Today's the day . . . but tonight may not be the night

+ when rich people bragged about taxes‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

You want to know who won. It’s Election Day, and it doesn’t matter if you’re an American in the U.S. or a curious onlooker overseas, you just want to know who won. Right now, if possible. Or at least immediately after the polls close, if not sooner.

It’s been this way for more than a century – and media outlets have been feeding the public’s desire with dazzling election night spectacles since the 1800s, as Indiana University journalism scholar Mike Conway explains. But whereas in the past the focus has been on polling, predictions and quick results, this year could be very different.

Also today:

Jeff Inglis

Politics + Society Editor

Journalists, like these Associated Press staffers, have always worked hard to report election results quickly – and accurately. AP Photo

Election night has been a big media event since electric lights first announced the winner in 1892

Mike Conway, Indiana University

Journalists want to be first to tell the public who won, but the 2020 election night news frenzy may be very different from past years' coverage.

Science + Technology

Magnetism of Himalayan rocks reveals the mountains’ complex tectonic history

Craig Robert Martin, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Earth's magnetic field locks information into lava as it cools into rock. Millions of years later, scientists can decipher this magnetic data to build geologic timelines and maps.
Yes, websites really are starting to look more similar

Sam Goree, Indiana University

Design bloggers have long had creeping suspicion of a more monolithic web, so a team of researchers decided to analyze the aesthetics of nearly 10,000 websites.

Arts + Culture

We studied what happens when guys add their cats to their dating app profiles

Lori Kogan, Colorado State University; Shelly Volsche, Boise State University

Since women see men who own pets more favorably, you'd think online daters with cats in their profile pics would get more matches...
The bizarre social history of beds

Brian Fagan, University of California Santa Barbara

Today's beds are thought of as bastions of privacy. But not long ago, they were the perches from which kings ruled and places where travelers hunkered down with complete strangers.

Health

Is bar soap as gross as millennials say? Not really, and we’re all covered with microbes anyway

Michelle Sconce Massaquoi, University of Oregon

Finally, an answer to a long-bubbling question: What works best – bar or liquid soap?
Death rates have fallen by 18% for hospitalized COVID–19 patients as treatments improve

Monica Gandhi, University of California, San Francisco

Death rates for hospitalized COVID-19 patients fell from 25.6% in March to 7.6% in August, according to a new study on three hospitals in New York. A study in the U.K. found similar results.
Poor US pandemic response will reverberate in health care politics for years, health scholars warn

Simon F. Haeder, Penn State; Sarah E. Gollust, University of Minnesota

Health policy and politics scholars expect political fallout from the federal response to the pandemic will play out for years, with trust in government taking a big hit.

Economy + Business
Only the richest ancient Athenians paid taxes – and they bragged about it Thomas Martin, College of the Holy Cross In ancient Athens, the richest people paid taxes to support what the residents considered the salvation of the city. These taxes earned them social and political clout more valuable than money.

Ethics + Religion
In supporting same-sex civil unions, Pope Francis is showing how the Catholic definition of what constitutes a family is changing Julie Hanlon Rubio, Association of Theological Schools The Vatican has clarified that Pope Francis' support of civil unions did not change church doctrine. A theologian explains what Francis is doing is departing from Catholic rhetoric on the family.

Education
How schools can reduce parents’ anxiety during the pandemic Lucy (Kathleen) McGoron, Wayne State University; Julie Wargo Aikins, Wayne State University Schools can impact the mental health and well-being of not just students but their parents, too.

From our international editions

We compared the language of populist leaders with their mainstream opponents – the results were unexpected

Duncan McDonnell, Griffith University; Stefano Ondelli, University of Trieste

Populists leaders are supposed to use simpler language than their opponents. A comprehensive study shows this is not always the case.
What a Trump win or loss will mean for feminism

Peggy Nash, Ryerson University

A Trump loss on Nov. 3 would demonstrate that the grassroots organizing of American women has paid off.
Biden or Trump? Betting markets are more cautious than polls in predicting the 2020 US election

Matt Wall, Swansea University; Allaina Kilby, Swansea University; Richard Thomas, Swansea University

Punters are more cautious than the polls, suggesting this election might be closer than the media is reporting.

Today's the day . . . but tonight may not be the night

Election night has been a big media event since electric lights first announced the winner in 1892

Science + Technology

Magnetism of Himalayan rocks reveals the mountains’ complex tectonic history

Yes, websites really are starting to look more similar

Arts + Culture

We studied what happens when guys add their cats to their dating app profiles

The bizarre social history of beds

Health

Is bar soap as gross as millennials say? Not really, and we’re all covered with microbes anyway

Death rates have fallen by 18% for hospitalized COVID–19 patients as treatments improve

Poor US pandemic response will reverberate in health care politics for years, health scholars warn

Economy + Business

Only the richest ancient Athenians paid taxes – and they bragged about it

Ethics + Religion

In supporting same-sex civil unions, Pope Francis is showing how the Catholic definition of what constitutes a family is changing

Education

How schools can reduce parents’ anxiety during the pandemic

From our international editions

We compared the language of populist leaders with their mainstream opponents – the results were unexpected

What a Trump win or loss will mean for feminism

Biden or Trump? Betting markets are more cautious than polls in predicting the 2020 US election

Older messages

Could Abraham Lincoln be elected president today?

Election prep – five days and counting - Politics Weekly

Loving election polls, even if we don't trust them

Telehealth's booming, but who will pay?

Rural America’s COVID-19 backlash left it wide open

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