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hydrogen peroxide

(Encyclopedia)hydrogen peroxide, chemical compound, H2O2, a colorless, syrupy liquid that is a strong oxidizing agent and, in water solution, a weak acid. It is miscible with cold water and is soluble in alcohol an...

Hui Shih

(Encyclopedia)Hui Shih hwē shûr [key], c.380–c.300 b.c., Chinese logician, remembered for his paradoxes. Little is known about his life, except that he was a provincial prime minister, or about the thinking tha...

Lynn, Loretta

(Encyclopedia)Lynn, Loretta, 1932–2022, American country singer and songwriter, b. Butcher Hollow, Ky. One of the most successful singers in modern country music, s...

Benchley, Robert Charles

(Encyclopedia)Benchley, Robert Charles, 1889–1945, American humorist, b. Worcester, Mass., grad. Harvard, 1912. He was drama critic of Life (1920–29) and of the New Yorker (1929–40). Benchley was known for a ...

decemvirs

(Encyclopedia)decemvirs dēsĕmˈvərz [key] [Lat.,=ten men], in ancient Rome, group of 10 men appointed to a special judicial or executive capacity. The most famous were those who developed in the 5th cent. b.c. t...

blackjack

(Encyclopedia)blackjack, one of the world's most widely played gambling card games; also known as twenty-one or vingt-et-un. Despite contesting claims between the French and Italians, its origins are unknown. Each ...

polka

(Encyclopedia)polka, ballroom dance for couples in 2/4 time. Originated by Bohemian peasants about 1830 from steps of the schottische and other dances, the polka by 1835 reached the drawing rooms of Prague, from wh...

Perlman, Itzhak

(Encyclopedia)Perlman, Itzhak, 1945–, Israeli musician, one of the greatest violinists of his generation, b. Tel Aviv. A child prodigy, he gave a solo violin recital at age ten, appeared on American television in...

écarté

(Encyclopedia)écarté āˌkärtāˈ [key], card game similar to euchre, played by two persons. The pack has 32 cards, seven through ace in each suit; the king is the highest card, and the ace ranks below the jack ...

chemin de fer

(Encyclopedia)chemin de fer shəmănˈ də fûr, Fr. shəmăNˈ də fĕr [key] [Fr.,=railroad], the most popular gambling card game in Europe. The present day versions are variations of Italian baccara which Charle...