Cleobis and Biton: Biton, in Greek legend, as recounted by Herodotus, the sons of Cydippe (who was identified by Cicero, in Tusculan Disputations, as the priestess of Hera, queen of the gods). At Argos, they were noted for their filial devotion and for their athletic prowess and strength.…

Bitonto, town and episcopal see, Puglia (Apulia) region, southeastern Italy, just west-southwest of Bari. Many coins have been found at Bitonto dating from the 6th to the 3rd century bc. A Roman municipality (Butuntum, Botontum, and other forms), the town early became part of the Norman Kingdom of

compass: …compasses are usually mounted in binnacles, cylindrical pedestals with provision for illuminating the compass face from below. Each binnacle contains specially placed magnets and pieces of steel that cancel the magnetic effects of the metal of the ship. Much the same kind of device is used aboard aircraft, except that,…

Bruce Springsteen: Springsteen’s political messaging: …Zandt, drummer Max Weinberg, pianist Roy Bittan, bassist Garry Tallent, guitarist Nils Lofgren, vocalist Patti Scialfa (Springsteen’s wife), and two former E Street Band band members, pianist David Sancious and drummer Vini Lopez—were selected in 2013 for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as members of the…

Anatolian religion: Burial customs: In 1952 Kurt Bittel excavated two sites near Yazılıkaya, close to a natural rock outcrop. One site contained 72 burials, 50 of which were cremations. The other site contained only cremations, and the presence of some precious objects among them suggests that these might be burials of…

chemoreception: Taste: salt, sour, bitter, and umami. But this is an anthropocentric view of a system that has evolved to give animals information about the nutrient content and the potential dangers of the foods they eat. The major nutrient requirements of all animals are carbohydrates, which act principally as…

almond: Sweet almonds and bitter almonds: dulcis, variety dulcis) and bitter almond (P. dulcis, variety amara). Sweet almonds are the familiar edible type consumed as nuts and used in cooking or as a source of almond oil or almond meal. The oil of bitter almonds is used in the manufacture of flavoring extracts for foods…

colocynth, (Citrullus colocynthis), hairy-stemmed perennial vine of the gourd family (Cucurbitaceae), native to the Mediterranean region. The colocynth grows in sandy, coastal, or desert soils and commonly spreads vegetatively. The plant has small, pale greenish yellow flowers, forked tendrils, and

cocoa: Milk chocolate: …to either baking chocolate or bittersweet chocolate. Bittersweet is similar to sweet chocolate but contains less sugar and more chocolate liquor. Minimum percentages of chocolate liquor are fixed by law in some countries, such as the United States.

colocynth, (Citrullus colocynthis), hairy-stemmed perennial vine of the gourd family (Cucurbitaceae), native to the Mediterranean region. The colocynth grows in sandy, coastal, or desert soils and commonly spreads vegetatively. The plant has small, pale greenish yellow flowers, forked tendrils, and

Garcinia: Garlic fruit, or bitter garcinia (G. spicata), is planted as an ornamental in tropical salt-spray oceanfront areas. Orange dyes (gamboge) are extracted from the bark of G. xanthochymus and G. cowa. A number of species are listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List of

bitter melon, (Momordica charantia), vine in the gourd family (Cucurbitaceae) that grows throughout India (but especially in Kerala), China, and Southeast Asia. Bitter melon, also called bitter gourd or bitter cucumber, is gnarled, covered in warts, and shaped like a rather pointy cucumber. It is

lake: Chemical precipitates: …of sodium sulfate are called bitter lakes, and those containing sodium carbonate are called alkali lakes. Soda Lake, California, is estimated to contain nearly one million tons of anhydrous sulfate. Magnesium salts of these types are also quite common and can be found in the same sediments as the sodium…

Suez Canal: …Timsah (Buḥayrat al-Timsāḥ), and the Bitter Lakes—Great Bitter Lake (Al-Buḥayrah al-Murrah al-Kubrā) and Little Bitter Lake (Al-Buḥayrah al-Murrah al-Ṣughrā). The Suez Canal is an open cut, without locks, and, though extensive straight lengths occur, there are eight major bends. To the west of the canal is the low-lying delta of…

Sara Paretsky: …many of her books, including Bitter Medicine (1987), which deals with abortion rights and the medical community, Burn Marks (1990), Guardian Angel (1992), and Tunnel Vision (1994). Many critics considered Paretsky’s best novel to be Blood Shot (1988), which follows Warshawski’s search for an old friend’s missing father and her…

bitter melon, (Momordica charantia), vine in the gourd family (Cucurbitaceae) that grows throughout India (but especially in Kerala), China, and Southeast Asia. Bitter melon, also called bitter gourd or bitter cucumber, is gnarled, covered in warts, and shaped like a rather pointy cucumber. It is

Roman Polanski: …in his films Frantic (1988), Bitter Moon (1992), The Ninth Gate (1999), La Vénus à la fourrure (2013; Venus in Fur), and D’après une histoire vraie (2017; Based on a True Story).

Claude Chabrol: …Beau Serge (1958; “Handsome Serge”; Bitter Reunion), written and produced by Chabrol, was an important film of the New Wave (Nouvelle Vague), a term applied in the late 1950s to a widely diversified experimental movement in French films. That same year he wrote, directed, and produced Les Cousins (1959; The…

Dino De Laurentiis: …hit with Riso amaro (1949; Bitter Rice), a drama about Italian rice-field workers that was dominated by the sensuous presence of Silvana Mangano, his future wife.

Bitter Springs microfossils: …fossil structures uncovered in the Bitter Springs Formation, a rock layer about 800,000,000 years old exposed in central Australia. Collections first made in 1965 revealed at least four general groups of organisms that possibly inhabited shallow seas of central Australia in Late Precambrian times (ending about 540,000,000 years ago); these…

Bitter Springs microfossils, assemblage of microscopic fossil structures uncovered in the Bitter Springs Formation, a rock layer about 800,000,000 years old exposed in central Australia. Collections first made in 1965 revealed at least four general groups of organisms that possibly inhabited

W.S. Van Dyke: Later films: …with MacDonald and Eddy on Bitter Sweet (1940), which was based on the Noël Coward operetta. Although the film failed to match the success of their earlier collaborations, it was still a modest hit. With I Love You Again (1940), Van Dyke worked with another popular team, Powell and Loy,…

Frank Capra: The early 1930s: The Bitter Tea of General Yen (1933) was Capra’s most erotic work. Stanwyck starred as a missionary in civil-war-torn Shanghai; she becomes the unwilling guest of a Chinese warlord (Nils Asther), who falls hopelessly in love with her. Joseph Walker’s lush, intoxicating cinematography in Bitter…

Rainer Werner Fassbinder: …der Petra von Kant (1972; The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant), an account of power struggles in human relationships; Angst essen Seele auf (1973; Ali: Fear Eats the Soul), a tale of doomed romance between a German cleaning woman and a much younger Moroccan mechanic; and In einem Jahr…

Nicholas Ray: Films of the late 1950s: …the World War II drama Bitter Victory (1957), a French-English production that starred Curt Jurgens and Richard Burton. Wind Across the Everglades (1958) was an offbeat collaboration with writer Budd Schulberg that featured Christopher Plummer as a game warden in the early 1900s whose efforts to save the Everglades

Louis Guilloux: …masterpiece, Le Sang noir (1935; Bitter Victory). Set in Guilloux’s hometown during World War I, it has as its central character an idealist embittered by experience, driven by his sense of the absurdity of existence to a point beyond hope or despair. Guilloux’s own left-wing ideals were severely tested by…

David Mamet: …a wealthy con man; and Bitter Wheat (produced 2019), a topical drama featuring a powerful filmmaker who is accused of sexual misconduct (the character was modeled on Harvey Weinstein). In all these works, Mamet used the rhythms and rhetoric of everyday speech to delineate character, describe intricate relationships, and drive…

bittercress, (genus Cardamine), large genus of annual or perennial herbs of the mustard family (Brassicaceae), native to northern temperate areas. Bittercress plants bear white, pink, or pale purple four-petaled flowers in a terminal cluster and produce dry fruits known as siliques. Some—such as

bitterling, (Rhodeus), any of several small, carplike fish of the family Cyprinidae noted for their unusual manner of breeding. Native to clear, stony streams of central and southern Europe, the bitterling is a silvery fish of little economic value, about 5 to 7.5 centimetres (2 to 3 inches) long.

bittern, very bitter-tasting solution that remains after evaporation and crystallization of sodium chloride (table salt) from brines and seawater. It contains in concentrated form the calcium and magnesium chlorides and sulfates, bromides, iodides, and other chemicals originally present in the

bittern, any of 12 species of solitary marsh birds of the subfamily Botaurinae, family Ardeidae (order Ciconiiformes), allied to the herons (subfamily Ardeinae) but with shorter neck and stouter body. Most bitterns bear a camouflage pattern—streaks of variegated brown and buff—which enables them to

hickory: Major species: The nuts of the bitternut hickory (C. cordiformis) and the water hickory (C. aquatica) are bitter-tasting and inedible, because the skin covering the kernels contains tannin. The nuts of most other species are edible but are too small to be commercially important.

bitterroot, (Lewisia rediviva), ornamental succulent plant of the purslane family (Portulacaceae), native to western North America and cultivated in rock gardens. The main stem and root merge into a tuberous structure. The leaves are barely 2.5 cm (1 inch) long, and the flowering stalk with pink or

Bitterroot Range, segment of the northern Rocky Mountains, U.S., extending southward for 300 mi (480 km) along the Idaho–Montana border. Peaks average about 9,000 ft (2,700 m), with Scott Peak, in Idaho, the highest (11,394 ft). Owing to the inaccessibility of the mountains from the east, the

bitters, any of numerous aromatized and often alcoholic liquids containing bitter substances (chiefly alkaloids, glycosides, or complexes), used as tonics, liqueurs, appetizers, digestives, flavourings, and ingredients to add tang or smoothness to alcoholic drinks. Bitters are prepared according to

Colleen McCullough: …Prejudice (1813); and the romantic Bittersweet (2013). On, Off (2006), Too Many Murders (2009), and Sins of the Flesh (2013) were entries in her murder-mystery series featuring the police captain Carmine Delmonico. She also wrote the biography The Courage and the Will: The Life of Roden Cutler, V.C. (1999).

bittersweet, any of several vines with colourful fruit. The genus Celastrus, in the staff tree family (Celastraceae), includes the American bittersweet, or staff vine (C. scandens), and the Oriental bittersweet (C. orbiculatus), woody vines grown as ornamentals. The flowers, in whitish clusters,

bittersweet: ) or woody nightshade (Solanum dulcamara), belongs to the family Solanaceae. It is an herbaceous vine, up to 4.5 m long; the violet and yellow star-shaped flowers are followed by shiny green berries that gradually turn bright red.

cocoa: Milk chocolate: …to either baking chocolate or bittersweet chocolate. Bittersweet is similar to sweet chocolate but contains less sugar and more chocolate liquor. Minimum percentages of chocolate liquor are fixed by law in some countries, such as the United States.

Celastraceae, the staff-tree family, in the order Celastrales, comprising about 55 genera of woody vines, shrubs, and trees, native in tropical and temperate zones but best known for ornamental forms of the genera Euonymus and Celastrus (bittersweet). Fruit of the family is often colourful. Leaves

ragweed: Major species: The common ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia), also called Roman wormwood, hogweed, hogbrake, and bitterweed, is found across the North American continent. It typically grows about 1 metre (3.5 feet) high and has thin, alternate or opposite, much-divided leaves. The great, or giant, ragweed (A. trifida), also called…

Bernardo Bitti was a Jesuit painter who introduced Mannerism to Peruvian art. Bitti began training as an artist as a teenager in Rome, where he learned the Italian Mannerist style that he would later disseminate in Peru. In 1568 he became a Jesuit, and in 1571 he received orders to join a Jesuit

BitTorrent, protocol for sharing large computer files over the Internet. BitTorrent was created in 2001 by Bram Cohen, an American computer programmer who was frustrated by the long download times that he experienced using applications such as FTP. Files shared with BitTorrent are divided into

bitumen, dense, highly viscous, petroleum-based hydrocarbon that is found in deposits such as oil sands and pitch lakes (natural bitumen) or is obtained as a residue of the distillation of crude oil (refined bitumen). In some areas, particularly in the United States, bitumen is often called

bituminous coal, the most abundant form of coal, intermediate in rank between subbituminous coal and anthracite according to the coal classification used in the United States and Canada. In Britain bituminous coal is commonly called “steam coal,” and in Germany the term Steinkohle (“rock coal”) is

tar sand, deposit of loose sand or partially consolidated sandstone that is saturated with highly viscous bitumen. Oil recovered from tar sands is commonly referred to as synthetic crude and is a potentially significant form of fossil fuel. A brief treatment of tar sands follows. For full

oil shale, any sedimentary rock containing various amounts of solid organic material that yields petroleum products, along with a variety of solid by-products, when subjected to pyrolysis—a treatment that consists of heating the rock to above 300 °C (about 575 °F) in the absence of oxygen. The

Bituriges, Celtic tribe that in about 600 bc was the most powerful in Gaul. By about 500 bc the tribe was divided into two groups: the Cubi, with a capital at Avaricum (modern Bourges) in the region later known as Berry; and the Vivisci, with a capital at the port of Burdigala (modern Bordeaux) on

Billy Bitzer was a U.S. motion-picture cameraman who, in partnership with the pioneer director D.W. Griffith, developed camera techniques that set the standard for all future motion pictures and stimulated important experimentation in the field. Bitzer achieved success in 1896 when his film of

PLATO: …system created in 1960 by Donald L. Bitzer at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). In addition to being used successfully as a teaching tool, PLATO also spawned one of the first successful online communities. In many ways, PLATO’s development foreshadowed the Internet.

Billy Bitzer was a U.S. motion-picture cameraman who, in partnership with the pioneer director D.W. Griffith, developed camera techniques that set the standard for all future motion pictures and stimulated important experimentation in the field. Bitzer achieved success in 1896 when his film of

Jeremias Gotthelf was a Swiss novelist and short-story writer whose vivid narrative works extol the virtues of Bernese rural people and defend traditional church and family life. The son of a pastor, Bitzius studied theology at Bern and Göttingen and took part in the political activities that ended

Biu, town, historic kingdom, and traditional emirate, Borno State, northeastern Nigeria. The town lies on the Biu Plateau and has road connections to Damaturu, Mubi, and Shani. According to tradition, the Biu kingdom was founded by conquest in the mid-16th century by Yamta-ra-Wala (Yamta the Great;

Biu Plateau, highlands in northeastern Nigeria, covering an area of approximately 2,000 square miles (5,200 square km) with an average elevation of 2,300 feet (700 m). Its highest point is Wiga Hill (2,693 feet [821 m]), and its most prominent relief features are the many well-defined, extinct

Javier Bardem: Leading man and Oscar winner: …Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Spanish-language drama Biutiful (2010), Bardem earned a third Academy Award nomination. His role as a flamboyantly vengeful terrorist served as a villainous foil for James Bond in the blockbuster Skyfall (2012). In Terrence Malick’s To the Wonder (2012), Bardem portrayed a priest experiencing a crisis of faith.…

crystal: Conductivity of metals: Divalent atoms, such as magnesium or calcium, donate both valence electrons to become conduction electrons, while monovalent atoms, such as lithium or gold, donate one. As will be recalled, the number of conduction electrons alone does not determine conductivity; it depends on electron mobility as…

meiosis: Each pair of chromosomes—called a tetrad, or a bivalent—consists of four chromatids. At this point, the homologous chromosomes exchange genetic material by the process of crossing over (see linkage group). In metaphase I, the homologous pairs align at the cell’s equatorial plane. During anaphase I, the homologous chromosomes separate and…

polio vaccine: Poliovirus serotypes: …the disease was endemic, a bivalent oral vaccine, or bOPV, targeting PV1 and PV3 was developed. In the first decade of the 21st century, this vaccine was found to be more effective than either mOPV or tOPV in reducing the number of cases in polio-endemic countries. Today, especially in areas…

organosulfur compound: Organic compounds of bivalent sulfur: Assorted Referencescrude oil

bivalve, (class Bivalvia), any of more than 15,000 species of clams, oysters, mussels, scallops, and other members of the phylum Mollusca characterized by a shell that is divided from front to back into left and right valves. The valves are connected to one another at a hinge. Primitive bivalves

bivalve, (class Bivalvia), any of more than 15,000 species of clams, oysters, mussels, scallops, and other members of the phylum Mollusca characterized by a shell that is divided from front to back into left and right valves. The valves are connected to one another at a hinge. Primitive bivalves

phase: Unary systems: …is stable) the system is divariant—i.e., two degrees of freedom exist. Thus, the two variables (pressure and temperature) can be changed independently, and the same phase assemblage continues to exist.

biwa, Japanese short-necked lute, distinguished by its graceful, pear-shaped body. The biwa has a shallow, rounded back and silk strings (usually four or five) attached to slender lateral pegs. The instrument is played with a large wedge-shaped plectrum called a bachi. The strings are tuned in

Japan: Kamakura culture: the new Buddhism and its influence: …country by Buddhist troubadours called biwa hōshi. After the middle Kamakura period, as Buddhist pessimism grew fainter, various kinds of instruction manuals and family injunctions were composed, while collections of essays such as Yoshida Kenkō’s Essays in Idleness (Tsurezuregusa) also made their appearance. The new nationalistic fervor aroused by the…

Lake Biwa, largest freshwater lake in Japan, located in Shiga ken (prefecture), west-central Honshu. Approximately 40 miles (64 km) long from north to south, the lake covers an area of 259 square miles (672 square km). Its name refers to the biwa, a Japanese musical instrument that the lake

Lake Biwa, largest freshwater lake in Japan, located in Shiga ken (prefecture), west-central Honshu. Approximately 40 miles (64 km) long from north to south, the lake covers an area of 259 square miles (672 square km). Its name refers to the biwa, a Japanese musical instrument that the lake

Oceanic art and architecture: The Sepik River regions: …people, especially the Biwat (Mundugumor), carved slit gongs, shields, masks, and various types of figure sculpture. Masks, like those of the Kambot, were usually hemispheric. Small figures used as flute stops had grossly enlarged heads that projected forward; they were often carved in conjunction with parrots and other creatures.…

Malvales: Bixaceae: …to include only one genus, Bixa). The plants in Bixaceae have fibrous bark, canals containing exudate, branches that end at the inflorescence, large flowers, and seed coats with a very distinctive anatomy.

annatto, (Bixa orellana), tree native to the New World tropics and the only species of the family Bixaceae. Annatto grows up to 9 metres (30 feet) tall and has rose-pink flowers about 5 cm (2 inches) wide and ovate leaves about 8 to 18 cm (3 to 7 inches) long. The brown fruits, about 5 cm (2

Malvales: Bixaceae: Cochlospermaceae (with genera Cochlospermum and Amoreuxia) and Diegodendraceae (with genus Diegodendron) are former families that are now included in Bixaceae (which used to include only one genus, Bixa). The plants in Bixaceae have fibrous bark, canals containing exudate, branches that end at the inflorescence,…

Mount Tai: …spirit himself to his daughter, Taishan Niangniang (“The Lady of Mount Tai”)—also called Bixia Yunjun (“Goddess of the Colorful Clouds”)—whose cult had begun to grow from about 1000 and who became a northern Daoist equivalent to the Buddhist Guanyin (Kuan-yin) or to Avalokitesvara (bodhisattva of mercy), whose cult was powerful…

Altai Mountains: Drainage: The Katun, Bukhtarma, and Biya—all tributaries of the Ob River—are among the biggest. Rivers of the Gobi Altai are shorter, shallower, and often frozen in winter and dry in summer. There are more than 3,500 lakes, most of structural or glacial origin. Those of the Gobi Altai are often…

Paul Biya is a politician who has served as president of Cameroon since 1982. Prior to that post, he served as prime minister (1975–82). He is the oldest serving ruler, and is among the longest-serving heads of state (excluding monarchs), in the world. In the October 2025 presidential election, the

Paul Biya is a politician who has served as president of Cameroon since 1982. Prior to that post, he served as prime minister (1975–82). He is the oldest serving ruler, and is among the longest-serving heads of state (excluding monarchs), in the world. In the October 2025 presidential election, the

Rani Mukerji: Early years in Bollywood: …role in the Bengali film Biyer Phul (1996; “Wedding Flowers”), directed by her father. Her first Hindi film was Raja Ki Aayegi Baaraat (1997; “The King’s Entourage Will Come”), in which she played the lead role of a sexual assault survivor forced to marry her rapist. Neither film did well…

Mongo Beti was a Cameroonian novelist and political essayist. A member of the Beti people, he wrote his books in French. An essential theme of Beti’s early novels, which advocate the removal of all vestiges of colonialism, is the basic conflict of traditional modes of African society with the

Biysk, city, Altay kray (region), central Russia. The city is situated on the right bank of the Biya River, just above the latter’s confluence with the Katun, which then forms the Ob. Biysk is located at the head of navigation on the Biya and is the terminus of a railway from Barnaul. The city is

Jake Paul: Rise to fame: …on the Disney Channel show Bizaardvark, which also featured actress and future pop star Olivia Rodrigo. However, during that time Paul started to become notorious for his online stunts, which included jumping on a news van and burning furniture in an empty pool. His antics led to him being sued…

Vizcaya, provincia (province) in the comunidad autónoma (autonomous community) of Basque Country, northern Spain. Originally a tribal territory of the Vascones (4th century), Vizcaya was vested in the crown of Castile and Leon in 1379, but the central government has always had difficulties ruling

mnemonic: Later developments: …a phenomenon known as the bizarreness effect. The bizarreness effect holds that items associated with bizarre sentences or phrases are more readily recalled than those associated with common sentences or phrases. For example, a student might better remember the five main vowels of the English alphabet (A, E, I, O,…

Japanese pottery: Kamakura and Muromachi periods (1192–1573): …the size of its production; Bizen (Okayama prefecture), which produced an excellent unglazed stoneware from the Heian period to the 20th century; Tamba (Kyōto prefecture); Shigaraki (Shiga prefecture); and Echizen (Fukui prefecture). The wares of Seto, especially those made for Buddhist ceremonies, were regarded as the finest pottery of this…

Bizen ware, pottery manufactured at and near Imbe, Okayama ken (prefecture), on the Inland Sea of Japan, from at least the 6th century ad, in what was once Bizen province. Bizen ware has a dark gray stoneware body that generally fires to a brick-red, brown, or deep bronze colour. The surface of

Bizerte, town in northern Tunisia. It lies along the Mediterranean coast at the mouth of a channel that links Lake Bizerte with the sea. The town originated as a Phoenician outpost and was known through Carthaginian and Roman times as Hippo Diarrhytus or Hippo Zarytus. Captured in 661 ce by

Bizerte, town in northern Tunisia. It lies along the Mediterranean coast at the mouth of a channel that links Lake Bizerte with the sea. The town originated as a Phoenician outpost and was known through Carthaginian and Roman times as Hippo Diarrhytus or Hippo Zarytus. Captured in 661 ce by

Georges Bizet was a French composer best remembered for his opera Carmen (1875). His realistic approach influenced the verismo school of opera at the end of the 19th century. Bizet’s father was a singing teacher and his mother a gifted amateur pianist, and his musical talents declared themselves so

Georges Bizet was a French composer best remembered for his opera Carmen (1875). His realistic approach influenced the verismo school of opera at the end of the 19th century. Bizet’s father was a singing teacher and his mother a gifted amateur pianist, and his musical talents declared themselves so

Tujia, any member of a people distributed over western Hunan and southwestern Hubei provinces in China. The Tujia numbered more than eight million in the early 21st century. Their language, which remains unwritten and is spoken by only a few hundred thousand of the total population, belongs to the

Rwanda: Genocide and aftermath: …transitional government was established, with Pasteur Bizimungu, a Hutu, as president and Paul Kagame, a Tutsi, as vice president.

Vizcaya, provincia (province) in the comunidad autónoma (autonomous community) of Basque Country, northern Spain. Originally a tribal territory of the Vascones (4th century), Vizcaya was vested in the crown of Castile and Leon in 1379, but the central government has always had difficulties ruling

Germany: Allied occupation and the formation of the two Germanys, 1945–49: The resulting unit, called Bizonia, operated through a set of German institutions located in the city of Frankfurt am Main. Its federative structure would later serve as the model for the West German state.

Giulio Bizzozero was an Italian pathologist who, as professor of general pathology at the University of Turin, made it one of the most important European centres of medical scholarship. Among those who studied or worked in his laboratory were Edoardo Bassini, the surgeon who perfected the operation

Beersheba, biblical town of southern Israel, now a city and the main centre of the Negev (in Hebrew, Ha-Negev; in Arabic, al-Naqab) region. Beersheba is first mentioned as the site where Abraham, founder of the Jewish people, made a covenant with the Philistine king Abimelech of Gerar (Genesis 21).

micronation: …micronations claim as their territory Biʾr Ṭawīl, a section of desert between Egypt and Sudan that remains unclaimed by any country. Others exist solely in concept and may possess little more than a Web site. A great number of micronations are tongue-in-cheek, such as the Conch Republic in Key West,…

Judaism: Pilgrim Festivals: …are destroyed by fire (biʿur ḥametz). From then until after Pesaḥ, no leaven is consumed. Many Jews sell their more valuable leaven products to non-Jews before Passover (mekhirat ḥametz), repurchasing the foodstuffs immediately after the holiday.

Iceland: Political developments: …government with Independence Party leader Bjarni Benediktsson as prime minister.

European exploration: Exploration of the Atlantic coastlines: About 1000 ce, one Bjarni Herjulfsson, on his way from Iceland to Greenland, was blown off course far to the southwest; he saw an unknown shore and returned to tell his tale. Leif, Erik’s son, together with some 30 others, set out in 1001 to explore. They probably reached…

European exploration: Exploration of the Atlantic coastlines: About 1000 ce, one Bjarni Herjulfsson, on his way from Iceland to Greenland, was blown off course far to the southwest; he saw an unknown shore and returned to tell his tale. Leif, Erik’s son, together with some 30 others, set out in 1001 to explore. They probably reached…

Biju Janata Dal (BJD), regional political party in Odisha (Orissa) state, eastern India. Although the party’s focus has been primarily in the state, it also has had a small but significant presence on the national political scene in New Delhi. The BJD does not profess any particular ideology,

Jacob Bjerknes was a Norwegian American meteorologist whose discovery that cyclones (low-pressure centres) originate as waves associated with sloping weather fronts that separate different air masses proved to be a major contribution to modern weather forecasting. The work of his father, the

Vilhelm Bjerknes was a Norwegian meteorologist and physicist, one of the founders of the modern science of weather forecasting. As a youth Bjerknes assisted his father, a professor of mathematics at Christiania, with research in hydrodynamics. In 1890 he went to Germany and became an assistant to