blastomycosis, infection of the lungs with fungal organisms of the genus Blastomyces. Blastomyces occur in the environment, being abundant especially in decomposing organic matter and damp soil. The organisms are endemic to the Ohio and Mississippi river valleys, the Great Lakes region, and the

fig wasp: Major species: B. nota, originally found in the Philippines, pollinates the flowers of F. nota.

fig wasp: Major species: The female fig wasp, Blastophaga psenes, about 1.5 mm (0.06 inch) in length, was introduced into the western United States to pollinate the Smyrna fig, a commercially important variety. B. nota, originally found in the Philippines, pollinates the flowers of F. nota.

blastopore, the opening by which the cavity of the gastrula, an embryonic stage in animal development, communicates with the exterior. During maturation of some animals it evolves into the anus or the mouth; in others it is covered over and contributes to the canal joining the primitive gut with

echinoderm: Annotated classification: †Subphylum Blastozoa (blastozoans) Cambrian to Permian about 280,000,000–540,000,000 years ago. Stalked echinoderms with soft parts enclosed in a globular theca (chamber) equipped with simple, erect food-gathering appendages (brachioles). †Class Eocrinoidea Lower Cambrian to Silurian about 430,000,000–570,000,000 years ago; body usually

echinoderm: Annotated classification: †Subphylum Blastozoa (blastozoans) Cambrian to Permian about 280,000,000–540,000,000 years ago. Stalked echinoderms with soft parts enclosed in a globular theca (chamber) equipped with simple, erect food-gathering appendages (brachioles). †Class Eocrinoidea Lower Cambrian to Silurian about 430,000,000–570,000,000 years ago; body usually

blastula, hollow sphere of cells, or blastomeres, produced during the development of an embryo by repeated cleavage of a fertilized egg. The cells of the blastula form an epithelial (covering) layer, called the blastoderm, enclosing a fluid-filled cavity, the blastocoel. After the blastula

Harriot Eaton Stanton Blatch was a leader in the woman suffrage movement in the United States. Harriot Stanton was a daughter of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and early absorbed a reformer’s zeal from her and from her father, Henry B. Stanton, an abolitionist, a politician, and a journalist. She graduated

Nora Stanton Blatch Barney was an American civil engineer, architect, and suffragist whose professional and political activities built on her family’s tradition of women leaders. Nora Stanton Blatch was the daughter of Harriot Stanton Blatch and the granddaughter of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, both of

Edmonton: History: …in Edmonton, Blatchford Field (later, Edmonton City Centre Airport), played an important military role that continued throughout the Cold War. The U.S. military used the field as its base of operations for the defense of Alaska during World War II but, after outgrowing that facility, built another one north of…

Samuel Blatchford was an associate justice of the United States Supreme Court (1882–93). Blatchford graduated from Columbia College (later Columbia University) in 1837 and served as private secretary to William H. Seward until attaining his majority. In 1842 he was admitted to the bar and began to

cockroach: Family Blattidae: …in the family is the Oriental cockroach, or black cockroach (Blatta orientalis), which is considered to be one of the most notorious household pests. It is oval, shiny black or dark brown, and 25 to 30 mm (1 to 1.2 inches) long, with a life cycle similar to that of…

cockroach: Physical description: …Nocticola, are thought to host Blattabacterium, a mutualistic bacterium. The endosymbiotic bacterium lives within the insects’ fat cells and is thought to help regulate purine metabolism and allow the insects to survive on nitrogen-poor diets.

cockroach, (order Blattodea), any of about 4,600 species of insects, a few species of which are pests. Most cockroaches live innocuously in wild environments and are usually found in tropical or other mild climates. Cockroaches are among the most primitive living winged insects, appearing today

cockroach: Family Ectobiidae: The German cockroach (Blattella germanica), a common household pest, is light brown with two dark stripes on the prothoracic region. The female produces an ootheca 3 days after mating and carries it for about 20 days. Three or more generations may occur yearly. Because it is…

cockroach: Family Ectobiidae: Many other familiar cockroach species are members of the family Ectobiidae (formerly Blattellidae). The German cockroach (Blattella germanica), a common household pest, is light brown with two dark stripes on the prothoracic region. The female produces an ootheca 3 days after mating and carries…

Stefan George: …or contributed to its journal, Blätter für die Kunst, published from 1892 to 1919. The chief aim of the journal was to revitalize the German literary language.

Sepp Blatter is a Swiss sports executive who served as the president (1998–2015) of FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association), the governing body of international football (soccer) that is best known for overseeing the World Cup. Blatter’s tenure was marked by massive corporate

Sepp Blatter is a Swiss sports executive who served as the president (1998–2015) of FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association), the governing body of international football (soccer) that is best known for overseeing the World Cup. Blatter’s tenure was marked by massive corporate

cockroach: Family Blattidae: The family Blattidae contains several common household cockroaches. The American cockroach (species Periplaneta americana), a native of Africa and the Middle East, is 30 to 50 mm (1.2−2 inches) long, is reddish brown, and lives outdoors or in dark heated indoor areas (e.g., basements…

Arc-en-Ciel: …of the painter and puppeteer Géza Blattner (1893–1967).

cockroach, (order Blattodea), any of about 4,600 species of insects, a few species of which are pests. Most cockroaches live innocuously in wild environments and are usually found in tropical or other mild climates. Cockroaches are among the most primitive living winged insects, appearing today

The Exorcist: …William Friedkin and written by William Peter Blatty, who adapted the screenplay from his 1971 novel of the same name. The movie stars Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Linda Blair, Jason Miller, and Lee J. Cobb. The story chronicles a single mother’s struggle to

Eugene Ormandy was a Hungarian-born American conductor who was identified with the Late Romantic and early 20th-century repertoire. Ormandy graduated from the Budapest Royal Academy, where he studied violin with Jenö Hubay, at age 14. By age 17 he was a professor of violin, undertaking concert

sociology: Social stratification: Peter M. Blau and Otis Dudley Duncan used this technique in the study published as The American Occupational Structure (1967).

Max Frisch: …Man in the Holocene), and Blaubart (1982; Bluebeard).

Bernhard Kellermann: …activity in Germany in 1918; Das blaue Band (1938; “The Blue Band”), based on the sinking of the ocean liner Titanic; and Totentanz (1948; “Dance of Death”).

Josef von Sternberg: Films with Dietrich: Der blaue Engel (1930; The Blue Angel), filmed simultaneously in German and in English, was a raw portrait of sexual degradation in which a distinguished professor (Jannings) is brought low by his obsession with the sultry nightclub singer Lola Lola (Marlene Dietrich in her breakthrough role).

Der Blaue Reiter, organization of artists based in Germany that contributed greatly to the development of abstract art. Neither a movement nor a school with a definite program, Der Blaue Reiter was a loosely knit organization of artists that organized group shows between 1911 and 1914. After

Die Blaue Vier, successor group of Der Blaue Reiter (“The Blue Rider”; 1911–14), formed in 1924 in Germany by the Russian artists Alexey von Jawlensky and Wassily Kandinsky, the Swiss artist Paul Klee, and the American-born artist Lyonel Feininger. At the time of the group’s formation, Kandinsky,

Helena Blavatsky was a Russian spiritualist, author, and cofounder of the Theosophical Society to promote theosophy, a pantheistic philosophical-religious system. At the age of 17, Helena Hahn married Nikifor V. Blavatsky, a Russian military officer and provincial vice-governor, but they separated

fat and oil processing: Extractors: The Blaw-Knox Rotocell has become the most popular extractor in the huge American soybean industry. The flakes are conveyed into wedge-shaped segments of a large cylindrical vessel. Solvent percolating through the cells falls into the bottom of the extractor housing, where it is picked up by…

European exploration: Australia: In 1813 the Australian explorer Gregory Blaxland successfully crossed the Blue Mountains by following a ridge instead of taking a valley route. Rivers were found beyond the mountains, but they did not behave as expected. Another explorer, the Australian John Oxley, in 1818 observed: “On every hill a spring, in…

blaxploitation movies, group of films made mainly in the early to mid-1970s that featured Black actors in a transparent effort to appeal to Black urban audiences. Junius Griffin, then president of the Beverly Hills chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP),

Ethan Hawke: …he also cowrote and directed Blaze, a biopic about a little-known folk musician. The film was lauded for its unconventional narrative. Movies from 2019 include The Kid, wherein Hawke plays a sheriff on the trail of a notorious outlaw. The following year he starred in Tesla, a biopic about the…

Ghost Rider: …Ghost Rider is motorcycle stuntman Johnny Blaze, who, upon learning that his foster father is afflicted with a terminal disease, sells his soul to a demon named Mephisto in exchange for a cure. Blaze’s foster father is cured but soon dies in a motorcycle accident. When Mephisto is thwarted in…

Carol Blazejowski is an American basketball player and sports executive whose playing career featured a number of records and firsts. Blazejowski grew up in Cranford, N.J., and began playing basketball on a school team in her senior year of high school in 1974. The following year she joined the

St. Blaise ; Western feast day, February 3; Eastern feast day, February 11) was an early Christian bishop and martyr, one of the most popular medieval saints. He is venerated as the patron saint of sufferers from throat diseases and of wool combers and as one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers. According

Mel Brooks: Films of the 1970s: …with his third directorial effort, Blazing Saddles (1974), that Brooks cemented his reputation as Hollywood’s foremost purveyor of hilarious tastelessness. He collaborated with writer-director Andrew Bergman and stand-up comedian-actor Richard Pryor, among others, on the script for this uninhibited burlesque of the western genre, the comic targets of which ranged…

Loasaceae: 4-inch), cupped, five-petalled flowers of blazing star (M. laevicaulis) of western North America. The yellow, fragrant blooms of blazing star open in the early evening. A few Loasaceae grow in Africa, western Asia, and Polynesia (Marquesas Islands).

Liatris: …button snakeroot, gay feather, and blazing star.

heraldry: The nature and origins of heraldic terminology: Heraldic descriptions are called blazons. The term is derived from the French blason, the etymology of which is uncertain. Originally it denoted the shield of arms itself and still retains that meaning, but it is now generally used in a derivative sense as meaning the description of the arms.…

heraldry: Early writers: …works of Sir John Ferne, Blazon of Gentrie (1586), Gerard Legh, The Accedens of Armorie (1562), and John Guillim, A Display of Heraldrie (1610), not only perpetuate the nonsensical natural history of olden days but are largely responsible for erroneous beliefs about heraldic charges having definite symbolic meanings and their…

Côte d’Ivoire: Prosecution of the Gbagbos and Blé Goudé: …with that of his associate, Charles Blé Goudé, and their trial began in January 2016; they were both acquitted in January 2019. Their acquittal was appealed by the prosecution, but it was upheld in March 2021. Meanwhile, Gbagbo was tried in absentia in an Ivoirian court on allegations of having…

René Bazin: Le Blé qui lève (1907; “The Rising Wheat”) portrays the corrupting influence of trade unionism on woodcutters.

bleach, solid or liquid chemical used to whiten or remove the natural colour of fibres, yarns, other textiles, and paper. In textile finishing, the bleaching process is used to produce white cloth, to prepare fabrics for other finishes, or to remove discoloration that has occurred in other

Kurt Cobain: …1988 and its first album, Bleach, in 1989. The album had a unique (and soon-to-be signature) sound that mixed the rawness of punk rock with pop hooks, and the group soon became a target of major record labels. With new drummer Dave Grohl (who joined the band in 1990) Nirvana…

Jack Antonoff: fun. and Bleachers: …new solo project, known as Bleachers. In 2014 he released the single “I Wanna Get Better,” which reached number one on the Billboard Alternative Airplay chart. His debut album, Strange Desire (2014), debuted at number two on the Billboard Top Rock Albums chart. On the album, Antonoff played every instrument,…

John Grisham: Other novels: …as Christmas with the Kranks), Bleachers (2003), Playing for Pizza (2007), Calico Joe (2012), and Sooley (2021). The crime thrillers Camino Island (2017) and Camino Winds (2020) center on a female writer in Florida. In 2024 Grisham published Camino Ghosts, the third book in his Camino

flour: …(separated from bran and germ), bleached or unbleached, and suitable for any recipe not requiring a special flour; cake flour, refined and bleached, with very fine texture; self-rising flour, refined and bleached, with added leavening and salt; and enriched flour, refined and bleached, with added nutrients.

coral bleaching, whitening of coral that results from the loss of a coral’s symbiotic algae (zooxanthellae) or the degradation of the algae’s photosynthetic pigment. Bleaching is associated with the devastation of coral reefs, which are home to approximately 25 percent of all marine species. Coral

bleach: Bleaching powder, a solid combination of chlorine and slaked lime, introduced in 1799 by Scottish chemist Charles Tennant, was thereafter produced in large quantity to bleach cloth and paper. It had the same effect as chlorine and could be more easily handled and shipped, but…

bleak, (Alburnus alburnus), small, slender fish of the carp family, Cyprinidae, found in rivers and lakes of England and Europe. A silvery-green fish, it grows to a maximum length of about 20 centimetres (8 inches). It lives in schools, usually near the surface, and eats aquatic invertebrates. The

Broadstairs and Saint Peter’s: …houses associated with him, notably Bleak House, atop a cliff near the pier. Pop. (2001) 24,370; (2011) 24,903.

Bleak House, novel by British author Charles Dickens, published serially in 1852–53 and in book form in 1853 and considered to be among the author’s best work. Bleak House is the story of the Jarndyce family, who wait in vain to inherit money from a disputed fortune in the settlement of the

Mike Leigh: His play Bleak Moments (1970), about a woman grappling with the demands of everyday life, evolved from this process, and he adapted the script a year later for his first feature film.

Blechnaceae, the chain fern family (order Polypodiales), containing 7–9 genera and more than 200 species. The family occurs nearly around the world but is most diverse in tropical regions of the Southern Hemisphere. Nearly all of the species are terrestrial or grow on rocks. A number of species of

fern: Annotated classification: …150 in the largest genus, Blechnum), distributed nearly worldwide but most diverse in tropical regions. Family Cystopteridaceae Plants are small or medium-sized; leaves are thin; sori are small, round, and naked; 3 genera (Acystopteris, Cystopteris, and Gymnocarpium). Family Desmophlebiaceae

Volker Schlöndorff: …film, with Die Blechtrommel (1979; The Tin Drum), his adaptation of the Günter Grass novel. The film’s episodic structure and expressionistic style marked a departure from his earlier work. Schlöndorff’s other work included the film Die Fälschung (1981; Circle of Deceit), made on location in war-torn Beirut; a television production…

The Tin Drum, picaresque novel by Günter Grass, a purported autobiography of a dwarf who lives through the birth and death of Nazi Germany, published in 1959 as Die Blechtrommel. The work’s protagonist, Oskar Matzerath, narrates the novel from an asylum for the insane. He claims to have consciously

Irene Rosenfeld is an American business executive, who was CEO (2006–17) of processed-foods giant Kraft Foods Inc. and, after the company’s restructuring in 2012, of Mondelēz International. Under her leadership, Kraft, already the largest food-products company in the United States, expanded its

Ross Bleckner is an American painter known for large abstract works that show the influence of Abstract Expressionism and Op art. Bleckner earned a master of fine arts degree from the California Institute of the Arts in 1973. His Growing Grass (1987), an oil-on-linen painting measuring 108 by 72

Lake Bled, glacial lake in the extreme northwestern region of Slovenia. Situated 1,558 feet (475 metres) above sea level at the foot of the Julian Alps northwest of Ljubljana, it is a summer health and holiday resort and a winter sports centre with good road and rail connections and summer air

Attila: Attacks on the Eastern Empire: …Attila and his elder brother Bleda inherited seems to have stretched from the Alps and the Baltic in the west to somewhere near the Caspian Sea in the east. Their first known action on becoming joint rulers was the negotiation of a peace treaty with the Eastern Roman Empire, which…

Lake Bled, glacial lake in the extreme northwestern region of Slovenia. Situated 1,558 feet (475 metres) above sea level at the foot of the Julian Alps northwest of Ljubljana, it is a summer health and holiday resort and a winter sports centre with good road and rail connections and summer air

Tom Brady: New England Patriots: …season, the Patriots’ starting quarterback, Drew Bledsoe, was injured, and Brady was chosen to fill the position. His play was not spectacular, but he was consistent, making simple plays and minimizing mistakes. With Brady as their starting quarterback, the Patriots went on to post an 11–3 record in the regular…

The Cosby Show: (Malcolm-Jamal Warner), preteen Vanessa (Tempestt Bledsoe), and young Rudy (Keshia Knight Pulliam). Grandparents Anna and Russell Huxtable (Clarice Taylor and Earle Hyman) frequently appeared, and the irresistible Olivia (Raven-Symoné, who later starred in the Disney Channel’s That’s So Raven, 2003–07) was eventually introduced as Cliff and Clair’s five-year-old step-grandchild.

turbine: Steam extraction: In bleeder turbines no effort is made to control the pressure of the extracted steam, which varies in almost direct proportion to the load carried by the turbine. Extraction also reduces the steam flow to the condenser, allowing the turbine exhaust area to be reduced. Controlled-extraction…

Bloodletting is the removal of blood from a person with the intent, by means of that process, to manage diseases and health conditions. Bloodletting was believed to help rid the body of impure fluids, and it was practiced from antiquity until the 19th century, when modern medicine emerged, as a way

bleeding and blood clotting, escape of blood from blood vessels into surrounding tissue and the process of coagulation through the action of platelets. The evolution of high-pressure blood circulation in vertebrates has brought with it the risk of bleeding after injury to tissues. Mechanisms to

waxplant: Unrelated plants: The wax begonia (see begonia) is a waxy-leaved bedding and pot plant. The wax-leaved privet, or white wax tree, is a landscape plant used in warm climates. The wax tree (Toxicodendron succedaneum) is a Japanese tree grown for its waxy berries and stem juices that yield…

baking: Bacteria: …prodigiosus, causative agent of “bleeding bread.” Neither ropy bread nor bleeding bread is particularly toxic. Enzymes secreted by B. mesentericus change the starch inside the loaf into a gummy substance stretching into strands when a piece of the bread is pulled apart. In addition to ropiness, the spoiled bread…

Thomas Pynchon: Bleeding Edge (2013) chronicles the efforts of a fraud investigator to untangle the nefarious doings of a New York computer-security firm in the year leading up to the September 11 attacks of 2001, all the while attempting to parent her children in the wake of…

bleeding heart, any of several species of Dicentra or the species Lamprocapnos spectabilis (formerly Dicentra spectabilis), all of which are members of the poppy family (Papaveraceae). Bleeding hearts are commonly grown as shade-garden ornamentals and are native to the temperate woodlands of

Papaveraceae: Physical description: …its own family, the subfamily Fumarioideae characteristically features bilaterally symmetrical flowers with two dissimilar pairs of petals. The leaves are often compound or finely divided. Many species have rhizomes or tubers.

glory-bower: Bleeding heart glory-bower (C. thomsonae), a woody vine from Africa, has sprays of blooms, resembling bleeding heart, amid glossy, dark-green, oval leaves. Scarlet glory-bower (C. splendens), also an African vine, has clusters of red-orange flowers among heart-shaped leaves. Common in tropical gardens is C. speciosum,…

Bleeding Kansas, (1854–59), small civil war in the United States, fought between proslavery and antislavery advocates for control of the new territory of Kansas under the doctrine of popular sovereignty. Sponsors of the Kansas-Nebraska Act (May 30, 1854) expected its provisions for territorial

Sara Paretsky: Bleeding Kansas (2008) was another departure from Warshawski and her Chicago milieu; it concerned the disputes and recriminations between two politically and religiously opposed families in contemporary rural Kansas.

Wilhelm Bleek was a comparative linguist known for his pioneer studies of South African languages as the “Father of Bantu Philology.” In his doctoral dissertation at the University of Bonn (1851), Bleek attempted to prove a North African origin of the Khoe language (he referred to the language as

Wilhelm Bleek was a comparative linguist known for his pioneer studies of South African languages as the “Father of Bantu Philology.” In his doctoral dissertation at the University of Bonn (1851), Bleek attempted to prove a North African origin of the Khoe language (he referred to the language as

Carl Blegen was an archaeologist who found striking evidence to substantiate and date the sack of Troy described in Homer’s Iliad. He also discovered, in 1939, clay tablets inscribed with one of the earliest known European scripts and dating from about 1250 bce. While associated with the American

Carl Blegen was an archaeologist who found striking evidence to substantiate and date the sack of Troy described in Homer’s Iliad. He also discovered, in 1939, clay tablets inscribed with one of the earliest known European scripts and dating from about 1250 bce. While associated with the American

Welsh law: …the Book of Iorwerth, the Book of Blegywryd, and the Book of Cyfnerth. The oldest manuscripts are those of the Book of Iorwerth, though the Book of Cyfnerth—which is attributed to Morgenau and his son Cyfnerth, members of the most famous family of lawyers in Gwynedd—reflects the earliest stage of…

Ethelda Bleibtrey was an American swimmer who overcame polio to win three gold medals at the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp. Did You Know? Ethelda Bleibtrey was arrested for swimming in the Central Park reservoir while advocating for swimming lessons for children and for lakes in parks to be used

Blekinge, län (county) and landskap (province), southern Sweden, between the provinces of Småland and Skåne and the Baltic Sea. It is the second smallest Swedish province, after Öland. The coast is much indented, and the low, undulating interior slopes up toward the Småland Plateau, where it ends

ancient Rome: Diocletian of ancient Rome: …incited uprisings by both the Blemmyes nomads in southern Egypt and the Saracens of the Syrian desert and made use of anti-Roman propaganda by the Manichaeans and Jews. Diocletian succeeded in putting down the revolt in Egypt and fortified the south against the Blemmyes. But in 297, Narses, the heir…

English language: Back-formations, blends, and other types of word-formation: Blends fall into two groups: (1) coalescences, such as bash from bang and smash; and (2) telescoped forms, called portmanteau words, such as motorcade from motor cavalcade. In the first group are the words clash, from clack and crash, and geep, offspring of goat and…

acoustics: Acoustic criteria: “Blend” refers to the mixing of sounds from all the performers and their uniform distribution to the listeners. To achieve proper blend it is often necessary to place a collection of reflectors on the stage that distribute the sound randomly to all points in the…

portmanteau word, a word that results from blending two or more words, or parts of words, such that the portmanteau word expresses some combination of the meaning of its parts. Examples in English include chortle (from chuckle and snort), smog (from smoke and fog), brunch (from breakfast and

sphalerite, zinc sulfide (ZnS), the chief ore mineral of zinc. It is found associated with galena in most important lead-zinc deposits. The name sphalerite is derived from a Greek word meaning “treacherous,” an allusion to the ease with which the dark-coloured, opaque varieties are mistaken for

Drew Barrymore: Later career: …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 Collette in the sentimental drama Miss You Already (2015), about two best friends coping with illness and the complications of family life. In…

sedimentary rock: Types: …commonly, however, the layers are blended. This variety of bedding results from a check in the velocity of the transporting agent, and thus coarse-textured sediment (gravel, for example) is deposited first, followed upward by pebbles, granules, sand, silt, and clay. It is commonly associated with submarine density currents.

blended whiskey, mixture of straight whiskey (that distilled from mash of a single grain) and mixed-grain whiskey or neutral spirits. Blended straight whiskey is a mixture of straight whiskeys only. Whiskeys are blended in order to achieve a uniform product with a balanced character and, generally,

dairy product: Yogurt: For blended (Swiss- or French-style) yogurt, the milk is allowed to incubate in large heated tanks. After coagulation occurs, the mixture is cooled, fruit or other flavours are added, and the product is placed in containers and immediately made ready for sale.

cement: Blending: A first approximation of the chemical composition required for a particular cement is obtained by selective quarrying and control of the raw material fed to the crushing and grinding plant. Finer control is obtained by drawing material from two or more batches containing raw…

petroleum refining: Gasoline blending: One of the most critical economic issues for a petroleum refiner is selecting the optimal combination of components to produce final gasoline products. Gasoline blending is much more complicated than a simple mixing of components. First, a typical refinery may have as many as…

distilled spirit: Blending: Blending is another method of obtaining a balanced product with precise flavour characteristics. Blended products are composed of one or more highly flavoured components, a high-proof component with a low congener content, a colour adjustment ingredient, and perhaps an additional flavouring material. An example is…

blending, in yarn production, process of combining fibres of different origins, length, thickness, or colour to make yarn. Blending is accomplished before spinning and is performed to impart such desirable characteristics as strength or durability, to reduce cost by combining expensive fibres with

evolution: The Darwinian aftermath: Contemporary theories of “blending inheritance” proposed that offspring merely struck an average between the characteristics of their parents. But as Darwin became aware, blending inheritance (including his own theory of “pangenesis,” in which each organ and tissue of an organism throws off tiny contributions of itself that are…

Auto-da-Fé, novel by Elias Canetti, published in 1935 in German as Die Blendung (“The Deception”). It was also published in English as The Tower of Babel. Originally planned as the first in a series of eight novels examining mad visionaries, the book deals with the dangers inherent in believing