A kiln is a thermally insulated chamber, a type of oven, that produces temperatures sufficient to complete some process, such as hardening, drying, or chemical changes. Kilns have been used for millennia to turn objects made from clay into pottery and bricks. Various industries use rotary kilns for pyroprocessing—to calcinate ores, to calcinate limestone to lime for cement, to transform many other materials; the word "kiln" was pronounced "kil" with the "n" silent, as is referenced in Webster's Dictionary of 1828. Phonetically, the “ln” in “kiln” is categorized as a digraph: a combination of two letters that make only one sound, such as the “mn” in ”hymn.” From English Words as Spoken and Written for Upper Grades by James A. Bowen 1900: “The digraph ln, n silent, occurs in kiln. A fall down the kiln can kill you.” Bowen was pointing out the humorous fact. Despite its origins, the modern mispronunciation of this word, where the "n" is pronounced, has become more accepted than the original pronunciation.

This is most due to a phenomenon known as spelling pronunciation, where the pronunciation of a word is derived from its spelling and differs from its actual pronunciation. This is common in words with silent letters. Kiln descends from the Old English cylene, borrowed from the Latin culīna'kitchen, cooking-stove, burning-place. Pit fired pottery was produced for thousands of years before the earliest known kiln, which dates to around 6000 BC, was found at the Yarim Tepe site in modern Iraq. Neolithic kilns were able to produce temperatures greater than 900 °C. Uses include: Annealing and deforming glass, or fusing metallic oxide paints to the surface of glass Heat treatment for metallic workpieces Ceramics Brickworks Melting metal for casting Calcination of ore in a rotary kiln prior to smelting Pyrolysis of chemical materials Heating limestone with clay in the manufacture of Portland cement, the Cement kiln Heating limestone to make quicklime or calcium oxide, the Lime kiln Heating gypsum to make plaster of Paris For cremation Drying of tobacco leaves Drying malted barley for brewing and other fermentations Drying hops for brewing Drying corn before grinding or storage, sometimes called a corn kiln, corn drying kiln.

Drying green lumber so it can be used Drying wood for use as firewood Heating wood to the point of pyrolysis to produce charcoal Kilns are an essential part of the manufacture of all ceramics. Ceramics require high temperatures so chemical and physical reactions will occur to permanently alter the unfired body. In the case of pottery, clay materials are shaped and fired in a kiln; the final characteristics are determined by the composition and preparation of the clay body and the temperature at which it is fired. After a first firing, glazes may be used and the ware is fired a second time to fuse the glaze into the body. A third firing at a lower temperature may be required to fix overglaze decoration. Modern kilns have sophisticated electronic control systems, although pyrometric devices are also used. Clay consists of fine-grained particles that are weak and porous. Clay is combined with other minerals to create a workable clay body; the firing process includes sintering. This heats the clay until the particles melt and flow together, creating a strong, single mass, composed of a glassy phase interspersed with pores and crystalline material.

Through firing, the pores are reduced in size. This crystalline material predominantly consists of aluminium oxides. In the broadest terms, there are two types of kilns: intermittent and continuous, both being an insulated box with a controlled inner temperature and atmosphere. A continuous kiln, sometimes called a tunnel kiln, is long with only the central portion directly heated. From the cool entrance, ware is moved through the kiln, its temperature is increased as it approaches the central, hottest part of the kiln; as it continues through the kiln, the temperature is reduced until the ware exits the kiln nearly at room temperature. A continuous kiln is energy-efficient, because heat given off during cooling is recycled to pre-heat the incoming ware. In some designs, the ware is left in one place. Kilns in this type include: Hoffmann kiln Bull’s Trench kiln Habla kiln Roller kiln: A special type of kiln, common in tableware and tile manufacture, is the roller-hearth kiln, in which wares placed on bats are carried through the kiln on rollers.

In the intermittent kiln, the ware is placed inside the kiln, the kiln is closed, the internal temperature is increased according to a schedule. After the firing is completed, both the kiln and the ware are cooled; the ware is removed, the kiln is cleaned and the next cycle begins. Kilns in this type include: Clamp kiln Skove kiln Scotch kiln Down-Draft kiln Shuttle Kilns: this is a car-bottom kiln with a door on one or both ends. Burners are positioned bottom on each side, creating a turbulent circular air flow; this type of kiln is a multi-car design and is used for processing whitewares, technical ceramics and refractories in batches. Depending upon the size of ware, shuttle kilns may be equipped with car-moving devices to transfer fired and unfired ware in and out of the kiln. Shuttle kilns can be either downdraft. A Shuttle Kiln derives its name from the fact that kiln cars can enter a shuttle kiln from either end of the kiln, whereas a tunnel kiln has flow in only one direction. Kiln technology is old.

Kilns developed from a simple earthen trench filled with pots and fuel pit fir

Making Trouble is the debut album by the American hip-hop group the Ghetto Boys. The group consisted of Bushwick Bill, DJ Ready Red, Sire Jukebox and Prince Johnny C. Following the release of Making Trouble, Rap-A-Lot Records dropped Sire Jukebox and Johnny C from the group, added Scarface and Willie D. Making Trouble received little attention, negative reviews, is forgotten in the midst of the group's successful and controversial albums; the group used a style of rap similar to Run-DMC at this time as opposed to the more hardcore rap style that Scarface and Willie-D provided in albums. Insane Clown Posse's Violent J, influenced by the Geto Boys, regards the song "Assassins" as the first horrorcore song recorded, it was covered by Insane Clown Posse on their 1999 album The Amazing Jeckel Brothers

The 20th Infantry Division was a short-lived formation of the Hellenic Army. It was founded on 24 January 1941, when Greece was embroiled in the Greco-Italian War; the division was formed in late February, near Florina, at a time when most available manpower and equipment were employed in the Greco-Albanian War. According to its first commander, Major General Karassos, it was "Formed in haste and in offhand manner...from two infantry regiments, without artillery, with officers drawn from the reserves, personnel of every possible origin and type with a large proportion of or untrained men, with inferior armament, with many deficiencies in communications equipment, arms and above all pack animals", it was from the outset of "insufficient cohesion, reduced numerical strength and morale, reduced fighting ability". It was assigned to the Central Macedonia Army Section, forming part of the Greek–British "W Force", under the British Lt. General Henry Maitland Wilson, assigned to hold the Aliakmon River–Mount Vermion line against the expected German invasion of Greece.

The division defeated and ceased to exist as a combat formation at the Battle of Kleisoura Pass on 13–14 April. As of early April 1941, before the German attack: 35th Infantry Regiment 80th Infantry Regiment Dodecanese Regiment X Frontier Sector 20th Mountain Artillery Regiment Major General Christos Karassos Colonel Miltiadis Papakonstantinou Το τέλος μιας εποποιΐας, Απρίλιος 1941. Athens: Hellenic Army General Staff / Army History Directorate. 1959. Koliopoulos, Ioannis S.. "Η στρατιωτική και πολιτική κρίση στην Ελλάδα τον Απρίλιο του 1941". Μνήμων. 6: 53–74