ventriloquism Art of “throwing” one’s voice in such a way that the sound seems to come from a source other than the speaker. A dummy or doll is commonly used to assist in the deception, with the ventriloquist moving the dummy’s mouth while speaking through closed lips. Ventrilo¬ quists date from ancient times and include Eurycles of Athens. Such peoples as the Maoris, Zulus, and Eskimos are adept ventriloquists. The art was long a feature of puppet shows as well as of variety entertainment such as vaudeville. Notable ventriloquists included Edgar Bergen in the U.S. and Robert Lamouret in France.
Ventris Vven-trosV Michael (George Francis) (b. July 12, 1922, Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire, Eng.—d. Sept. 6, 1956, near Hatfield, Hertfordshire) British architect and cryptographer. At age 14 he heard a lec¬ ture on the continuing mystery of Linear B script (see Linear A and Linear B) and resolved to decipher it. In 1952 he determined that Linear B was Greek in its oldest known form, dating from c. 1400-1200 bc. He collaborated with John Chadwick (1920-98) on Documents in Mycenaean Greek (1956), published a few weeks after his own death in an auto accident.
Venturi, Robert (Charles) (b. June 25, 1925, Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.) U.S. architect. He studied at Princeton University and in Rome at the American Academy. After working with Eero Saarinen and Louis Kahn, he formed a partnership with his wife, Denise Scott Brown, and John Rauch. His philosophy, set forth in the influential books Complexity and Contra¬ diction in Architecture (1966) and Learning from Las Vegas (1972), called for openness to the multiple influences of historical tradition, ordinary commercial architecture, and Pop art. He had such a profound impact on younger architects who were beginning to find similar constraints and limitations in the Modernist architectural aesthetic, that he became the unofficial dean of the postmodern movement in architecture. His buildings often exhibit ironic humour. Important commissions include buildings for Princeton and the University of Pennsylvania, the Seattle Art Museum (1985-91), and the Sainsbury Wing of London’s National Gallery (1986— 91). He won the 1991 Pritzker Architecture Prize.
venturi \ven-'tur-e\ tube Short pipe with a constricted inner surface, used to measure fluid flows and as a pump. The effects of constricted channels on fluid flow were first investigated by Giovanni Battista Ven¬ turi (1746-1822), but it was Clemens Herschel (1842-1930) who devised the instrument in 1888. Fluid passing through the tube speeds up as it enters the tube’s narrow throat, and the pressure drops. There are count¬ less applications for the principle, including the carburetor, in which air flows through a venturi channel at whose throat gasoline vapour enters through an opening, drawn in by the low pressure. The pressure differ¬ ential can also be used to measure fluid flow (see flow meter).
venue In law, the place or county in which the events giving rise to a legal action take place and from which a jury may be drawn to try the case. Venue statutes usually specify that a trial must take place in the dis¬ trict that has jurisdiction over the matter. The grounds for a change of venue are also specified; they include fear of biased jurors due to media coverage, danger of violence, and racial prejudice.
Venus Roman goddess of cultivated fields and gardens, later associated with Aphrodite. She was the daughter of Jupiter and Dione, the wife of Vulcan, and the mother of Cupid. She was famous for her romantic intrigues and affairs with both gods and mortals, and she became asso-
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1996 I Venus ► Verdun
ciated with many aspects of femininity. The planet Venus, originally the star of Ishtar, came to be named for Venus through her association with Ishtar. She has been a favourite subject in art since ancient times, nota¬ bly in the statue known as Venus de Milo (c. 150 Bc)and in Sandro Bot¬ ticelli’s painting The Birth of Venus (c. 1485).
Venus Second major planet from the Sun. Named for the Roman god¬ dess, Venus is, after the Moon, the most brilliant natural object in the night sky. Venus comes closer to Earth—about 26 million mi (42 million km)—than any other planet. Its orbit around the Sun is nearly circular at a distance of about 67 million mi (108 million km) and takes 225 days; its rotation, in retrograde motion, takes even longer (243 days). As viewed from Earth, Venus undergoes phase changes similar to the Moon’s, going through one cycle of phases in 584 days. It is seen only near sunrise or sunset and has long been known as both the morning star and the evening star. Venus is a near twin of Earth in size and mass but is completely enveloped by thick clouds of concentrated sulfuric acid droplets. Its sur¬ face gravity is about 90% that of Earth. Its atmosphere is over 96% car¬ bon dioxide, with a pressure about 95 times Earth’s. The dense atmosphere and thick cloud layers trap incoming solar energy so effi¬ ciently that Venus has the highest surface temperature of any of the Sun’s planets, more than 860 °F (460 °C). Radar imaging indicates that the sur¬ face is dry and rocky, consisting mostly of gently rolling plains, broad depressions, and two large elevated regions analogous to continents on Earth; Venus also has impact craters, extensive lava fields, and massive shield volcanos. The interior is thought to be similar to that of Earth, with a metal core, a dense rocky mantle, and a less-dense rocky crust. Unlike Earth, Venus has no intrinsic magnetic field.
Venus's-flytrap or Venus flytrap Flowering perennial plant (Dio- naea muscipula ), sole member of its genus, in the sundew family, notable for its unusual habit of catching and eating insects and other small ani¬ mals (see carnivorous plant). Native to a small region of North and South Carolina, it is common in damp, mossy areas. Growing from a bulb¬ like rootstock, the plant bears hinged leaves with spiny teeth along their margins and a round cluster of small white flowers at the tip of an erect stem 8-12 in. (20-30 cm) tall. When an insect alights on a leaf and stimu¬ lates its sensitive hairs, the leaf snaps shut in about half a second. Leaf glands secrete a red sap that digests the insect’s body and gives the entire leaf a red, flowerlike appearance. After 10 days of digestion, the leaf reopens. The trap dies after capturing three or four insects.
Veracruz V.ver-o-'kriizV in full Veracruz Have City (pop., 2000: 411,582) and port on the Gulf of Mexico, east-central Veracruz state, east- central Mexico. Hernan Cortes founded La Villa Rica de la Veracruz as the first Mexican municipality in 1519, but the site was twice abandoned because of its unhealthy conditions; the present city dates from c. 1600. As the chief link between colonial Mexico and Spain, Veracruz prospered as a port and became the most “Spanish” of Mexican cities. It was attacked and captured repeatedly, first by privateers, then by French and U.S. forces (see Veracruz incident). It was renamed Veracruz Llave in honour of Gen. Ignacio de la Llave, governor of Veracruz state (1857-60). Both the 1857 and 1917 Mexican constitutions were proclaimed there. A revolt against Pres. Francisco Madero occurred there in 1912. It is one of Mexico’s chief seaports and a commercial centre for the Gulf coast.
Veracruz State (pop., 2000: 6,908,975), east-central Mexico. Bordering the Gulf of Mexico, it occupies 27,683 sq mi (71,699 sq km); its capital is Jalapa. The state’s low, sandy gulf area rises inland to a central plateau, where the volcano Citlaltepetl, Mexico’s highest peak, reaches 18,406 ft (5,610 m) high. The area was inhabited by pre-Columbian cultures, includ¬ ing the Olmec. The first European landing was made by Hernan Cortes in 1519. A state since 1824, Veracruz has more than one-fourth of Mexico’s petroleum reserves and several of the country’s refineries. Its economy is supplemented by agriculture, forestry products, and manufacturing.