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3 Midweek Longreads: Why are goat heads turning up on New York streets?

Bookmark or get stuck in.

IF YOU WANT a juicy longread to sink your teeth into, you’ve come to the right place.

Here are three to save for a moment of peace, or devour straight away.

As part of a series on accidents that shaped people’s lives, Michael Paterniti writes about an incident that occurred when he was in high school, which left one friend injured and one dead.

[GQ - 15 mins]

When the news reached my family that night, in that orbit of calls, my parents, perhaps like other parents among our friends, presumed their child might have been in the car, which wasn’t the case, though might have been, had I made a different decision earlier that evening.

Why on earth are goat heads turning up in New York’s Prospect Park area? A writer searches for answers.

[NY Mag - 38 mins]

Many news reports about the Park Slope goat heads suggested a dark link to the goat heads discovered in Prospect Park. “Residents have questioned whether the incidents could be connected to religious animal sacrifice,” The Wall Street Journal wrote. The specter of Santería was invoked.

These days, if you want to go abroad you’ll likely check Tripadvisor before you go, whether to suss out a hotel or location. This article looks at the “curious power” of the site, and what it means for travellers.

[Outside - 25 mins]

Those reviews carry demonstrable weight. A study by Cornell University’s Center for Hospitality Research found that for every percentage point a hotel improves its online reputation, its “RevPAR” (revenue per available room) goes up by 1.4 percent; for every point its reputation improves on a five-point scale, a hotel can raise prices by 11 percent without seeing bookings fall off.

Love longreads? Check out Sitdown Sunday every week>

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