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pontoon

(Encyclopedia)pontoon, one of a number of floats used chiefly to support a bridge, to raise a sunken ship, or to float a hydroplane or a floating dock. Pontoons have been built of wood, of hides stretched over wick...

Paraíba, state, Brazil

(Encyclopedia)Paraíba pərīēˈbə [key], state (1991 pop. 3,201,114), 21,765 sq mi (56,371 sq km), NE Brazil, on the Atlantic Ocean. The capital is João Pessoa. The state extends inland from the Atlantic to the...

Guanajuato, state, Mexico

(Encyclopedia)Guanajuato gwänähwäˈtō [key], state, 11,805 sq mi (30,575 sq km), W central Mexico, on the ...

Johor

(Encyclopedia)Johor or Johore jōhôrˈ, jə– [key], state (1991 pop. 2,074,297), 7,360 sq mi (19,062 sq km), at the southern extremity of the Malay Peninsula, Malaysia, opposite Singapore. It is largely covered ...

Frayn, Michael

(Encyclopedia)Frayn, Michael, 1933–, English playwright and novelist, b. London. After graduating from Cambridge he worked as a reporter and columnist for the Manchester Guardian and the Observer. As a playwright...

Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region

(Encyclopedia)Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region gwängˈshēˈ jwängˈ [key], province, c.85,000 sq mi (220,150 sq km), S China, bo...

bismuth

(Encyclopedia)bismuth bĭzˈməth [key] [Ger. Weisse Masse=white mass], metallic chemical element; symbol Bi; at. no. 83; at. wt. 208.98040; m.p. 271.3℃; b.p. about 1,560℃; sp. gr. 9.75 at 20℃; valence +3 or ...

Grass, Günter

(Encyclopedia)Grass, Günter günˈtər gräs [key], 1927–2015, German novelist, lyricist, artist, and playwright, b. Danzig (now Gdańsk, Poland). Writing from his experience in the Hitler Youth, the German army...

Cornwall, county, England

(Encyclopedia)Cornwall, county, SW England, administratively (since 2009) a unitary authority. Bodmin was the county seat, but the local government is now based in Tr...

Della Robbia

(Encyclopedia)Della Robbia dĕlˌə rŏbˈēə, Ital. dĕlˈlä rôbˈbyä [key], Florentine family of sculptors and ceramists famous for their enameled terra-cotta or faience. Many of the Della Robbia pieces are s...