(Encyclopedia) White Nile, river, one of the chief tributaries of the Nile, E Africa. The name is sometimes used for the 600 mi (970 km) long section of the river known as the Bahr el Abiad that…
(Encyclopedia) Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria)Victoriaălˌĭgzăndrēˈnə [key], 1819–1901, queen of Great Britain and Ireland (1837–1901) and empress of India (1876–1901). She was the daughter of Edward…
The human body is fantastically complex — and fantastically capable. It is dependent on smaller, simpler units that each serve specific purposes. From the simplest to the most complex, they are:…
Information Please's roundup of recent discoveries by Otto Johnson It seems the latest discoveries in our annual roundup are either mutant size-busters or minor portents of disaster. From…
(Encyclopedia) Robbins, John Bennet, 1932–2019, American physician and microbiologist, b. Brooklyn, N.Y., M.D. New York Univ., 1959. He did research at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel and…
(Encyclopedia) Rainier IIIRainier IIIrĕnyāˈ [key], 1923–2005, prince of Monaco (1949–2005), a member of the Grimaldi family, which has ruled the tiny principality since 1297. Fiercely anti-Nazi,…
(Encyclopedia) caper, common name for members of the Capparidaceae, a family of tropical plants found chiefly in the Old World and closely related to the family Cruciferae (or Brassicaceae; mustard…
(Encyclopedia) polybrominated biphenyl or PBB, any of a group of organic compounds used as a fire retardant. In 1973 several thousand pounds of PBB were accidentally mixed with livestock feed that…
(Encyclopedia) hickory, any plant of the genus Carya of the family Juglandaceae (walnut family); deciduous nut-bearing trees native to E North America and south to Central America except for a few…
ACCURATE TIMEKEEPINGBIOGRAPHY: ALBERT EINSTEIN German, 1879–1955FIND OUT MOREEinstein realized that the speed of light is always the same. He then calculated that an object travelling near this…
