Kabir

The birth of Kabir (Arabic: �Great�) remains to this day shrouded in mystery and legend. Authorities disagree

Ustyurt Plateau

Kazak ��stirt�, Turkmen ��styurt� plateau in Uzbekistan and Kazakstan, lying between the Aral Sea and the Amu Darya (river) delta in the east and the Mangyshlak (Tupqarghan) Plateau and the Kara-Bogaz-Gol (Garabogazk�l; an inlet of the Caspian Sea) in the west. It has an area of about 77,000 square miles (about 200,000 square km) and an average elevation of about 500 feet (about 150 m), rising to a maximum of 1,200 feet (365 m) in the southwest. At its

Nova Herculis

Also called �DQ Herculis� one of the brightest novas of the 20th century, discovered Dec. 13, 1934, by the British amateur astronomer J.P.M. Prentice, in the northern constellation Hercules. It reached an apparent visual magnitude of 1.4 and remained visible to the unaided eye for months. At its centre was found an eclipsing binary pair of small stars, revolving around each other with a period of 4 hours and 39

The Rodent That Acts Like A Hippo

Although the animals that live in rainforests on different continents can differ significantly, the environments they live in are very similar. These environments, therefore, exert similar pressures on the evolution of the animals living in each. As a result, unrelated species may be similar in many ways. This phenomenon is called convergent evolution, or convergence

Leakey, Louis S.b.

In full �Louis Seymour Bazett Leakey� Kenyan archaeologist and anthropologist whose fossil discoveries in East Africa proved that man was far older than had previously been believed and that human evolution was centred in Africa, rather than in Asia, as earlier discoveries had suggested. Leakey was also noted for his controversial interpretations of these archaeological

Leakey, Louis S.b.

In full �Louis Seymour Bazett Leakey� Kenyan archaeologist and anthropologist whose fossil discoveries in East Africa proved that man was far older than had previously been believed and that human evolution was centred in Africa, rather than in Asia, as earlier discoveries had suggested. Leakey was also noted for his controversial interpretations of these archaeological

Arp, Jean

First trained as an artist in his native Strasbourg, he later studied in Weimar, Germany, and at the Acad�mie Julian in Paris. In 1912 he went to Munich,

Fiddle

German �Fiedel, �French �Vielle, � medieval European bowed, stringed musical instrument. The medieval fiddle, a forerunner of the violin, emerged in 10th-century Europe, possibly deriving from the lira, a Byzantine version of the rabab, an Arab bowed instrument. Medieval fiddles varied in size and shape but characteristically had front or back tuning pegs set in a flat and round or heart-shaped peg disk

Photography, Technology Of, X-ray radiography

The most familiar

Gagern, Maximilian (joseph Ludwig) Freiherr Von (baron Of)

Gagern, like his two prominent brothers, a nationalist

Gagern, Maximilian (joseph Ludwig) Freiherr Von (baron Of)

Gagern, like his two prominent brothers, a nationalist

Turkey, Flag Of

Various myths are associated with the symbolism of the red colour and the star and crescent, but none really explains their origins. Although the star and crescent are often seen as typical Muslim symbols, in fact they have a history long predating the rise of Islam. Ancient civilizations throughout the Middle East used a crescent moon as a religious symbol, and the

Danao

City, eastern Cebu Island, Philippines, about 17 miles (27 km) northeast of Cebu City. It was founded in 1844 and is a port on the Camotes Sea for nearby coalfields. It is also a service centre for the coastal agricultural area that produces rice and corn (maize). Its name is derived from danawan, a local word meaning �shallow lagoon�; there are beaches for swimming nearby. Inc. city, 1961. Pop. (1980) 56,967.

Vrancea

Judet (county), east-central Romania, occupying an area of 1,878 square miles (4,863 square km). The Eastern Carpathian and sub-Carpathian mountains rise above settlement areas in the county's valleys and lowlands. The southward-draining Siret River constitutes most of the county's eastern border. The Zabala, Rimna, and Trotus rivers also flow southeastward into the Siret. The county

Elizabethan Literature

Body of works written during the reign of Elizabeth I of England (1558 - 1603), probably the most splendid age in the history of English literature, during which such writers as Sir Philip Sidney, Edmund Spenser, Roger Ascham, Richard Hooker, Christopher Marlowe, and William Shakespeare flourished. The epithet Elizabethan is merely a chronological reference and does not describe

Procellariiform

Also called �tubinares � (order Procellariiformes), any of the seabirds that include the albatrosses (family Diomedeidae); shearwaters, fulmars, prions, and large petrels (Procellariidae); storm petrels (Hydrobatidae); and diving petrels (Pelecanoididae). There are approximately 87 living and 36 fossil species of diverse sizes and ranges. All Procellariiformes are recognizable by their conspicuous

Ear, Human, Auditory ossicles

Crossing the middle-ear cavity is the short ossicular chain formed by three tiny bones that link the tympanic membrane with the oval window and inner ear (Figure 2). From the outside inward they are the malleus (hammer), the incus (anvil), and the stapes (stirrup). The malleus more closely resembles a club than a hammer, and the incus looks more like a premolar tooth with uneven

Shillong

City, capital of Meghalaya state, northeastern India. The city is located on the Shillong Plateau at an elevation of 4,990 feet (1,520 m). Shillong first became prominent in 1864, when it succeeded Cherrapunji as the district headquarters; in 1874 it was made the capital of the new province of Assam. An earthquake destroyed the city in 1897, necessitating its complete rebuilding. The North East

France, History Of

The year 1789 is the great dividing line in the history of modern France. The fall of the Bastille, the French state prison, on July 14, 1789, symbolizes for that nation, as well as for all other nations, the end of the premodern era characterized by an organicist and religiously sanctioned traditionalism. With the French Revolution began the institutionalization of secularized

Harpy

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

Rinderpest

Also called �steppe murrain, �cattle plague�, or �contagious bovine typhus� an acute, highly contagious viral disease of ruminant animals, primarily cattle, that is common in Africa, the Indian subcontinent, and the Middle East. It has occurred in Brazil and Australia but was quickly eradicated in those countries. Rinderpest has not been reported in the United States. Rinderpest is the most severe infectious disease of cattle and is characterized

Tolan, Eddie

While attending high school in Detroit, Mich., Tolan was a city and state champion in the 100- and 200-yard dashes. At the University of Michigan, he attracted national attention in 1929 when he set a record in the 100-yard dash (9.5 seconds)

Jackstraws

To begin the game, the jackstraws (20 to 50) are bunched in one hand and set vertically on a table or other smooth, flat surface, then released suddenly so that the straws fall in a jumble. Each player

Mycotoxin

Toxic substance produced by a fungus (i.e., a member of the kingdom Fungi). Mycotoxins occur in great number and variety; their effects can include hallucinations, skin inflammation, severe liver damage, hemorrhages, abortion, convulsions, neurological disturbances, and death in livestock and humans. Aflatoxins are a complex of mycotoxins produced by species of the

Vagus Nerve

Also called �Tenth Cranial Nerve,� longest and most complex of the cranial nerves. The vagus nerve runs from the brain through the face and thorax to the abdomen. It is a mixed nerve that contains parasympathetic fibres. The vagus nerve has two sensory ganglia (masses of nerve tissue that transmit sensory impulses): the superior and the inferior ganglia. The branches of the superior ganglion innervate

M�laga

Provincia, in the comunidad aut�noma (�autonomous community�) of Andalusia, southern Spain, on the Mediterranean coast. It has an area of 2,809 square miles (7,276 square km). Its northern half belongs to the Andalusian plain, while its southern half is mountainous and rises steeply from the coast, along which there is a narrow strip of lowland. The Sierra de Alhama separates M�laga

Fredericksburg, Battle Of

(December 13, 1862), bloody engagement of the American Civil War fought at Fredericksburg, Virginia; its outcome - a crushing Union defeat - immeasurably strengthened the Confederate cause. General A.E. Burnside, newly appointed commander of the Northern forces, planned to cross the Rappahannock River with an army of more than 120,000 troops and advance on the Southern capital at Richmond.

Uinta Mountains

Segment of the south-central Rocky Mountains, extending eastward for more than 100 miles (160 km) from the Wasatch Range across northeastern Utah and slightly into southwestern Wyoming, U.S. Many of the range's summits exceed 13,000 feet (4,000 m), including Kings Peak (13,528 feet [4,123 m]), the highest point in Utah. The mountains are a headstream region for the Provo, Bear, and Duchesne rivers and include

Sosigenes Of Alexandria

At the conclusion of the Roman civil war (49 - 45 BC), Caesar set out to replace the multitude of inaccurate and diverse