Story Stack

Story Stack is where stories first appear on the site. These stories have made our first cut, but haven't necessarily earned the "Smartly Selected" designation for inclusion as one of Pat's Picks.

  1. World’s Largest Gingerbread Village

    A Bronx chef has put together the world’s largest edible gingerbread village. It’s made up of 164 structures and weighs in at 1.5 tons. The New York Times says Jon Lovitch did all the baking in his “closet-sized kitchen” and assembled his village at the New York Hall of Science in Queens where it’s on display.

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  2. Pope Criticizes Growing Economic Inequality

    In a wide-ranging, populist speech, Pope Francis criticized “trickle down” economic theory warning that an “idolatry of money” would lead to a “new tyranny.” He said trickle down theory has never been proven effective and that it relies on the goodness of those wielding economic power. The Pope also called for greater inclusiveness in the Catholic Church - including more opportunities for women in the Church.

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  3. In Favor of Thanksgiving Sales

    Michael Marlow, an economics professor, has a guest column in the Daily News where he argues that stores opening on Thanksgiving are just trying to compete with online retailers like Amazon who are open 24/7. It’s not an attack on families, but an attempt to stay relevant and remain in business. He also says many employees are just fine with the notion of working on Thanksgiving.

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  4. Behind the Scenes at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

    USA Today takes us to the New Jersey workshop where the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade comes together. There are 28 people who work full time, year-round to create and care for the floats in the parade. One of their tasks is figuring out how to get everything through the Lincoln Tunnel into Manhattan.

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  5. Relax, It’s Not Really About the Food

    As we prepare to make our Thanksgiving feasts for family and friends, many of us are stressing out over putting together a memorable meal. But Corey Mintz, a writer who is paid to host dinner parties in Canada, writes in the New York Times that the food is less important than the hospitality. Mintz says food shows on television have brainwashed us into thinking Thanksgiving is a competition. He says it’s most important to make people feel welcome, appreciated and special.

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  6. A Better Christmas Tree

    The Wall Street Journal says more resilient Christmas trees that originated far from the U.S. are hitting the market this year. The Nordmann and Turkish firs come from the mountains near the Black Sea. The Korean fir comes from South Korea. The trees are hardier than traditional varities found in local tree lots. And they have stronger branches good for supporting heavier ornaments. The Korean fir even has a lime fragrance to it.

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  7. Avoiding Holiday Weight Gain

    The Denver Post has some tips to help you avoid packing on extra pounds over the holidays. It’s not necessarily what we’re eating that’s the problem, but that you’re typically around much more food during the holidays. Some tips: Eat before you go out, avoid creamy dips, limit your hors d’oeuvres and back off the booze.

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  8. Holiday Travel Mess

    A major storm being blamed for 10 deaths in the West is heading toward the East Coast - just in time to wreak havoc on holiday travel. USA Today says rain will blanket the entire Interstate 95 corridor from DC to Boston. And there will be snow to the west. Rainy, windy conditions could lead to delays at delay-prone airports in Philadelphia and New York.

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  9. Fight for Your Right to Parody

    The Beastie Boys are in a battle with the Goldie Blox company over the video that uses the group’s song “Girls.” The New York Times says the company didn’t have permission to use the song and the Beastie Boys don’t allow their music to be used to sell products. Goldie Blox sued the band - claiming the video is a parody meant to specifically comment on the song. VIDEO

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  10. Newtown Shooting Report Released

    Connecticut State’s Attorney Stephen Sedensky has released the full report on the Newtown shooting that killed 20 first graders and six staffers at Sandy Hook Elementary School. The report includes photos of the Bushmaster semiautomatic rifle used in the shooting as well as photos from Adam Lanza’s home. The Hartford Courant says the in-depth report fails to answer the most compelling question - why the shooting happened.

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  11. The Illusion of Black Friday Discounts

    The Wall Street Journal has an interesting piece on how those Black Friday deals are engineered by retailers. For example, the sweater on sale for $39.99 was probably never meant to sell at its “full” price of $68. So your 40% savings was built-in in the first place. Some companies are facing lawsuits for raising prices before Black Friday so they can discount them for the holidaysn.

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  12. The Power of Superstition

    New research shows superstition can boost performance. The Wall Street Journal says researchers have found that conditioned superstitions can boost the illusion of control, giving people a sense of comfort and meaning. In some cases that translates to better performance. In one experiment, golfers sank 35% more putts when playing with a ball they were told was “lucky.”

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  13. Does Smoking Ruin Your Sex Life?

    Want another reason to quit smoking? It could ruin your sex life. According to the New York Post, the NYC Health Department’s “Quit Smoking” website claims young men who smoke have a greater risk of erectile dysfunction in middle age. And women are more likely to become infertile. It’s the latest anti-smoking push by Mayor Michael Bloomberg who has already instituted a smoking ban, raised cigarette taxes and produced gruesome anti-smoking ads.

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  14. Pencils Down: Keyboards In for School Tests

    Some students in New York will be ditching pencils and bubble sheets for keyboards and tablets on their next test. The Buffalo News says standardized tests are getting computerized. One reason for the switch is to help kids get used to the type of technology they’ll be dealing with in the future. Some critics say it puts the technologically challenged kids at a disadvantage.

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  15. 3rd Annual Rules for Thanksgiving Touch Football

    The Wall Street Journal’s Jason Gay is back with his third edition of Thanksgiving Touch Football Rules. Some of my favorites are Rule No. 9, “Every year, someone at the touch football game says, ‘Wow, it would be great next year if we printed up cool uniforms for everyone.’ And every year, they forget to do it.” And Rule No. 22, “Technically there’s no such thing as ‘offsides’ in Thanksgiving touch football. It’s called an ‘old people’s head start.’”

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  16. Yahoo Betting on Video with Couric Hire

    USA Today says Yahoo’s move to hire Katie Couric as its “Global News Anchor” signals the company is placing a greater emphasis on content - and video in particular. For Couric, it’s a way to reinvent herself as her profile has diminished in recent years. It’s another bold move for CEO Marissa Mayer who has succeeded in breathing new life into Yahoo, even though the company’s ad revenue remains flat.

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  17. Using Engineering to Predict Stroke

    A Minnesota cardiologist and a Berkeley professor are working on a way to predict and prevent stroke after heart procedures. The Minneapolis Star-Tribune says the pair is using supercomputers to develop models that determine how particles leave the heart and which ones may cause stroke. The research is crucial, since an increasingly popular aortic valve replacement procedure leads to an increase risk of stroke.

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  18. Don’t Rake Leaves, Mow Them

    There’s a push in some suburban New York towns to get homeowners to put down the rakes and leaf blowers and mulch their leaves instead. The New York Times says municipalities spend millions of dollars each year carting away leaves that, if mowed into tiny bits, would act as fertilizer for lawns and shrubs. But the Times says there are some homeowners who want everything removed, and landscapers want to keep their customers happy.

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  19. Post-Snowden NSA in Turmoil

    The Wall Street Journal says Gen. Keith Alexander offered to resign as Director of the National Security Agency back in June, shortly after Edward Snowden revealed himself to be the source of leaked NSA documents. While the resignation was refused, it shows the level to which the NSA was shaken by Snowden’s revelations. The man who heads a special NSA Snowden response team called the disclosures “cataclysmic.”

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  20. How TV Comedies Change Course to Stay Alive

    In an era where the pressure is high to draw ratings quickly, new television comedies often must make quick changes mid-course to find what works. The Wall Street Journal says with comedies in particular, the cast needs time to jell. But audiences get frustrated if there are too many tweaks.

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  21. Viral Goldie Blox Ad Encourages Young Girls to Become Engineers

    A new ad for a startup toy company that aims to encourage girls to become engineers has gone viral. The Goldie Blox ad is set to the tune of “Girls” by the Beastie Boys. But the lyrics have been re-written. The New York Times says the ad has sparked conversation about the lack of women in the technology and engineering fields. VIDEO

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  22. Analysis: Partisan Divide Will Likely Grow After Senate’s Nuclear Bomb

    In the New York Times, Jonathan Weisman suggests Republicans will be looking for revenge now that Senate Democrats have moved to limit filibusters. President Obama will get a short-term lift from the confirmation of his nominees. But Weisman says Republicans will be eager to prove they still have power and will likely unite against the Democrats.

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  23. Abraham Zapruder and His Famous Film

    The Washington Post has a fascinating feature on Abraham Zapruder - who famously shot the only footage of President Kennedy’s assassination. Zapruder said he knew instantly the President had been killed. Zapruder actually left his fancy movie camera at home that day. When he got to work, his secretary told him to run home and get it. VIDEO

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  24. Backlash Over Proposal to Allow In-Flight Cell Phone Calls

    Hours after the Federal Communications Commission proposed allowing airplane passengers to use their cell phones above 10,000 feet, customers began flooding the FCC with complaints. Most are dreading the prospect of having to listen to someone else’s conversations for the duration of a flight. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said the change would open up “new mobile opportunities for consumers.”

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  25. Why Young People Still Smoke

    Despite growing up in an era of smoking bans and gruesome anti-smoking ads, young people are still lighting up. The Newark Star-Ledger says in many cases teens start smoking for the same reasons they always have, to fit in and to look cool. Nearly all teen smokers when asked say they don’t think they’ll still be smoking in 10 or 20 years, suggesting that while they may know how dangerous smoking is, they don’t understand how addictive it is.

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  26. Kennedy, the Conservative

    The Washington Post’s George F. Will writes that our interpretation of President Kennedy’s political record has changed over the years. Will says Kennedy was much more conservative than many people remember him to be. Kennedy’s fiscal policy, for example, provided plenty of rhetoric for Ronald Reagan’s supply-side tax cuts.

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  27. New Flying Car Design Could Take Off

    The San Francisco Chronicle says a Mountain View, California company has patented a personal aircraft that could fit in a regular parking spot. Two features of this car stand out. It would be battery powered, and it would lift straight up like a helicopter. The Chronicle says Google appears to be involved in the project, but it’s unclear how.

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  28. Naked Neighbors

    Living in the city means having lots of neighbors, and often that includes people who like to walk around naked. The New York Times details a host of naked neighbor stories, from the family that dined al fresco and au natural to the woman who’s dinner party with her boss was spoiled by the appearance of her naked neighbor in the apartment across the way.

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  29. Uniforms Lose Pockets to Discourage Theft, Contamination

    What do casino workers, toll collectors and meat processors have in common? These days, the answer is pocketless uniforms. The Wall Street Journal says stripping pockets from uniforms is becoming common across many fields of employment. Pockets are disappearing from uniforms where workers might intentionally or accidentally bring something home.

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  30. Oliver Stone Shares his JFK Conspiracy Theories

    Oliver Stone has a guest column in USA Today where he says he’s amazed that anyone believes the official story that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in killing President Kennedy. He says the evidence from the shooting has always been shaky, especially the “magic bullet theory.” Stone says no marksman has ever been able to recreate the shooting as the Warren Commission concluded it happened.

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