Jesmyn Ward: Literary career: …publisher for her first novel, Where the Line Bleeds (2008). It tells the story of twin brothers who graduate from high school only to face a lack of opportunities for young Black men in their hometown, the fictional Bois Sauvage, which Ward based on DeLisle. The book received praise for…

Ntozake Shange: …works for the stage are Where the Mississippi Meets the Amazon (1977), Three Views of Mt. Fuji (1987), and The Love Space Demands: A Continuing Saga (1992).

Shel Silverstein: His first major poetry collection, Where the Sidewalk Ends (1974), featured the popular title verse:

Otto Preminger: Challenges to the Production Code of Otto Preminger: …her Laura costar Andrews on Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950), in which a violent policeman accidentally kills a suspect during an interrogation. Both pictures received lukewarm receptions, though they grew in reputation in the ensuing years. The 13th Letter (1951) served up more suspense, with several residents (Charles Boyer, Michael…

Where the Wild Things Are, illustrated children’s book by American writer and artist Maurice Sendak, published in 1963. The work was considered groundbreaking for its honest treatment of children’s emotions, especially anger, and it won the 1964 Caldecott Medal. Young Max is naughty, engaging in

Spike Jonze: Jonze’s next movie, Where the Wild Things Are (2009), was an adaptation of Maurice Sendak’s classic children’s book. He then helmed the technological romance Her (2013), which featured Joaquin Phoenix as a lonely writer who falls in love with a sentient computer operating system voiced by Scarlett Johansson.…

Michael Moore: Where to Invade Next (2015) unfavourably compared various aspects of daily life in other countries—such as educational practices and the balance between work and leisure—with those in the United States. Moore’s live stage performance about the 2016 presidential election—filmed prior to Donald Trump’s victory over…

The first roller coaster was invented in Russia. Roller coasters have their origins in a form of ice sledding that became popular in Russia in the 15th century. An adaptation opened in 1784 in St. Petersburg that included carriages on grooved tracks. Further adaptations were made in the 19th

Richard Linklater: Later films: Hit Man: …2019 Linklater helmed and cowrote Where’d You Go, Bernadette?, an adaptation of the best-selling novel by Maria Semple. The comedy starred Cate Blanchett as an architect and mother struggling with “the banality of life.” He then wrote and directed Apollo 10 1 2 : A Space Age Childhood (2022), an…

Carl Reiner: Film directing: Better was Where’s Poppa? (1970), a daring black comedy starring George Segal as a frustrated lawyer and Ruth Gordon as his senile mom. Reiner then returned to television for several years, cocreating and producing The New Dick Van Dyke Show (1971–74) among other projects, before returning to…

Layli Long Soldier: Whereas: Long Soldier began working on the poems that would become her first full-length poetry collection, Whereas, not long after the birth of her daughter in 2006. The book is divided into two parts: “These Being the Concerns” and “Whereas.” The first part features many…

C.K. Stead: His first book of poetry, Whether the Will Is Free: Poems 1954–62, was published in 1964. In his second collection, Crossing the Bar (1972), he was moved by the Vietnam War to protest against the inhumanity and irresponsibility of people in power. His later poetry collections include Quesada: Poems 1972–1974…

Robert Recorde: Writings: His last work, The Whetstone of Witte (1557), was an advanced treatise on arithmetic as well as an introduction to algebra and used his new symbol for equality (=).

Measure for Measure: …from a two-part play by George Whetstone titled Promos and Cassandra (1578).

abrasive: Tool sharpening: The sharpening of all types of tools continues to be a major grinding operation. Drills, saws, reamers, milling cutters, broaches, and the great spectrum of knives are kept sharp by abrasives. Coarser-grit products are used for their initial shaping. Finer-grit abrasives produce keener cutting…

William Whewell was an English philosopher and historian remembered both for his writings on ethics and for his work on the theory of induction, a philosophical analysis of particulars to arrive at a scientific generalization. Whewell spent most of his career at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he

whey, watery fraction that forms along with curd when milk coagulates. It contains the water-soluble constituents of milk and is essentially a 5 percent solution of lactose in water, with some minerals and lactalbumin. The whey is removed from the curd during the process of making cheese. Then it

World Heart Day: In 1999 the World Heart Federation (WHF), in conjunction with the World Health Organization (WHO), announced the establishment of World Heart Day. The idea for this annual event was conceived by Antoni Bayés de Luna, president of WHF from 1997–99. World Heart Day was originally (until 2011) observed…

Strictly speaking, humans are the smartest animals on Earth—at least according to human standards. We are adept at all the tasks we’ve established as intelligence indicators, and we have used our smarts to do everything from improving our quality of life as a species and building great societies to

In 1893 New Zealand became the first country in the world to extend the right to vote to women. Dozens more would do so in the years following World War I, and as a wave of countries gained independence after World War II, equal voting rights for men and women were often guaranteed in their

The Siberian tiger is bigger than the Bengal tiger. Siberian tigers can reach lengths of up to 3.7 meters (12.1 feet) and weigh as much as 423 kg (about 933 pounds), whereas Bengal tigers typically grow to about 3.2 meters (10.5 feet) in length and weigh approximately 295 kg (about 650 pounds). The

The sperm whale, which preys on the colossal squid, is generally bigger than the colossal squid. A male sperm whale can grow to about 24 meters (79 feet) long and weigh up to 50 metric tons (50,000 kg or 110,000 pounds). The colossal squid, by comparison, can reach lengths of up to 14 meters (46

The Jewish Festival of Lights is an eight-day celebration that commemorates the rededication of the Second Temple of Jerusalem. It is one of the most popular holidays in Judaism and is marked by the lighting of the menorah. For many English speakers, the festival is also known for confusion over

After the conclusion of each NBA regular season, a group of 100 journalists and broadcasters votes to determine the winner of the league’s Most Valuable Player award. The criteria for the honor are not explicitly stated by the NBA, so each voter weighs a number of factors. Some may give priority to

The Pacific Ocean is deeper than the Atlantic Ocean, both in terms of average depth and deepest point. The Pacific Ocean has a mean depth of approximately 14,040 feet (4,280 meters), and it boasts the deepest known point in the world’s oceans, the Challenger Deep, located in the Mariana Trench,

Among the 333 species of parrots (family Psittacidae), the African gray parrot (Psittacus erithacus) is the most likely to talk. Its remarkable accuracy in replicating human speech sets it apart as a species renowned for its speaking skills. Parrots, including the African gray, are highly social

Adherents hold that Hinduism—one of the principal faiths in the modern world, with about one billion followers—is the world’s oldest religion, with complete scriptural texts dating back 3,000 years. The oral tradition that gave rise to the Mahabharata, for example, probably dates to about 850 BCE,

Ken Loach: …society in such films as Which Side Are You On? (1984), a television movie that provoked controversy for its sympathetic look at striking coal miners. He gained further attention with Hidden Agenda (1990), a political thriller set in Northern Ireland, which shared the jury prize at the Cannes film festival.…

Which NBA team is king of the hard court? The crown belongs to the Boston Celtics, the winner of 18 titles. The Los Angeles Lakers are close behind with 17. A distant third is the Golden State Warriors, with 7 championships, followed by the Chicago Bulls, with 6. Who’s at the bottom of the list?

When it comes to the World Series, one team stands out from all the others: the New York Yankees. The Bronx Bombers have won a record-setting 27 MLB championships. The St. Louis Cardinals, with 11 World Series titles, are a distant second. Next are the Boston Red Sox, Oakland Athletics, and Los

The short answer is: Andrew Johnson, Bill Clinton, and Donald Trump (twice). But to truly understand what happened in each of those cases, it helps to understand the impeachment process overall. So, let’s start with just a bit of background. • The impeachment process, outlined in the U.S.

Pirates and their sailing ships are inexorably linked to the romantic concept of the seven seas, and some variation of the phrase “sailing the seven seas” has existed since ancient mariners plied the Mediterranean Sea and the waters of the Middle East. But which bodies of water are those seven? A

Cambridge Platonists: Their leader was Benjamin Whichcote, who expounded in his sermons the Christian humanism that united the group. His principal disciples at the University of Cambridge were Ralph Cudworth, Henry More, and John Smith; Joseph Glanvill was a University of Oxford convert. Nathanael Culverwel, Richard Cumberland, and the mystic…

Gallant Fox: 1930: Triple Crown: …meeting of Gallant Fox and Whichone, regarded by many as one of the greatest juveniles in recent years. He had beaten Gallant Fox in an earlier race and came to the Belmont in excellent condition following a victory in the Withers Stakes. Respect for the two colts was obvious when…

whydah, any of several African birds that have long dark tails suggesting a funeral veil. They belong to two subfamilies, Viduinae and Ploceinae, of the family Ploceidae (order Passeriformes). The name is associated with Whydah (Ouidah), a town in Benin where the birds are common. In the Viduinae,

Whidbey Island, island, part of Island county, northwestern Washington, U.S., in Puget Sound. Approximately 40 miles (65 km) long, it is one of the largest offshore islands in the continental United States. Its chief towns are Oak Harbor, Coupeville (a preserved historic [1875] town), and Langley.

Whidbey Island: The island was named for Joseph Whidbey, the sailing master for George Vancouver. Whidbey, on June 2, 1792, as a member of a surveying team, discovered Deception Pass, a swift tidal strait separating Whidbey from Fidalgo Island, to the north, proving the body of land was an island. Deception Pass…

Whidbey Island, island, part of Island county, northwestern Washington, U.S., in Puget Sound. Approximately 40 miles (65 km) long, it is one of the largest offshore islands in the continental United States. Its chief towns are Oak Harbor, Coupeville (a preserved historic [1875] town), and Langley.

Whiddy Island, island in Bantry Bay, County Cork, Ireland. It lies 2 miles (3 km) west of Bantry, at the head of Bantry Bay. It is about 3.5 miles (5.5 km) from northeast to southwest and about 1 mile (1.6 km) across. On it are ruins of a castle, Kilmore Church, and three 19th-century redoubts

Josiah Wedgwood: …Staffordshire, joined in 1754 with Thomas Whieldon of Fenton Low, Staffordshire, probably the leading potter of his day. This became a fruitful partnership, enabling Wedgwood to become a master of current pottery techniques. He then began what he called his “experiment book,” an invaluable source on Staffordshire pottery.

cigar: The name whiff, used in Britain, refers to a small cigar, open at both ends and about 3.5 inches long.

Whig and Tory, members of two opposing political parties or factions in England, particularly during the 18th century. Originally “Whig” and “Tory” were terms of abuse introduced in 1679 during the heated struggle over the bill to exclude James, duke of York (afterward James II), from the

Whig Party, in U.S. history, major political party active in the period 1834–54 that espoused a program of national development but foundered on the rising tide of sectional antagonism. The Whig Party was formally organized in 1834, bringing together a loose coalition of groups united in their

Earl Lovelace: His acclaimed first novel, While Gods Are Falling (1965), features a protagonist who feels that only by returning to his remote village can he truly be himself. The Schoolmaster (1968) is a tragic novel about the building of a school in rural Trinidad. The Dragon Can’t Dance (1979), which…

George Harrison: …the Beatles’ finest, including “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” (1968), “Here Comes the Sun” (1969), and “Something” (1969). In 1965 Harrison studied the sitar with Ravi Shankar and first featured his skills in “Norwegian Wood” (1965). Harrison’s interest in Indian culture grew, and in 1968 he and the Beatles,…

Mary Higgins Clark: …A Stranger Is Watching (1977), While My Pretty One Sleeps (1989), We’ll Meet Again (1999), Daddy’s Gone a Hunting (2013), and I’ve Got My Eyes on You (2018). Several of Clark’s novels and stories were adapted into films.

Fritz Lang: Films of the 1950s: While the City Sleeps (1956) presented Lang with more familiar material, a frantic manhunt for the psychopathic “Lipstick Killer” (John Drew Barrymore) by a pack of amoral journalists (Dana Andrews, Vincent Price, Thomas Mitchell, and George Sanders). Lang’s second picture for RKO in 1956 was…

Wayne Wang: Career: …and the Secret Fan (2011), While the Women Are Sleeping (2016), and Coming Home Again (2019).

Peter Bogdanovich: The 1980s and beyond: Jealousy (1997), Infamous (2006), and While We’re Young (2014). His notable roles on television included that of a psychiatrist on the HBO series The Sopranos.

Sandra Bullock: Rise to stardom: …performance in the romantic comedy While You Were Sleeping (1995). Seeking parts outside her typical romantic comedy roles, she appeared in the thriller The Net (1995); A Time to Kill (1996), based on the legal novel of the same name by best-selling author John Grisham; and In Love and War…

Whillans Ice Stream, moving belt of ice in the West Antarctic Ice Sheet that deposits ice onto the massive Ross Ice Shelf. Whillans Ice Stream is approximately 2,600–3,000 feet (792–914 metres) thick and about 50–60 miles (80.5–96.5 km) wide. It is named for American glaciologist Ian Whillans, who

curlew: The whimbrel (N. phaeopus), or lesser curlew, is the most widely distributed curlew, occurring both in the Old World and in the New World (as two distinct races). Eurasian whimbrels are white-rumped, but the North American race (formerly called the Hudsonian curlew) is dark-rumped.

Jean Dauberval: With Vincenzo Galeotti’s Whims of Cupid and the Ballet Master (1786), it is one of the oldest ballets still in the repertoire of contemporary companies; although Dauberval’s original choreography was lost, there are several more recent versions based on the original scenario, notably those by Lev Ivanov and…

whimsey glass, glass with no utilitarian purpose, executed to satisfy the whim of the glassmaker. Such offhand exercises in skill are almost as old as glassmaking itself. Some of the earliest pieces blown for fun are boots and hats made in Germany as early as the 15th century. Boots and shoes

Northumberland: …a notable landscape feature is Whin Sill, a doleritic (lava) intrusion that forms the Farne Islands and Bamburgh Castle Rock and carries sections of a Roman wall. The coastal plain, underlain by limestone in the north and coal-bearing rocks in the south, is covered by glacial deposits varying in character…

whinchat, (Saxicola rubetra), Eurasian thrush named for its habitat: swampy meadows, called, in England, whins. This species, 13 centimetres (5 inches) long, one of the chat-thrush group (family Turdidae, order Passeriformes), is brown-streaked above and buffy below, with white patches on the

Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC), U.S. education and training facility for civilian, military, and law-enforcement personnel from Western Hemisphere countries. It is run by the U.S. Department of Defense and is based at Fort Moore, Georgia. The Western Hemisphere

horsemanship: Aids: The whip is used chiefly to reinforce the leg aid for control, to command attention, and to demand obedience, but it can be used as a punishment in cases of deliberate rebellion. A horse may show resistance by gnashing its teeth and swishing its tail. Striking…

Pedro Martínez: …also had the fewest combined walks and hits per inning pitched (WHIP; 0.737) of all time. (The previous record holder was Walter Johnson, whose 0.780 WHIP came in 1913 at the height of the pitcher-friendly “dead-ball era.”) Martínez became a fan favourite in Boston and was a member of their…

House of Commons: Functions and operation: …exercised by members called “whips.”

Drew Barrymore: Later career: …director with the coming-of-age tale Whip It, about a rebellious teenager who joins a Roller Derby team. She again starred with Sandler, this time in the romantic farce Blended (2014), in which the two portrayed single parents who take their children on an African vacation. She was cast opposite Toni…

sea spider, (class Pycnogonida), any of the spiderlike marine arthropods. Sea spiders walk about on the ocean bottom on their slender legs or crawl among plants and animals; some may tread water. Despite their common name, they are not true spiders (order Araneae). Most pycnogonids have four pairs

whip scorpion, (order Uropygi, sometimes Thelyphonida), any of approximately 105 species of the arthropod class Arachnida that are similar in appearance to true scorpions except that the larger species have a whiplike telson, or tail, that serves as an organ of touch and has no stinger. The second

whippoorwill, (Caprimulgus vociferus), nocturnal bird of North America belonging to the family Caprimulgidae (see caprimulgiform) and closely resembling the related common nightjar of Europe. It is named for its vigorous deliberate call (first and third syllables accented), which it may repeat 400

Liz Phair: Whip-Smart and Whitechocolatespaceegg: Phair’s second album, Whip-Smart (1994), incorporated the same lo-fi production of her debut album built up with multilayered vocals and occasional synthesizer sound effects. Whip-Smart debuted at number 27 on the Billboard 200 chart and remained on the chart for 17 weeks. The album’s lead single, “Supernova,” reached…

whip-tailed ray, any of certain stingrays of the family Dasyatidae. See

whipbird, either of the four songbird species of the Australian genus Psophodes, assigned to various families depending on the classification used. They are named for the voice of the eastern whipbird (P. olivaceus): the male gives a long whistle and a loud crack, and the female answers instantly

Damien Chazelle: …of a scene from his Whiplash screenplay and submitted to the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, where it won both the short-film jury prize and enough financing to create the feature-length version. That film, also featuring Simmons but with Miles Teller as the drummer, was nominated for the Academy Award for…

whiplash, injury to the cervical spine and its soft tissues caused by forceful flexion or extension of the neck, especially that occurring during an automobile accident. It may involve sprain, fracture, or dislocation and may vary greatly in location, extent, and degree. Sometimes it is accompanied

pavlova: …that is commonly topped with whipped cream and fruit and served at holidays.

whippet, hound breed developed in mid-19th-century England to chase rabbits for sport in an arena. The breed was developed from terriers and small English greyhounds; Italian greyhounds were later bred in to give the whippet a sleek appearance. A greyhoundlike dog standing 18 to 22 inches (46 to 56

tank: World War I: …and in 1918 the 14-ton Medium A appeared with a speed of 8 miles (13 km) per hour and a range of 80 miles (130 km). After 1918, however, the most widely used tank was the French Renault F.T., a light six-ton vehicle designed for close infantry support.

flogging, a beating administered with a whip or rod, with blows commonly directed to the person’s back. It was imposed as a form of judicial punishment and as a means of maintaining discipline in schools, prisons, military forces, and private homes. The instruments and methods of flogging have

ship: Structural integrity: Whipping is a hull vibration with a fundamental two-noded frequency. It can produce stresses similar in magnitude to the quasi-static wave-bending stresses. It also can produce very high local stresses in the vicinity of the reentry impact.

dairy product: Additions and treatment: …increased by 50 percent by whipping in air—or, better still, nitrogen or an inert gas in order to prevent oxidation of the fat. Whipped butter, both salted and sweet, is sold in small plastic-coated tubs.

pancreatic cancer: Surgical options: …are often treated with the Whipple procedure, a complicated surgical approach that removes all or part of the pancreas and nearby lymph nodes, the gallbladder, and portions of the stomach, small intestine, and bile duct. Serious complications often arise following this procedure, which requires an extensive hospital stay and considerable…

micrometeoroid: … use a “dust bumper,” or Whipple shield (named for its inventor, the American astronomer Fred Whipple), to guard against damage from micrometeoroids and orbiting debris. Spacesuits intended for extravehicular activity also incorporate micrometeoroid protection in their outer layers.

cholla: …species—cane cholla (Cylindropuntia imbricata) and Whipple’s cholla (C. whipplei)—are hardy to −18 °C (0 °F) or below. The desert Christmas cactus, or tasajillo (C. leptocaulis), holds its bright red fruits through the winter. Teddy bear cholla, or jumping cholla (C. bigelovii), is native to northwestern Mexico and the southwestern United…

Dorothy Whipple was an English novelist and short-story writer whose works, set largely in the north of England, excavate the everyday experiences of middle-class households of her era. She grew up in Blackburn as one of eight children of Walter Stirrup, a local architect, and his wife, Ada. In

micrometeoroid: …its inventor, the American astronomer Fred Whipple), to guard against damage from micrometeoroids and orbiting debris. Spacesuits intended for extravehicular activity also incorporate micrometeoroid protection in their outer layers.

George H. Whipple was an American pathologist whose discovery that raw liver fed to chronically bled dogs will reverse the effects of anemia led directly to successful liver treatment of pernicious anemia by the American physicians George R. Minot and William P. Murphy. This major advance in the

George H. Whipple was an American pathologist whose discovery that raw liver fed to chronically bled dogs will reverse the effects of anemia led directly to successful liver treatment of pernicious anemia by the American physicians George R. Minot and William P. Murphy. This major advance in the

George H. Whipple was an American pathologist whose discovery that raw liver fed to chronically bled dogs will reverse the effects of anemia led directly to successful liver treatment of pernicious anemia by the American physicians George R. Minot and William P. Murphy. This major advance in the

Tim Walz: Life in Minnesota: …met a fellow teacher named Gwen Whipple. The two married in 1994 and in 1996 moved to Minnesota, Whipple’s home state. Walz began teaching geography and coaching football at Mankato West High School. In 1999 he helped coach the football team to its first state championship. The same year Walz…

Faribault: …Sioux and Ojibwa missions of Henry B. Whipple, first Episcopal bishop of Minnesota, who organized several schools (since moved or merged into the current Shattuck–St. Mary’s School). State schools for the deaf (1863) and blind (1866) are in the city. Agriculture includes dairying and the production of hogs, turkeys, corn…

Squire Whipple was a U.S. civil engineer, inventor, and theoretician who provided the first scientifically based rules for bridge construction. After graduating from Union College, Schenectady, N.Y., in 1830, Whipple conducted surveys for several railroad and canal projects and made surveying

whippoorwill, (Caprimulgus vociferus), nocturnal bird of North America belonging to the family Caprimulgidae (see caprimulgiform) and closely resembling the related common nightjar of Europe. It is named for its vigorous deliberate call (first and third syllables accented), which it may repeat 400

Sam Wood: Films with the Marx Brothers: Whipsaw (1935) was another Loy vehicle, this time offering her as a jewel thief who is pursued by a persistent FBI agent (Spencer Tracy). The Unguarded Hour (1936) was a complicated but stagy mystery starring Franchot Tone and Loretta Young.

hand tool: Saw: …blade with two handles (a whipsaw), but more often it was constructed as a frame saw, which used less steel and put the blade under tension.

Dunstable: Whipsnade Zoo, the country branch of the London Zoological Gardens, was opened in 1931; it occupies 500 acres (200 hectares) on the Chiltern Hills near Dunstable. The London Gliding Club also has its headquarters nearby. Pop. (2001) Dunstable urban area, 50,775; (2011) Dunstable town, 36,253.

petroleum production: Directional drilling: …a mechanical device called the whipstock. This consisted of an inclined plane on the bottom of the drill pipe that was oriented in the direction the well was intended to take. The drill bit was thereby forced to move off in the proper direction. A more recent technique makes use…

racerunner, (genus Cnemidophorus), any of about 60 species of lizards in the family Teiidae. The genus is common in North America, particularly in the southwestern deserts, and its range extends through Central America and across South America to Argentina. Species also occur on some islands,

wallaby: The pretty-faced wallaby, or whiptail (M. elegans, or M. parryi), with distinctive cheek marks, is found in open woods of coastal eastern Australia.

whipworm, any of certain worms of the genus Trichuris, phylum Nematoda, especially T. trichiura, that are parasitic in the large intestine of man and other mammals. They are so named because of the whiplike shape of the body. Infestation in humans, particularly in children, occurs through the

Whirlaway, (foaled 1938), American racehorse (Thoroughbred) who in 1941 became the fifth winner of the American Triple Crown by tallying victories at the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes, and the Belmont Stakes. In 1936 a syndicate of breeders formed by Warren Wright, Sr., consummated a deal in

whirligig beetle, (family Gyrinidae), any of about 700 species of beetles (insect order Coleoptera) that are widespread throughout the world and are usually seen in groups, spinning and whirling around on the surfaces of quiet ponds or lakes. Whirligig beetles prey on insects and other creatures

O. Henry: (1909), Strictly Business (1910), and Whirligigs (1910). Whirligigs contains perhaps Porter’s funniest story, “The Ransom of Red Chief.”

Mawlawīyah, fraternity of Sufis (Muslim mystics) founded in Konya (Qonya), Anatolia, by the Persian Sufi poet Rūmī (d. 1273), whose popular title mawlānā (Arabic: “our master”) gave the order its name. The order, propagated throughout Anatolia, controlled Konya and environs by the 15th century and

Lewis Allen: Allen’s last movies were Whirlpool (1959), a British production filmed in West Germany, and Decision at Midnight (1963), a political thriller starring Martin Landau.

Otto Preminger: Challenges to the Production Code of Otto Preminger: In the noir Whirlpool (1949), a scheming hypnotist (José Ferrer) frames a kleptomaniac (Tierney) for a murder he committed. Tierney then reunited with her Laura costar Andrews on Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950), in which a violent policeman accidentally kills a suspect during an interrogation. Both pictures received…