Ripped from the Headlines: October 2021: This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for October 16–October 22, 2021

A diver off the coast of Israel found several artifacts, including a sword estimated to be 900 years old. Historians say the weapon, about four feet long and encrusted with shells, probably belonged to a knight who lost it during a battle on the Mediterranean Sea. The stable water temperature where the treasure was found helped to preserve the iron. Israeli law requires such historic relics to be turned over to the government; the sword will eventually be displayed in a museum.

The aurora borealis could be seen much farther south than usual last week. A geomagnetic storm caused by solar flares resulted in a particularly dazzling display of northern lights across the night sky in parts of western Canada, Minnesota, Alaska, Washington, and areas of New York state where the shimmering bands of color are rarely seen. Aurora comes from the Roman goddess of the dawn, and a root word that means "to shine."

Thousands of Puerto Ricans responded to repeated blackouts with mass protests. The ongoing power outages have proven deadly to patients who rely on electricity to refrigerate insulin and keep oxygen machines running. Surges of electricity can also permanently damage appliances and computers. An aging infrastructure, ineffective government management, and ongoing repairs after 2017's Hurricane Maria are blamed for the power failures.

On October 20, the World Health Organization honored Henrietta Lacks, whose cells were taken without her consent in 1951 and used for medical research. Lacks, a cancer patient, was not informed that her cells had been collected during a biopsy. They became the first human cells to survive outside the body and were used in the polio vaccine, HIV/AIDS treatment, and Covid-19 research.

The Chicago Sky won its first-ever Women's National Basketball Association championship when it beat the Phoenix Mercury on October 17 in the fourth game of the series. The score remained thrillingly close throughout the game, with the Mercury dominating in the nail-biting second half. Two free throws by Sky guard Courtney Vandersloot clinched her team’s victory, with a final score of 80-74. Championship is derived from a Latin root that means "gladiator."

Thanks to decades of conservation efforts, California’s San Diego county has enough water despite the current drought in the American West. Residents of the area are accustomed to using water sparingly; for years, the county has enforced restrictions that much of the state has ignored. For example, San Diego restaurants don't offer tap water, and homeowners rarely water their lawns. A culture of conservation means the county has a sustainable water supply through at least 2045.

After the sudden end of a housing boom and sweeping power outages this summer, China’s economy has abruptly slowed. The country's wealth had been on a steady upward trajectory, and economists predicted large growth. Many factors, including crop-destroying floods and a fuel shortage that slowed factory production, have taken a toll on China’s economic output. However, economists noted one bright spot: urban unemployment fell to 4.9 percent, its lowest rate in three years.

An enormous chunk of hail has set a new record in Australia. The icy hailstone measured 6.3 inches long, taking the top spot from a 5.5-inch hunk of ice that fell in Queensland last year. The Australian Bureau of Meteorology said that an unstable atmosphere resulted in updrafts capable of forming such unusually large hail. Any ice pellets larger than six inches are officially described as "gargantuan" by the Bureau.

A dinosaur long thought to be a giant carnivore was actually a fairly petite herbivore, according to new analysis by paleontologists. When a fossilized bird-like footprint was found in Australia 50 years ago, scientists measured it at 17 inches. 3-D imaging has clarified the print's details, and its size is now estimated at 13 inches. This ancestor of enormous Mesozoic sauropods would have stood about four feet tall, meaning it was a gentle plant-eater rather than a ferocious meat eater.

Hippos were smuggled into Colombia in the 1980s, and the animals were soon considered an invasive species. In the last few decades, the hippos' population has grown to more than 100. If left alone, scientists predict there will be at least 1,400 of the giant animals in Colombia by 2039. Ecologists, citing environmental damage including algae blooms and fish die-offs, advocate euthanizing 30 hippos per year and sterilizing the rest.

The Biden administration announced a plan to lease federal waters off the coast of the entire United States to wind farms. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said her agency will formally begin the process of renting the government-owned areas to large-scale wind power developers in 2025. The offshore wind turbines will generate electricity, part of an effort to create clean energy and combat climate change.

A meteorite smashed through the roof of a house in British Columbia, barely missing a woman’s head. Ruth Hamilton was asleep in bed when a loud crash woke her. She discovered a cabbage-sized space rock wedged between her pillows. Scientists said the rocky mass came from a meteor shower seen in the sky over western Canada that night, noting that the annual odds of a meteorite being heavy enough to break through a roof are about one in 100 billion.

Seventeen U.S. and Canadian missionaries were kidnapped in Haiti on October 16. Their abductors, members of a notorious Haitian gang, have demanded $17 million for their release. The missionaries, members of Ohio-based Christian Aid Ministries, had traveled to Haiti to do religious work. The organization was founded in 1981 by Amish and Mennonites who aim "to minister to spiritual needs around the world." Missionary comes from mission, originally "a sending abroad."

Monsoons in southern India caused landslides and flooding this week. Days of torrential rain swept away homes, bridges, and cars in the state of Kerala, resulting in a death toll of 35. Although the region regularly experiences a monsoon season in October and November, this year's deluge is considered an example of the extreme weather caused by climate change. The Arabic root of monsoon means "appropriate season or time of year."

Scientists are currently studying the possibility of using a nuclear missile to deflect asteroids on a collision course with Earth. Using 3-D models, astronomers are preparing for what they call a "worst-case scenario." According to scientists, if a small asteroid (the size of a football stadium) were blasted with a one-megaton nuclear device, over 99 percent of the asteroid would be safely blown into space.

On October 18, former Secretary of State Colin Powell died at the age of 84. Powell served as chief foreign affairs advisor to President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2005. As head of the State Department, Powell played a role in the administration's decision to declare war on Iraq in 2003. In the late 14th century, a secretary was a "person entrusted with secrets," from a Latin root that means "secret."

Hundreds of thousands of U.S. workers are currently on strike, protesting working conditions, wages, and benefits. Ten thousand John Deere employees walked off the job last week, in opposition to stagnant pay despite the company's record profits. In Hollywood, 60,000 workers reached a contract agreement just hours before a strike deadline. This meaning dates from 1768, when sailors refusing to work would strike, or lower, their ship’s sails as a symbol of protest.

Scientists believe a 5,300-year-old mummy's tattoos may have been an ancient treatment for pain. Ötzi the Iceman was found almost 30 years ago in the Italian Alps, with 61 inked designs preserved on his skin by cold conditions. Most of the tattoos were lines drawn on Ötzi's joints and lower back, areas prone to age-related pain. Medicinal herbs found near the mummy lend more evidence to the researchers' theory. The Polynesian root of tattoo means “mark on skin."

A new study shows that tuberculosis mainly spreads through aerosols in breath, like Covid, rather than through coughing. For centuries, scientists and doctors have thought that the infectious lung disease was primarily transmitted by coughs. However, researchers discovered that 90 percent of tuberculosis bacteria is spread by tiny aerosol droplets released in an exhale. Tuberculosis comes from the Latin tuber, “lump,” for the small bumps that form in the lungs.

When workers at an English stonemasonry business discovered a large snake inside a shipping container mailed from India, they called the South Essex Wildlife Hospital. A team of veterinarians identified the three-foot-long reptile as a deadly saw-scaled viper. The venomous snake was highly agitated and aggressive, and experts said it was lucky no one was bitten and killed.