Word: spreading
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Steadily, malignantly, the ugly stain of war spread over the leaden South Atlantic last week. Sophisticated missiles streaked across the waves, while less visible but no less deadly computer-assisted torpedoes coursed through the icy waters. Before the week was over, each side had lost a proud warship to these lethal new engines of destruction. For the first time, the military forces of Britain and Argentina had mauled each other on the high seas in the bizarre battle for possession of the remote, inhospitable Falkland Islands. Then, as if stunned by the enormity of their actions, the adversaries momentarily drew...
...fire quickly spread through the Sheffield's electrical wiring and its paintwork. The explosion also knocked out the ship's lighting and destroyed the principal water main used for onboard fire fighting. Said Salt: "We couldn't get below decks near the seat of the damage. We knew there were men down there, but we didn't know how many." After hours of unsuccessful fire fighting, Salt made the agonizing decision to abandon ship. Later he returned to his command by helicopter to view the damage. The Sheffield had refused to sink, but it remained...
...developed over a ten-year period by Toyota Motor Co., requires suppliers to deliver only enough components to build exactly the number of cars scheduled for production during a given day or week. The autos are then quickly shipped out to the market. The just-in-time system has spread throughout Japanese industry. Factories of YKK, the world's largest zipper manufacturer, have no warehouses at all. Goods are moved immediately from the production line to distributors...
...practical matter, neither the auto industry nor business in general is ever likely to do away with inventories entirely. Indeed, some inventory stockpiles are necessary to prevent unexpected supply interruptions from turning into crippling production bottlenecks that can spread havoc throughout the economy. But computers now permit companies to maintain leaner inventories, and this more precise business management should eventually reduce costly overhead charges and increase profits. -By Christopher Byron...
...debated for at least a decade. Not only are school textbooks being purged, but scholarly committees are re-examining even the Bible to determine whether the Son of Man, for example, should be renamed the Child of God. This may sound like faddism, but reformers insist that the wide spread use of terms like policeman and chairman helps decide who gets the jobs (and the power), that what people call things sometimes governs what they think about them. Traditionalists retort that language cannot and should not be subjected to such moral judgments...