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Bombay
City (metro. area pop., 1995: 9,926,000), capital of Maharashtra state, W India. Located partly on Bombay Island, it is flanked by Bombay Harbor and the Arabian Sea. It is India's principal port on that sea and one of the largest and most densely populated cities in the world. The town was acquired by the Portuguese in 1534. It was ceded to the English as part of the dowry of Catherine of Braganza, who married Charles II in 1661. Granted to the British E. India Co. in 1668, it became the company's headquarters in 1672, and in 1708 it was made the center of British authority in India. After the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, Bombay grew to be the largest distributing center in India. It remains India's economic hub and chief financial and commercial center, its cultural and education center, and headquarters of its film industry.


Pombal
Portuguese reformer. After serving as ambassador to England and Vienna, he became chief minister to King Joseph and came to dominate Portuguese politics (1750-77). He encouraged industry and commerce and stimulated trade with Brazil. After the 1755 earthquake that devastated Lisbon, he organized aid and reconstruction efforts. He restricted the power of the nobility, had the Jesuits imprisoned or deported to Rome (1759), reorganized Portugal's army, and reformed the university educational system. After Joseph's death (1777), Pombal's power disappeared; under Queen Maria I, he was accused of abuse of power and banished from Lisbon to his estates.


wombat
Either of two species (family Phascolomyidae, or Vombatidae) of nocturnal Australian marsupials that are heavily built, 28-47 in. (70-120 cm) long, and tailless. The single newborn develops in the mother's pouch for about five months. Wombats eat grasses, tree bark, and shrub roots. They make a grassy nest at the end of a long burrow. The common wombat (Phascolomis, or Vombatus, ursinus) of SE Australia and Tasmania, considered a pest, has coarse dark hair and short ears. The rare Queensland hairy-nosed wombat (Lasiorhinus barnardi) has fine fur and longer ears; protected by law, the population lives principally in a national park.


zombie
In vodun, a dead person who is revived after burial and compelled to do the bidding of the reviver, incl. criminal acts and heavy manual labor. It is believed that actual zombies are living persons under the influence of powerful drugs, incl. burundanga (a drug reportedly used by Colombian criminals) and drugs derived from poisonous toads and puffer fish.


coma
Complete lack of consciousness, with loss of reaction to stimulus and of spontaneous nervous activity, usually associated with cerebral injury of metabolic or physical origin. Simple concussions cause short losses of consciousness. Coma from lack of oxygen may last several weeks and is often fatal. Coma caused by stroke can be sudden, while that caused by metabolic ...

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