From cooking food to staying warm, humanity’s ability to control fire has been a critical factor in our evolution. As large wildfires become increasingly common, however, more and more health experts are issuing warnings about the hazards related to their emissions. As it turns out, even fireplaces, woodstoves and campfires — long beloved by a
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The big library — the size of several classrooms — in the Cook-Wissahickon School in Roxborough stands as a monument to activism. Closed for several years in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the library now serves pre-kindergarteners through middle schoolers with story hours and a robust lending program that enrich the lives of students.
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Sheetal Bahirat was a graduate student studying to become a food researcher at the prestigious Drexel University Food Lab when inspiration struck. On a day Bahirat will never forget, the assignment was simple enough. She was tasked with making guacamole for her class to study the textures and tastes of the classic Mexican dish. But
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Much of what we print in Grid is premised on the idea that we are able to alter how we live in important ways to lessen environmental problems. On the face of it, this makes sense. Global problems can be traced to the individual actions of billions of people, and in particular the actions of
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We can, of course, approach cleaning tasks with dread, but if you’ve read former Grid columnist Lois Volta, you know that this work can provide more than just a tidy living space: it can double as a time for reflective meditation, a route around inertia or an opportunity for teamwork that opens a path to
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Most of the big brother–little brother act between New York City and Philadelphia is all in good fun. Eagles versus Giants, Mets versus Phillies, international metropolis versus city of neighborhoods — regardless of who wins, the sun still rises the next day. But start scratching around about the fact that these two cities share the
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Mayana Carter knew she wanted to create a different kind of bridal salon. Before opening Kinfolk Bride, Carter had worked in the bridal industry for 10 years in various capacities. “I found myself longing to see more designers of color, more women designers and more small makers,” she says, “and I wanted the people in
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Bicycles continue to evolve — with carbon fiber frames and electric motors, among other newfangled components — but the machine’s design hasn’t fundamentally changed for generations: two wheels, handlebars and a diamond-shaped frame. Aaron Zucker, Leslie Lodwick and Alex Bomstein remind us that we can ride bikes made decades ago, that we needn’t buy the
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Anyone could get bored stuck inside all day, and cats are no exception. A vast industry caters to the idle feline. A quick check at Chewy.com turned up thousands of cat toys, 140 of which are interactive, as well as 695 options for cat furniture such as trees, condos and scratching posts. Some cat owners
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For Cassidy Boulan, the pandemic was a time to walk. Stuck inside for so long, she stepped outside each day to find some fresh air and make her way through Philadelphia on foot. Her walks began near Washington Square, one of the five public squares designed as cornerstones of the city. She would then wend
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