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Dr Hauschka Natural Cosmetics

2006-10-25T00:15:00.000-07:00

Dr hauschka the Natural Cosmetics brand provide a huge range of Organic Cosmetics and Natural Cosmetics available online.

Biblical Literature, The Ascension of Isaiah

2005-03-30T16:15:00.000-08:00

According to the Lives of the Prophets, Jeremiah was stoned to death and Isaiah was sawn asunder. These two legends are reflected in two originally Jewish works. The Ascension of Isaiah, in which the martyrdom of Isaiah is narrated, is as a whole extant only in Ethiopic, translated from a Greek original, which itself is also known from fragments. The book contains important

Lutheranism, Lutheran Confessions

2005-03-29T21:41:00.000-08:00

The official teaching of the Lutheran churches is that of the Book of Concord (1580), which contains the three ancient creeds (Apostles', Nicene, and Athanasian), the Augsburg Confession, the Apology of the Augsburg Confession, Luther's Schmalkaldic Articles, Luther's Small and Large Catechism, Melanchthon's “Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope,” and the Formula of Concord.

Paresis

2005-03-29T13:27:00.000-08:00

Also called brain syphilis, syphilitic meningoencephalitis, general paralysis of the insane, or dementia paralytica, psychosis caused by widespread destruction of brain tissue occurring in some cases of late syphilis. Mental changes include gradual deterioration of personality, impaired concentration and judgment, delusions, loss of memory, disorientation, and apathy or violent rages. Convulsions are not uncommon, and while temporary remissions sometimes occur, untreated

Ka

2005-03-27T19:21:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Koi, in ancient Egyptian religion, with ba and akh, a principal aspect of the soul of a human being or of a god. The exact significance of ka remains a matter of controversy, chiefly for lack of an Egyptian definition; the usual translation “double” is incorrect. Written by a hieroglyph of uplifted arms, it seemed originally to have designated the protecting divine spirit of

Elizabeth Of France

2005-03-27T18:47:00.000-08:00

She was the youngest daughter of the dauphin Louis (d. 1765) and Maria Josepha of Saxony. Whereas her aunt and two of her brothers (the future Louis XVIII and Charles X) emigrated, Madame Élisabeth

Adams, William

2005-03-27T18:15:00.000-08:00

At the age of 12 Adams was apprenticed in the merchant marine, afterward sailing in the British navy and later serving a company of Barbary merchants. In 1598 he shipped as pilot major with five Dutch ships bound from Europe for the East Indies via the Straits of Magellan.

Earth Exploration, Magnetic methods

2005-03-26T08:58:00.000-08:00

Measurements can be made of the Earth's total magnetic field or of components of the field in various directions. The oldest magnetic prospecting instrument is the magnetic compass, which measures the field direction. Other instruments include magnetic balances and fluxgate magnetometers. Most magnetic surveys are made with proton-precession or optical-pumping

Aswan

2005-03-25T22:34:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Assuan, or Assouan, muhafazah (governorate), Upper Egypt, embracing the Nile floodplain and immediately adjacent territories. Its area is 262 square miles (679 square km). Long and narrow in shape, it is the most southerly Egyptian governorate along the Nile; its short southern boundary forms part of the international frontier with The Sudan. The sandstone, granite, and diorite hills flanking the

Waterfall

2005-03-25T16:25:00.000-08:00

Area where flowing river water drops abruptly and nearly vertically (see video). Waterfalls represent major interruptions in river flow. Under most circumstances rivers tend to smooth out irregularities in their flow by processes of erosion and deposition. In time, the long profile of a river (the graph of its gradient) takes the form of a smooth curve, steepest toward

Abel, Rudolf (ivanovich)

2005-03-24T11:39:00.000-08:00

Genrich Fischer (or Fisher), Abel's father and a friend of

Dominance Hierarchy

2005-03-24T01:47:00.000-08:00

In most cases

Chronology, Peoples of Oaxaca and the Isthmus of Tehuantepec

2005-03-23T08:53:00.000-08:00

Pictorial books of the Mixtec of Oaxaca record events in the lives of ruling families covering seven centuries, but, again, happenings are fixed only by the day on which each occurred and the year in which the day fell. Sequence is usually clear, but at times there is doubt as to which 52-year period is meant when parenthetical material, such as life histories of secondary

Early Christian Art

2005-03-22T03:38:00.000-08:00

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

Canaanite Languages

2005-03-21T18:00:00.000-08:00

Group of Northern Central or Northwestern Semitic languages including Hebrew, Moabite, Phoenician, and Punic. They were spoken in ancient times in Palestine, on the coast of Syria, and in scattered colonies elsewhere around the Mediterranean. An early form of Canaanite is attested in the Tell el-Amarna letters (c. 1400 BC). Moabite, which is very close to Hebrew, is known chiefly

'abd Ar-rahman I

2005-03-21T08:27:00.000-08:00

When the 'Abbasids overthrew the Umayyad caliphate in 750 and sought to kill as many members of the Umayyad family as possible, 'Abd ar-Rahman fled, eventually reaching Spain. The Iberian Peninsula had for some time been occupied by Muslim Arab forces, and he recognized political opportunity

Penang

2005-03-20T20:50:00.000-08:00

Also called Penang Island , Malay Pinang, or Pulau Pinang island of Malaysia, lying off the northwest coast of peninsular Malaya, from which it is separated by a strait whose smallest width is 2.5 miles (4 km). Its area is about 113 square miles (293 square km). Penang Island is roughly oval, with a granitic, mountainous interior (highest point 2,428 feet [740 m]) and narrow coastal plains, most extensive in the northeast, where Malaysia's chief port, George

Ayodhya

2005-03-20T08:15:00.000-08:00

An ancient city, Ayodhya is regarded as one of the seven sacred cities of the Hindus, revered because of its association, in the great Indian epic poem Ramayana, with the birth of Rama and with the rule of his father, Dasaratha. According to this source, the city was prosperous

Romance Languages, The reduction of inflectional endings

2005-03-19T19:20:00.000-08:00

The inflectional endings have been lost most in nouns and adjectives. The Classical Latin five-case declensional system has everywhere been replaced (with a couple of doubtful exceptions) by a two-gender system, in which normally masculine gender is marked by survivors of the second (-us) declension endings of Latin (Italian cavallo, Portuguese cavalu, Romanian cal

Gobi, Climate

2005-03-19T14:19:00.000-08:00

The climate is acutely continental and dry: winter is severe, spring is dry and cold, and summer is warm. The annual temperature range is considerable, with average lows in January reaching -40° F (-40° C) and average highs in July climbing to 113° F (45° C); daily temperature ranges also can be quite large. The annual total precipitation varies from less than three inches in the west to more

Condé, Maryse

2005-03-18T17:05:00.000-08:00

Condé wrote her first novel at the age of 11. In the politically turbulent years between 1960 and 1968, she taught in Guinea, Ghana, and Senegal. She studied at the Sorbonne in Paris (M.A., Ph.D., 1975). Her own peripatetic life provided the background for her novel Héré

Man Ray

2005-03-18T06:37:00.000-08:00

The son of an artist and photographer, he grew up in New York City, where he studied architecture, engineering, and art, and became a painter. As early as 1911, he took up the pseudonym of Man

Gabar

2005-03-17T06:17:00.000-08:00

Any member of the small Zoroastrian minority in Iran. The name Gabar was formerly applied derogatorily to the Iranian Zoroastrians; the term is linguistically related to the Arabic kafir, meaning “infidel.” The Zoroastrians who remained in Persia (modern Iran) after the Arab–Muslim conquest (7th century AD) had a long history as outcasts. Although they purchased some toleration

Frederick Iii

2005-03-16T02:46:00.000-08:00

Frederick adopted Lutheranism in 1546 and Calvinism somewhat later. His Calvinism and his opposition to the Habsburg emperors made his electoral position insecure,

Tapestry, 19th and 20th centuries

2005-03-15T22:41:00.000-08:00

Most 19th-century tapestries reproduced paintings or previously woven designs. The influence of the Industrial Revolution was inescapable, of course, not only in tools, materials, and dyes but in the new middle-class market and its demands. Machine-made tapestry, although an achievement in mechanical weaving, became a threat to the survival of the original

Roman Catholicism, History Of, The rise of heresy

2005-03-15T21:29:00.000-08:00

Before the middle of the 12th century heresy on a large scale was unknown in the West. The early dissenters were often radical reformers such as the Italian canon Arnold of Brescia (d. 1155), an outspoken critic of clerical wealth and corruption. Then there appeared in northern Italy and southern France the sect, Eastern and Manichaean in origin, later known as the Cathari (the

Mountain

2005-03-15T06:39:00.000-08:00

Landform that rises prominently above its surroundings, generally exhibiting steep slopes, a relatively confined summit area, and considerable local relief. Mountains generally are understood to be larger than hills, but the term has no standardized geological meaning. Very rarely do mountains occur individually. In most cases, they are found in elongated ranges

Ancient Rome, Historical sources on early Rome

2005-03-14T05:39:00.000-08:00

The regal period (753–509 BC) and the early republic (509–280 BC) are the most poorly documented periods of Roman history because historical accounts of Rome were not written until much later. Greek historians did not take serious notice of Rome until the Pyrrhic War (280–275 BC), when Rome was completing its conquest of Italy and was fighting against the Greek city of Tarentum in southern Italy. Rome's

Cabezón, Antonio De

2005-03-13T23:59:00.000-08:00

Blind from infancy, Cabezón studied organ in Palencia and in 1526 became organist and clavichordist

Refractory

2005-03-12T09:02:00.000-08:00

Any material that has an unusually high melting point and that maintains its structural properties at very high temperatures. Composed principally of ceramics, refractories are employed in great quantities in the metallurgical, glassmaking, and ceramics industries, where they are formed into a variety of shapes to line the interiors of furnaces, kilns, and other

Fin De Siècle

2005-03-12T00:37:00.000-08:00

Of, relating to, characteristic of, or resembling the late 19th-century literary and artistic climate of sophistication, escapism, extreme aestheticism, world-weariness, and fashionable despair. When used in reference to literature, the term essentially describes the movement inaugurated by the Decadent poets of France and the movement called Aestheticism in

Harpy

2005-03-11T11:26:00.000-08:00

In Greco-Roman classical mythology, a fabulous creature, probably a wind spirit. The presence of harpies as tomb figures, however, makes it possible that they were also conceived of as ghosts. In Homer's Odyssey they were winds that carried people away. Elsewhere, they were sometimes connected with the powers of the underworld. Homer mentions one Harpy called Podarge

Burbage, Richard

2005-03-11T01:06:00.000-08:00

The son of the actor and theatre manager and owner James Burbage, Richard had attained wide popularity as an actor by age 20. He was a member of the Earl of Leicester's company and remained with it through its evolution into the King's Men in 1603. He

Ogden

2005-03-11T00:58:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1852) of Weber county, northern Utah, U.S. It lies at the confluence of the Weber and Ogden rivers, just west of the Wasatch Range and east of the Great Salt Lake. The community began as a settlement developed around Fort Buenaventura, a log stockade with an irrigated garden built in 1845 by Miles M. Goodyear and purchased by the Mormons in 1847; Goodyear's cabin is preserved. First

Chauk

2005-03-10T03:23:00.000-08:00

Town and port, north-central Myanmar (Burma). Situated in the Irrawaddy River basin, it is a petroleum port for the Singu-Chauk oil fields. Traditionally, people of the Mon group gathered asphalt in the area to weatherproof houses. In 1902 the British discovered the Chauk-Lonywa oil field. Later, crude oil from Chauk was sent by a 350-mile (563-kilometre) pipeline to Syriam for refining.

Limited Liability

2005-03-09T22:21:00.000-08:00

Condition under which the loss that an owner (shareholder) of a business firm may incur is limited to the amount of capital invested by him in the business and does not extend to his personal assets. Acceptance of this principle by business enterprises and governments was a vital factor in the development of large-scale industry, because it enabled business concerns

Switzerland, Remaining challenges

2005-03-09T06:26:00.000-08:00

At the end of the 20th century, growing doubts about Switzerland's past and future emerged. Many Swiss questioned the country's traditional “bunker mentality” in a Europe at peace and with open borders. Particularly troubling for Switzerland was an international debate during the 1990s about “dormant accounts”—assets left by foreign Jews in Swiss banks during the Nazi era

Pavese, Cesare

2005-03-08T10:56:00.000-08:00

Born in a small town in which his father, an official, owned property, he moved with his family to Turin, where he attended high school and the university. Denied an outlet for his creative powers by Fascist control of literature,

Biblical Literature, Swiss versions

2005-03-08T07:35:00.000-08:00

Four parts of Luther's version were reprinted in the Swyzerdeutsch dialect in Zürich in 1524–25. The Prophets and Apocrypha appeared in 1529. A year later, the first Swiss Bible was issued with the Prophets and Apocrypha independently translated. The Swiss Bible underwent frequent revision between 1660 and 1882. A fresh translation from the original languages was made between 1907 and 1931.

Down

2005-03-07T22:49:00.000-08:00

Down had an area of 952 sq mi (2,466 sq km), and it had three areas of high ground. In the south, the Mourne Mountains (Slieve Donard, 2,796 ft [852 m]) are composed of Eocene (38,000,000-year-old) granite;

Biblical Literature, Jewish sects and parties

2005-03-06T07:10:00.000-08:00

From both the New Testament and extrabiblical material the main religious groups or parties in Palestinian Judaism may be discerned. Such descriptions, however, may be somewhat biassed or apologetic. Philo, an Alexandrian Jewish philosopher (died c. AD 40), Josephus, a Jewish apologist to the Romans (died c. 100), and sectarian writings found at Qumran near the Dead Sea in 1947 that date

Sukhoy

2005-03-06T04:05:00.000-08:00

The Sukhoy design bureau has three

Finland, Education

2005-03-05T11:39:00.000-08:00

School attendance in Finland is compulsory beginning at the age of seven. The national and local governments support the schools, and tuition is free. The introduction of a new nine-year comprehensive school system, consisting of a six-year primary stage and a three-year secondary stage, was completed during the 1970s. The English language is taught beginning in the third

Water Moss

2005-03-05T00:49:00.000-08:00

Also called Brook Moss, or Fountain Moss (Fontinalis), genus of mosses belonging to the order Bryales, found in flowing freshwater streams and ponds in temperate regions. About 25 species are native to North America. A brook moss may have shoots 30 to 100 (rarely up to 200) cm (12 to 40 inches) long, and is usually attached to a stone or a tree root. The most common species, F. antipyretica, has long, slender branches covered with glossy,

Tapestry, Middle Ages in Egypt and the Near East

2005-03-04T13:28:00.000-08:00

Tapestry weaving was done by the Copts, or Egyptian Christians, from the 3rd to about the 12th century AD. Their tapestries are of great interest not only because of their artistic quality and technical skill but also because they are a bridge between the art of the ancient world and the art of the Middle Ages in western Europe. Fragments from the 5th to the 7th century are particularly

Mercerization

2005-03-04T08:36:00.000-08:00

The treatment consists of immersing the yarn or

Dance, Western

2005-03-04T06:24:00.000-08:00

The peoples of the West—of Europe and of the countries founded through permanent European settlement elsewhere—have a history of dance characterized by great diversity and rapid change. Whereas most dancers of the East

Wyeth, Andrew

2005-03-02T14:24:00.000-08:00

Wyeth's father, N.C. Wyeth, was a well-known illustrator who had studied under Howard Pyle and who, starting in 1932, served as his son's only teacher. Andrew Wyeth's first exhibition was

Arabian Desert, Geology

2005-03-01T20:59:00.000-08:00

The Arabian Desert consists of two major regions. The first, the ancient Arabian platform (a segment of the African Shield) is in the west; composed mainly of Precambrian gneiss dated to between 2.6 billion and roughly 543 million years ago, it was assembled roughly 900 to 543 million years ago. The second region, in the east, comprises sedimentary rock layers deposited over the past

Barahona De Soto, Luis

2005-03-01T17:38:00.000-08:00

After completing his education in Antequera and service as a soldier, Barahona began practicing

Sibilant

2005-03-01T15:52:00.000-08:00

In phonetics, a fricative consonant sound, in which the tip, or blade, of the tongue is brought near the roof of the mouth and air is pushed past the tongue to make a hissing sound. In English s, z, sh, and zh (the sound of the s in “pleasure”) are sibilants. Sometimes the affricates ch and j are also considered as sibilants. See also fricative.

Good Neighbor Policy

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

Popular name for the Latin American policy pursued by the administration of the U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt. Suggested by the president's commitment “to the policy of the good neighbor” (first inaugural address, March 4, 1933), the approach marked a departure from traditional American interventionism. Through the diplomacy of Secretary of State Cordell Hull, the

Soleus Muscle

2005-02-28T18:49:00.000-08:00

A flat, broad muscle of the calf of the leg lying just beneath the gastrocnemius muscle. It arises from the upper portions of the tibia and fibula, the bones of the lower leg, and then joins with the gastrocnemius to attach via the Achilles tendon at the heel. Its major action is flexion of the ankle joint, particularly when the leg is bent at the knee, thereby extending the

Healing Cult

2005-02-28T03:08:00.000-08:00

Religious group or movement that places major, or even exclusive, emphasis on the treatment or prevention by nonmedical means of physical or spiritual ailments, which are often seen as manifestations of evil. Such cults generally fall into one of three types: those centred on certain shrines or holy places, those centred on certain organizations, and those centred

Mathematics, History Of, Elliptic functions

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

The theory of functions of a complex variable was also being decisively reformulated. At the start of the 19th century, complex numbers were discussed from a quasi-philosophical standpoint by several French writers, notably Jean Robert Argand. A consensus emerged that complex numbers should be thought of as pairs of real numbers, with suitable rules for their addition

Aerarium

2005-02-26T06:44:00.000-08:00

Treasury of ancient Rome, housed in the Temple of Saturn and the adjacent tabularium (record office) in the Forum. Under the republic (c. 509–27 BC) it was managed by two finance magistrates, the urban quaestors, and controlled by the Senate. In theory all revenues were paid into the aerarium, and all public payments were made from it. In practice, money was moved from the provinces

Gobind Singh

2005-02-26T00:45:00.000-08:00

Gobind Singh inherited his grandfather Guru Hargobind's love of the military life and was also a man of great intellectual attainments. He was also the son of the ninth Guru, Tegh Bahadur, who suffered martyrdom at the hands of the

Philadelphia Orchestra

2005-02-24T17:18:00.000-08:00

From Stokowski's tenure, the orchestra was renowned for its interpretation of the symphonic

Arason, Jón

2005-02-24T15:33:00.000-08:00

The son of poor parents, he rose quickly to eminence in the church and was consecrated bishop of Hólar, the northern diocese of Iceland, in 1522. He administered his diocese prosperously until Christian III of Denmark began to impose Lutheranism

Usuki

2005-02-24T05:22:00.000-08:00

City, Oita ken (prefecture), Kyushu, Japan. The city faces Usuki Bay on the Bungo Channel between the Inland Sea and the Pacific Ocean. An early castle town, Usuki once carried on trade with Portugal. It is now a fishing port and commercial centre; the main industrial activity is brewing. Usuki is perhaps most noted as the site of the former Buddhist Mangetsu Temple, with its

Wellington

2005-02-23T22:13:00.000-08:00

Local government region, extreme southern North Island, New Zealand. It includes the cities of Wellington (the national capital) and Lower Hutt, Upper Hutt, Porirua, and Masterton. The broad Hutt River valley, once the locale of dairy farms and market gardens, has absorbed much of Wellington city's urban expansion since the 1950s. There is still much open farmland to the north,

National Book Awards

2005-02-23T08:36:00.000-08:00

Annual awards given to books of the highest quality written by Americans and published by American publishers. The awards were founded in 1950 by the American Book Publishers Council, American Booksellers Association, and Book Manufacturers Institute. From 1976 to 1979 they were administered by the National Book Committee. In 1980 they were renamed the American Book Awards and

Austausch Coefficient

2005-02-22T14:08:00.000-08:00

Also called Exchange Coefficient, Eddy Coefficient, or Eddy Diffusivity, in fluid mechanics, particularly in its applications to meteorology and oceanography, the proportionality between the rate of transport of a component of a turbulent fluid and the gradient of the component. In this context, the term component signifies not only material constituents of the fluid, such as dissolved or suspended substances, but also constituents

Cohen

2005-02-21T18:04:00.000-08:00

Also spelled kohen (Hebrew: “priest”) , plural cohanim , or cohens Jewish priest, one who is a descendant of Zadok, founder of the priesthood of Jerusalem when the First Temple was built by Solomon (10th century BC) and through Zadok related to Aaron, the first Jewish priest, who was appointed to that office by his younger brother, Moses. Though laymen such as Gideon, David, and Solomon offered sacrifice as God commanded, the Hebrew priesthood

Clapperton, Hugh

2005-02-21T13:45:00.000-08:00

The first European explorer in West Africa to return with a firsthand account of the region now known as northern Nigeria. Following service in the Royal Navy, he joined explorers Dixon Denham and Walter Oudney in a British government expedition that journeyed southward from Tripoli across the Sahara. Early

Yesuj

2005-02-21T08:31:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Yasuj, town, southwestern Iran. The town has a sugar mill and other local industry producing bricks and mosaic tiles, livestock feed, mats and baskets, and carpets and rugs. Roads link it with Dogonbaden, Dehdasht, Shiraj, Nurabad, and Bandar-e Bushehr. There is a thermoelectric power station located at Yesuj. Pop. (1986) 29,991.

Uveitis

2005-02-20T02:34:00.000-08:00

Inflammation of the uvea, the middle coat of the eyeball, which is pigmented and contains blood vessels. The uvea consists of three parts: the iris, the ciliary body (containing the muscle that controls the curvature of the lens), and the choroid, the layer of the eyeball between the retina and the sclera (the white outer covering of all except the front part of the eyeball).

Yakima

2005-02-19T04:45:00.000-08:00

Although culturally much like other Sahaptin Indians of the Plateau, the Yakima acquired historical distinction in the Yakima Indian Wars (1855–58), a failed attempt by

Porgy

2005-02-19T00:24:00.000-08:00

Porgies are generally shallow-water fishes and are

Bloc Québécois

2005-02-18T04:34:00.000-08:00

Lucien Bouchard, a Progressive

Argentia

2005-02-18T04:13:00.000-08:00

Formerly a herring- and salmon-fishing port known as Little Placentia, it was renamed Argentia (derived from argentum, Latin for “silver”) when silver was discovered in the vicinity. Most

Arnauld, Jeanne-catherine-agnès

2005-02-18T03:34:00.000-08:00

Like her older sister, the abbess Mère Angélique (Jacqueline-Marie-Angélique Arnauld), Jeanne Arnauld entered the cloister at an early age. From 1630 to 1636 she governed the

Obuchi Keizo

2005-02-17T16:15:00.000-08:00

Obuchi received a degree in English literature from Waseda University, Tokyo, in 1962. The following year, he won the seat his father had held in the House of Representatives, becoming the youngest person

Uveitis

2005-02-17T10:36:00.000-08:00

Guerrilla movement formed originally to oppose the Japanese occupation of Malaya during World War II. In December 1941 a rapid Japanese invasion commenced, and within 10 weeks it had conquered Malaya. British military forces had prepared for this possibility by training small Malayan guerrilla groups. Once war became a reality, the guerrillas organized the MPAJA. This

Arts, Central Asian

2005-02-15T17:28:00.000-08:00

The performing arts have played an important role in the spiritual and social life of Central Asia, where they evolved as didactic art forms within a religious context. Performance, therefore, occurs in conjunction with some religious or special event. Two main types of performance predominate throughout Tibet, Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan, Mongolia, and the former Soviet

Atchafalaya Bay

2005-02-15T13:26:00.000-08:00

Arm of the Gulf of Mexico, extending southeastward along the southern coast of Louisiana, U.S., for 21 miles (34 km) from Point Chevreuil to Point Au Fer on Point Au Fer Island. The bay is 10 miles (16 km) wide, and Four League Bay extends another 11 miles (18 km) to the southeast. Eugene Island lies on a long shell reef extending 25 miles (40 km) northwest of Point Au Fer. The Lower Atchafalaya River links

Parsons Table

2005-02-15T04:14:00.000-08:00

Also called T-square Table, simple, sturdy rectangular table having straight lines, overall flush surfaces, and square legs that form the four corners of the top and whose diameter is identical with the thickness of the top. It is not certain who designed the Parsons table, and it may have been the result of a class project, but prototypes exist in the early work of both the French interior designer

Kin

2005-02-14T10:59:00.000-08:00

Also called Kinsfolk, persons deemed related through blood or marriage or both. See kinship.

Arabian Basin

2005-02-14T00:53:00.000-08:00

Submarine basin of the southern Arabian Sea, rising to meet the submerged Carlsberg Ridge to the south, the Maldive Island chain to the southeast, India and Pakistan to the northeast, Iran to the north, and the Arabian Peninsula to the west. It has a maximum depth of 19,275 feet (5,875 m) and is separated by the Carlsberg Ridge from the deeper Somali Basin to the south and west. The sill

Alexander Romance

2005-02-13T13:52:00.000-08:00

The chief source of all Alexander romance literature was a folk epic written in Greek by a Hellenized Egyptian in Alexandria during the 2nd century AD. Surviving translations and copies make its reconstruction possible.

Amphibian, Size range and diversity of structure

2005-02-13T08:45:00.000-08:00

The three living groups of amphibians vary greatly in size and structure. Long tails and two pairs of limbs of about equal size distinguish the salamander, although members of the family Sirenidae have no hindlimbs. Their total length varies greatly; a diminutive terrestrial species in Mexico measures 27 millimetres (1.06 inches) long, and the giant aquatic salamander

Akund Floss

2005-02-12T21:19:00.000-08:00

Also called Calotropis Floss, downy seed fibre obtained from Calotropis procera and C. gigantea, plants of the Asclepiadaceae family. The plants are native to southern Asia and Africa and were introduced to South America and the islands of the Caribbean. The yellowish material is made up of thin fibres 2 to 3 cm (0.75 to 1.12 inches) long and 12 to 42 microns (a micron is about 0.00004 inch) in diameter and is harvested by hand.

New Hampshire, University Of

2005-02-12T11:32:00.000-08:00

Public, coeducational institution of higher learning in Durham, N.H., U.S. The only university in the state, the University of New Hampshire has land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant status. It anchors the University System of New Hampshire, which includes the University of New Hampshire at Manchester, Plymouth State College, Keene State College, and the College for Lifelong

Qatar, Health and welfare

2005-02-11T00:23:00.000-08:00

Health care and medical services are provided free to all residents through government programs. The government also funds recreational and cultural clubs and facilities for young people as part of its extensive “youth welfare” campaign.

Literature

2005-02-10T16:41:00.000-08:00

In 1997 the world of publishing was as fickle as ever. The sudden death of Diana, princess of Wales (see OBITUARIES), occasioned an outpouring of books that were devoured by the public, even as critics decried the impulse behind them. Although major publishing houses owned by multinational corporations continued their hegemony, an increasing number of highly regarded

Early, Jubal A(nderson)

2005-02-10T14:54:00.000-08:00

Confederate general in the American Civil War (1861–65) whose army at one time threatened Washington, D.C., but whose series of defeats during the Shenandoah Valley campaigns of late 1864 and early 1865 led to the final collapse of the South. A West Point graduate, Early served in the Second Seminole War in Florida (1835–42) and the Mexican War (1846–48). In the period

Ashikaga Yoshiaki

2005-02-09T19:28:00.000-08:00

Shogun (hereditary military dictator) of Japan who was the 15th and last of his family to hold the title. Yoshiaki had been a priest, but in 1568, with the aid of his protector, the general Oda Nobunaga, he deposed his cousin Yoshihide and took over the shogunate. Subsequently, rivalry developed between Yoshiaki and Oda, and the latter deposed Yoshiaki and banished

Anderson, Elda Emma

2005-02-09T18:04:00.000-08:00

Anderson's affinity for numbers and her general intellectual gifts were apparent from girlhood. After graduating from Ripon College (B.S., 1922) in Ripon, Wisconsin, she earned (1924) a master's degree in physics from the University of Wisconsin. Her

Hyde Park

2005-02-09T09:05:00.000-08:00

The park shares a large curved lake with its western neighbour; the portion of the lake in Kensington Gardens is known as the Long Water, whereas the Hyde Park portion is called the Serpentine. The lake is used for boating

Oastler, Richard

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

In 1830 Oastler, who was managing a large Yorkshire agricultural estate, learned of the evils of child labour in factories and immediately

Literature

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

Any member of the egg-laying mammalian order Monotremata, which includes the amphibious platypus (family Ornithorhynchidae) and the terrestrial echidnas (family Tachyglossidae) of Australia, Tasmania, and New Guinea.

Qafsah

2005-02-07T06:23:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Gafsa, Latin Capsa, town, west-central Tunisia. The ancient name of the locality is applied to the Mesolithic Capsian industry (here dated about 6250 BC) of the earliest inhabitants. The original Numidian town was destroyed (106 BC) by the Romans; it was rebuilt later by Trajan and was then successively a centre of Byzantine, Arab, Berber, and Ottoman rulers. Qafsah is a noted irrigated fruit-growing oasis

Jane Seymour

2005-02-07T03:01:00.000-08:00

Jane's father was Sir John Seymour of Wolf Hall, Savernake, Wiltshire. She became a lady in waiting to Henry's first wife, Catherine of Aragon, and then to Anne Boleyn,

Golden Gate

2005-02-06T17:38:00.000-08:00

Strait, in California, western coastal U.S., connecting San Francisco Bay with the Pacific Ocean and separating San Francisco from Marin County. An ancient river mouth, it is about 3 miles (5 km) long, from 1 to 3 miles wide, and 300 feet (90 m) deep and serves as the ocean gateway to the port cities of the bay and the Sacramento–San Joaquin river system. The strait, now spanned by the Golden

Wigeon

2005-02-05T14:49:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Widgeon, any of four species of dabbling ducks (family Anatidae), popular game birds and excellent table fare. The European wigeon (Anas, or Mareca, penelope) ranges across the Palaearctic and is occasionally found in the Nearctic regions. The American wigeon, or baldpate (A. americana), breeds in northwestern North America and winters along the U.S., Mexican, Central American, and

Literature, France.

2005-02-05T05:57:00.000-08:00

Many important French intellectuals from the postwar period were honoured in 1993, among them Roland Barthes, Raymond Aron, Jacques Lacan, and Claude Levi-Strauss. The first volume in the Oeuvres complètes of Roland Barthes, who died in 1980, appeared, bringing together all of his works published between 1942 and 1965 as well as a few previously unpublished ones. This volume permitted

Sevilla

2005-02-05T04:28:00.000-08:00

City, Cauca departamento, western Colombia, on an abutment of the Cordillera Central. Founded as San Luis in 1903 by Heraclio Uribe Uribe, the city was renamed for Sevilla, Spain, when it became a municipality in 1914. Gold, silver, and platinum mines are nearby, and agricultural products (beef, coffee, sugar, tobacco, cacao, bananas, cassava, and cereals) are marketed. Pop. (1993) 51,081; (1999 est.) 62,316.

Skibobbing

2005-02-04T02:05:00.000-08:00

Also called skibiking or snowbiking a winter sport using a guidable, single-track vehicle that has features of the bicycle, the bobsled, and skis. The longer rear ski is fixed, and the shorter front ski is mobile for steering; a saddle like that of a bicycle and a steering bar with handles complete the rig. The assembly is kept flexible to provide smooth passage over bumps and is lightweight, made of wood, aluminum,

Nephelinesyenite

2005-02-03T19:32:00.000-08:00

Medium- to coarse-grained intrusive igneous rock, a member of the alkali-syenite group (see syenite) that consists largely of feldspar and nepheline. It is always considerably poorer in silica and richer in alkalies than granite. The extraordinarily varied mineralogy of the nephelinesyenites and their remarkable variation in habit, fabric, appearance, and composition

Aigrette

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

Jeweled