Chaider Season. Blue State debuted its fall menu today with seasonal items including Chaider, the Chai Latte and Pumpkin Apple Cider.

A cake for the cake-makers. Today is Claire’s Corner Copia’s 40th Birthday! New Haven’s favorite spot for birthday cakes is celebrating its own anniversary. Claire and Frank Criscuolo — a nurse and a musician — opened Claire’s Corner Copia on Sept. 17, 1975.

Sweet 15. Zinc Restaurant is currently celebrating is 15th year in New Haven. The restaurant is donating a portion of its revenue to charity in the name of its customers this week. Additionally, Zinc announced online: “We’ve loved being part of New Haven since opening our doors in 1999. We’ve seen the city welcome freshmen and bid farewell to its seniors each year. We’ve applauded countless curtain calls at our beloved theaters. We’ve witnessed the growth and transformation of our city from local businesses, to residents to our amazing Farmers Markets.”

And happy birthday to Rory! Tuesday was the birthday of Alexis Bledel, who played a classic Yalie on “Gilmore Girls.”

Now open. The Blue Dog Cafe in the Hall of Graduate Studies opened this week. The cafe is entirely student-run by Yale Graduate Student Life and located in the McDougal Center Common Room. Now, graduate students can go back to substituting caffeine for sleep. 

The Arctic. The MacMillan Center’s Tuesday Trivia question was “Which ocean is the smallest and shallowest?” 

The skin Elmo lives in. Lupita Nyong’o DRA ’12 was officially inducted into the trending celebrities club this week with a guest spot on “Sesame Street.” Nyong’o and Elmo discussed their skin, all the different shades it comes in and how they love the skin they’re in. 

Imitation is the best form of flattery? The Atlantic published a piece this week about how Chinese universities are imitating the architecture of Ivy League schools. The Yale look as been present on Chinese campuses since the early 20th century, when the first wave of Gothic influence swept through. 

Hoarders: New Haven. A new exhibit from the New Haven Museum samples goods made in the city from the past 300 years, ranging from clocks to lollipops.

THIS DAY IN YALE HISTORY 1990 Columnist Brian McCall ’91 argues that post-Cold War instability poses more of a threat to the U.S. than the Soviets ever did.

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