ThinChurch

Promotional pens: everyone seems to want one.

2007-02-06T06:35:00.000-08:00

Are you looking for potential suppliers of promotional
products? From economy ballpoint pens to exclusive pen sets, you can choose
the best advertising promotional
pens for your advertising needs. That is a great way to easily promote your
business. Cheap promotional pens are always popular and extremely affordable (also
they travel well). But not forget to consider other effective products:t-shirt
(can be seen by hundreds of people each time your shirt is worn), key chains,
mugs and travel Mugs, magnets, desk Items, calendars. Think carefully about your
target audience and their lifestyle, then you can determine if these promotional
products are the best selection to accomplish your objectives.

Selection Rule

2005-04-04T08:07:00.000-07:00

In quantum mechanics, any of a set of restrictions governing the likelihood that a physical system will change from one state to another or will be unable to make such a transition. Selection rules, accordingly, may specify “allowed transitions,” those that have a high probability of occurring, or “forbidden transitions,” those that have minimal or no probability of

Merchant Adventurers

2005-04-02T19:27:00.000-08:00

Company of English merchants who engaged in trade with the Netherlands (and later with northwest Germany) from the early 15th century to 1806. The company, chartered in 1407, principally engaged in the export of finished cloth from the burgeoning English woolen industry. Its heyday extended from the late 15th century to 1564, during which period it sent its fleets to its market at Antwerp

Tall Tale

2005-04-01T16:35:00.000-08:00

Narrative that depicts the wild adventures of extravagantly exaggerated folk heroes. The tall tale is essentially an oral form of entertainment; the audience appreciates the imaginative invention rather than the literal meaning of the tales. Associated with the lore of the American frontier, tall tales often explain the origins of lakes, mountains, and canyons;

Mountain

2005-03-29T05:00:00.000-08:00

Most mountains and mountain ranges are parts of mountain belts that have formed where two lithospheric plates have converged and where, in most cases, they continue to converge. In effect, many mountain belts mark the boundaries of lithospheric plates, and these boundaries in turn intersect other such boundaries. Consequently, there exist very long mountain systems

Mountain

2005-03-28T08:40:00.000-08:00

Oceanographic study platform developed in the United States. It combines the advantages of extreme stability while floating on site and ease of movement to new areas. In the horizontal position, FLIP, 109 m (357 feet) long, can be towed behind a ship. When FLIP's ballast tanks are flooded, the platform tilts to an upright position with 17 m (55 feet) of its length above water. Above-water

Eleanor Of Aquitaine

2005-03-25T08:04:00.000-08:00

Eleanor was the daughter and heiress of William X, duke of Aquitaine and count of Poitiers, who possessed one of the largest domains in France—larger,

Earth, Subduction zones

2005-03-24T02:08:00.000-08:00

It has been pointed out that, in comparison to magnetic and seismological studies, gravity measurements played only a secondary role in establishing the plate-tectonic theory in the 1960s. On the other hand, as early as 1929 the Dutch geophysicist Felix A. Vening Meinesz had shown that some of the most spectacular negative gravity anomalies on Earth are associated with oceanic

Lutheran Synodical Conference

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

Cooperative agency organized in 1872 by several conservative U.S. Lutheran groups. Its members accepted strict conservative interpretations of the Bible and the Lutheran confessions and insisted that fellowship among Lutheran groups could take place only after agreement was reached on doctrine and church practices. Over the years some of the original members

Dabrowa Górnicza

2005-03-19T16:42:00.000-08:00

City, Katowice województwo (province), southwestern Poland, on the Czarna Przemsza River just northeast of Katowice city. The town flourished when coal mining began there in 1796. During the 19th century it served as a mining and metallurgical research centre and had the first Polish mining school (1889). It became a town in 1916. Dabrowa Górnicza is situated in the Górny Slask (Upper Silesia)

Philip

2005-03-18T16:38:00.000-08:00

The youngest son of the Holy Roman emperor Frederick I Barbarossa, Philip was destined for the church. After being provost of the cathedral at Aachen, he was, in 1190 or 1191, elected bishop of Würzburg. Shortly after the death of his brother Frederick

Ear Disease, Impacted earwax

2005-03-18T02:01:00.000-08:00

The waxy substance produced by glands in the skin of the outer-ear canal normally is carried outward by slow migration to the outer layers of skin. When wax is produced too rapidly, it can accumulate, completely filling the outer-ear canal and blocking the passage of sound to the tympanic membrane, causing a painless impairment of hearing. Large plugs of earwax need

Hawthorn, John Michael

2005-03-17T01:10:00.000-08:00

Hawthorn won his first motorcycle race at 18, turned to sports cars at 21, and two years later, driving a Cooper–Bristol, defeated Juan Manuel Fangio at Goodwood. In 1953, driving for Ferrari, he won the French Grand Prix from Fangio; in 1955 he won the tragic Le

Rabaut, Paul

2005-03-16T20:08:00.000-08:00

At age 16 Rabaut met Jean Bétrine, an itinerant preacher of the French Reformed Church, who was highly unpopular with the Roman Catholic government. Rabaut's consequent theological training, which led to his certification

Arend-roland, Comet

2005-03-14T02:20:00.000-08:00

Comet remarkable for its anomalous second tail, which projects toward rather than away from the Sun. It was discovered on the night of Nov. 8–9, 1956, by S. Arend and P. Roland in Belgium. Its perihelion passage (i.e., its closest approach to the Sun) occurred on April 20, 1957. Because it was discovered months before perihelion, lengthy observations could be carried out. The anomalous tail appeared

China, Foreign relations in the 1860s

2005-03-13T10:40:00.000-08:00

The Tsungli Yamen had two offices attached to it: the Inspectorate General of Customs and the Language School, called T'ung-wen-kuan. The former was the centre for the Maritime Custom Service, administered by Western personnel appointed by the Ch'ing. The latter was opened to train the children of bannermen in foreign languages, and later some Western sciences were

Owendo

2005-03-12T08:12:00.000-08:00

Deepwater port, northwestern Gabon, on the north shore of the Gabon Estuary; it serves the national capital, Libreville (9 miles [15 km] north-northwest), and was designed to handle ore vessels. It has a seaplane base and road connections with Libreville, Cocobeach, Médouneu, and Kango. In 1978 the first 115-mile (185-kilometre) segment of the Trans-Gabon Railway was opened, linking Owendo

Decorative Art

2005-03-12T04:06:00.000-08:00

Any of those arts that are concerned chiefly with the design and decoration of objects that are chiefly prized for their utility, rather than for their purely aesthetic qualities. Ceramics, glassware, basketry, jewelry, metalware, furniture, textiles, clothing, and other such goods are the objects most commonly associated with the decorative arts. Many decorative

Maha Maya

2005-03-10T19:34:00.000-08:00

According to Buddhist legend, Maha Maya dreamed that a white elephant with six tusks entered her right side, which was interpreted to mean that she had conceived a child who would become either a world ruler or a buddha. After 10 lunar months, feeling that the time of birth was near, she went to the Lumbini

Merchant Guild

2005-03-09T21:11:00.000-08:00

A European medieval association composed of traders interested in international commerce. The privileged fraternity formed by the merchants of Tiel in Gelderland (in present-day Netherlands) about 1020 is the first undoubted precursor of the merchant guilds, and the statutes of a similar body at St. Omer, France, actually use the term gilda mercatoria before the end

Dwiggins, William Addison

2005-03-08T22:37:00.000-08:00

After studying with Frederic Goudy in Chicago, Dwiggins moved in 1906 to Hingham, Mass., where he earned his living

Over-the-counter Market

2005-03-08T22:19:00.000-08:00

Trading in stocks and bonds that does not take place on stock exchanges; such trading is most significant in the United States, where requirements for listing stocks on the exchanges are quite strict. It is often called the “off-board market,” and sometimes the “unlisted market,” though the latter term is misleading because some securities so traded are listed on an exchange.

Papaya

2005-03-05T19:57:00.000-08:00

Also called papaw , or pawpaw succulent fruit of a large plant (Carica papaya) of the family Caricaceae that is considered a tree, though its palmlike trunk, up to 8 m (26 feet) tall, is not as woody as the designation generally implies. The plant is crowned by deeply lobed leaves, sometimes 60 cm (2 feet) across, borne on hollow petioles 60 cm long. Normally, the species is dioecious, male and female flowers

Dmitry, False

2005-03-04T09:10:00.000-08:00

After Fyodor I (reigned 1584–98), the last tsar of the Rurik dynasty, died and his brother-in-law Boris Godunov succeeded him, the first False Dmitry appeared and

Foix

2005-03-03T11:43:00.000-08:00

Feudal county of southwestern France, corresponding approximately to the modern département of Ariège. Between the 11th and the 15th century, the counts of Foix built up a quasi-independent power bounded by Languedoc on the north and on the east, by the territories of the counts of Roussillon and of the kings of Aragon on the south, and by those of the counts of Comminges

Cosby, Bill

2005-03-02T22:43:00.000-08:00

Cosby left high school without earning his diploma and joined the U.S. Navy in 1956. While enlisted he passed a high school equivalency exam, and after his discharge he received an athletic scholarship to Temple

Performing Arts

2005-03-01T06:33:00.000-08:00

Ibrahim

2005-02-27T09:34:00.000-08:00

Early in his reign under the guidance of the able but ambitious grand vizier Kemankes Kara Mustafa

Faraj

2005-02-26T21:09:00.000-08:00

Faraj's father, Barquq, died in 1399. While he was a child, two guardians, representing the rival

Dench, Dame Judi

2005-02-25T08:05:00.000-08:00

Dench studied at the Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art in London. In 1957 she gave her first important critically acclaimed performance, as Ophelia in the Old Vic production of Hamlet

Wagner Act

2005-02-25T01:12:00.000-08:00

Sponsored by Senator Robert F. Wagner, a Democrat from New York, the Wagner Act established the federal government as the regulator and ultimate arbiter

Mahé Island

2005-02-23T17:36:00.000-08:00

Largest island of the Seychelles archipelago, Republic of Seychelles, in the western Indian Ocean. The island is 4 miles (6 km) wide and 16 miles (26 km) long and has an area of 57 square miles (148 square km). The island is granitic in origin and mountainous; the highest peak is Morne Seychellois, which rises to 2,969 feet (905 m) and forms part of a national park of the same name. Port Launay Marine National

Elizabeth Of France

2005-02-22T20:12:00.000-08:00

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

Sill, Anna Peck

2005-02-22T02:28:00.000-08:00

Sill began teaching school at the age of 20, and in 1843 she opened a seminary in Warsaw, New York. From 1846 to 1849 she headed the female department of the Cary Collegiate Institute in Oakfield, New York. For some years she had wavered between teaching

Forensic Medicine

2005-02-21T01:53:00.000-08:00

The primary tool of forensic medicine has always

Sabbatarianism

2005-02-20T04:59:00.000-08:00

Doctrine of those Christians who believe that Sunday (the Christian Sabbath) should be observed in accordance with the Fourth Commandment, which forbids work on the Sabbath because it is a holy day. Some other Christians have contended that the Fourth (or Third in some systems) Commandment was a part of the Hebrew ceremonial, not moral, law. They believe that this law

Mursilis Ii

2005-02-18T18:26:00.000-08:00

Son of the great Hittite conqueror Suppiluliumas, Mursilis succeeded his father after the brief reign of his older brother Arnuwandas III. Mursilis renewed the allegiance of North Syria, particularly Carchemish (controlled by his brother Shar-Kushukh) and the kingdom of Amurru; he also conducted a successful

Perceval

2005-02-17T02:26:00.000-08:00

Hero of Arthurian romance, distinguished by his quality of childlike (often uncouth) innocence, which protected him from worldly temptation and set him apart from other knights in Arthur's fellowship. This quality also links his story with the primitive folktale theme of a great fool or simple hero. In Chrétien de Troyes's poem Le Conte du Graal (12th century), Perceval's

Earth, Dipolar field

2005-02-16T11:30:00.000-08:00

The magnetic field lines shown in the diagram are not real entities although they are frequently treated as such. A magnetic field is a continuous function that exists at every point in space. A field line is simply a means for visualizing the direction of this field. It is defined as a curve in three dimensions that is everywhere tangential to the local magnetic field.

Ilex

2005-02-16T03:43:00.000-08:00

Genus of plants commonly known collectively as holly (q.v.).

Grade, Lew, Baron Grade Of Elstree

2005-02-15T16:49:00.000-08:00

The son of a Jewish tailor's assistant, he immigrated with his family to England in 1912 and dropped out of school at age 14 to help in the family business. At age 20 he changed his name to Grade and went into vaudeville as a Charleston dancer. Soon he began representing other

Steel

2005-02-13T13:39:00.000-08:00

Alloy of iron and carbon in which the carbon content ranges up to 2 percent (with a higher carbon content, the material is defined as cast iron). By far the most widely used material for building the world's infrastructure and industries, it is used to fabricate everything from sewing needles to oil tankers. In addition, the tools required to build and manufacture such

Instinct, Modifiable action patterns

2005-02-12T08:19:00.000-08:00

Some types of instinctive behaviour, while showing a rigid core of fixed action pattern, are still modifiable by conditioning and other learning processes (see above). A good example is provided by the nest-building behaviour of many birds: after the breeding female has chosen a nest site, she finds and deposits sticks or twigs or pieces of grass there. A jackdaw (Corvus

Ancient Rome, Augustan art and literature

2005-02-12T07:52:00.000-08:00

In 17 BC Rome held Secular Games, a traditional celebration to announce the entry into a new epoch (saeculum). New it was, for, though Augustus preserved what he could of republican institutions, he added much that was his own. His Rome had become very Italian, and this spirit is reflected in the art and literature of his reign. Its greatest writers were native Italians, and, like

Pyrenees

2005-02-10T14:20:00.000-08:00

Spanish Pirineos , French Pyrénées , Catalan Pireneus mountain chain of southwestern Europe that consists of flat-topped massifs and folded linear ranges. It stretches from the shores of the Mediterranean Sea on the east to the Bay of Biscay on the Atlantic Ocean on the west. The Pyrenees form a high wall between France and Spain that has played a significant role in the history of both countries and of Europe as a whole.

Furniture, 18th century: the Rococo style

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

The influence of French furniture was predominant in Europe during the 18th century. In the second half of the century England played a leading role in establishing the Neoclassical style, and for supreme craftsmanship provided an inspiration to workshops in several countries; but in the diffusion of the two styles, the Rococo and the Neoclassical, French designs

Roman

2005-02-07T06:45:00.000-08:00

City, Neamt judet (county), northeastern Romania, situated at the confluence of the Moldova and Siret rivers. It was founded by Roman Musat, ruling prince of Moldavia (1392–94); he referred to it as “our town of Roman” in a letter of 1392. It developed as a small trading settlement on the Siret valley route between Suceava, to the northwest, and the Danube ports. During the reign of Alexander (Alexandru)

Papago

2005-02-07T00:52:00.000-08:00

The Papago speak a Uto-Aztecan language, a dialectal variant of Piman, and culturally they are similar to the Pima (see also Uto-Aztecan languages). There are, however, certain dissimilarities. The drier, harsher

Architecture, The temple or church

2005-02-06T03:05:00.000-08:00

Temples or churches serve as places of worship and as shelters for the images, relics, and holy areas of the cult. In the older religions, the temple was not always designed for communal use. In ancient Egypt and India it was considered the residence of the deity, and entrance into the sanctum was prohibited or reserved for priests; in ancient Greece it contained an accessible

Fields Medal

2005-02-05T02:50:00.000-08:00

The Fields Medal originated from surplus funds

France, History Of, France in the 16th century

2005-02-04T19:14:00.000-08:00

When Charles VIII (1483–98) led the French invasion of Italy in 1494, he initiated a series of Italian wars that were to last until the Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis in 1559. These wars were not especially successful for the French, but they corresponded to the contemporary view of the obligations of kingship. They also had their effects upon the development of the French state; in particular,

Penang

2005-02-02T18:47:00.000-08:00

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

Lille

2005-02-02T09:49:00.000-08:00

Lille (often written L'Île [“the island”] until the 18th century) began as a village between arms of the Deûle River. Count Baldwin IV of Flanders fortified it in the 11th century. The medieval

Hinduism, Vaishnavism

2005-02-01T03:16:00.000-08:00

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

Cosgrave, William Thomas

2005-01-30T21:42:00.000-08:00

At an early age, Cosgrave was attracted to the Irish nationalist movement Sinn Féin. He became a member of the Dublin Corporation in 1909 and was subsequently reelected in the Sinn Féin interest. When Britain entered World War I, he joined the Irish Volunteers; but when this group split

Csokonai Vitéz, Mihály

2005-01-30T19:17:00.000-08:00

Csokonai's early sympathies with the revolutionary trends of his age made life difficult for him in the wave of reaction that accompanied Napoleon's invasion of Europe. Dismissed after a brief career as an assistant master at the Calvinist college in Debrecen, he became a wandering

Ufa Plateau

2005-01-29T14:28:00.000-08:00

Russian Ufimskoye Plato, plateau lying immediately to the west of the central Ural Mountains in Bashkortostan and in Sverdlovsk oblast (province), west-central Russia. The plateau embraces parts of the basins of the Ufa, Yuryuzan, and Ay rivers. It has a total north-south length of 95 miles (150 km). The plateau varies in elevation from 1,300 to 1,650 feet (400 to 500 m), reaching its highest point at 2,270 feet. It is a gentle anticline

Shimada

2005-01-27T14:03:00.000-08:00

City, Shizuoka ken (prefecture), Honshu, Japan, on the lower Oi River. During the Tokugawa era (1603–1867) it was an important post town on the Tokaido (Eastern Sea Highway) because fording the river was both difficult and dangerous. Since the early 20th century the city has become a trade centre for timber from the forest-covered Akaishi Range upstream. Shimada contains several large paper

Terminalia

2005-01-27T07:27:00.000-08:00

Genus of about 200 species of trees of the family Combretaceae. Some species are commercially important for products such as gums, resins, and tanning extracts. T. arjuna, of Southeast Asia; T. hilariana, of tropical America; T. obovata, of the West Indies and South America; and T. superba, of West Africa yield woods used for cabinetwork, tools, and boat construction.

Price

2005-01-25T08:55:00.000-08:00

It follows from the definition just stated that prices perform an economic function of major significance. So long as they are not artificially controlled, prices provide an economic

Kazvin

2005-01-25T04:53:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Qazvin city, Markazi (Tehran) ostan (province), north-central Iran, in a wide, fertile plain at the southern foot of the Elburz Mountains. Originally called Shad Shahpur, it was founded by the Sasanian king Shapur I about AD 250. It flourished in early Muslim times (7th century), serving as a base for Islamization, and was surrounded by strong fortifications by Harun al-Rashid. Genghis Khan laid waste the

Abu Simbel

2005-01-23T08:10:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Abu Sunbul

Hawrani, Akram Al-

2005-01-22T15:01:00.000-08:00

Hawrani's radical orientation had its roots in direct personal experience rather than in intellectual reflection. He resented the large landlords' exploitation of the Syrian peasantry and strove to rouse

Vitamin B Complex

2005-01-22T07:24:00.000-08:00

Most of the B vitamins have been recognized

O'brien, William

2005-01-21T20:50:00.000-08:00

Irish journalist and politician who was for several years second only to Charles Stewart Parnell (1846–91) among Irish Nationalist leaders. He was perhaps most important for his “plan of campaign” (1886), by which Irish tenant farmers would withhold all rent payments from landlords who refused to lower their rents and would pay the money

Arts, Islamic, Architectural decoration

2005-01-19T23:10:00.000-08:00

Early Islamic architecture is most original in its decoration. Mosaics and wall paintings followed the practices of antiquity and were primarily employed in Syria, Palestine, and Spain. Stone sculpture existed, but stucco sculpture, first limited to Iran, spread rapidly throughout the early Islamic world. Not only were stone or brick walls covered with large panels

Nader, Ralph

2005-01-18T18:21:00.000-08:00

Running as the candidate of the Green Party, American consumer advocate Ralph Nader won fewer than 3% of the votes cast in the U.S. presidential election held on Nov. 7, 2000, but as it turned out, he was crucial to the outcome. He took far more votes from the Democratic candidate, Vice Pres. Al Gore, than from the Republican, Texas Gov. George W. Bush, and in two states, Florida and New Hampshire,

Kagu

2005-01-17T21:33:00.000-08:00

(Rhynochetus jubatus), nearly extinct and virtually flightless bird of New Caledonia, sole member of the family Rhynochetidae (order Gruiformes). About 55 cm (22 inches) long, it is a chunky bird with loose, gray plumage, including an erectile crest. The bill, legs, and eyes are reddish orange. In courtship the kagu dances with wings spread to show attractive

Allophone

2005-01-17T19:00:00.000-08:00

One of the phonetically distinct variants of a phoneme (q.v.). The occurrence of one allophone rather than another is usually determined by its position in the word (initial, final, medial, etc.) or by its phonetic environment. Speakers of a language often have difficulty in hearing the phonetic differences between allophones of the same phoneme, because these differences

Arenosol

2005-01-14T18:07:00.000-08:00

One of the 30 soil groups in the classification system of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Arenosols are sandy-textured soils that lack any significant soil profile development. They exhibit only a partially formed surface horizon (uppermost layer) that is low in humus, and they are bereft of subsurface clay accumulation. Given their excessive permeability

Riddah

2005-01-11T03:58:00.000-08:00

Despite the traditional resistance of the Bedouins to any restraining central authority, by 631 Muhammad was able to exact from the majority of their tribes at least nominal adherence to Islam, payment of the zakat, a tax levied on Muslims to support

China, Burma

2005-01-10T14:49:00.000-08:00

In 1867 the British gained the right to station a commercial agent at Bhamo in Burma, from which they could explore the Irrawaddy River up to the Yunnan border. A British interpreter accompanying a British exploratory mission to Yunnan was killed by local tribesmen on the Yunnan–Burma border in February 1875. The British minister in China, Thomas Wade, seized the opportunity

Melchite

2005-01-08T03:17:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Melkite, any of the Christians of Syria and Egypt who accepted the ruling of the Council of Chalcedon (451) affirming the two natures—divine and human—of Christ. Because they shared the theological position of the Byzantine emperor, they were derisively termed Melchites—that is, Royalists or Emperor's Men (from Syriac malka: “king”)—by those who rejected the Chalcedonian definition

Buir Lake

2005-01-06T05:25:00.000-08:00

Wade–Giles romanization Pei-erh Hu, Mongol Pinyin Buir Nur, lake on the border of the Mongolian People's Republic and China. It has an area of 235 square miles (609 square km). It receives the Ha-lo-hsin River from the southeast, and its outlet, the Orchun River, flows into Hu-lun Lake to the north.

Colebrook-cameron Commission

2005-01-03T18:52:00.000-08:00

Committee sent by the British government in 1829–32 to investigate its colonial government in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) and to make recommendations for administrative, financial, economic, and judicial reform. Most of the recommendations were accepted; they signified for Ceylon the first manifestation of constitutional government, the first steps toward modernizing

Pribicevic, Svetozar

2005-01-01T07:41:00.000-08:00

Initially Pribicevic favoured a centralized Yugoslav nation rather than a federation of the South Slav peoples; as minister of the interior, he jailed Stjepan Radic, head of the Croatian Peasant

Ubayyid, Al-

2004-12-31T18:28:00.000-08:00

Also spelled el-Obeid town, central Sudan. It lies on a sandy, scrub-covered plateau at an elevation of 1,869 feet (570 m). Founded by the Egyptians in 1821, the town was captured and largely destroyed by the Mahdist forces in 1882, but it was rebuilt after Kurdufan was federated with the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan in 1899. Al-Ubayyid is encircled by a forest reserve that tends to alleviate dust storms. Located on a spur of the

La Libertad

2004-12-29T14:20:00.000-08:00

Once the home of the Mochica and Chimú cultures—renowned for their ceramics, irrigation works, and vast urban

Fable, Parable, And Allegory, Fable

2004-12-27T20:51:00.000-08:00

Fables teach a general principle of conduct by presenting a specific example of behaviour. Thus, to define the moral that “People who rush into things without using judgment run into strange and unexpected dangers,” Aesop—the traditional “father” of the fable form—told the following story:There was a dog who was fond of eating eggs. Mistaking a shell-fish for an egg one

Roving

2004-12-24T22:08:00.000-08:00

In archery, form of practice or competition dating from at least the 16th century, when it was practiced by the Honourable Artillery Company at Finsbury Fields near London. Archers set up many marks on the field and shot from one to the next in sequence, the object being, as in golf, to use the fewest shots in completing the course. Roving is similar to modern field archery,

Perciform, Use as food

2004-12-23T19:45:00.000-08:00

Since early times, the rivers and oceans have provided man with food; fishing was one of man's earliest means for securing food. Archaeological findings among shell mounds of Scotland indicate that the sea bream (family Sparidae) formed part of the diet of early man. The Nile perches (family Latidae) have been found as mummies in ancient tombs in Egypt. The goatfishes

Gaudí, Antoni

2004-12-21T23:50:00.000-08:00

Catalan in full Antoni Gaudí i Cornet , Spanish Antonio Gaudí y Cornet Catalan architect, whose distinctive style is characterized by freedom of form, voluptuous colour and texture, and organic unity. Gaudí worked almost entirely in or near Barcelona. Much of his career was occupied with the construction of the Expiatory Temple of the Holy Family (Sagrada Familia), which was unfinished at his death in

Yablonitsky Pass

2004-12-18T10:56:00.000-08:00

Russian Pereval Yablonitsky, also spelled Pereval Jablonickij, pass in the outer eastern Carpathians of western Ukraine, an important route connecting the rest of the republic with the isolated Zakarpatskaya oblast (administrative region) and with northeastern Romania. The southern portion of the pass is formed by the valley of the Tisa River, and the northern section contains the headwaters of the Prut. The head of the pass

Ibn Qutaybah

2004-12-17T13:10:00.000-08:00

Little is known of Ibn Qutaybah's life. Of Khorasanian stock, he was qadi (religious judge) of Dinawar (c. 851–870). From c. 871 until his

Fence

2004-12-14T08:08:00.000-08:00

Barrier erected to confine or exclude people or animals, to define boundaries, or to decorate. Timber, earth, stone, and metal are widely used for fencing. Fences of living plants have been made in many places, such as the hedges of Great Britain and continental Europe and the cactus fences of Latin America. In well-timbered country, such as colonial and 19th-century North

Gwyn, Nell

2004-12-13T08:55:00.000-08:00

Her father, according to tradition, died in a debtors' prison at Oxford during

Physical Science, Principles Of, Application of Newton's laws

2004-12-11T10:07:00.000-08:00

In the same way that the timing of a pendulum provided a more rigorous test of Galileo's kinematical theory than could be achieved by direct testing with balls rolling down planes, so with Newton's laws the most searching tests are indirect and based on mathematically derived consequences. Kepler's laws of planetary motion are just such an example, and in the two centuries

Quindío

2004-12-09T03:49:00.000-08:00

Departamento, west-central Colombia, on the western slopes of the Andean Cordillera Central. The smallest department in the nation, it occupies an area of 712 square miles (1,845 square km) in one of Colombia's leading coffee-producing regions. Bananas, corn (maize), sugarcane, and beans are among the other crops, and livestock raising is widespread. Quindío has rich deposits of

Burgers, Thomas François

2004-12-07T09:37:00.000-08:00

After graduating as a doctor of theology from the University of Utrecht, Burgers in 1859 returned to Cape Colony, where he became the minister of the Dutch Reformed Church in

Gastronomy, Japanese

2004-12-05T15:36:00.000-08:00

Traditionally the Japanese bride received as many as 50 different kinds of dishes as wedding gifts, and she might use a dozen at one meal. She would

Fustic

2004-12-03T22:23:00.000-08:00

The dye termed young fustic (zante fustic, or Venetian sumac) is derived from the wood

Xenophon

2004-12-01T16:03:00.000-08:00

Born of a well-to-do Athenian family, Xenophon grew up during the great war between Athens and Sparta (431–404 BC) and served in the elite force of Athenian cavalry. He and his well-to-do contemporaries sat at the feet of Socrates, were critical of the extreme form of democracy under which they lived, and sympathized with the right-wing revolutionaries who seized power for short

Uber Cup

2004-11-28T20:11:00.000-08:00

Trophy representing the women's world championship in the sport of badminton. The cup was contributed by Mrs. H.S. Uber, former English champion, in 1956 for a series of women's international team competitions to be held every three years.

Asahi Shimbun

2004-11-27T22:53:00.000-08:00

Founded in Osaka in 1879, Asahi has been in the hands of the Murayama and Ueno families since 1881. Asahi is particularly noted for its political coverage and its foreign news.

Ben-gurion, David

2004-11-25T21:45:00.000-08:00

Zionist statesman and political leader, the first prime minister (1948–53, 1955–63) and defense minister (1948–53; 1955–63) of Israel. It was Ben-Gurion who, on May 14, 1948, at Tel Aviv, delivered Israel's declaration of independence. His charismatic personality won him the adoration of the masses, and, after his retirement

Minamoto Yoritomo

2004-11-22T04:52:00.000-08:00

Defying the emperor, Yoritomo established shugo (constables) and jito (district stewards) throughout the Japanese provinces, thus undermining the central government's local administrative power, and in 1192 he acquired the title of supreme commander (shogun) over

Kerala

2004-11-20T19:50:00.000-08:00

State of India. It has an area of 15,005 square miles (38,863 square kilometres), only about 1 percent of the total area of the country. The state stretches for 360 miles (580 kilometres) along the Malabar Coast on the southwestern side of the Indian peninsula; its width varies from 20 to 75 miles. It is bordered by the states of Karnataka (formerly Mysore) to the north and Tamil Nadu to the east and by the Arabian

Nafud, An-

2004-11-19T04:45:00.000-08:00

Desert, northern Saudi Arabia, covering about 25,000 square miles (64,000 square km). The reddish, sandy An-Nafud (Arabic: “The Desert”) is sometimes called the Great Nafud; it lies at an elevation of 3,000 feet (900 m) and has some watering places and grass that provide for nomadic herding and agriculture. The desert has been a barrier to travel for ages; its frequent sandstorms shape immense dunes.

National Monument

2004-11-17T08:12:00.000-08:00

In 1906 President Theodore Roosevelt established the first national

Korea Strait

2004-11-15T16:17:00.000-08:00

Passage of the northwest Pacific extending northeast from the East China Sea to the Sea of Japan (East Sea) between the south coast of the Korean peninsula (northwest) and the Japanese islands of Kyushu and Honshu. The strait, which is 300 feet (90 m) deep, is bisected by the Tsushima islands, the passage to the east being often referred to as Tsushima Strait. The western channel