

Irish Potato Famine

2005-03-16T11:16:00.000-08:00

Also called Great Potato Famine, Great Irish Famine, or Famine Of 1845–49, famine that occurred in Ireland in 1845–49 when the potato crop failed in successive years. The crop failures were caused by late blight (q.v.), a disease that destroys both the leaves and the edible roots, or tubers, of the potato plant. The causative agent of late blight is the fungus Phytophthora infestans. The Irish Potato Famine was the worst famine to occur in Europe in the

Russell, Henry Norris

2005-03-16T08:26:00.000-08:00

American astronomer—one of the most influential during the first half of the 20th century—who played a major role in the establishment of modern theoretical astrophysics by making physics the core of astrophysical practice. Bearing his name is the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, a graph that demonstrates the relationship between

Nagaland

2005-03-16T00:01:00.000-08:00

Nagaland has no early written history, although medieval chronicles of the neighbouring Ahom kingdom of Assam tell of the Naga tribes, their economy, and their customs. The 1816 Myanmar invasion of Assam led to oppressive Myanmar rule from 1819 until the establishment of British rule over Assam in 1826. The advent of British administration, which by 1892 encompassed the whole of Naga territory

Hawthorne Research

2005-03-15T23:14:00.000-08:00

Also called Hawthorne effect socioeconomic experiments conducted by Elton Mayo in 1927 among employees of the Hawthorne Works factory of the Western Electric Company in Cicero, Illinois. For almost a year, a group of female workers were subjected to measured changes in their hours, wages, rest periods, lighting conditions, organization, and degree of supervision and consultation in order to determine

Earth, The atmosphere

2005-03-14T21:55:00.000-08:00

The Earth is surrounded by a relatively thin atmosphere consisting of a mixture of gases, primarily molecular nitrogen (77 percent) and molecular oxygen (21 percent). This gaseous envelope, commonly called the air, also contains much smaller amounts of gases such as argon, carbon dioxide, methane, and water vapour, along with minute solid and liquid particles in

Hayden, Melissa

2005-03-14T11:01:00.000-08:00

Hayden began studying dance while a schoolgirl. In 1945 she went to New York City and found a position in the corps de ballet at Radio City Music Hall. Within a few months she had been accepted by the Ballet Theatre (now American Ballet Theatre)

Paulding, James Kirke

2005-03-14T00:12:00.000-08:00

At 18 he went to New York City, where he formed a lasting friendship with the Irving brothers. This association aroused his enthusiasm for literature, and he, with William and Washington Irving,

Rakshasa

2005-03-13T16:11:00.000-08:00

Sanskrit (male) Raksasa , or (female) Raksasi in Hindu mythology, a type of demon or goblin. Rakshasas have the power to change their shape at will and appear as animals, as monsters, or in the case of the female demons, as beautiful women. They are most powerful in the evening, particularly during the dark period of the new moon, but they are dispelled by the rising sun. They especially detest sacrifices and prayer. Most

Mujahadah

2005-03-13T15:42:00.000-08:00

(Arabic: “striving”), in Sufism, struggle with the carnal self; the word is related to jihad (struggle), which is often understood as “holy war.” The Sufis refer to mujahadah as al-jihad al-akbar (the greater war) in contrast to al-jihad al-asghar (the minor war), which is waged against unbelievers. It is one of the major duties that a Sufi must perform throughout his mystical journey toward union

Bloodroot

2005-03-13T05:30:00.000-08:00

Also called Red Puccoon (Sanguinaria canadensis), plant of the poppy family (Papaveraceae), native throughout eastern and midwestern North America. It grows mainly in deciduous woodlands, where it blooms in early spring. Bloodroot has a shining white, eight-petalled, cup-shaped flower with bright yellow stamens (male reproductive structures) in the centre. The 4- to

Aerospace Industry

2005-03-12T23:34:00.000-08:00

Technological progress is the basis for competitiveness and advancement in the aerospace industry. The industry is, as a result, a world leader in advancing science and technology. Aerospace systems have a very high value per unit weight and are among the most complex, as measured by the number of components in finished products. Consequently, it is economically

Suckling, Sir John

2005-03-10T08:00:00.000-08:00

He was educated at Cambridge and inherited his father's considerable estates at the age of 18. He entered Gray's Inn in 1627 and was knighted in 1630. He became a prominent figure at court with a reputation for being “the greatest gallant of his time, and the greatest

Pyramid

2005-03-10T06:14:00.000-08:00

In architecture, a monumental structure constructed of or faced with stone or brick and having a rectangular base and four sloping triangular (or sometimes trapezoidal) sides meeting at an apex (or truncated to form a platform). Pyramids have been built at various times in Egypt, The Sudan, Ethiopia, western Asia, Greece, Cyprus, Italy, India, Thailand, Mexico, South America,

Adwick Le Street

2005-03-10T02:58:00.000-08:00

Town, Doncaster metropolitan borough, metropolitan county of South Yorkshire, historic county of Yorkshire, England. The town derives its name from the great north British Roman routeway, Ermine Street. The earliest references to the town are found in Domesday Book (1086), and the parish church of St. Lawrence dates from the 12th century. The Washington family—from which George

G.c.

2005-03-10T00:12:00.000-08:00

The George Cross, a British decoration for bravery. See George Cross.

Conservatory

2005-03-09T03:46:00.000-08:00

The conservatory was a direct descendant

Black Sea

2005-03-08T17:25:00.000-08:00

The roughly oval-shaped Black Sea occupies a large basin strategically situated at the southeastern extremity of Europe but connected to the distant waters

Dominion

2005-03-08T04:46:00.000-08:00

The status, prior to 1939, of each of the British Commonwealth countries of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Union of South Africa, Eire, and Newfoundland. Although there was no formal definition of dominion status, a pronouncement by the Imperial Conference of 1926 described Great Britain and the dominions as “autonomous communities within the British Empire, equal in status,

Art, Antiques, And Collections

2005-03-07T17:45:00.000-08:00

The ways that photographs were bought, sold, auctioned, and merchandised as art increased dramatically during 1999 with the Internet's explosive growth. Whereas the world's first on-line photography auction had taken place only a year previously, by the end of 1999 such auctions had become commonplace. Swann Galleries in New York City was experimenting with the idea, and Sotheby's

San Felipe

2005-03-07T05:10:00.000-08:00

Capital of San Felipe de Aconcagua provincia, Valparaíso región, central Chile. It lies along the Aconcagua River, in the Vale of Chile, at 2,087 feet (636 metres) above sea level. Founded in 1740 as San Felipe el Real, it is the centre of an agricultural (alfalfa, grapes, fruits, vegetables, and cereals) and mining (copper and gold) area. It is connected by railway with Valparaíso, 80 miles (130 km) southwest,

Cranko, John

2005-03-06T04:50:00.000-08:00

His basic dance training was at the Cape Town University Ballet School, where he performed as well as choreographed his first ballet, The Soldier's Tale (1942). In 1946 he joined the Sadler's Wells Ballet (later called the Royal Ballet) and continued to choreograph.

Hardinge (of Lahore And Kings Newton), Henry Hardinge, 1st Viscount

2005-03-06T01:35:00.000-08:00

Hardinge entered the army in 1799 and, during the Napoleonic Wars, served with distinction as a staff officer in the Peninsular War (1808–14). In the Hundred Days (1815), he was a brigadier general with the Prussian army at the Battle of Ligny and

Szent-györgyi, Albert

2005-03-05T18:11:00.000-08:00

Szent-Györgyi earned a medical degree from the University of Budapest in 1917. He became interested

Buddhacarita

2005-03-04T14:21:00.000-08:00

In full Buddhacarita-kavya-sutra (Sanskrit: “Poetic Discourse on the Acts of the Buddha”), poetic narrative of the life of Buddha by the Sanskrit poet Asvaghosa, one of the finest examples of Buddhist literature. The author, who lived in northern India in the 1st–2nd century AD, created a loving account of the Buddha's life and teachings, one that—in contrast to other treatments such as the Mahavastu (“Great Story”) and

Gable, Dan

2005-03-04T05:54:00.000-08:00

Gable was undefeated in high school competition and won three consecutive Iowa state high school championships. Competing for Iowa State University, he posted a near-perfect record. During his freshman year he entered the Midlands

Tiger-flower

2005-03-03T18:43:00.000-08:00

The flowers, in a range of colours including orange-red, have three lower floral parts alternating with three much smaller petals, all with a spotted cup at the centre.

Gable, Clark

2005-03-02T17:36:00.000-08:00

Gabe Essoe, The Films of Clark Gable (1970, reissued 1973); Lyn Tornabene, Long Live the King (1976, reissued 1978); Jane Ellen Wayne, Clark Gable: Portrait of a Misfit (1993).

Waihi

2005-03-02T15:31:00.000-08:00

Town, Waikato local government region, northern North Island, New Zealand, on the Ohinemuri River (tributary of the Waihou). Situated at the base of the Coromandel Peninsula on the northern end of the Waihi Plains, Waihi, whose name is Maori for “rising waters,” was founded three years after gold and silver were discovered just north of the site in 1875. Gold mining continued

Parks, Rosa

2005-03-02T00:22:00.000-08:00

Parks attended Alabama State College (now Alabama State University) and made her living as a seamstress. In 1943 she became

Babcock, Horace Welcome

2005-03-01T23:23:00.000-08:00

Horace Babcock attended the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena and the University of California. He worked at the Massachusetts

Calas, Jean

2005-03-01T19:12:00.000-08:00

On Oct. 13, 1761, Calas's eldest son, MarcAntoine, was found hanged in his father's textile shop in Toulouse. Anti-Huguenot hysteria broke out among the local Roman Catholic populace,

Xipe Totec

2005-03-01T04:43:00.000-08:00

As a symbol of the new vegetation, Xipe Totec wore the skin of a human victim—the “new skin” that covered the Earth in the spring. His statues and stone masks always show him wearing a freshly flayed skin. Described

Baratynsky, Yevgeny Abramovich

2005-02-28T06:58:00.000-08:00

Of noble parentage, Baratynsky was expelled from the imperial corps of pages, entered the army, was commissioned,

Chain

2005-02-27T18:16:00.000-08:00

Also called Gunter's Chain, in surveying, a unit of length. See surveyor's chain.

Pacific Islands, Climate

2005-02-27T05:09:00.000-08:00

To describe the climate as tropical and oceanic is to stress the influence of the lower latitudes and the tremendous expanse of the sea. Humidity and temperature tend to be high and are generally uniform throughout the year. Regional differentiation in climate is linked principally to rainfall patterns. Here, factors of altitude and longitude, as well as latitude,

Ecosphere

2005-02-26T19:18:00.000-08:00

The sum of the Earth's ecological systems (ecosystems), all living organisms interacting with the physical environment. It is almost equivalent to the term biosphere (q.v.), with the further implication of a conscious ecological management of the Earth's resources.

Faraday, Michael

2005-02-26T19:13:00.000-08:00

Faraday, who became one of the greatest scientists of the 19th century, began his career as a chemist. He wrote a manual of practical chemistry that reveals his mastery of the technical aspects

Yugoslavia

2005-02-25T16:28:00.000-08:00

Three federations have borne the name Yugoslavia (“Land of the South Slavs”). The Kingdom of Yugoslavia (Kraljevina Jugoslavija), officially proclaimed in 1929 and lasting

Christ, Two Natures Of

2005-02-25T15:36:00.000-08:00

The clarification of Trinitarian doctrine during the first four centuries

Literature, Other Literature in English.

2005-02-25T08:39:00.000-08:00

Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa continued to provide critically acclaimed and commercially successful literary works in English in 2001. Australian Peter Carey became only the second two-time winner of Great Britain's Booker Prize. His fictional treatment of 19th-century Australian folk hero and outlaw

Kazin, Alfred

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

The son of Russian Jewish immigrants, Kazin attended the City College of New York during the Great Depression and then worked as a freelance book reviewer for The New Republic and other periodicals. At age 27 he wrote a sweeping

Iapetus

2005-02-23T05:38:00.000-08:00

Exterior moon in the Saturn system, extraordinary because of its surface markings. Discovered by Gian Domenico Cassini in 1671, Iapetus orbits Saturn once every 79.33 Earth days at a distance of 3,561,000 km (2,212,800 miles). The satellite's radius and mass are, respectively, 730 ± 10 km (454 ± 6 miles) and 1.88 ± 0.12 ´ 1024 grams, implying a bulk density of 1.16 ± 0.09 grams per cubic centimetre. A solid object with so low a density must be composed

Breckinridge, Sophonisba Preston

2005-02-22T20:46:00.000-08:00

Breckinridge graduated from Wellesley College in 1888. After a time as a schoolteacher in Washington, D.C., she studied law in her father's office and in 1895 became the first woman to be admitted to the Kentucky bar. Uninterested in legal practice, she

Paddock, Charlie

2005-02-22T19:44:00.000-08:00

Paddock ran for the University of Southern California (Los Angeles), from which he graduated in 1922. He served in the U.S.

Vital, Hayyim Ben Joseph

2005-02-22T06:28:00.000-08:00

In Safed, Palestine, in about 1570, Vital became the disciple of Isaac ben Solomon Luria, the leading Kabbalist of his time, and after Luria's death (1572) Vital professed to be the sole interpreter of the Lurian school. He became the

Cão, Diogo

2005-02-21T23:54:00.000-08:00

Cão was the first European to discover the mouth of the Congo River (August 1482). There he set up a stone pillar to mark Portuguese overlordship of the area. Sailing a short way upstream, he found that the inhabitants along the banks appeared willing to trade. He then traveled southward along the present Angola coast and erected a second

Wells, Charles Jeremiah

2005-02-21T01:18:00.000-08:00

As a young man, Wells was a member of the poet John

Baruch, Bernard

2005-02-20T23:29:00.000-08:00

After graduating from the College of the City of New York in 1889, Baruch worked as an office boy in a linen business and later in Wall Street brokerage houses. Over the years he amassed a fortune as a stock market speculator. In 1916 he was appointed by President Woodrow Wilson to the Advisory

Tsugaru Strait

2005-02-20T13:09:00.000-08:00

Japanese Tsugaru-kaikyo, strait of the northwest Pacific extending east from the Sea of Japan to the open ocean between the Japanese islands of Honshu (south) and Hokkaido. It is 15 to 25 miles (24 to 40 km) wide. The strait takes the Tsugaru Current, a warmer and saltier flow that is an extension of the Tsushima Drift, and carries it into the Pacific. Hakodate is a port city on Hokkaido; Aomori is its complement

San Blas

2005-02-19T19:05:00.000-08:00

Traditional region, eastern Panama, stretching about 100 miles (160 km) along the Caribbean Sea from the Colombian border to the Gulf of San Blas. The narrow strip of land includes the San Blas (formerly Mulatas) Archipelago. Agriculture—chiefly coconuts, yams, and plantains—and fishing are the principal economic activities in San Blas. The population consists largely of

Australian Antarctic Territory

2005-02-19T15:46:00.000-08:00

External territory claimed by Australia and located in Antarctica. See Australian External Territories.

Caucasian Languages, General works

2005-02-19T06:24:00.000-08:00

G. Deeters, G.R. Solta, and Vahan Inglisian, Armenisch und kaukasische Sprachen (1963), a survey, includes a presentation of the structure of the Caucasian languages according to the most characteristic features of phonology, morphology, and syntax, with an extensive bibliography. G.A. Klimov, Kavkazskie iazyki (1965), also available in a German translation, Die kaukasischen Sprachen (1969), offers a brief exposition of the history and structures of the Caucasian languages, with a general characterization of each group and an extensive bibliography, and his Vvedenie v kavkazskoe iazykoznanie, ed. by B.A. Serebrennikov (1986), also available in a German translation, Einführung in die kaukasische Sprachwissenschaft, ed. and trans. by Jost Gippert (1994), is also of interest. A.H. Kuipers, “Caucasian,” in Current Trends in Linguistics, vol. 1 (1963), pp. 315–344, provides a useful brief survey of Caucasian linguistics, with a selected bibliography. Adolf Dirr, Einführung in das Studium der kaukasischen Sprachen (1928, reprinted 1978), contains a survey of the structure of individual Caucasian languages and their interrelationships as well as a linguistic atlas. V.V. Vinogradov (ed.), IAzyki Narodov SSSR, vol. 4, Iberiisko-Kavkazskie IAzyki (1967), is a brief exposition of the structures of all the Caucasian languages, with a selected bibliography. Much of the more recent scholarship is published in Georgian or Russian. Recent works in English include John A.C. Greppin (ed.), The Indigenous Languages of the Caucasus (1991– ); and Howard I. Aronson (ed.), Non-Slavic Languages of the U.S.S.R.: Papers from the Fourth Conference (1994).

Macaroni

2005-02-18T11:56:00.000-08:00

In art, Late Paleolithic finger tracings in clay, the oldest form of art known. Innumerable examples appear on the walls and ceilings of limestone caves associated with human habitation in France and Spain, the oldest dating from about 30,000 BC. They range from simple scratchings and jumbled aimless lines to deliberate meanders and arabesques and outline drawings of

Arts, Central Asian, Shamanic ritual

2005-02-17T23:33:00.000-08:00

Teachings that spirits are responsible for unexplainable phenomena, such as disease and death, and that these spirits can be controlled by an individual with special powers, such as a shaman, evolved in many primitive societies throughout the world, including those of the nomadic peoples of Central Asia. The roles of the shaman include oracle, healer, sacrificer,

Skarn

2005-02-17T21:15:00.000-08:00

In geology, metamorphic zone developed in the contact area around igneous rock intrusions when carbonate sedimentary rocks are invaded by large amounts of silicon, aluminum, iron, and magnesium. The minerals commonly present in a skarn include iron oxides, calc-silicates (wollastonite, diopside, forsterite), andradite and grossularite garnet, epidote, and calcite.

Celery

2005-02-17T10:26:00.000-08:00

(species Apium graveolens), herb of the family Apiaceae (Umbelliferae). Native to the Mediterranean areas and the Middle East, celery was used as a flavouring by the ancient Greeks and Romans and as a medicine by the ancient Chinese. The ancient forms resembled smallage, or wild celery. Celery with large, fleshy, succulent, upright leafstalks, or petioles,

Crawford, William H(arris)

2005-02-16T21:00:00.000-08:00

After living in Virginia and South Carolina, the Crawford family moved to Georgia, where William attended Moses Waddel's Carmel Academy. He then taught school in Augusta,

Great Appalachian Valley

2005-02-15T22:00:00.000-08:00

Also called Great Valley Region, longitudinal chain of valley lowlands of the Appalachian mountain system of North America. Extending from Canada on the northeast to Alabama, U.S., on the southwest, it includes the St. Lawrence River valley in Canada and the Kittatinny, Cumberland, Shenandoah, and Tennessee river valleys in the United States. In its southerly region the Great Appalachian Valley divides

Piezoelectricity

2005-02-15T21:04:00.000-08:00

Pressure on certain

Marketing, Packaging and branding

2005-02-15T04:48:00.000-08:00

Packaging and branding are also substantial components in the marketing of a product. Packaging in some instances may be as simple as customers in France carrying long loaves of unwrapped bread or small produce dealers in Italy wrapping vegetables in newspapers or placing them in customers' string bags. In most industrialized countries, however, the packaging

Iki

2005-02-14T19:47:00.000-08:00

Island, Nagasaki ken (prefecture), Japan, lying in the Eastern Channel, about 10 miles (16 km) off the coast of Kyushu. Most of its 52-square-mile (134-square-kilometre) area is tableland; cereals, oranges, and tobacco are the important crops. The fishing industry yields mackerel and cuttlefish. Anchorages are at Gonoura (the chief town), Katsumoto, and Ashibe. The island served as a gateway

Absinthe

2005-02-13T11:15:00.000-08:00

Flavoured, distilled liquor, yellowish green in colour, turning to cloudy, opalescent white when mixed with water. Highly aromatic, this liqueur is dry and somewhat bitter in taste. Absinthe is made from a spirit high in alcohol, such as brandy, and marketed with alcoholic content of 68 percent by volume. Wormwood (Artemisia absinthium; see photograph

Wilson, Harriet E.

2005-02-13T06:04:00.000-08:00

Almost nothing is known of Wilson's personal history until

Halide Mineral

2005-02-13T05:32:00.000-08:00

Compositionally and structurally, three broad categories of halide minerals are recognized; these categories, which are

Taraki, Nur Mohammad

2005-02-12T23:12:00.000-08:00

Born into a rural Pashtun family, Taraki attended night school while working as a clerk in Bombay, India, where he learned English. In the late 1940s he worked in the press department of the Afghan government and in 1953 was appointed attaché at the

Halide Mineral

2005-02-11T20:57:00.000-08:00

French Cour internationale de Justice, byname World Court the principal judicial organ of the United Nations (UN). The idea for the creation of an international court to arbitrate international disputes first arose during the various conferences that produced the Hague Conventions in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The body subsequently established, the Permanent Court of Arbitration, was the precursor of the Permanent

Aum Shinrikyo

2005-02-11T03:24:00.000-08:00

AUM emerged out of Asahara's dissatisfaction

Dunash Ben Labrat

2005-02-11T00:28:00.000-08:00

Dunash was born either in Fès or in Baghdad and after travelling to Sura, Babylonia,

Gilbert Islands

2005-02-10T09:13:00.000-08:00

Formerly Kingsmill, group of 16 coral atolls, part of Kiribati, in the west central Pacific Ocean 2,800 mi (4,500 km) northeast of Australia. The islands—Makin, Butaritari, Marakei, Abaiang, Tarawa, Maiana, Abemama, Kuria, Aranuka, Nonouti, Tabiteuea, Beru, Nikunau, Onotoa, Tamana, and Arorae—occupy a total land area of 105 sq mi (272 sq km). Low-lying, they are covered with coconut palm and pandanus. Rainfall varies from 80 to

Recidivism

2005-02-09T23:53:00.000-08:00

Tendency toward chronic criminal behaviour leading to numerous arrests and re-imprisonment. Studies of the yearly intake of prisons, reformatories, and jails in the United States and Europe show that from one-half to two-thirds of those imprisoned have served previous sentences in the same or in other institutions. The conclusion is that the criminal population

Gyroscope

2005-02-09T03:26:00.000-08:00

Any device consisting of a rapidly spinning wheel set in a framework that permits it to tilt freely in any direction—i.e., to rotate about any axis. The momentum of such a wheel causes it to retain its attitude when the framework is tilted; from this characteristic derive a number of valuable applications. Gyroscopes are used in such instruments as compasses and automatic