Aldebaran
Also called �Alpha Tauri, � reddish giant star in the constellation Taurus. Aldebaran is one of the 15 brightest stars, with an apparent visual magnitude of 0.86. Its diameter is approximately 50 times that of the Sun. It is accompanied by a very faint (13th magnitude) red companion star. Aldebaran lies about 50 light-years from the Earth. The star was once thought to be a member of the Hyades cluster, but in fact
Disasters
March 20, Dhaka, Bangladesh. A gas cylinder belonging to a balloon
Arabian Religion, South Arabia
The name of the Venus god 'Athtar corresponds to that of the Mesopotamian goddess Ishtar (Venus). Hawbas, a goddess, was his consort (but seems
Madagascar, Settlement patterns
Despite the importance of intensive rice cultivation, the land is used primarily for pastoral purposes. Cattle are kept in all parts of the island. Fewer are found in the dense forest areas of the eastern escarpment, but elsewhere pastoralism predominates, most often coexisting with the cultivation of subsistence crops. On the plateau, the valley floors and irrigable
Aerosmith
American heavy metal band. One of the biggest arena-rock attractions of the late 1970s, Aerosmith became even more popular with its career revival in the mid-1980s. Principal members were Steven Tyler (byname of Steven Tallarico; b. March 26, 1948, New York, New York, U.S.), Joe Perry (b. September 10, 1950, Boston, Massachusetts), Brad Whitford (b. February 23, 1952, Winchester, Massachusetts), Tom Hamilton (b. December
Permafrost, Structures on piles
Piles are used to support many, if not most, structures built on ice-rich permafrost. In regions of cold winters, many pile foundations are in ground subject to seasonal freezing and, therefore, possibly subject to the damaging effect of frost heaving, which tends to displace the pile upward and thus to disturb the foundation of the structure. The displacement of piling
Haworth
Town, Bradford metropolitan borough, metropolitan county of West Yorkshire, historic county of Yorkshire, England, overlooking the River Worth and adjoining the town of Keighley. In 1820 the Reverend Patrick Bront� brought his wife and six children - including Charlotte, Emily, and Anne, later of international literary fame - to Haworth. The Church of St. Michael contains
Arnaut Daniel
A nobleman by birth, Arnaut was a highly regarded travelling troubadour. He is credited with inventing the sestina, a lyrical form of six six-line stanzas, unrhymed,
Cronj�, Pieter Arnoldus
Cronj� was born in the Cape Colony but was taken in early life to the Transvaal, during the Great Trek. In the Transvaal, in November 1880, he began a rebellion against British rule, leading resistance to the distraint
Kaffeklubben Island
Island and one of the world's northernmost points of land, in the Arctic Ocean, 37 km (20 nautical miles) east of Cape Morris Jesup, Greenland. Kaffeklubben (Danish: �Coffee Club�) was discovered in 1900 by Robert E. Peary, the American Arctic explorer. The island was visited in 1921 by the Danish explorer Lauge Koch, who named it for the Kaffeklub at the Mineralogical Museum in Copenhagen.
Gath
The records of Sargon II of Assyria show that he took it in 712 BC. Gath was evidently a place of importance,
Venice Majolica
Majolica also spelled �Maiolica, � tin-glazed earthenware made at Venice that reached its stylistic zenith in the 16th century. The workshops of Maestro Ludovico (fl. 1540 - 45), Domenigo da Venezia (fl. 1550 - 60), and Jacomo da Pesaro (fl. 1543) produced outstanding ware of this type. Venetian potters excelled in painting arrangements of decorative trophies, globes, musical instruments, and other apparatus, executed in a brilliant
Computers And Information Systems
Schism
In the early church, �schism� was used to describe those groups that broke with the church and established rival churches. The term originally referred to those divisions that were caused by disagreement over something other than basic doctrine. Thus, the schismatic group was not necessarily heretical. Eventually,
Quaker
Byname of �Friend,� member of a Christian group (the Society of Friends, or Friends church) that stresses the guidance of the Holy Spirit, that rejects outward rites and an ordained ministry, and that has a long tradition of actively working for peace and opposing war. George Fox, founder of the society in England, recorded that in 1650 �Justice Bennet of Derby first called us Quakers because
Skanderbeg
A son of John (Gjon) Kastrioti, prince of Emathia, George was early given as hostage to the Turkish sultan. Converted to Islam and educated at Edirne, Turkey, he was given the name Iskander - after Alexander the Great - and the rank of bey (hence Skanderbeg) by Sultan Murad II. During the defeat of the Turks at
Dadra And Nagar Haveli
The terrain of Dadra and Nagar Haveli is undulating and hilly, reaching elevations of 1,000 feet in the northeast and east near the Western Ghats. Lowland areas are limited to the central plains, which are crossed by the Damanganga River and its tributaries. The only navigable river in Dadra and Nagar Haveli, the Damanganga rises in Maharashtra and flows northwestward through
Wu Ching
Pinyin �Wu Jing� (Chinese: �Five Classics�), five ancient Chinese books whose prestige is so great that in the fourfold classification of Chinese writings the ching (�classics�) are placed before shih (�history�), tzu (�philosophy�), and chi (�literature�). For 2,000 years these classics, all associated in some way with the name of the ancient sage Confucius (551 - 479 BC), were invoked as norms for Chinese society, law,
Ski Jumping
Competitive skiing event in which contestants ski down a steep ramp that curves upward at the end, or takeoff point. Skiers leap from the end, trying to cover as much horizontal distance in the air as possible. Ski jumping has been included in the Winter Olympics since the 1924 Games in Chamonix, France. Upon addition of a second, much bigger hill to the 1964 Olympics, the event was
Production, Theory Of
In economics, an effort to explain the principles by which a business firm decides how much of each commodity that it sells (its �outputs� or �products�) it will produce, and how much of each kind of labour, raw material, fixed capital good, etc., that it employs (its �inputs� or �factors of production�) it will use. The theory involves some of the most fundamental principles of economics.
Ebullism
In the atmospheric pressure at sea level (760 mm of mercury), water boils at 212� F (100� C). When the pressure on a liquid
Raymond Vii
After helping to recover lands of which his
Computers, ENIAC
In the United States, government funding went to a project led by John Mauchly, J. Presper Eckert, Jr., and their colleagues at the Moore School of Electrical Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania; their objective was an all-electronic computer. Under contract to the army, and under the direction of Herman Goldstine, work began in early 1943 on the Electronic Numerical
Field Archery
Also called �roving� form of archery in which targets of different sizes or shapes are placed at varying distances in uneven, often wooded, terrain in an attempt to simulate hunting conditions. As an organized sport it dates from the formation in 1939 of the National Field Archery Association of the United States. In 1969 a field event was included for the first time in the world archery championships
Ringo, Johnny
Not much is known of Ringo, not even his birthplace. He showed up first in Mason county, Texas, in 1875, where he was suspected of cattle rustling and arrested for a double murder. He escaped from jail, was re-arrested, and was released. He appeared next in Galeyville, N.M., in 1879, already possessing
Buisine
The name derives from Latin buccina, a Roman shepherds' and later military horn made
Uthagamandalam
Formerly �Ootacamund, � town, administrative headquarters of Nilgiri district, Tamil Nadu state, southeastern India, in the Nilgiri Hills, at about 7,500 ft (2,300 m) above sea level. It is sheltered by several peaks, including Doda Betta (8,652 ft), the highest point in Tamil Nadu. Founded by the British in 1821, it was used as the official government summer headquarters for the Madras Presidency until Indian independence
Middlebury College
Private, coeducational institution of higher learning in Middlebury, Vt., U.S. It is a small liberal arts college at which particular emphasis is given to the study of modern languages. Course work at Middlebury is divided into eight academic categories: literature, the arts, foreign languages, philosophical and religious studies, physical and life sciences, historical
Goatsbeard
(species Aruncus dioicus or A. sylvester), herbaceous perennial plant, of the rose family (Rosaceae), native to the North Temperate Zone. It occurs most commonly in rich woods, especially in mountainous regions. The plant grows 1.2 to 1.8 m (4 to 6 feet) tall and has pinnately compound (i.e., feather-formed) leaves up to 50 cm (20 inches) long. Eight to 10 small, stalkless, white flowers are borne on leafless
