A group of investors from South Dakota paid more than $90,000 for the fossilized remains of a Tyrannosaurus rex at an auction in May 2004 in California. The price tag was considerably less…
(Encyclopedia) rice, cereal grain (Oryza sativa) of the grass family (Graminae), probably native to the deltas of the great Asian rivers—the Ganges, the Chang (Yangtze), and the Tigris and Euphrates…
Do you know Charlotte, Hans, and Alice? They are friends of your grandparents and parents. When you read about them, they'll become your friends, too.Alice Alice, an impressionable Victorian girl…
(Encyclopedia) Dust Bowl, the name given to areas of the U.S. prairie states that suffered ecological devastation in the 1930s and then to a lesser extent in the mid-1950s. The problem began during…
(Encyclopedia) depreciation, in accounting, reduction in the value of fixed or capital assets, as by use, damage, weathering, or obsolescence. It can be estimated according to a number of methods. In…
(Encyclopedia) corn laws, regulations restricting the export and import of grain, particularly in England. As early as 1361 export was forbidden in order to keep English grain cheap. Subsequent laws…
(Encyclopedia) Charles IV, 1604–75, duke of Lorraine. He succeeded to the duchy in 1624 but was to lose it several times because of his anti-French policy. In 1633, French troops invaded Lorraine in…
(Encyclopedia) Hay-Herrán TreatyHay-Herrán Treatyhā-ĕränˈ [key], 1903, aborted agreement between the United States and Colombia providing for U.S. control of the prospective Panama Canal and for U.S…
(Encyclopedia) Gomułka, WładysławGomułka, Władysławvwädĭsˈwäf gəm&oobreve;ˈkə [key], 1905–82, Polish Communist leader. Long a Communist, he helped establish the Polish Workers' party and was (…
(Encyclopedia) Motion, Sir Andrew Peter, 1952–, English poet and biographer, poet laureate of England (1999–2009), grad. University College, Oxford (B.A., 1974; M.Litt., 1977). He writes poems that…
