Flint

flint, mineral

flint, variety of quartz that commonly occurs in rounded nodules and whose crystal structure is not visible to the naked eye. Flint is dark gray, smoky brown, or black in color; pale gray flint is called chert. When found in chalk or in other rocks containing lime, the nodules frequently have a white coating. Flint is translucent to opaque. It was early used by primitive peoples for making knives and spearheads because, although it is very hard, it is more readily shaped than stone; edges can be flaked off with comparative ease, especially those of freshly dug pieces, by pressure exerted with a piece of stone or bone. Since it is not chipped by pounding, as stone is, sharper edges are obtained. Use of flint tools defines the Stone Age cultures of the Pleistocene epoch. It was long used with steel for lighting fires and later for setting off the powder in flintlock firearms.

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Flint, city, United States

Flint, city (1990 pop. 140,761), seat of Genesee co., SE Mich., on the Flint River; inc. 1855. Since 1902 it has been an automobile-manufacturing centers. The General Motors Corp. had its beginnings (1908) in Flint, where many major automobile makers (Chrysler, Chevrolet, Nash, Champion, Buick) also started. A fur-trading post (1819) here was succeeded by a settlement in which lumbering and then cart and carriage making were the major industries. In 1937, sitdown strikes by the United Automobile Workers (UAW) in Flint's General Motors plants spurred widespread labor organization. During the 1980s and 90s massive layoffs at General Motors large-car factories devastated Flint's economy. Attempts at economic diversification and revitalization have had limited success, and in 2002 municipal financial problems led the state to take control of the city government. Local institutions include a branch of the Univ. of Michigan, an art institute, and the Michigan school for the deaf.

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Flint, town, Wales

Flint, Welsh Fflint, town (1981 pop. 11,398), Flintshire, NE Wales, on the Dee estuary. Flint has industries that produce rayon, nylon, paper, and clothing. The castle, built c.1300, was the scene of Richard II's submission to Bolingbroke in 1399.

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Flint, river, United States

Flint, river: see Chattahoochee, river.

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Flint

City (pop., 2000: 124,943), eastern Michigan, U.S. Originally the site of a trading post, the city was laid out in 1836 and became a fur-trading and agricultural centre. Abundant supplies of timber led to the development in 1886 of the Durant-Dort Carriage Co., and by 1900 it was producing more than 100,000 horse-drawn vehicles a year. Some of the companies became suppliers for what would become the General Motors Corp. By the 1950s, the city was second only to Detroit in U.S. automobile manufacturing. The closing of various GM plants in the 1980s and '90s left Flint with a shrinking economy. The GMI Engineering and Management Institute (1919) and the University of Michigan-Flint (1956) are located there.