June 29, 2023

Title: HEAT STORAGE

Constructor: Stella Zawistowski

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme Answers:

FISH-EATING BIRDS (18A: Feathered friends that might get their meals from the ocean)

PHILLIS WHEATLEY (38A: First Black published poet in the U.S.)

LOSE THE ATTITUDE (52A: "Don't sass me!")

Theme synopsis: Each theme answer is "storing" the word HEAT.

Things I learned:

• PHILLIS WHEATLEY (38A: First Black published poet in the U.S.) When PHILLIS WHEATLEY's book of poetry, Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, was published in 1773, she became the first Black American to have her work published. At the time, she was an enslaved woman, about 20 years old, having been kidnapped from West Africa and brought to America when she was approximately seven years old. PHILLIS WHEATLEY lived in Boston, and was enslaved in the home of John and Susanna WHEATLEY. The WHEATLEYs educated PHILLIS and supported her writing. Although PHILLIS WHEATLEY is considered the first Black published poet in the U.S., publishers in America refused to publish her work, and it was published in London. If you'd like to learn more about PHILLIS WHEATLEY, I recommend this Smithsonian article and this Poetry Foundation article.  

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• ELISE (15A: "Girls5eva" star Renee ___ Goldsberry) Girls5eva is a TV series that premiered in 2021. The musical comedy focuses on four women that were part of a girl group (named Girls5eva) that had a one-hit-wonder. Renée ELISE Goldsberry portrays Wickie, the self-proclaimed "fierce one" of the group.
• FISH-EATING BIRDS (18A: Feathered friends that might get their meals from the ocean) FISH-EATING BIRDS isn't an official classification, but is definitely a phrase commonly used to describe birds such as heron, osprey, cormorants, puffins, and eagles, just to name a few. I found this collection of photos of FISH-EATING BIRDS and their prey. Fascinating side note: While googling for photos of FISH-EATING BIRDS, I learned of the existence of a BIRD-EATING FISH. That fish is the giant trevally, which lives in tropical waters, and will leap out of the water to catch birds. You can see this fish in action in this clip from the BBC show, Blue Planet II. (Warning: This is a nature show, so don't watch this if you don't like seeing animals hunting.) This article tells about how these scenes were captured on film. 
• OREOS (34A: Cookies used to make some pie crusts) Yum! I would eat just about any pie that used OREOS for the crust.
• NATS (64A: Washington MLB team) The Washington Nationals, or the NATS, have been based in Washington D.C. since 2005. The NATS won the World Series in 2019, but they are having a rough season this year. They aren't currently last in the National League standings, but there's only one team below them. (My team, the St. Louis Cardinals, are also having an extremely rough year, so no shade intended here!)
• ANGIE (66A: "The Hate U Give" author Thomas) The Hate U Give, published in 2017, was the debut novel of ANGIE Thomas. The Hate U Give was adapted into a movie in 2018.
• SASHAY (3D: "___ Away" (rhyming RuPaul song)) "SASHAY Away" is one of RuPaul's catchphrase's. 
• GALBI (31D: Korean grilled short ribs) From the October 6, 2020 puzzle, I learned that GALBI is a Korean dish of grilled short ribs, usually made with beef. "GALBI" is the Korean word for "rib."
• AT IT (56D: Fighting like cats and dogs) Since it's Thursday, I decided to share a "throwback Thursday" picture with you. This photo was taken eight years ago, when we had two cats (Willow on the left and Holly on the right) and a dog (Ping Pong in the middle). As you can see, these three

  

  cats and dog

  were always AT IT, if by AT IT you mean sleeping!
• TED (57D: AFC Richmond coach Lasso) TED Lasso is the title character of the TV series of the same name. On the show, Jason Sudeikis portrays TED Lasso, coach of the fictional soccer team, AFC Richmond.

Geography review:

• ASIA (14A: Biggest continent) ASIA is the biggest continent in terms of land mass, accounting for about 30% of the Earth's total land area. ASIA also heads the list if you look at the population of continents. About 60% of the world's population lives in ASIA.
• TEHRAN (45D: Middle Eastern site of women's protests in 2022) TEHRAN is the capital and largest city of Iran. Since the Iranian Revolution in 1979, women in Iran have been required by law to wear a hijab to completely cover their hair while in public. In September 2022, a 22 year-old Iranian woman named Mahsa Amini was visiting TEHRAN, and while there was arrested for improperly wearing her hijab. Eyewitnesses report that she was severely beaten by the Guidance Patrol (also known as the "morality police"). Two days after her arrest, Mahsa Amini died of a head injury. The death of Mahsa Amini led to widespread protests by women, demanding an end to the mandatory hijab, as well as more general freedom and rights for women. This NPR article discusses the ongoing protests in Iran, as well as providing some history about hijab law in Iran (there was a time when wearing a hijab in public was forbidden).

Three nice grid-spanning HEAT STORAGE entries today. I often find something in every puzzle that leads me on a deep dive, and today I took several! I enjoyed learning about PHILLIS WHEATLEY, the protests in TEHRAN, and FISH and BIRDS. Thank you, Stella, for this puzzle that was a great way to start my Thursday.