In 1630 the young couple moved to
America with Anne’s parents and other
Puritans who were setting up the Massachusetts
Bay Colony.
Simon was often away from home, leaving
Anne on her own with their children.
During this time, she began
writing about her family and religion.
She showed her poetry only to her family.
However, her sister’s husband had
her poems published in England in
1650 as a book called The Tenth Muse. It
was the first book of poems written by
an American.
The Bradstreets moved to Andover,
Massachusetts. Anne Bradstreet died
there of tuberculosis in 1672. Her works
were praised by Puritans in her own
time, and they came to be appreciated
once more in the 20th century.
#More to explore
Massachusetts Bay Colony • Puritans
Brachiosaurus
is the largest
and heaviest
land animal
for which scientists
have a
complete set of
fossil bones.
Anne Bradstreet’s poems were
published under the title The
Tenth Muse.
120 Bradstreet, Anne BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
Braille
Braille is a system that allows blind
people to read and write. It is named
after its French inventor, Louis Braille.
Invention
Louis Braille was born near Paris,
France, on January 4, 1809. He became
blind at the age of 3. At that time blind
people read by touching letters engraved
in wood, cut in cardboard, or cast in
lead. It was a difficult and slow method.
There was no method for writing. As a
schoolboy Braille developed a system of
reading and writing using six dots
punched into cardboard.
Braille published his system in 1829.
By that time he was teaching at the
School for Blind Youth in Paris. The
students there quickly accepted it, but
the teachers did not. It was not until
1854, two years after Braille’s death,
that the school adopted the system.
From there it slowly spread throughout
the world.
The Braille System
Braille is a code of 63 dot patterns called
characters. Each character represents a
letter, combination of letters, common
word, or grammar sign. They are read by
touching them lightly. When preceded
by a number sign (#), the first 10 letters
of the alphabet are read as numbers.
Writing Braille by hand is accomplished
with tools called a slate and stylus. The
slate consists of two metal plates. A sheet
of paper is inserted between the slate’s
two plates. The stylus is a pen-shaped
device used to press the paper against
pits in the lower plate to form raised
dots. A person using Braille writes from
right to left; when the sheet is turned
over, the dots face upward and are read
from left to right. Braille is also produced
by special machines.
Brain
In animals, including humans, the brain
is the control center for the body. As a
part of the nervous system, the brain
receives and makes sense of signals sent
from nerve cells in the body. The brain
also sends information to the body’s
muscles and organs.
The brains of humans and other vertebrates
(animals with a backbone) are
large masses of nerve cells protected by a
skull. Vertebrates’ brains are divided into
several sections. Each section has its own
functions. The brains of invertebrates
(animals without a backbone) are much
simpler.
People read Braille by moving their fingers
over a series of raised dots on a page.
BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Brain 121
The Human Brain
The human brain is a very powerful
organ. It controls the working of all parts
of the body. It also controls a person’s
thoughts and feelings. The brain helps
the body to stay healthy and to respond
in the right way to its environment.
The brain of an average adult weighs
about 3 pounds (1.4 kilograms). It looks
something like a mushroom. The “cap”
of the mushroom is the cerebrum. It is
the very top of the brain and its largest
part. Its surface has many cracks and
folds. The cerebrum is the “thinking”
part of the brain.
The “stem” of the mushroom is the
brain stem, which is attached to the
spinal cord. The brain stem controls the
things that happen automatically in the
body. These include the heartbeat,
breathing, pleasure, pain, and hunger.
At the back of the head, between the
brain stem and the cerebrum, is the cerebellum.
It controls balance, posture,
and muscles. It also helps in speech.
Brains of Other Animals
The brains of vertebrates other than
humans are divided into three main
sections: hindbrain, midbrain, and forebrain.
In fish and amphibians, the midbrain
is the main center of the brain.
The midbrain is less important in mammals,
birds, and reptiles. These animals
have larger forebrains.
The brains of insects and other
invertebrates are groups of nerve cells.
They are located at the ends of nerve
cords that run through the animal’s
body. This type of brain allows the
animal to control its body and to sense
its environment. Very simple animals
have networks of nerves but no brain.
#More to explore
Nervous System
Most animals have some sort of brain. They
vary greatly in size and shape.
The left side of
the brain controls
the right
side of the
body, and the
right side of
the brain controls
the left
side of the
body.
122 Brain BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
Brasilia
Population
(2007
estimate), city,
2,348,600;
urban area,
3,507,662
