DryTrain

0800 Promote

2006-11-23T16:15:00.000-08:00

0800 Promote are a London based company, established in 1989, primarily to supply quality business gifts. 0800promote provide an all-round facility to promote all aspects of corporate promotional activity and promotional products, including promotional printing,http://0800promote.com/printed-clothes.php and http://0800promote.com/printed-pen.php to name a few. We are a small building business who needed items printing on for a buyers show we were attending and we were extremely happy with 0800 Promotes services.

Tyumen

2005-04-04T05:42:00.000-07:00

Also spelled Tiumen, or T'umen ', oblast (province), central Russia, occupying an area of 554,100 square miles (1,435,200 square km) in the Ob-Irtysh Basin. In the extreme west the Ural Mountains attain 6,217 feet (1,895 m) in Mount Narodnaya, but the remainder of the oblast's huge area is a low, exceptionally flat plain, with innumerable lakes and very extensive swamps. The oblast stretches from tundra in the north, with its scanty vegetation

Pa Sak River

2005-04-03T03:05:00.000-07:00

River in central Thailand. It rises in the northern portion of the Phetchabun Range and flows south through a narrow valley for 319 miles (513 km). It empties into the Lop Buri River at the city of Ayutthaya, north of Bangkok. Lomsak, Phetchabun, and Sara Buri are the main towns on its banks. Below Sara Buri, the Pa Sak is dammed for irrigation.

Hertz, Gustav

2005-04-02T17:22:00.000-08:00

A nephew of the noted physicist Heinrich Hertz, he studied

Scandinavian Literature, Neoromantic revival

2005-04-02T11:18:00.000-08:00

In the 1890s a Neoromantic poetic revival occurred, reinstating the value of emotion and fantasy. The leader of these Symbolist poets was Johannes Jørgensen, whose finest works show a simplicity of style and intensity of feeling. Other poets of the time included Viggo Stuckenberg, who expressed sad resignation; Sophus Claussen, whose poems, often obscure, show sensuality,

Social Behaviour In Animals, Parental behaviour among simple organisms

2005-03-31T00:09:00.000-08:00

Bacteria, only a few steps up the evolutionary scale beyond viruses, also show parent–young colonies. Diplococci, which

Montreal Aquarium

2005-03-30T03:18:00.000-08:00

French Aquarium De Montréal, municipally owned aquarium located on St.-Helen's Island, Montreal, Can. It was built in 1966 for Expo 67, an international exhibition that was held in the city. The aquarium complex consists of two large buildings, one of which contains exhibits of marine and freshwater fishes and invertebrates. The other building is exclusively for marine mammals. The aquarium's fish collection

China, Political developments

2005-03-29T14:43:00.000-08:00

Permafrost, Soil flow

2005-03-28T01:34:00.000-08:00

In areas underlain by an impermeable layer (seasonally frozen ground or perennially frozen ground), the active layer is often saturated with moisture and is quite mobile. The progressive downslope movement of saturated detrital material under the action of gravity and working in conjunction with frost action is called solifluction. This material moves in a

Augusta

2005-03-26T18:58:00.000-08:00

The younger daughter of Charles Frederick, grand duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, she was married to the future king and emperor on June 11, 1829. She was jealously devoted to her children, Frederick William (later king and emperor as Frederick

Aepyornis

2005-03-26T06:25:00.000-08:00

Also called elephant bird, extinct genus of giant flightless birds found as fossils in Pleistocene and post-Pleistocene deposits on the island of Madagascar. The remains of Aepyornis are abundant. The several known species were massively constructed, with conical beaks, short, thick legs, three-toed feet, and relatively small wings that were useless for flight. The birds were probably slow-moving

Alvar

2005-03-25T22:02:00.000-08:00

The name Alvar means, in the Tamil language in which they sang, “one who is immersed

Keres, Paul

2005-03-25T21:54:00.000-08:00

Keres began to learn chess at the age of 4 by watching his father, and he played chess publicly at age 13. While he was still in his teens, Keres

Antiarch

2005-03-23T05:17:00.000-08:00

Any of an order of extinct, mainly freshwater, jawed fishes, class Placodermi, abundant during Middle and Late Devonian times (387 to 360 million years ago). Members of such genera as Bothriolepis and Pterichthys were representative. Antiarchs were small and weak-jawed and had closely set eyes on top of the head. Armour shields covered the front part of the body, and armoured,

Ba'al Shem Tov

2005-03-22T15:51:00.000-08:00

During his lifetime, the Besht brought about a great social and religious upheaval and permanently altered many traditional values. In an atmosphere marked by joy, new rituals, and ecstasy, he created a new religious climate in small houses of prayer outside the synagogues. The changes that had occurred were further emphasized by the wearing of distinctive garb

Middle American Indian

2005-03-20T20:29:00.000-08:00

The physical spine of Middle America is the broad mountain chain extending from the southern end of the Rockies to the northern tip of the Andes, with Middle America in the area from northern Mexico to Nicaragua. The mountain chain marks off the area into four major regions.

Qatar

2005-03-20T08:40:00.000-08:00

Officially State of Qatar , Arabic Dawlat Qatar independent emirate on the west coast of the Persian Gulf. It occupies a small desert peninsula that extends from the larger Arabian Peninsula north of eastern Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. It has an area of 4,416 square miles (11,437 square km), the total including a number of nearby small islands and the Hawar Islands (which are also claimed by Bahrain) in the Persian

Ako

2005-03-19T15:41:00.000-08:00

City, Hyogo ken (prefecture), western Honshu, Japan. During the Heian period (794–1185), it was a seaside resort for courtesans from Kyoto. It became a castle town in the 17th century, when the powerful Ikeda clan took up residence. Since the beginning of the 20th century, the establishment of chemical factories and steel mills has transformed Ako into one of Japan's most polluted industrial

Karate

2005-03-18T18:03:00.000-08:00

Unarmed martial-arts discipline employing kicking, striking, and defensive blocking with arms and legs. Emphasis is on concentrating as much of the body's power as possible at the point and instant of impact. Striking surfaces include the hands (particularly the knuckles and the outer edge), ball of the foot, heel, forearm, knee, and elbow. All are toughened by practice

Variable Star

2005-03-18T02:29:00.000-08:00

In an eclipsing variable, one member of a double, or binary, star system partially

Kertanagara

2005-03-17T17:46:00.000-08:00

Kertanagara was the son of princely families—King Vishnuvardhana of Janggala and a princess of Kadiri—so that by birth he was a reuniter of the two halves of the Javanese kingdom. Even his name, Kertanagara, meaning “order in the realm,” might refer to reunion, which was the achievement of a great king according to the Javanese dualistic cosmology. Probably for this reason,

November Insurrection

2005-03-16T18:36:00.000-08:00

When a revolution broke out in Paris (July 1830) and the Russian emperor Nicholas I indicated his intention of using the Polish Army to suppress it, a Polish secret society of infantry cadets staged an uprising in

Smith, Gerrit

2005-03-16T14:37:00.000-08:00

Smith was born into a wealthy family. In about 1828 he became an active worker in the cause of temperance, and in his home village, Peterboro, he built one of the first temperance hotels in the country. He became

Tooke, John Horne

2005-03-15T16:09:00.000-08:00

Born John Horne, the son of a poultry dealer, he assumed (1782) the additional surname Tooke to honour his friend

Gabelle

2005-03-15T15:45:00.000-08:00

In the 14th century the gabelle denoted any tax on the sale of consumer goods; an ordinance of 1360 made it a permanent tax. In the 15th century the gabelle began to mean specifically the salt tax, that is, a tax on consumption of salt. The nobility, the clergy, and certain other privileged

Tipperary

2005-03-14T09:14:00.000-08:00

Irish Tiobraid Árann (“House of the Well of Ara”) town and urban district, County Tipperary, Ireland. The town grew up around a castle erected by Prince John (later King John) when he was lord of Ireland; the outline of the bailey remains. A chancel arch from a 13th-century Augustinian abbey still stands. In 1339 the town was burned by the O'Briens. New Tipperary was founded in 1890, but it was later abandoned. There is a monument to the

Gates, Horatio

2005-03-13T21:14:00.000-08:00

Gates first served in North America in the French and Indian War (1754–63), emerged as a major, and returned to England. In 1772 he immigrated to the region that

Graffito

2005-03-12T19:57:00.000-08:00

Plural Graffiti any casual writing, rude drawing, or marking on the walls of buildings, as distinguished from a deliberate writing known as an inscription. Graffiti, either scratched on stone or plaster by a sharp instrument or, more rarely, written in red chalk or black charcoal, are found in great abundance; e.g., on the monuments of ancient Egypt. The subject matter of the scribblings

Tabes Dorsalis

2005-03-12T01:27:00.000-08:00

, also called Progressive Locomotor Ataxia, rare neurologic form of tertiary syphilis, involving sensory deficits, loss of neuromuscular coordination, and diminished reflexes. Symptoms of this form of neurosyphilis chiefly affect the legs and may not appear for more than 25 years after the initial infection. Untreated, tabes dorsalis usually makes unassisted walking impossible and severely debilitates

Arao

2005-03-11T17:15:00.000-08:00

City, Kumamoto ken (prefecture), Kyushu, Japan, facing Ariake Bay. It was a poor village until the opening of the Miike coal mine and the arrival of a major railway in the early 20th century. A military munitions factory was established in 1940. After World War II, however, the mine and the factory closed. Arao is now a residential suburb of Omuta to the north. Pop. (1985) 62,570.

Nagy, Imre

2005-03-11T14:53:00.000-08:00

Born to a peasant family, Nagy was apprenticed as a locksmith before being drafted in World War I. Captured by the Russians, he joined

Aarau

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

Capital of Aargau canton, northern Switzerland, at the southern foot of the Jura Mountains, on the right bank of the Aare River, west of Zürich. Founded about 1240 by the counts of Kyburg, it passed to the Habsburgs in 1264 and was taken by the Bernese in 1415. In 1798 it became the capital of the Helvetian Republic. Notable landmarks include several 13th-century towers, the town church (1471), the town

Bhadravati

2005-03-09T07:58:00.000-08:00

City, central Karnataka (formerly Mysore) state, southern India. It lies along the Bhadra River, near the Baba Budan Range. The proximity of iron, manganese, and limestone deposits, along with the Bhadra hydropower project, have made the site an ideal location for steelmaking and other industrial enterprises. Bhadravati has become a planned modern city with accompanying

Annulment

2005-03-09T03:36:00.000-08:00

Legal invalidation of a marriage. Annulment announces the invalidity of a marriage that was void from its inception. It is to be distinguished from dissolution, which ends a valid marriage for special reasons—e.g., insanity of one partner after marrying. The annulment decree attempts to leave the parties in statu quo ante (as they were before the marriage), unless doing

Bülow, Hans (guido), Freiherr Von (baron Of)

2005-03-07T18:35:00.000-08:00

As a child Bülow studied piano under Friedrich Wieck, father

Conestoga Wagon

2005-03-07T08:28:00.000-08:00

Horse-drawn freight wagon that originated during the 18th century in the Conestoga Creek region of Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, U.S. Ideally suited for hauling freight over bad roads, the Conestoga wagon had a capacity of up to six tons, a floor curved up at each end to prevent the contents from shifting inside, and a white canvas cover to protect against bad weather;

Dow, Neal

2005-03-07T00:24:00.000-08:00

His Quaker parents and his own observations as Portland city overseer of the poor, as well as the excess of drunkenness that was then commonplace, influenced his attitude toward liquor. He organized the Maine Temperance

Colenso, John

2005-03-05T23:35:00.000-08:00

Colenso became rector of Forncett St. Mary's Church, Norfolk, in 1846 and in 1853 bishop of Natal, where he served until his death.

Canaveral, Cape

2005-03-04T17:49:00.000-08:00

Seaward extension of Canaveral Island (a barrier island running southeastward along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean) and city in Brevard county, east-central Florida, U.S. The cape itself is separated from Merritt Island to the west by the Banana River, and the island is separated from the mainland by the Indian River (both “rivers” actually constitute elongated coastal

Smith, Lee

2005-03-04T03:49:00.000-08:00

Smith was educated at Hollins College, Roanoke, Va. (B.A., 1967), and the Sorbonne in Paris; she taught at the University of North Carolina and North Carolina State University. Her first novel, The Last Day the Dogbushes Bloomed (1968), was written while she was in college. Her stories are set in the

Sessions, Roger (huntington)

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

He studied at Harvard University and at the Yale School of Music and later took composition lessons from Ernest Bloch. After several years in Europe he returned to the United

Computers, The Internet

2005-03-03T20:37:00.000-08:00

The Internet grew out of funding by the U.S. Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA), later renamed the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), to develop a communication system among government and academic computer-research laboratories. The first network component, ARPANET, became operational in October 1969. With only 15 nongovernment (university) sites

Hind

2005-03-01T14:32:00.000-08:00

Any of certain species of fishes in the sea bass family, Serranidae (order Perciformes). All species referred to as hinds are in the genus Epinephelus, which also includes many groupers. They are found in the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico along the North American coast, with the exception of the red hind (E. guttatus), which ranges from the Carolinas to Brazil. The rock

Serbia And Montenegro, The early Slav states

2005-02-28T14:50:00.000-08:00

The unstable situation of the Balkan Slavs, located as they were on the frontier between the Byzantine Empire and the seminomadic peoples of Asia, enabled them to assert some measure of independence. The basis of the Serbs' social organization was the zadruga, or extended family. Several zadruge were grouped locally under a zupan, or chieftain. With kinship and locality

Iapetus

2005-02-28T14:19:00.000-08:00

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

Scandinavian Literature, Iceland

2005-02-27T14:45:00.000-08:00

Húss-Postilla (1718–20; “Sermons for the Home”), by Jón Vídalín, bishop of Skálholt, is the best example of early 18th-century prose. Among important later writers, Eggert Ólafsson carried out a comprehensive geographical field survey (published in Danish, 1772; partial Eng. trans.) of Iceland's country and its people. In his poetry he expressed 18th-century Rationalism combined with Romantic

Sangha

2005-02-27T11:33:00.000-08:00

The sangha originated in the group of disciples who renounced the worldly life to wander with the Buddha and listen to his teachings. After the Buddha's

Charter Oath

2005-02-26T22:22:00.000-08:00

Also called Imperial Oath Of Five Articles, Japanese Gokajo No Goseimon, in Japanese history, statement of principle promulgated on April 6, 1868, by the emperor Meiji after the overthrow of the Tokugawa shogunate and the restoration of direct participation in government by the imperial family. The Charter Oath opened the way for the modernization of the country and the introduction of a Western parliamentary constitution. The five articles

Havana, The city layout

2005-02-25T14:16:00.000-08:00

Several broad

Euclidean Geometry, Axioms of congruence

2005-02-25T11:24:00.000-08:00

Five axioms (see Box

Skåne

2005-02-24T21:34:00.000-08:00

Also called Scania län (county) and traditional landskap (province), southern Sweden. Skåne county was created in 1997 from the counties of Malmöhus and Kristianstad and is coextensive with Skåne province. Occupying the peninsular southern tip of Sweden, it is bounded by water on three sides—the Baltic Sea on the east and south, The Sound (Öresund) on the west, and the Kattegat (strait) on the northwest.

Venette, Jean De

2005-02-23T18:42:00.000-08:00

Of peasant origin, Jean joined the Carmelite order and was elected prior of the Carmelite convent at Paris in 1339. In 1342 he was appointed provincial of France for the Carmelite order. He also apparently served as a master of theology at the University of Paris.

Bridle

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

The reins, lines

B-52

2005-02-22T00:54:00.000-08:00

Also called Stratofortress, U.S. long-range heavy bomber, designed in 1948 and first flown in 1952. Though originally intended to be an atomic-bomb carrier capable of reaching the Soviet Union, it proved adaptable to a number of missions, and some B-52s were thus expected to remain in service for the rest of the 20th century. The B-52 has a wingspan of 185 feet (56 m) and a length of 160 feet 10.9 inches (49 m). It is powered by eight jet engines

Arran, James Stewart, Earl Of

2005-02-21T21:25:00.000-08:00

Both Stewart and his rival, Esmé, duke of Lennox, were deprived of office when the Protestant lords seized power by the raid of Ruthven (1582); but a year later they in turn were overthrown and driven into exile by Stewart. His tyranny and insolence, however,

Cloudberry

2005-02-21T03:16:00.000-08:00

Eskimos

Selim I

2005-02-20T14:26:00.000-08:00

Selim came to the throne in the wake of civil strife in which he, his brother, and their father, Bayezid II, had been involved. Selim eliminated all potential claimants to the sultanate, leaving only

Hypocaust

2005-02-19T21:28:00.000-08:00

Many examples of such hypocausts

All Nippon Airways Co., Ltd.

2005-02-19T03:15:00.000-08:00

Japanese Zen Nippon Kuyu, the largest domestic air carrier in Japan, and one of the largest in the world. The company was founded in 1952 and is headquartered in Tokyo. Under the Japanese government's strict regulation of civil aviation, All Nippon Airways was basically restricted to carrying passengers and freight on Japan's major domestic routes, while Japan Air Lines basically monopolized

Saudi Arabia, Settlement patterns

2005-02-18T22:04:00.000-08:00

Four traditional regions stand out—the Hejaz, Asir, Najd, and Al-Hasa (transliterated more precisely as Al-Hijaz, 'Asir, Najd, and Al-Ahsa'). The Hejaz, in the northwest, contains the two holiest cities of Islam, Mecca and Medina, as well as the kingdom's primary port and diplomatic centre, Jiddah. Asir is the highland region south of the Hejaz; its capital, Abha, lies at an elevation of about

Haber, Fritz

2005-02-17T08:12:00.000-08:00

Deciding on an academic career, he first took up organic chemical research at the University of Jena, but its orthodox methods gave

Cordeiro Da Matta, Joaquim Dias

2005-02-17T00:53:00.000-08:00

Writing in Portuguese, Cordeiro da Matta, by profession a trader in wood, was

Black Belt

2005-02-16T06:33:00.000-08:00

Physical region in Alabama and Mississippi, U.S., so named for its soil. The Black Belt is a fertile plain, generally 25–30 miles (40–50 km) wide and stretching approximately 300 miles (480 km) across central Alabama and northeastern Mississippi. A region of dark, calcareous soils, it was one of the South's most important agricultural areas before the American Civil War. Though corn (maize) was

La Pérouse, Jean-françois De Galaup, Count (comte) De

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

Commanding the ship La Boussole, which was accompanied by the Astrolabe, La Pérouse sailed from France on Aug. 1, 1785. After rounding Cape Horn, one of his stops in the South Pacific was Easter Island (April 9, 1786). Investigating tropical Pacific waters, he visited the Sandwich Islands

Catechism

2005-02-15T06:00:00.000-08:00

A manual of religious instruction usually arranged in the form of questions and answers used to instruct the young, to win converts, and to testify to the faith. Although many religions give instruction in the faith by means of oral questions and answers, the written catechism is primarily a product of Christianity. Some early handbooks of instruction were prepared

Hughes, David (edward)

2005-02-14T10:55:00.000-08:00

Anglo-American inventor of the carbon microphone, which was important to the development of telephony. His family emigrated to the United States when he was seven years old. In 1850 he became professor of music at St. Joseph's College, Bardstown, Ky. Five years later he took out a U.S. patent for a type-printing telegraph instrument; its success was immediate,

Heinemann, William

2005-02-13T10:23:00.000-08:00

Heinemann studied music in England and Germany but decided instead to become

Coptic Literature

2005-02-12T19:56:00.000-08:00

Body of writings, almost entirely religious, that dates from the 2nd century, when the Coptic language of Egypt, the last stage of ancient Egyptian, began to be used as a literary language, until its decline in the 7th and 8th centuries. It contains, in addition to translations from the Greek, original writings by the Greek Fathers and founders of Eastern monasticism and

Epistemology, Description versus justification

2005-02-12T08:40:00.000-08:00

Epistemology during its long history has engaged in two different sorts of tasks. One of these is descriptive in character. It aims to depict accurately certain features of the world, including the contents of the human mind, and to determine whether these should count as specimens of knowledge. A philosophical system with this orientation is, for example, the phenomenology

Palacio Valdés, Armando

2005-02-11T11:14:00.000-08:00

After studying law at the University of Madrid, Palacio Valdés began his literary career as a critic but soon turned to the novel. His novels are largely autobiographical,

Qeys Island

2005-02-10T13:28:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Qais, Persian Jazireh-ye Qeys, island in the Persian Gulf, lying about 10 miles (16 km) off mainland Iran. It rises 120 feet (37 m) above sea level to a plateau and is almost without vegetation except for a few date groves and stunted herbage. Qeys attained importance only in the late 1st millennium AD, when a prince obtained it, built a fleet, and gradually extended his power. He captured Siraf (modern Taheri), then a large market,

Arabia, History Of

2005-02-10T10:06:00.000-08:00

Archaeology and early history are described in Richard Le Baron Bowen, Jr., and Frank P. Albright, Archaeological Discoveries in South Arabia (1958); G. Lankester Harding, Archaeology in the Aden Protectorates (1964); F.V. Winnett and W.L. Reed, Ancient Records from North Arabia (1970); and Brian Doe, Southern Arabia (1971). General historical studies include J. Wellhausen, The Arab Kingdom and Its Fall (1927, reprinted 1973; originally published in German, 1902), covering the Islamic empire AD 622–750, still useful though some views are now disputed; and Hermann V. Wissmann, Zur Geschichte und Landeskunde von Alt-Südarabien (1964). The study of more recent history should begin with the brilliant but controversial analysis of Khaldoun Hasan al-Naqeeb, Society and State in the Gulf and Arab Peninsula: A Different Perspective (1990; originally published in Arabic, 1987). Useful surveys also include R.B. Serjeant, Studies in Arabian History and Civilisation (1981); and Ian Richard Netton (ed.), Arabia and the Gulf: From Traditional Society to Modern States (1986). More specialized works are Nigel Groom, Frankincense and Myrrh: A Study of the Arabian Incense Trade (1981); M.J. Kister, Studies in Jahiliyya and Early Islam (1980); R.B. Serjeant, The Portuguese off the South Arabian Coast: Hadrami Chronicles, with Yemeni and European Accounts of Dutch Pirates off Mocha in the Seventeenth Century (1963, reprinted 1974); Zamil Muhammad al-Rashid, Su'udi Relations with Eastern Arabia and 'Uman, 1800–1870 (1981); William Ochsenwald, Religion, Society, and the State in Arabia: The Hijaz Under Ottoman Control, 1840–1908 (1984); and John C. Wilkinson, Arabia's Frontiers: The Story of Britain's Boundary Drawing in the Desert (1991).

East Hartford

2005-02-09T06:14:00.000-08:00

Urban town (township), Hartford county, central Connecticut, U.S., across the Connecticut River from Hartford. The area, called Podunk by the Indians, was first settled in 1639 by John Crow. Organized as a parish in 1746 and originally part of Hartford, it was incorporated as a separate town in 1783 and experienced early industrial development (papermaking and the manufacture of gunpowder,

Balaguer, Victor

2005-02-08T20:33:00.000-08:00

Balaguer was a precocious youth; his first dramatic essay, Pépin el Jorobado; o, el hijo de Carlomagno (1838; “Pippin the Hunchbacked; or, The Son of Charlemagne”), was staged in Barcelona when he was 14. At 19 he was publicly “crowned” after the production of his second play, Don Enrique el Dadivoso (1843; “Don Henry

Ben-hadad I

2005-02-08T04:40:00.000-08:00

Assyrian Adad-idri king of Damascus who led a coalition against the invading forces of the Assyrian king Shalmaneser III, repulsing them at Karkar in 853. In a battle with him King Ahab of Israel was killed (I Kings 22:29–36). Ben-hadad was murdered by the usurper Hazael.

Arabia, History Of, Hadramites

2005-02-07T20:55:00.000-08:00

Inscriptions from the Hadramite kingdom are scantier in number than from the Sabaean, Minaean, or Qatabanian. Yet the Hadramite was probably the wealthiest of them all. Hadhramaut and the Sa'kal area to the east (modern Dhofar province of the sultanate of Oman) are the only places in Arabia where climatic conditions make production of frankincense possible, and Pliny

Shi

2005-02-07T01:26:00.000-08:00

Also called dan the basic unit of weight in ancient China. The shi was created by Shi Huang Di, who became the first emperor of China in 221 BC and who is celebrated for his unification of regulations fixing the basic units. He fixed the shi at about 60 kg (132 pounds). The modern shi is equivalent to 71.68 kg (157.89 pounds).

Mole Valley

2005-02-06T05:56:00.000-08:00

District, administrative and historic county of Surrey, England. The River Mole, from which the district takes its name, flows northward across it to join the Thames at Hampton Court, west of London; the river cuts through a line of chalk hills (the North Downs) in a steep-sided valley that is followed by road and rail routes. South of the Downs is a narrow lowland and then

Durango

2005-02-05T19:16:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1881) of La Plata county, southwestern Colorado, U.S., on the Animas River in the foothills of the La Plata Mountains at an elevation of 6,505 feet (1,983 metres). Founded in 1880 during a mining boom by the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad, it was named for Durango, Mexico. It developed as a shipping point for farm produce (including livestock) and local natural resources (timber,

Arsacid Dynasty

2005-02-05T13:49:00.000-08:00

Also called Arshakuni (247 BC–AD 224), ancient Iranian dynasty that founded and ruled the Parthian empire. The progenitors of the dynasty were members of the Parni tribe living east of the Caspian Sea. They entered Parthia (q.v.) shortly after the death of Alexander the Great (323 BC) and gradually gained control over much of Iran and Mesopotamia until, in AD 224, they were overthrown by the Sasanians, an Iranian dynasty founded

Quibdó

2005-02-04T04:11:00.000-08:00

City, western Colombia, on the Río Atrato, in the Pacific coastal plain. Its receipt of more than 420 inches (10,700 mm) of rain a year probably exceeds that of any other equatorial area on Earth. Founded in 1654 as San Francisco de Quibdó, the city has served as Chocó's capital since 1948. It is a regional commercial and manufacturing centre, housing metalworks, sawmills, and clothing and soft-drink

Alaungpaya Dynasty

2005-02-03T10:18:00.000-08:00

Also called Konbaung the last ruling dynasty (1752–1885) of Myanmar (Burma). The dynasty's collapse in the face of British imperial might marked the end of Myanmar sovereignty for more than 60 years. (Some authorities limit the name Konbaung dynasty to the period beginning with King Bodawpaya in 1782 and continuing to 1885.) The Alaungpaya dynasty led Myanmar in an era of expansionism that was only brought to an

Sinn Féin

2005-02-03T07:51:00.000-08:00

Political wing of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA). Sinn Féin, organized in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, is a Nationalist party in Northern Ireland, representing Roman Catholics who want to achieve a united Ireland through whatever means are necessary, including violence. The party was led by Gerry Adams from 1983.

Strambotto

2005-02-02T18:35:00.000-08:00

Plural strambotti one of the oldest Italian verse forms, composed of a single stanza of either six or eight hendecasyllabic (11-syllable) lines. Strambotti were particularly popular in Renaissance Sicily and Tuscany, and the origin of the form in either region is still uncertain. Variations of the eight-line strambotto include the Sicilian octave (ottava siciliana), with the rhyme scheme

Aguascalientes

2005-02-01T22:34:00.000-08:00

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

Sculpture, Western, Early Christian

2005-01-31T07:28:00.000-08:00

Early in the 20th century it was thought that Christian art began after the death of Christ or, at least, in the second half of the 1st century AD. But later discoveries and studies showed that a truly Christian art—that is, with a style quite distinctive from Pagan Roman art—did not exist before the end of the 2nd or beginning of the 3rd century. When it ended, or rather developed

Dagobert I

2005-01-31T06:38:00.000-08:00

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

Sinuiju

2005-01-30T23:02:00.000-08:00

City, northwestern North Korea. It was developed during the Japanese occupation (1910–45) at the Korean terminus of a railway bridge across the Yalu (Amnok) River, 7 miles (11 km) west of the old city of Uiju (Sinuiju meaning “New Uiju”). An open port, 25 miles (40 km) from the mouth of the Yalu River, it grew commercially with the lumber industry, which uses the river to transport the logs from inland forests.

Europa

2005-01-29T10:43:00.000-08:00

Also called Jupiter II, fourth largest satellite of the planet Jupiter. One of the four Galilean satellites, it was discovered by the Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei in 1610 and was named by the German astronomer Simon Marius after a figure in Greek mythology. Europa has a diameter of 3,138 km (1,946 miles), and it orbits Jupiter at a distance of approximately 670,900 km (416,900 miles). The satellite has a density of 3.03 grams

Biblical Literature, The Zealots

2005-01-29T07:40:00.000-08:00

The Zealots were revolutionaries who plotted actively against the Roman oppression. That the Pharisees did not react in this way was perhaps because of their belief in Providence: what happens is the will of God, and their free will is expressed in the context of trust and piety in conjunction with an eschatological hope of winning God's Kingdom through obedience

Polo, Marco

2005-01-27T23:12:00.000-08:00

Sometime around 1292 (1290 according to Otagi), a Mongol princess was to be sent to Persia to become the consort of Arghun Khan, and the Polos offered to accompany her. Marco wrote that Kublai had been unwilling to let them go but finally granted permission. They were anxious to leave, in part, because Kublai was nearly 80, and his death (and the consequent change in regime) might have

Udine

2005-01-27T09:55:00.000-08:00

City, capital of Udine provincia, Friuli-Venezia Giulia regione, northeastern Italy. It lies northwest of Trieste, near the border with Slovenia. Possibly the site of a Roman frontier station called Utina, the city was the seat of the Roman Catholic patriarchate of Aquileia from 1238 until 1751, when the patriarchate was dissolved and replaced by the archbishoprics of Udine

Mitchell, Maggie

2005-01-27T04:49:00.000-08:00

Mitchell left school at age 12 to follow her older half-sisters onto the stage, where she filled a variety of child's walk-on and silent roles. She made her debut in a speaking role in June 1851 in a benefit performance

Pendleton, Ellen Fitz

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

Pendleton graduated from Wellesley College in 1886. She remained at Wellesley as a tutor in mathematics, Latin, and Greek until 1888, when she received an appointment as instructor in mathematics. She pursued graduate studies at Newnham

Vail

2005-01-25T08:18:00.000-08:00

Town and ski resort, Eagle county, west-central Colorado, U.S. It is located 100 miles (160 km) west of Denver. The town extends about 7 miles (11 km) through the Gore Creek valley in the Gore and Sawatch mountain ranges. Vail was founded by Peter Seibert and Earl Eaton, who, together with other investors, purchased the land and built the resort town in 1962 in the style of a quaint Alpine village.

Turan Plain

2005-01-25T03:51:00.000-08:00

Uzbek Turon extensive lowland in southwestern Kazakhstan and northwestern Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. It is bounded by the Saryarqa (Kazakh uplands) in the north, the outliers of the Tien Shan, Pamir, and Alay mountains in the east, the Kopet-Dag Range in the south, and the Caspian Sea in the west. It is traversed by the lower courses of the Syr Darya and Amu Darya, both of which drain

Hinduism, Vaishnavism

2005-01-24T17:55:00.000-08:00

Vaishnavism is the worship of Vishnu and his various incarnations. During a long and complex development from Vedic times, there arose many Vaishnava groups with differing beliefs and aims. Some of the major Vaishnava groups include the Srivaisnavas and Dvaitins (“philosophical or religious dualists”) of South India, the followers of the teachings of Vallabha in western

Breadfruit

2005-01-23T14:27:00.000-08:00

Fruit of either of two closely related trees belonging to the family Moraceae. One of these, Artocarpus communis, also called A. incisa or A. altilis, provides a staple food of the South Pacific. The tree grows 12 to 18 metres (40 to 60 feet) high and has large, oval, glossy green leaves, three- to nine-lobed toward the apex. Male and female flowers are borne in separate

Grafton, Henry Fitzroy, 1st Duke Of, Earl Of Euston, Viscount Ipswich, Baron Sudbury

2005-01-23T10:56:00.000-08:00

He was provided for by a rich marriage in 1672 to Isabella, daughter and heiress of Henry Bennet, Earl of Arlington,

Ikeja

2005-01-22T19:21:00.000-08:00

Town and capital of Lagos state, 10.5 miles (17 km) northwest of Lagos, southwestern Nigeria. Originally settled by the Yoruba people, the locality was raided for slaves until the mid-19th century. Early in the 20th century it became an agricultural hinterland for Lagos; kola nuts were first grown in Nigeria in this area. The opening of the Lagos-Ibadan railway in 1901 and the growth of