centimeters) in the little gull to about 65
inches (165 centimeters) in the great
black-backed gull. A gull’s bill is strong
and slightly hooked. Its webbed feet
help it swim.
A gull’s favorite food is fish. Gulls can
land on the water to feed or rest. These
birds also eat a great variety of other
foods, including shellfish, insects,
worms, mice, birds’ eggs, dead and rotting
animals, and even garbage.
#More to explore
Bird
Gutenberg,
Johannes
In the 1400s Johannes Gutenberg of
Germany invented a new method of
printing. It used movable type—metal
letters that could be arranged and rearranged
to form words. It also used a
machine called a press. His method was
so good that very few improvements
were made to it for 400 years afterward.
Gutenberg was born in Mainz, Germany,
in the late 1300s. Little is known
about his life. As a young man he
learned how to work with metal.
In about 1430 Gutenberg moved to
Strassburg (now Strasbourg, France).
There he tried out new printing methods.
At that time most books were copied
by hand. That was a slow process.
He wanted to find a way to copy books
more quickly using a machine.
The solution that Gutenberg found was
movable type. Gutenberg made metal
molds of each letter. He poured liquid
metal into the molds. When the liquid
hardened it formed pieces of type. He
removed the pieces from the molds. He
then then arranged the pieces of type to
form words, sentences, and paragraphs.
Gutenberg also developed a printing
press to hold the type in place and press
paper against it.
By 1450 Gutenberg had returned to
Mainz. The most famous book he
printed there was a Bible. It is sometimes
called the Gutenberg Bible. He
died in Mainz in 1468.
#More to explore
Printing
After the Bible,
Gutenberg’s
second most
famous book
was a Psalter,
or a collection
of sacred
songs.
Scholars call Johannes Gutenberg’s printed
Bible the 42-line Bible because each page
has 42 lines of printing. It was completed
by 1455.
172 Gutenberg, Johannes BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
Guyana
The only English-speaking country in
South America is Guyana. Its name,
meaning “Land ofWaters,” refers to its
many rivers. The capital is Georgetown.
Geography
Guyana borders Venezuela, Brazil, and
Suriname. The Atlantic Ocean lies to
the northeast. A narrow, fertile plain
extends along the coast. Forested highlands
cover most of the land. Guyana’s
main rivers flow from the south into the
Atlantic. Guyana is close to the equator
and has a rainy, warm climate.
Plants and Animals
Tropical trees fill the huge rain forests of
Guyana. Along the coast are mangrove
trees and saltwater grasses. The southwest
is grassland dotted with palm trees.
Tapirs, jaguars, monkeys, sloths, anteaters,
and macaws live in the rain forests.
Giant anacondas, the largest snakes in
the world, also live in Guyana.
People
East Indians, or the Indo-Guyanese,
make up about half of the population.
Blacks, or the Afro-Guyanese, form the
next largest group. There are smaller
groups of American Indians,
Portuguese, and Chinese. Guyana’s
main language is English. Christianity
and Hinduism are the most common
religions. Most people live in villages
near the coast.
Economy
Guyana is a poor country with an
economy based on farming and mining.
Major crops include rice, sugarcane,
coconuts, cassava, bananas, and pineapples.
Mines provide bauxite (used to
make aluminum), gold, and diamonds.
Shrimp and timber are other important
products.
History
Arawak and Carib Indians originally
lived in the Guyana region. The Dutch
set up sugarcane plantations in the
1600s. The British later bought the
land. They formed the colony of British
Guiana in 1831. When the colony’s
African slaves were freed, the British
brought in workers from India.
Guyana gained independence in 1966.
Since then Guyana has argued with Venezuela
and Suriname over its borders.
..More to explore
Georgetown
Facts About
GUYANA
Population
(2008 estimate)
736,000
Area
83,044 sq mi
(215,083 sq km)
Capital
Georgetown
Form of
government
Republic
Major cities
Georgetown, Linden,
New
Amsterdam,
Corriverton
BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Guyana 173
Gymnastics
The sport of gymnastics tests an athlete’s
strength, grace, and body control.
Gymnasts perform such acrobatic feats as
somersaults, backflips, handstands, and
cartwheels. Almost all gymnastic events
are performed on special equipment, such
as rings or bars. This equipment is called
apparatus.
Gymnastics is a very popular sport at the
Summer Olympic Games. Three types of
gymnastic events are held at the Olympics.
They are called artistic gymnastics,
rhythmic gymnastics, and trampoline.
Artistic Gymnastics
Artistic gymnastics consists of six men’s
events and four women’s events. The
men’s events are floor exercise, pommel
horse, rings, vault, parallel bars, and
horizontal bar. The women’s events are
floor exercise, vault, uneven bars, and
balance beam.
Men’s Events
The floor exercise is performed on a
square, padded mat. The gymnast does
acrobatic feats while moving around the
mat. The feats include tumbling, leaps,
and handstands.
The pommel horse is an apparatus that
looks something like a horse’s midsection.
