On December 13, one of the longest and darkest nights of the winter, Swedes celebrate the festival of St. Lucia, the patron saint of light. In many homes, a girl gets up early in the morning and…
White House aideDied: Aug. 18, 2007 (Bethesda, Maryland) Best Known as: White House aide to Ronald Reagan Deaver was responsible for choreographing Ronald Reaganâ…
Declining proportions of adults are married. Although the number of currently married people has grown 23% since 1970 (from 95 million in 1970 to 116 million in 1996), the number of unmarried…
(Encyclopedia) ivory-billed woodpecker, common name for the largest of the North American woodpeckers, Campephilus principalis. Once plentiful in Southern hardwood forests, it was believed to be…
(Encyclopedia) heronheronhĕrˈən [key], common name for members of the family Ardeidae, large wading birds including the bittern and the egret, found in most temperate regions but most numerous in…
(Encyclopedia) rhinoceros, massive hoofed mammal of Africa, India, and SE Asia, characterized by a snout with one or two horns. The rhinoceros family, along with the horse and tapir families, forms…
(Encyclopedia) Jones Beach, state park, 2,413 acres (977 hectares), on an offshore bar, SW Long Island, SE N.Y., in Nassau co.; est. 1929. It is noted for its wide, white sand beaches, outdoor marine…
(Encyclopedia) North Fork, river, c.100 mi (160 km) long, rising in the Ozarks, S Mo., and flowing S, into N Ark., to the White River. Near its mouth is Norfolk Dam (completed 1944), which impounds…