This article is part of our latest special report on Design, which is about getting personal with customization. A little respite from geopolitical and health crises can perhaps be found in five new design books, which demonstrate our ability to transform humble materials into enduring refuges. ImageCredit… In “The Art of Earth Architecture: Past, Present,…
When your phone rings at 2:15 a.m., it’s a safe bet the news isn’t good. Turns out the odds are even better when you’re an American traveling overseas amid the coronavirus pandemic. The voice on the other end was our daughter, wanting to make sure my wife and I had heard that “President Trump just…
Rossy Alarcón hadn’t planned on turning her encebollado recipe into a restaurant, but it was too good not to. The soup can be found all over coastal Ecuador, where she and her husband, Ruben González, grew up. It’s sold from trucks and carts on the street, beloved in part as a hangover cure. Her broth…
Only a few generations ago, socks were routinely darned, sweaters mended and pants patched. You could buy a sewing kit at any drugstore. Knowing how to use it was a mark of good housekeeping. Kate Sekules, 58, remembers that world, in which the act of repairing clothes was integral to wearing them. “My mother was…
Government-imposed quarantines were fairly common in ancient times, before medicine stemmed the ferocity with which contagious diseases spread. The very word quarantine is rooted in the Italian words quarantenara and quaranta giorni, or 40 days, the period of time that the city of Venice forced ship passengers and cargo to wait before landing in the…
This article is part of our latest special report on Design, which is about getting personal with customization. The tumultuous period remembered as the ’60s (although it extended well into the 1970s) was half a century ago, as far removed from 2020 as World War I was from Woodstock. Nonetheless that era’s cultural awakening —…
Here’s what you need to know: ImageSeeking assistance at a Delta Air Lines counter at Paris-Charles De Gaulle airport on Thursday.Credit…Thibault Camus/Associated Press Europe condemns the U.S. travel ban as more nations add restrictions. On both sides of the Atlantic on Thursday, the consequences of President Trump’s decision to ban most travel from Europe began…
ImageAt a drive-in testing site for coronavirus in Liege, Belgium, on Wednesday. The United States is far behind many other countries in the number of people being tested for the new virus.Credit…Francois Lenoir/Reuters The ability of the American health care system to absorb a shock — what experts call surge capacity — is much weaker…
Couples are swapping dated wedding traditions for more forward-thinking options: beachfront celebrations for church ceremonies, web-ordained co-workers for religious leaders, and off-the-rack dresses instead of grandma’s heirloom gown. Other traditions, now considered chauvinist or archaic, are also being nixed. “Many obscure rituals are rooted in superstition — the dodging of evil spirits, protecting the couple,…
“Now, your press day is doing a lie-detector test, followed by trying out a new skill, followed by eating insane chicken wings,” said Chris Schonberger, the creator of the talk show “Hot Ones.” Sean Evans, the host of the show, added, “Followed by building an Ikea desk.” On “Hot Ones,” A-list celebrities eat increasingly spicy…