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DEFINITION: (adjective) Massive, solid, and uniform SYNONYMS: massive, monumental. USAGE: During her travels, she studied the monolithic proportions of Stalinist architecture.

Count von Zeppelin was a German army officer and airship inventor and builder. In 1891, he retired from the Prussian army to devote himself to the building of motor-driven airships. He invented the first rigid airship in 1900, and in 1906, built one that reached speeds of 30 mi (48 km) per hour. Public opinion was so strongly in favor of the project that the second version of his airship was entirely financed through donations and a lottery. What disaster in 1937 put an end to airship use?

At the Battle of Poltava, the most famous battle of the Great Northern War, Peter I of Russia defeated Charles XII of Sweden and effectively ended Sweden's role as a major European power. When the battle began, Peter had 45,000 men to Charles' 20,000. Making matters worse for Sweden, Charles was wounded during a siege before the actual battle and had to turn over command to Field Marshal Carl Gustav Rehnskiöld. What did the Russians do with their Swedish prisoners?

A study found that marinating meats may help reduce unhealthy cholesterol compounds that form during cooking. Scientists found that marinades made with soy sauce or sugar inhibited the formation of cholesterol oxidation products, which are generated when cholesterol-rich foods are heated. Research suggests that excess consumption of these compounds could damage body cells and contribute to heart disease or cancer.

Oskar Schindler was a businessman famous for his efforts to save his Jewish workers from the Holocaust. He rescued up to 1,200 Jews by having them work in his munitions factory, where he purposely produced faulty ammunition in an attempt to disadvantage the German military during the war. Schindler was arrested twice on suspicions of conspiracy, but managed to avoid being jailed. What did he do when members of his workforce were misrouted to the notorious Auschwitz concentration camp?