Ripped from the Headlines: July 2023: This Week in Words: Current Events Vocabulary for July 8–July 14, 2023

A study showed that home renovation programs like the ones on HGTV have led to a uniformity in aesthetics that actually makes people sad. Researchers found that homeowners who consume home improvement media, including magazines and TV, find fault with their own decor, seeing it as not beautiful or tasteful enough. Current trends in interior design are also influencing people to decorate with a kind of "aesthetic sameness" which correlates with increased sadness and dissatisfaction.

Illinois State Museum officials will attend a ceremony in Nairobi this week to mark the return of 37 looted artifacts to the network of National Museums of Kenya. The sacred African relics, stolen in the 1980s and sold to art dealers, are carved wooden statues called vigango, some of them as tall as seven feet. Artifact is derived from Latin roots arte, "by skill," and factum, "thing made."

Astrophysicists have made an astonishing discovery, finding evidence that the cosmos is being pushed and pulled by gravitational waves powerful enough to distort space and time. Scientists consider the finding to prove part of Einstein's theory of relativity, which envisions the fabric of the universe as constantly rippling with the gravitational pull of many large objects, including black holes. The Greek root of cosmos is kosmos, "orderly arrangement."

Far fewer trees have been cut down in Brazil's rainforest during the past six months, according to government officials. João Paulo Capobianco, an environmental secretary, said the rate of deforestation in the Amazon had dropped 34 percent since January 2023. The reduction in clearcutting coincides with the new administration of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who pledged to protect the rainforest during his presidential campaign.

British pop star Elton John wrapped up his farewell tour on July 8 with a performance in Stockholm, Sweden. John announced the final series of concerts nearly five years ago, a long lead-up to retirement that he titled the Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour. For his ultimate goodbye, John performed some of his biggest hits, including Rocket Man and Tiny Dancer. The Middle English version of farewell was faren wel.

Historic storms across much of New England dumped more than nine inches of rain in parts of Vermont, causing catastrophic floods in several towns and cities. The Winooski and Lamoille rivers overflowed their banks, filling dams and washing out roads and highways. Thousands were displaced from their homes, and many lost businesses to the surging flood water. Flood is from the Middle English flōd, "flowing water," and its root, meaning "to flow."

In China, the marriage rate has dropped to an all-time low. Young couples report feeling a deep sense of uncertainty about the future, amid rising unemployment and economic hardship, and many say they will delay matrimony, if they ever get married at all. In the past ten years, marriage declined by half and, the divorce rate rose. The Latin source of matrimony, mātrimōnium, means "marriage," or in its plural form, "wives," from a root meaning "mother."

The Spanish maritime authority announced it had rescued 86 migrants from a boat that departed from Senegal in late June. Several other vessels remained missing days after rescuers began to search for them. In recent years, many people seeking better work and life opportunities have died while attempting to reach Europe by traveling across the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. Migrant is derived from the Latin migrare, "to move from one place to another."

Powerful monsoons have caused at least 100 deaths in India since the seasonal rains grew unusually heavy over the weekend. The downpours have hit the Himalayan state of Himachal Pradesh particularly hard; the region has recorded ten times its average monsoon rainfall this season. Rain continues to batter Delhi as well. The Arabic root of monsoon is mawsim, "time of year."

A data analysis found that hot, sticky weather is good news for home runs in Major League Baseball. It's clear from the statistics that more homers are hit when it's muggy outside, and scientists say it's because dry air is more dense than warm, humid air, which allows balls to fly farther. As temperatures and humidity rise, fans can look forward to more exciting games. Muggy comes from the now-obsolete mug, "a fog," and the Middle English mugen, "to drizzle."

An overdue book was returned to a Massachusetts library 120 years after it was checked out. An Elementary Treatise on Electricity was borrowed on February 14, 1904 or 1905, according to the faded ink stamp in the back of the book. It was no doubt due to be returned a few weeks afterward, but years passed before the New Bedford Free Public Library got it back. Given current late fees at the library, the unknown borrower would owe more than $2,000 for the overdue title.

On July 10, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that five days after the launch of Threads, the new platform had more than 100 million users. Threads is currently Twitter's main rival, the first app that looks likely to threaten its dominance among microblogging platforms. Twitter's user data is no longer public since Elon Musk purchased the company last year, but it had about 240 million active users one year ago. Musk has threatened to sue Meta, alleging the use of Twitter's trade secrets.

After 36 unremarkable years, a Lutherville, Georgia woman's succulent suddenly grew a towering 25-foot stalk. The sprout, which resembles a gargantuan asparagus spear, appeared abruptly one morning, surprising the plant's owner, Jackie Flournoy. Her daughter had given her the succulent as a gift more than three decades earlier. "I just thought it was an ordinary cactus," Flournoy said.