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truck

(Encyclopedia)truck, automotive vehicle designed primarily for the transportation of goods. A truck is constructed on the general lines of the automobile but uses larger and heavier parts. It may be powered by a ga...

Psilotophyta

(Encyclopedia)Psilotophyta sīlōˌtŏfˈətə [key], division of vascular plants consisting of only two genera, Psilotum and Tmesipteris, with very few species. These plants are characterized by the lack of roots,...

standard time

(Encyclopedia)standard time, civil time used within a given time zone. The earth is divided into 24 time zones, each of which is about 15° of longitude wide and corresponds to one hour of time. Within a zone all c...

Bridges, Harry

(Encyclopedia)Bridges, Harry (Alfred Renton Bridges), 1901–90, American labor leader, b. Melbourne, Australia. Arriving (1920) as an immigrant seaman in San Francisco, he became a longshoreman and militant labor ...

windsurfing

(Encyclopedia)windsurfing, also called boardsailing or sailboarding, water sport that employs a board-and-sail device and combines elements of sailing and surfing. The sailboard was first developed in 1964 by boate...

Booth

(Encyclopedia)Booth, family prominent in the Salvation Army, founded by William Booth. His wife, Catherine Mumford Booth, 1829–90, whom he married in 1855, played a leading part in the foundation and development ...

artesian well

(Encyclopedia)artesian well, deep drilled well through which water is forced upward under pressure. The water in an artesian well flows from an aquifer, which is a layer of very porous rock or sediment, usually san...

relapsing fever

(Encyclopedia)relapsing fever, infectious disease caused by a spirochete bacteria of the genus Borrelia and characterized by a high fever that breaks and then recurs a one to two weeks later. Relapsing fever may be...

peach

(Encyclopedia)peach, fruit tree (Prunus persica) of the family Rosaceae (rose family) having decorative pink blossoms and a juicy, sweet drupe fruit. The peach appears to have originated in China, where it was ment...

Scientology, Church of

(Encyclopedia)Scientology, Church of, philosophical religion founded by L(afayette) Ron(ald) Hubbard, 1911–86, b. Tilden, Nebr. Hubbard's book Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health (1950) first set forth...