A gall (also known as a gall-nut or nut-gall) is a growth caused on plants of various kinds by parasitic mites (Phytoptidae). The galls of commerce are produced by a species of Cynips (Gall-fly) in the tender shoots of the Quercus infectoria, a species of oak abundant in Asia Minor, Syria, Iraq, etc. They are spherical and tubercular, and vary in magnitude from the size of a pea to that of a hazel-nut. White, green, and blue varieties are recognized, the latter kinds being the best. They are inodorous, but are strongly astringent from the tannin and gallic acid which they contain, and which are their chief products. Gall-nuts were extensively used in dyeing and in the manufacture of ink, and they were also frequently used in medicine. They were chiefly imported from Aleppo, Tripoli, and Smyrna. The Chinese galls, or woo-pei-tsze, differ from the foregoing in that they are really an unusually massive kind of crust or cocoon, such as the aphides form on the surface of a plant; the tissues of the plant are not affected. After the opening of the Japanese ports these were imported in considerable quantities to Britain. Research Gall
In Australian mythology, Woo was a strange man like creature with a single arm formed from two arms and a single leg formed from two legs. He was an expert marksman and adept at balance. Research Woo
Don't Go Breaking My Heart is a comedy starring Jenny Seagrove, Anthony Edwards, Charles Dance and Ben Reynolds in a story about a desperate dentist trying to woo a recently widowed woman. Don't Go Breaking My Heart was directed by Will Patterson in 1999. Research Don't Go Breaking My Heart
Hard Target is an action thriller starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, Yancy Butler, Chuck Pfarrer and Robert Apisa in a story about a woman who hires a drifter to find her missing vagrant father, only for the pair of them to get more than they bargained for when it becomes clear her father has been murdered. Hard Target was directed by John Woo in 1993. Research Hard Target
Mission Impossible 2 is an action adventure starring Tom Cruise, Dougray Scott, Thandie Newton, Ving Rhames, Richard Roxburgh, John Polson and Brendan Gleeson in a story about a group of spies tracking a former colleague who has stolen a deadly virus. Mission Impossible 2 was directed by John Woo in 1999. Research Mission Impossible 2
The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas is a comedy starring Mark Addy, Stephen Baldwin, Kristen Johnston and Jane Krakowski in a story about a prehistoric quarryman trying to woo his girl friend and impress her snobbish parents. The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas was directed by Brian Levant in 2000. Research The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas
The Killer is an action thriller starring Chow Yun-Fat, Danny Lee, Sally Yeh, Kong Chu and Kenneth Tsang in a story about a gunman hired to kill a gangster, and in the process accidentally blinds a girl singer, only to accept a job to pay for an operation to restore her sight. The Killer was directed by John Woo in 1989. Research The Killer
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Gall
