Cool Reference Tools
Introduction
Some useful reference resources on the web that you might not have known existed.
Internet Links
AllMusic
http://www.allmusic.com/
This extensive database of well over half a million albums can be searched by artist name, album name, song name, style, or label, providing you with many ways to find more music to like - or learn about the music you already like. Popular artist webpages come complete with biographies, and selected songs are reviewed in greater detail Use the advanced search to really narrow things down.
Acronym Finder
http://www.acronymfinder.com/
Acronym Finder contains more than 4 million acronyms and abbreviations.
http://aa.usno.navy.mil/faq
Find out times for sunrise, sunset, moon phases, eclipses, and more.
- Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774 to Present
http://bioguide.congress.gov/ - Biographical information for all individuals who have served in the United States Congress and the Continental Congress. Biographies are also included for persons who have served as delegates to Congress from the territories of the United States. Using the drop-down lists, you can create useful lists, for example, a list of all U.S. Presidents who served in the Congress.
http://www.fearofphysics.com/
An interactive, visual, and non-technical site that shows some laws of physics in action
The 50 States of the United States
http://www.50states.com/
This site lists the fifty states and information on their locations (latitude and longitude), birds, colleges and universities, constitutions, flowers, genealogical resources, geological formations, geographical features, mottos, national forests and parks, newspapers, nicknames, non profit organizations, populations, state and federal representatives, songs, and the dates of entry into the union. All facts are linked to over 1529 governmental or authoritative web pages.
Google Translate
http://translate.google.com/
Google's translation tool ranks among the best available according to surveys and handles a number of languages. Be aware that no translation tool will be totally accurate.
Lyrics.com
http://www.lyrics.com/search.php
You can search by lyric keyword or by artist. You can also browse by artist.
http://www.mapquest.com/
What's the best route from Los Angeles to Albuquerque? This free, interactive street atlas of the continental United States provides detailed route information. You may also obtain information on the city you are going to visit; the weather, where to eat, where to stay and what to do.
http://www.nobel.se/
This is the official web site of the Nobel Foundation. There is a database of prizes and laureates that can be searched by prize category, or by name, nationality, keyword, or birth or death year.
Representative Poetry Online
http://rpo.library.utoronto.ca/display/
Explore poets, poems, and all things related to poetry.
United States Census Bureau
http://www.census.gov/
Find data on population, housing, communities, demographics and the latest economic indicators.
Weather Forecasts
http://www.weather.com/
From the Weather Channel, get forecasts by city, pollen counts, storm updates and more.
WebMD
http://www.webmd.com/
This site provides credible information, supportive communities, and in-depth reference material about health subjects. Good source for original and timely health information as well as material from well known content providers.
- World Flag Database
http://www.flags.net/fullindex.htm - Accurate flags of the countries of the world, including national flags, ensigns, military flags and head-of-state flags.
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ZIP Code Lookup
http://zip4.usps.com/zip4/welcome.jsp
US ZIP Code information from the US Postal Service. Look up ZIP Codes™ by street address, city, and state. Or, find all ZIP Codes™ within a city and state. You can also enter a street address and ZIP Code™ to get a standardized version of the address. Or, get a list of all the cities in a ZIP Code™.
