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From New World Encyclopedia


Celsius

In 1742, Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius created a temperature scale which was the reverse of the modern Celsius scale

Monroe Doctrine

The Monroe Doctrine has been ironically summarized in Latin America as "America for the Americans"

Uncle Sam

Uncle Sam Wilson of Troy, New York, is recognized as the progenitor of America's National symbol of Uncle Sam

Harry S. Truman

Truman's middle initial "S" honors his grandfathers, Anderson Shipp Truman and Solomon Young

Cole Porter

Unlike most successful Broadway composers, Cole Porter wrote both the lyrics and the music for his songs

First Lady of the United States

The original First Lady of the United States, Martha Washington, was often referred to as "Lady Washington"

Ivy League

The term "Ivy League" came from the ivy plants that cover many of these institutions' buildings

Mother's Day

Mother's Day is celebrated on different days in almost every month throughout the world.

Wahhabism

Wahhabism subscribes to the doctrine of oneness of God ("Tawhid"), rejecting aspects of contemporary Islam as polytheism

Mehndi

"Mehndi" is the application of henna as a temporary form of skin decoration

Tower of London

Legend says that if the six resident ravens ever leave the Tower of London, the Tower and the British kingdom will fall

Aeolian harp

The aeolian harp is a stringed musical instrument that is "played" by the wind

Grand Banks

John Cabot's discovery of the abundance of fish in the Grand Banks in 1497 led to the development of fishing and fish processing, culminating in overfishing and a serious decline of fish stocks

Chile

Chile is situated within the Pacific Ring of Fire and has many active volcanos and has suffered many severe earthquakes

Archibald MacLeish

Archibald MacLeish was awarded three Pulitzer Prizes, two for poetry and one for drama

Indian Railways

Indian Railways constitutes one of the largest and busiest rail networks in the world, transporting transporting six billion passengers a year

Soul

Researchers tried to weigh the soul by weighing patients who were dying

Yahweh

Yahweh is the primary Hebrew name of God in the Bible

Benjamin Rush

Despite having been a slave owner himself, Benjamin Rush became an ardent abolitionist

Jiang Qing

Jiang Qing, better known as Madame Mao, studied literature and drama and was a successful actress prior to marrying Chairman Mao Zedong

Immunity (legal)

In the United States both federal and state levels of government can claim, or waive, sovereign immunity.

Open University

The Open University has more disabled students than any other UK or European university.

Guerrilla warfare

The term guerrillla, from the Spanish "small war," was first used to describe the resistance in Spain against Napoleon

Pygmy

The Spanish term "Negrito" (little black) refers to pygmy populations in Asia

Phoenix (mythology)

Diverse cultures include variations on the phoenix, a bird with the ability to be reborn

Jogging

Jogging is considered a means towards improved health and fitness

Marine engineering

Marine Engineers are the members of a ship's crew that operate and maintain the propulsion and other systems on board the vessel

Acculturation

John Wesley Powell is credited with coining the word acculturation

Pan (mythology)

The pan flute is named from its association with the Greek god Pan

C. Lloyd Morgan

Lloyd Morgan's Canon is both the most quoted and the most misrepresented statement in the history of comparative psychology

Bureaucracy

Max Weber saw the ideal of bureaucracy as a means for achieving maximum efficiency

Ancient economic thought

Discussions of economics have existed since ancient times but it was not a separate discipline until the nineteenth century

Mauritania

The "Guelb er Richat" or Richat Structure, also known as the "Eye of the Sahara," is a prominent circular feature in the Sahara desert of west–central Mauritania

Miskito

The Miskitos are indigenous people of Central America living along the Mosquito Coast in Honduras and Nicaragua

Blueprint

Blueprints were originally created using photosensitive blue coating on paper

John Michael Wright

John Michael Wright was commissioned to paint several royal portraits and paintings of aristocracy, but did not receive the title "King's Painter" nor did he receive a knighthood

Cherokee

Despite their cooperation with white settlers, which had earned them recognition as one of the Five Civilized Tribes, thousands of Cherokees were sent to their death on the Trail of Tears.

Native Americans in the United States

The first Native American group encountered by Christopher Columbus in 1492, were the Island Arawaks (more properly called the Taino)

Morean War

The Morean War against the Ottoman Empire was the Republic of Venice's last expansionist campaign

Hernán Cortés

It has been said that when Hernan Cortes reached Mexico the Aztecs thought he was their god Quetzalcoatl

Methanol

Methanol is often called wood alcohol

Grenada

Grenada is known as the "spice isle" because it is a leading producer of several different spices

Drawing and quartering

In Britain, the penalty of drawing and quartering was usually reserved for commoners, including knights. Noble traitors were merely beheaded

Rumi

The Sufi poet Rumi referred to Allah (God) as his Beloved