Newfound Evidence Changes Chocolate’s History

The origins of chocolate, at least until last week, dated back about 3,500 years ago to civilizations in Mexico and Central America. But now, thanks to newfound evidence, cacao’s history actually begins 1,500 years earlier in South America. Tests run on the bowls, mortars and jars found in the highlands of Ecuador—in the area known as Santa Ana-La Florida—proved traces of cacao remained. This confirms a …

A Giant Version of FriendsWithYou’s Little Cloud at Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

Art collective FriendsWithYou (founded by Samuel Borkson and Arturo Sandoval III) will be joining this year’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade with a super-sized version of their Little Cloud character. The puffy, smiling blob (which has been a keystone of their art for nearly two decades) represents “light, tranquility, and unconditional love”—a positive vibe they’re excited to share over the holiday. Little Cloud will be 30-feet-wide, and …

Inside an Upstate NY Witch Camp

Last weekend, at OlioHouse—an unassuming Victorian-style home in Wassaic—a sizable group of 20- and 30-somethings attended Witch Camp. There were no spells cast at the upstate New York location, but there were art classes, sage-burning, a Halloween-themed party and lectures on the witch trials of the 16th and 17th centuries. While witches today don’t face the same horrific repercussions as those in history, Tara Kenny (an Olio …