Hey, D.C area. Did you know that Halloween is an astronomical holiday? There is a lot of special sky stuff associated with this “boo of a Moon” on Saturday. At sunset, the second full moon for October will rise in the east bright and beautiful just a little after 6:34 p.m. Oct. 1 was the first full moon of the month, which was also a full harvest moon. On Halloween night, the full hunter’s blue moon will greet sky-gazers….
While paging through the first known cookbook written in the United States, Amelia Simmons’s 1796 American Cookery, you’ll find quite a few recipes that seem familiar. There’s the pumpkin pie, the roast turkey, and even the “cookey.” But one recipe stands out, both due to its name and its gargantuan proportions: the Election Cake. American Cookery’s recipe calls for 14 pounds of sugar, 12 pounds of raisins, and oodles of spices, along with both wine and brandy for flavor…….
Across generations and around the world, the name “Dracula” now calls to mind a pale man in a tuxedo and cape, eyes bloodshot and fangs gleaming. Originally introduced in Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel of the same name and given that familiar look by Bela Lugosi in 1931, Dracula has since become the world’s prototype vampire, spawning a world of imitations, variations, parody, and more, from Lestat de Lioncourt to Edward Cullen. Stoker’s Dracula is widely believed to have been……
In Inca mythology, there is a deity, Viracocha, whose name can be translated as “sea of fat.” He is the creator of the Earth and all its creatures, the maker of the sky and the sea and all the other gods. Among the Quechua people, he must be honored. “In the Andean world, indeed, blood and fat are among the essential offerings to the sacred powers: the sacrifice of slaughtered animals and the offerings of their blood constitute the……
Over 2,000 members of the MIT community tuned in for a live webcast Oct. 21 featuring a Q&A with activist and scholar Angela Y. Davis, whose name, for many, has become synonymous with the struggle for economic, racial, and gender justice. During the conversation, Davis described the United States today as being in another Reconstruction period akin to that after the Civil War, which, she said, “was not only not completed; it was reversed.” “We’re doing work now that……
On a drizzly Thursday in October 2020, I arrive at Berlin Brandenburg International Airport’s Terminal 1, a gleaming glass box on the outskirts of the city. After checking my passport and scanning a QR code, a staffer hands me a bright safety vest, a face mask with the airport logo on it, and a packet of instructions. I’ve been assigned to Delta Group. Code name: Keranova Steiner. Bag allowance: One. Destination: KUT. KUT? Surreptitiously, I check my phone. Apparently……
In 2015, then-Twitter product manager Terri Burns penned a piece about staying optimistic despite the sexism and racism that exists expansively within tech. “America has broke my heart countless times, but I believe that technology can be a tool to mend some of the woes of the world and produce tools to better humanity,” she wrote. “It’s hard to continue to believe this when the industry holding this power takes so little interest in the basic rights of women……
When the Cold War ended in the early 1990s, it seemed democracy had triumphed among political systems. But more recently, many democracies have run into a common set of troubles, with authoritarian leaders grasping enough power to create illiberal regimes. Understanding how this happens was the focus of MIT’s Oct. 23 Starr Forum, an online event hosted by the Center for International Studies (CIS) in which a series of experts evaluated the condition of democracy around the globe. “Democracies……
Planning for the next century’s electrical needs, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) broke ground on the Hartsville Nuclear Plant in 1975. At the time, the plant would be the world’s largest nuclear plant. Amid much controversy, the sleepy town boomed with construction workers and new businesses that catered to the growing population. Just under a decade later, the decision was made to halt the entire project. Outside the four planned generators, there were a few buildings partially constructed. Various……
During the 19th and early 20th-centuries, hundreds traveled to the East Antrim coastline for day trips out of Belfast to places like the Gobbins Cliff Path, Portmuck, Brown’s Bay, and the National Trust Skernaghan Point Reserve. From Skernaghan Point, there are stunning views of the East Antrim Coastline, as well as the Maidens lighthouses and the Irish Sea. There is also a strange stone known locally as the Rocking Stone that sits precariously on the sea cliff’s edge. The……
Brattleboro Retreat was established in 1834 and was designed to provide humane care for patients suffering from mental illnesses. As with many facilities for mental health during that period, doctors believed fresh air and exercise would help treat ailing patients. In 1887, construction began on Retreat Tower. Patients were designated to construct the tower as it was believed the physical activity would help their treatment. Upon completion, it provided patients with breathtaking views of the surrounding area. Although meant to……
Angelika Amon, professor of biology and a member of the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, died on Oct. 29 at age 53, following a two-and-a-half-year battle with ovarian cancer. “Known for her piercing scientific insight and infectious enthusiasm for the deepest questions of science, Professor Amon built an extraordinary career – and in the process, a devoted community of colleagues, students and friends,” MIT President L. Rafael Reif wrote in a letter to the MIT community. “Angelika was……
If the projections are to be believed, the amount of money swirling around the space industry is poised to grow considerably over the next decade. Consider that the aviation giant Boeing estimates that the aerospace market will reach $3 trillion in market size between now and 2029. It’s most certainly in Boeing’s best interests to produce a big number, but it’s also in line with other projections. Among the many areas of investment where Deloitte anticipates continued growth over……
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are tumbling again Friday as Wall Street closes out a punishing week and its first back-to-back monthly loss since worries about the pandemic first peaked in March. The S&P 500 was 1.7% lower in morning trading, putting it on pace for a 6.1% loss for the week, which would be its worst since March. It’s also on track for a 3.2% drop for October. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 388 points, or…
NEW YORK (AP) — The annual hoopla around the celebrity-studded Met Gala is so intense, it’s often forgotten who the real star is: the fashion exhibit inside. This year, it’s the only star. A stylish Costume Institute show at the Metropolitan Museum has opened, six months behind schedule. But what’s six months when you’re covering 150 years of fashion? And that’s the point, in more ways than one, of “About Time: Fashion & Duration,” which explores the concept of…
