Sentinel Lifestyle
The epic La Tomatina food fight drew foreigners to paint a small Spanish town red
BUÑOL, Spain | Thousands of revelers — including many lured by a Bollywood film — descended on a small Spanish town on Wednesday for the annual La Tomatina food fight, where they painted Buñol red with tons of overripe tomatoes. Loaded trucks plodded through the crowd with people in their cargo beds throwing tomatoes at […]
Butter me up: Paris gets its first boutique devoted to France’s favorite fat
PARIS | The contradiction of the trim Parisian and the butter croissant now has a storefront. Le Butter Shop, billed as Paris’ first boutique devoted entirely to butter, opened last month a short walk from the Eiffel Tower — with 30 varieties from small family producers in Brittany, the Loire Valley and northern France. France […]
Sippin’ (and chuggin’) through the years with a party mainstay — the red Solo cup
TABOR, S.D. | It’s red. It’s soft plastic. And it probably contains your favorite beverage. The red Solo cup belongs on any list of the country’s most distinctly American objects, but it’s actually more than a single object. It is a symbol of the American psyche — a country that loves a good party, summertime […]
How the No. 2 pencil became a uniquely American school supply staple
For generations of Americans, a sharpened No. 2 pencil has represented childhood and coming of age. Still a fixture of back-to-school shopping lists, it outlines a child’s first letters, erases their mistakes and lets them doodle in the margins when they daydream. For decades, sweaty hands clutched the ridged yellow wood on test day. “Bring […]
How to reset your child’s sleep schedule for back-to-school season
NEW YORK | After a summer of vacations and late nights, it’s time to set those back-to-school alarms. A good night’s sleep helps students stay focused and attentive in class. Experts say it’s worth easing kids back into a routine with the start of a new school year. “We don’t say ‘ get good sleep […]
3-year college degrees grow more popular in the US, saving time and cash. But critics aren’t sold
Giles Sims, 34, was sick of getting passed over for jobs because he didn’t have a college degree. But with a wife and a widowed mother to help support, he needed a quick solution. So the laid-off web developer turned to one of a growing number of three-year degree programs. “I can’t afford to be […]
How to help your kids make friends at a new school
For students starting at a new school, the first day holds many questions: Will they see any familiar faces? Who will they sit with at lunch? Who will they play with at recess? “I’m this much nervous,” said Iman Fair-Seldon, 5, holding her hands about 4 inches (10 centimeters) apart. Iman will start first grade […]
Read our big scoop: Ice-cream cones, the ingenious invention of American immigrants
DETROIT | Read this quickly, before it melts. Ice cream was a rare and expensive treat for centuries because of the difficulty of storing ice. In the summer of 1790, President George Washington spent $200 on ice cream, the equivalent of $7,259 today, according to the International Dairy Foods Association. By the 1800s, inventions like […]
Chinese Valentine’s Day is rooted in legend and tradition, not just romance
BEIJING | Chinese Valentine’s Day is not all about flowers and chocolates. Beyond the romance embraced by some contemporary couples, Qixi is an ancient tradition rooted in legend, prayer and cultural activities that survive to this day. The festival is observed on the seventh day of the seventh month of the Chinese calendar, which fell […]
How one gardener’s neighbors shared their land to help her start a flower business
When Marisa Mender-Franklin walks through any of the nine flower farms she runs in Memphis, Tennessee, her first thoughts are of gratitude. Partly for the flowers and the bees, but mostly for the support of her neighbors. That’s because members of her local Facebook Buy Nothing group shared their unused yards and gardens with her, […]