The “Band of the Fighting Irish” playing at Notre Dame Stadium (Photo by Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, CC-BY-2.0)

A recent story in the IndyStar explores a study that named “Notre Dame’s Fighting Irish leprechaun” as the fourth-most offensive college football mascot. Though the list later disappeared from the website, its appearance has caused quite a stir and fostered several conversations about college sports mascots.

A US National Weather Service depiction of the formation of a heat wave (Public domain)

A recent article in the New York Times asks an important question: “Could assigning names to heat waves, the way officials do for hurricanes and tropical storms, help protect people from the warming climate?” In her article, Jenny Gross explores pros and cons of applying names to heat waves. While applying names to hurricanes and tropical storms increased a sense of awareness and urgency with these storms, it is also just as likely that applying names to additional weather phenomena might dilute the message overall. Read more at the New York Times.

Boston Baked Beans in Concord, MA (Photo by Victorgrigas, CC-BY-3.0)

A short slideshow from the Chicago Tribune features 25 foods that were named after the  cities or regions from which they emerged. “Boston Baked Beans”, “Buffalo Chicken”, and many other well-known foods appear on this list.

The latest university to update their team name is the private Lutheran Valparaiso University. Once known as the “Crusaders”, the sports teams will now be the “Beacons”. According to an associated press report, “School officials announced in February that they had retired the Crusaders name following input from students, faculty and alumni. That decision came after a decades-long debate that has recently intensified because groups such as the Ku Klux Klan began using the words and symbols of the Crusades, which were a series of bloody religious wars starting in the 11th century between Christians and Muslims.”

A photo of Buzz Aldrin by Neil Armstrong, two individuals who hold the title “astronaut” (Public domain)

A piece in Time Magazine raises an interesting question: in the age of space tourism, who can hold the title “astronaut”? Some believe that only those who pilot a spacecraft should be given the title, whereas others believe anyone who crosses into low earth atmosphere—regardless of the role they have on the flight—should be given the moniker. Regardless, one point is clear, as Jeffrey Kluger writes:

“Hansen agrees, and warns that playing with astronaut nomenclature risks not only denying the title to people who may deserve it, but stripping it from those who historically earned it. The original NASA Mercury astronauts, after all, often complained that their missions were overly automated, with much of the flight run by computer, and the astronauts themselves there mostly to observe and intervene if needed.”

Read more at Time Magazine.