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United States Department of Agriculture
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), founded May 15, 1862 under Lincoln and called the People's Department, is the cabinet agency overseeing farming, forestry, food safety, rural development, and nutrition programs.
United States Secretary of Agriculture
United States Secretary of Agriculture: head of the USDA, a Cabinet post created in 1889 when the 1862 department's Commissioner became Secretary; 33rd Secretary is Brooke L. Rollins (2025).
UNKO MUSEUM OKINAWA
UNKO MUSEUM OKINAWA (うんこミュージアム OKINAWA) is a poop-themed interactive museum opened September 19, 2025 on the 5th floor of AEON MALL Okinawa Rycom, the third permanent Unko Museum venue and Japan's southernmost, run by T museum and KAYAC.
Unleavened bread
Unleavened bread, including matzo, chapati, roti, and tortilla, is bread baked without yeast or baking powder. It is the oldest bread known, dating to 14,400 years ago, and is ritual food in Passover.
Unyago
Unyago is a Swahili initiation rite, the female counterpart of jando, in which girls approaching puberty or marriage are secluded and taught adult womanhood through songs, dances, and oral instruction.
Uogashi
Uogashi (魚河岸) is a Japanese word for a riverside fish market, and in Tokyo the name of the Nihonbashi fish market that ran from the early Edo period until 1923.
Upcycling
Upcycling transforms waste or unwanted products into goods of higher quality or value without breaking them down, contrasting with downcycling and recycling. Term coined by Reiner Pilz (1994); apparel LCAs report up to 87% impact reduction, dependent on durability and energy source.
Upton Sinclair
Upton Sinclair (1878–1968), American muckraking novelist and socialist activist, author of The Jungle (1906), whose exposé of Chicago meatpacking spurred the 1906 Pure Food and Drug and Meat Inspection Acts; Pulitzer winner for Dragon's Teeth and 1934 EPIC candidate for California governor.
Ural stone-cutting
Ural stone-cutting (уральская камнерезь) is the hardstone carving tradition of the Urals, centered on the Ekaterinburg Lapidary Works, which supplied ornamental stones to the Russian court from 1751.
Urban agriculture
Urban agriculture: growing, processing, and distributing food in cities and suburbs, also called urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA). Includes community gardens, rooftop farms, hydroponics, and vertical production; yields comparable to conventional agriculture.
Ushak carpet
The Ushak carpet (Uşak halısı) is an Ottoman carpet woven in Uşak, western Anatolia, from the 15th century onward in two classic types, medallion and star, and exported widely across Europe.
Ushanka (ушанка)
Ushanka (ушанка), or shapka-ushanka, is the Russian winter fur or cloth hat with tieable earflaps, descended from the treukh and malakhai; adopted by the Red Army in 1940 (order No. 187) and a global symbol of Russia.
Utility knife
Utility knife: a hand tool with a short retractable, replaceable razorlike blade for cutting cardboard, drywall, carpet, and more; also called box cutter (US) or Stanley knife (UK), with a separate 4–7 inch kitchen meaning.
Uzbek plov
Uzbek plov (osh, palov): Uzbekistan's national rice dish, cooked as zirvak of meat, onion and carrot layered with rice in a kazan; UNESCO-listed in 2016, with distinct regional styles.
V. G. Siddhartha
V. G. Siddhartha (Veerappa Siddhartha Hegde) was an Indian coffee planter who founded Café Coffee Day, India's largest coffee chain, and chaired Coffee Day Enterprises; he died in July 2019 amid group debt after selling the Mindtree stake to Larsen & Toubro.
Vacherin (dessert)
Vacherin (dessert), a French meringue dessert; also vacherin glacé. A decorated meringue or almond-paste ring filled with ice cream, Chantilly, and fruit, named for its resemblance to Vacherin Mont d'Or cheese.
Vada (வடை) (food)
Vada (வடை) is a savoury Indian deep-fried snack of ground pulses, flour, or vegetables. Best known as medu vada, a ring-shaped urad dal fritter with sambar and chutney; in Mumbai it names the potato patty of vada pav.
Vada pav
Vada pav (वड़ा पाव), also called the Indian or Mumbai burger, is a Maharashtrian street food: a spiced deep-fried potato fritter (batata vada) in a soft pav roll with chutneys. Credited to Ashok Vaidya at Dadar station in the late 1960s and tied to Shiv Sena politics.
Valentina Alekseeva (Валентина Андреевна Алексеева)
Valentina Andreevna Alekseeva (Валентина Андреевна Алексеева), born 2006 in Cheboksary, is a Russian model and medical student crowned Miss Russia 2024, a Miss Universe 2024 top-12 finalist, and winner of the first Miss BRICS contest in 2026.
Valentina Sampaio
Valentina Sampaio, Brazilian model born 1996 in Aquiraz, Ceará; first transgender Vogue cover model (Vogue Paris 2017), first trans Victoria's Secret model (2019) and runway walker (2024), first trans Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model (2020), and trans-rights activist.
Valentine
Valentine: a third-century Christian martyr commemorated February 14, the love token exchanged on his feast day, and Valentine's Day itself, the holiday Chaucer first linked to romantic love and that now drives billions in annual spending.
Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day, or St. Valentine's Day, is a 14 February holiday of romantic love named for third-century martyrs named Valentine. Its love association began with Chaucer around 1382; Lupercalia links are disputed; it is now a major commercial holiday.
Valentino (fashion designer)
Valentino Clemente Ludovico Garavani (1932–2026), known as Valentino, Italian couturier who founded Maison Valentino in Rome with Giancarlo Giammetti, created Valentino red, dressed Jackie Kennedy and Hollywood stars, and retired in 2008.
Valeria Lukyanova (Валерия Валерьевна Лукьянова)
Valeria Lukyanova (Валерия Валерьевна Лукьянова), aka Amatue, is a Ukrainian model born 1985 in Tiraspol, famous as the "Human Barbie" after her 2012 viral fame, later selling esoteric rejuvenation courses and facing 2025 cult accusations.
Valeriia Lisovska (Валерія Лісовська)
Valeriia Lisovska (Валерія Лісовська), Ukrainian model from Odesa, Miss Ukraine 2025; represented Ukraine at Miss World 2026 in Vietnam, placing top 20 and top 5 Europe.
Valpolicella
Valpolicella is a DOC wine zone near Verona, Veneto, Italy, covering Valpolicella DOC, Ripasso, Amarone and Recioto wines from Corvina, Corvinone and Rondinella grapes, often dried by appassimento.
Vampetaço
Vampetaço: Brazilian meme of mass-posting nude 1999 G Magazine photos of ex-footballer Vampeta to troll or protest targets on X, used against Israeli officials, Elon Musk, and Trump tariffs.
Van Dyke beard
Van Dyke beard, also called Van Dyck beard: a facial-hair style of a detached mustache plus a pointed or rounded goatee with clean-shaven cheeks, named after painter Anthony van Dyck (1599-1641) and popularized by Charles I portraits.
Vandana Shiva (वंदना शिवा)
Vandana Shiva (वंदना शिवा), Indian physicist-trained environmentalist, founder of Navdanya and RFSTE, Right Livelihood Award 1993; campaigns for seed sovereignty and against GMOs and seed patents; her claims draw both support and scientific criticism.
Vanessa Lachey
Vanessa Lachey (née Minnillo, born 1980, Philippines) is an American TV host and actress, Miss Teen USA 1998, former TRL and Entertainment Tonight host, lead of NCIS: Hawai'i, and co-host with husband Nick Lachey of Netflix's Love Is Blind and The Ultimatum.