Autumn on the Screen
This 1989 romantic comedy starring Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan features one of cinema’s most memorable autumn walks through New York’s Central Park.
When Harry Met Sally
Unlike most nuts, this fall favorite is unusually high in starch and vitamin C and was traditionally roasted over an open fire.
Chestnuts
Traditionally taught as the three “R’s,” these three basic school skills amusingly include only one word that actually begins with R.
reading, writing, and arithmetic
This astronomical event marks the beginning of fall in the Northern Hemisphere, when day and night are approximately equal in length.
Autumnal Equinox
On September 9, 1956, this rock-and-roll singer made his first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, although Sullivan himself was absent that evening.
Elvis
In this 1998 romantic comedy, Tom Hanks tells Meg Ryan, “Don’t you love New York in the fall?”
You've Got Mail
This pear-shaped winter squash has dark green skin and takes its name from a word meaning “unripe” or “green.
Acorn Squash
In Roman numerals, this number is written XCIX, requiring two examples of subtraction rather than addition.
99
In folklore, the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox carries this agricultural name because its light once allowed farmers to work later into the evening.
Harvest Moon
On September 8, 1966, American television viewers first heard William Shatner deliver the famous opening narration of this science-fiction series.
Star Trek
This 1966 animated TV special finds Charlie Brown invited to a Halloween party while Linus waits all night in a pumpkin patch.
Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
Two spices come from the same fruit of Myristica fragrans: nutmeg is the seed, while this spice comes from the lacy covering surrounding it.
Mace
Before calculators, students used this calculating device consisting of logarithmic scales that slide against one another; engineers routinely carried one through the 1960s.
Slide ruler
This word describes trees that shed their leaves annually and comes from a Latin word meaning “to fall off.”
Deciduous
On September 5, 1972, the Summer Olympics in this German city were shattered by the hostage-taking of members of the Israeli Olympic team.
Munich
Richard Gere, Winona Ryder, and the changing seasons of New York provide the backdrop for this 2000 romantic drama whose title names the season.
Autumn in New York
This French culinary term means a bundle of herbs—traditionally parsley, thyme and bay leaf—used to flavor soups and stews and removed before serving
Bouquet Garni
This 19th-century educator is often called the “Father of the Common School” for his efforts to establish public education in America.
Horace Mann
This familiar New England tree produces pairs of winged seeds often called “helicopters,” which mature and fall from many species during the year.
Maple
On September 13, 1971, a violent uprising began at this New York state prison, ending four days later with 43 people dead.
Attica
In this 1955 film, Rock Hudson plays a wealthy playboy who falls in love with Jane Wyman’s character, a widow, against the backdrop of picturesque New England scenery.
All that Heaven Allows
Native Americans introduced early colonists to this method of preparing a fall fruit, which involved drying it and pounding it into cakes called “pemmican”; sailors later carried the fruit because it helped prevent scurvy.
cranberry
In grammar, this punctuation mark takes its name from Greek words meaning “together” and “point” and can join two closely related independent clauses.
semicolon
Unlike most trees famous for autumn color, this ancient species is a “living fossil” whose fan-shaped leaves can turn golden yellow and fall in a remarkably short period of time.
gingko tree
On September 28, 1928, this Scottish scientist noticed that a mold had killed bacteria growing in one of his laboratory dishes, leading to the discovery of penicillin.
Alexander Fleming