We’re ringing in the new year (as well as marking National Ring a Bell Day) with the story of a bell that’s been ringing year in and year out for almost two centuries.
Each year New York City hosts huge crowds hoping to see the famous ball drop. But once the giant party is done and the revelers have headed home, the giant cleanup effort begins.
One of the classic changes people try to make at this time of year, for better or for worse, is trying to cut calories. But what are calories, exactly, and where did the measurement come from?
A paleoanthrological study in the caves of Atapuerca, Spain, finds that hundreds of thousands of years ago, human ancestors tried something along the lines of hibernation, holing up in the caves for months during winter. It didn't go all that well, though.
For years, on New Year’s Day, Americans could go the White House and shake hands with the president. It's a tradition that went back to John Adams and the early days of the Executive Mansion.
