Stuff YOU Should Know
Newcomer Bellis Wows at U.S. Open Everyone loves a good defy-the-odds success story, especially if the story involves a young person in an adult world. Fifteen-year-old Ci Ci Bellis has taken tennis by storm, becoming the youngest person in the history to win a match at the US Open (one of four championship tennis tournaments […]
Stuff YOU Should Know
Wikipedia Blocks Congress A prankster within the United States House of Representatives offices has caused quite a stir by creating what are being called, “disruptive editing” on Wikipedia. The popular online collaborative encyclopedia allows users to make changes to any page, but those edits are monitored by volunteers, who have the authority to reverse blatantly […]
Stuff YOU Should Know
Celebrating Bastille Day As you surely know, Independence Day (July 4th) is a holiday that celebrates the United States officially declaring its independence from England. Did you know that France celebrates a similar occasion just ten days later? Named for the prison that was stormed by the French people, Bastille Day commemorates the beginning of […]
Stuff YOU Should Know
New York’s Attempt to Ban Large Soda Rejected by Court New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is determined to do something about the growing obesity epidemic in this country. His office proposed a law limiting the amount of sugary beverages that could be sold in his state to no more than 16 ounces. While this might […]
Getting Fired Up Over the World’s Biggest Sporting Event!
After much fanfare (and more than a little controversy) the month-long Federation International Football Association (FIFA) finally kicked off its 20th World Cup in Brazil on June 12. Held every four years in a different host country, this soccer tournament is made up of 32 national teams from six regions (out of 209 total eligible […]
Stuff YOU Should Know
#Bring Back Our Girls On April 14, a Nigerian terrorist group called Boko Haram abducted more than 300 Nigerian female students from their boarding school in the town of Chibok in Borno State, Nigeria. These men are opposed to the “westernization” of their country (adopting aspects of American culture like politics, religion and lifestyle). They […]
Stuff YOU Should Know
New Star Wars Cast Announced It’s been thirty-seven years since the original Star Wars movie exploded into multiplexes everywhere. The franchise has managed to thrill its first fans and pick up several million more with its five subsequent sequels and prequels. Last month, Disney and Lucasfilm (the producers of the series) made public news about […]
Stuff YOU Should Know
Team USA! (How Did We Do?) Now that btw has brought you stories of the preparation, and the economics surrounding the Sochi Olympics, we thought we’d finally focus on the athletes and the games. The last winter Olympics (2010 held in Vancouver, Canada) was the first time since 1932 that the United States won the […]
Economics of the Olympics
There’s been a lot of press out there about how the current Winter Olympic Games is the most expensive in history. But what does this mean exactly? And if the cost to host the Olympics continues to rise to such epic proportions, why do countries keep bidding against one another for the privilege? Who Pays? […]
btw’s Year in Review: Arts, Life, and Sports
Humans don’t need entertainment and sports in order to survive, but our lives would hardly be as rich and meaningful without them. btw kept you abreast on the most popular movies, television, music, art and theater and brought you interesting human-interest stories from around the world. Sports heroes faced considerable scrutiny for their actions this […]