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divining rod

(Encyclopedia)divining rod or dowser, stick used in searching for underground water or minerals. This form of divination is still in common use in many parts of the world. The instrument is typically a forked twig....

Briosco, Andrea

(Encyclopedia)Briosco, Andrea ändrĕˈä brēôsˈkō [key], 1470?–1532, Italian architect and sculptor, known also as Andrea Riccio [curly-headed], b. Padua. As an architect, he created models for the church of...

buffer

(Encyclopedia)buffer, solution that can keep its relative acidity or alkalinity constant, i.e., keep its pH constant, despite the addition of strong acids or strong bases. Buffer solutions are frequently solutions ...

Watkins, Vernon

(Encyclopedia)Watkins, Vernon, 1906–67, British poet, b. Maesteg, Wales, educated at Cambridge. Like his close friend Dylan Thomas, Watkins was profoundly influenced by his Welsh background. His poetry combines s...

Bonampak

(Encyclopedia)Bonampak bōnämpäkˈ [key], ruined city of the Late Classic period of the Maya, close to Tuxtla, in Chiapas, S Mexico. Discovered in 1946, it consists of a group of temples, one of which is remarkab...

incest

(Encyclopedia)incest, sexual relations between persons to whom marriage is prohibited by custom or law because of their close kinship. Ideas of kinship, however, vary widely from group to group, hence the definitio...

Leung Chun-ying

(Encyclopedia)Leung Chun-ying, 1954–, Hong Kong business and political leader, often referred to as C. Y. Leung. He studied surveying at Hong Kong Polytechnic and real estate management in Bristol, England. Retur...

Malibu

(Encyclopedia)Malibu mălˈĭbo͞o [key], resort and residential city (2010 pop. 12,645), S Calif., W of Los Angeles and near Santa Monica, inc. 1991. Due to its relative reclusiveness, Malibu (and the somewhat lar...

Daedalus

(Encyclopedia)Daedalus dĕdˈələs [key], in Greek mythology, craftsman and inventor. After killing his apprentice Talos in envy, he fled from Greece to Crete. There, he arranged the liaison between Pasiphaë and ...

Giambono, Michele

(Encyclopedia)Giambono, Michele mēkĕˈlā jämbōˈnō [key], fl.1420–62, Venetian mosaicist and painter, whose original name was Michele Giovanni Boni. One of the last exponents of the international Gothic sty...