Bertolt Brecht, born on Feb. 10, 1898, died on Aug. 14, 1956, one of the great German poets and playwrights, had a key influence on modern drama. As an innovator he advanced such ideas as the “alienation effect,” an attempt to divorce the audience from emotional identification with the play’s characters, presumably preventing them from experiencing catharsis, pity or fear …

Ariel Garce — Having turned 30 and made just a solitary friendly appearance since Diego Maradona took over as national coach, Ariel Garce was a surprise selection in the Argentina squad. Known as El Chino since his childhood, Garce had planned to travel to South Africa with his friends to support La Albiceleste, but was more than happy to change …

Angela Merkel was born Angela Dorothea Kasner in Hamburg on 17 July 1954, the daughter of Horst Kasner, a Lutheran pastor, and his wife, Herlind, a teacher of English and Latin. Her mother was once a member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany. She has a brother, Marcus and a sister, Irene. Merkel was educated in Templin and at …

Albert Einstein Biography The name echoes through the language: It doesn’t take an Einstein. A poor man’s Einstein. He’s no Einstein. In this busy century, dominated like no other by science – and exalting, among the human virtues, braininess, IQ, the ideal of pure intelligence – he stands alone as our emblem of intellectual power. We talk as though humanity …

Missouri is a midwestern state of the United States, located near the country’s geographic center at the confluence of the two longest rivers in the United States–the Mississippi and the Missouri. Situated where North meets South and where the industrial East gives way to the plains of the West, Missouri exhibits characteristics of all these areas. It is bordered on …

Saint-John’s-Wort — St John’s wort used alone refers to the species Hypericum perforatum, also known as Tipton’s Weed or Klamath weed, but, with qualifiers, is used to refer to any species of the genus Hypericum. Therefore, H. perforatum is sometimes called Common St John’s wort to differentiate it. The species of Hypericum have been placed by some in the family …

Rhubarb — Rheum is a genus of perennial plants that grow from thick short rhizomes. The genus is in the family Polygonaceae, and includes the vegetable rhubarb (Rheum rhabarbarum or Rheum x hybridum). The plants have large leaves that are somewhat triangular shaped with long fleshy petioles. The flowers are small, greenish-white to rose-red, and borne in large compound leafy …

Poplar, White — Populus alba (White Poplar) is a species of poplar, most closely related to the aspens (Populus sect. Populus). It is native from Spain and Morocco through central Europe (north to Germany and Poland) to central Asia. It grows in moist sites, often by watersides, in regions with hot summers and cold to mild winters. It is a …

Elm — Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the genus Ulmus, family Ulmaceae, found throughout the Northern Hemisphere from Siberia to Indonesia, Mexico to Japan. Many species and cultivars have also been introduced as ornamentals to parts of the Southern Hemisphere, notably Australasia. Elms have alternate, simple, single- or doubly-serrate leaves, usually asymmetric at the base and acuminate at …

Dutchman’s-Pipe — Aristolochia is a large plant genus with over 500 species. Collectively known as birthworts, pipevines or Dutchman’s pipes, they are the namesake of the family (Aristolochiaceae). They are widespread and occur in the most diverse climates, but they are not native to Australia. Some species, like A. utriformis and A. westlandii, are threatened with extinction. This is a …