John, Sir Elton
A child prodigy on the piano, John was awarded a scholarship
Cracking
Cracking of petroleum yields light oils (corresponding to gasoline), heavier oils, and such gases as methane, ethane,
Papaya
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
Gable
The architectural treatment of a gable results from the effort to find an aesthetically pleasing solution to the problem of keeping water out of the intersection of walls and roof. This is accomplished either by
Gatineau
City, Outaouais region, southwestern Quebec province, Canada. It is situated on the north bank of the Ottawa River, opposite Ottawa and adjacent to Hull, near the mouth of the Gatineau River. The city derives its name from the river, which itself was named for Nicolas Gatineau, a fur trader who reportedly drowned in its waters about 1683. Gatineau was originally a part of Templeton
Spock, Benjamin
Spock received his medical degree in 1929 from Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons and trained for six years at the New York
Jet Engine
Any of a class of internal-combustion engines that propel aircraft by means of the rearward discharge of a jet of fluid, usually hot exhaust gases generated by burning fuel with air drawn in from the atmosphere.
Malachite
A minor ore but a widespread mineral of copper, basic copper carbonate, Cu2CO3(OH)2. Because of its distinctive bright green colour and its presence in the weathered zone of nearly all copper deposits, malachite serves as a prospecting guide for that metal. Notable occurrences are Nizhne-Tagilsk, Siberia; Chessy, Fr.; Tsumeb, Namibia; and Bisbee, Ariz., U.S. Malachite has been
Bach, Carl Philipp Emanuel
A precocious musician who remained successful, C.P.E. Bach was his father's true successor and an important figure in his own right. In his autobiography he writes: �For composition and keyboard-playing, I have never had
Leahy, William D.
A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Md. (1897), Leahy saw service in the Spanish-American War (1898), the Philippine insurrection (1899 - 1901), and the Boxer Rebellion in China (1900). In command of a navy transport during World War I, he formed
Hay, Oliver Perry
While serving as professor of biology and geology at Butler University, Indianapolis, Ind. (1879 - 92), he helped organize the Indiana Academy of Science (1890) and embarked on
Hypoparathyroidism
Inadequate secretion of parathyroid hormone, usually caused by accidental surgical removal of large amounts of parathyroid tissue (during thyroid surgery) or, less frequently, by defective action of the parathyroid gland. This deficiency results in low calcium and high phosphorus levels in the blood, often causing tetany (increased nervous and muscular excitability,
Tigris-euphrates River System
Great river system of Southwest Asia, comprising the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, which have their sources within 50 miles (80 km) of each other in eastern Turkey and travel southeast through northern Syria and Iraq to the head of the Persian Gulf. The lower portion of the region that they define, known as Mesopotamia (Greek: �Land Between the Rivers�), was one of the cradles of
Mosaic Rhyme
A type of multiple rhyme in which a single multisyllabic word is made to rhyme with two or more words, as in the end rhymes of the following two lines from W.S. Gilbert's song �The Modern Major-General�: About binomial theorem I'm teeming with a lot o' news, With interesting facts about the square of the hypotenuse.
Haleakala
The name Haleakala (Hawaiian: �House of the
Venlo
Gemeente (commune), Limburg provincie, southeastern Netherlands. It lies along the Maas (Meuse) River, near the German border. Chartered in 1343, it joined the Hanseatic League in 1364 and was a medieval fortress and trade centre. Venlo is now the centre of �greenhouse� market gardening; vegetables are exported to the Rhineland. The municipality also manufactures electric bulbs,
Aratus
He resided at the courts of Antigonus II Gonatas, king of Macedonia, and Antiochus I of Syria. The Phaenomena, a didactic poem in hexameters, is his only completely extant work. Lines 1 - 757 versify a prose work on astronomy by Eudoxus of Cnidus (c. 390 - c. 340), while lines 758 - 1154 treat of weather signs
Bhagalpur
City, eastern Bihar state, northeastern India, just south of the Ganges River. The city has major road and rail connections and trades in agricultural produce and cloth. Major industries include rice and sugar milling and woolen weaving. Bhagalpur is also noted for its silk production. A sericulture institute and an agricultural-research station have been established,
Egypt, Arabization
The Arabization of Egypt continued at a gradual pace. The early Fatimids' reliance on Berber troops was soon balanced by the importation of Turkish, Sudanese, and Arab contingents. The Fatimids are said to have used thousands of nomadic Arabs in the Egyptian cavalry and to have further stimulated Arabization by settling large numbers of Arabian tribesmen in Upper Egypt
Furniture, Greece and Rome
The typical Greek chair, the klismos, is known not from any ancient specimen still extant, but from a wealth of pictorial material. The best known is the klismos depicted on the Hegeso Stele at the Dipylon burial place outside Athens (c. 410 BC). It is a chair with a backward-sloping, curved backboard and four curving legs, only two of which are shown. These unusual legs were presumably
Alligator
(genus Alligator), either of two longsnouted, crocodilian reptiles usually placed with the South American caimans in the family Alligatoridae. Alligators, like other crocodilians, are large, lizardlike animals with powerful tails that are used both in defense and in swimming. Their eyes, ears, and nostrils are placed on top of their long
Porcupine
Any of 25 species of large, herbivorous, quill-bearing rodents active from early evening to dawn. All have short, stocky legs, but their tails range from short to long, with some being prehensile. The quills, or spines, take various forms depending on the species, but all are modified hairs embedded in skin musculature. Old World porcupines (Hystricidae)
Outer Space Treaty
Formally �Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, Including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies� (1967), international treaty binding the parties to use outer space only for peaceful purposes. In June 1966 the United States and the Soviet Union submitted draft treaties on the uses of space to the United Nations. These were reconciled during several months of negotiation in the Legal Subcommittee of the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, and the resulting
Caruaru
City, eastern Pernambuco estado (�state�), northeastern Brazil, on the Ipojuca River at 1,804 feet (550 m) above sea level. Caruaru originated as a weekly market centre; it was elevated to city status in 1857. Agriculture, livestock, and food processing are the principal sources of income, and there is some light manufacturing. The city has many fairs and religious festivals. It is accessible
Hydaspes, Battle Of The
(326 BC), fourth and last pitched battle fought by Alexander the Great during his campaign of conquest in Asia. It took place after Alexander's conquest of the Achaemenidian Empire and immediately before his army began the journey homeward to Macedonia. Porus, the Indian ruler of the territory between the Jhelum and the Chenab rivers (in modern Pakistan), was his opponent. After
Cumberland
Cumberland lies along the northwest coast of England, facing the Solway
Vadakalai
Sanskrit �Uttara-kalarya, � one of two Hindu subsects of the Srivaisnava, the other being the Tenkalai. Though the two groups use both Sanskrit and Tamil scriptures, the Vadakalai relies more on Sanskrit texts, such as the Vedas (earliest sacred scriptures of India), the Upanisads (early religiophilosophic texts), and the religious poem the Bhagavadgita. Their main point of disagreement, however, is on the
Duarte, Juan Pablo
Duarte, who was sent to Europe for his education (1828 - 33), became determined to free the eastern part of Hispaniola from Haitian domination. On his return to the island he and several other patriots
Dandenong Ranges
Mountain ranges, part of the Eastern Highlands, east of Melbourne in southern Victoria, Australia. Several peaks exceed 1,600 ft (500 m), the highest of which is Mt. Dandenong (2,077 ft). With nearly twice as much rainfall as the nearby coastal plain and with fertile volcanic soils, the mountains have dense vegetative cover. The name is derived from an Aboriginal word, tanjenong, meaning
Abu'l-wafa'
Abu'l-Wafa' worked in a private observatory in Baghdad, where he made observations to determine, among other astronomical parameters, the obliquity of the ecliptic, the length of the seasons, and the latitude of the city.
Gamagori
City, Aichi Prefecture (ken), Honshu, Japan, facing Mikawa-wan (Mikawa Bay). The city has been well known for the manufacture of cotton textiles since the Tokugawa era (1603 - 1867). Mandarin orange orchards grace the mountain slopes behind Gamagori, which also serves as a seaside resort. There are hot-spring spas nearby. The city is connected by bridge to offshore Take-shima (Take Island),