







<!doctype html>

<html class="no-js" lang="en" prefix="og: http://ogp.me/ns#">

<head data-template-set="html5-reset" prefix="og: http://ogp.me/ns# fb: http://ogp.me/ns/fb# article: http://ogp.me/ns/article#">

    <meta charset="utf-8">

    
    <meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=edge,chrome=1">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">

    <title>Why September 2017 Is the Strongest Hurricane Month Ever Recorded - The Atlantic</title>

    

        
        <link rel="shortcut icon" href="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/static/b/theatlantic/common/img/favicon.ico">
        <link rel="apple-touch-icon" href="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/static/b/theatlantic/common/img/apple-touch-icon-iphone.png">
        <link rel="apple-touch-icon" sizes="76x76" href="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/static/b/theatlantic/common/img/apple-touch-icon-ipad.png">
        <link rel="apple-touch-icon" sizes="120x120" href="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/static/b/theatlantic/common/img/apple-touch-icon-iphone-retina.png">
        <link rel="apple-touch-icon" sizes="152x152" href="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/static/b/theatlantic/common/img/apple-touch-icon-ipad-retina.png">
        <link rel="mask-icon" href="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/static/b/theatlantic/common/img/apple-mask-icon.svg" color="#000000">

        <meta name="application-name" content="">
        <meta name="msapplication-TileColor" content="">
        <meta name="msapplication-TileImage" content="">

        <meta name="apple-itunes-app" content="app-id=397599894">

        
        <link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" title="The Atlantic" href="/feed/all/" />
        <link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" title="Best of The Atlantic" href="/feed/best-of/" />
        
        

        
        
        <meta name="keywords" content="The Atlantic, The Atlantic Magazine, TheAtlantic.com, Atlantic, news, opinion, breaking news, analysis, commentary, business, politics, culture, international, science, technology, national and life">
        <meta name="description" content="Why it’s so hard to compare contemporary tropical cyclones to those from the 19th century">
        <link rel="image_src" href="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/mt/2017/09/36328732093_cdec3f0107_o_1/facebook.jpg?1506460889">

        
        <meta name="referrer" content="unsafe-url" />

        <meta property="og:site_name" content="The Atlantic">
        <meta property="og:locale" content="en_US">
        <meta property="fb:admins" content="577048155,17301937">
        <meta property="fb:app_id" content="100770816677686">

        
        <meta property="fb:pages" content="1061579677251147,370457103090695,29259828486,1631141167169115,236061986423933,1468531833474495,457711054591520,148681772342453,1510507419185410,128344747344340,128377530562508" />

        <link href="https://plus.google.com/109258622984321091629" rel="publisher" />
        <meta name="p:domain_verify" content="68e1a0361a557708fefc992f3309ed70"/>

        <meta property="og:title" content="September Is the Strongest Hurricane Month Ever Recorded—Probably">
        <meta property="og:type" content="article">
        <meta property="og:url" content="https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/09/september-2017-hurricane-energy-record-irma-maria-harvey/541185/" />

        
            <link rel="canonical" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/09/september-2017-hurricane-energy-record-irma-maria-harvey/541185/" />
        

        <meta property="og:image" content="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/mt/2017/09/36328732093_cdec3f0107_o_1/facebook.jpg?1506460889">
        <meta property="og:description" content="It’s hard to compare the strength of hurricanes across centuries.">

        
        
            
        
        <meta name="author" content="Robinson Meyer" />
        

        <meta name="twitter:site" content="@theatlantic" />
        <meta name="twitter:domain" content="theatlantic.com" />
        
        <meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image" />
        
        <meta name="twitter:image:src" content="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/mt/2017/09/36328732093_cdec3f0107_o_1/facebook.jpg?1506460889" />
        
        

        
        <script type="application/ld+json">
        {
          "@context": "http://schema.org",
          "@type": "Organization",
          "name": "The Atlantic",
          "url": "https://www.theatlantic.com",
          "logo": "https://cdn.theatlantic.com/front/images/logo/213x70.png",
          "sameAs" : [
            "https://www.facebook.com/TheAtlantic",
            "https://twitter.com/theatlantic",
            "https://plus.google.com/109258622984321091629/posts"]
        }
        </script>
        <script type="application/ld+json">
        {
          "@context" : "http://schema.org",
          "@type" : "WebSite",
          "name" : "The Atlantic",
          "url" : "https://www.theatlantic.com",
          "potentialAction" : {
            "@type" : "SearchAction",
            "target" : "https://www.theatlantic.com/search/?q={search_term}",
            "query-input" : "required name=search_term"
          }
        }
        </script>
        

        
            <link rel="preload" href="https://cdn.optimizely.com/js/335305610.js" as="script">
        

        
            
                <meta name="ROBOTS" content="INDEX, FOLLOW">
            
        

    

    
<meta property="krux:title" content="September Is the Strongest Hurricane Month Ever Recorded—Probably">
<meta property="krux:description" content="Why it’s so hard to compare contemporary tropical cyclones to those from the 19th century">


    <link rel="amphtml" href="/amp/article/541185/" />








    
    <link href="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/static/b/theatlantic/css/site.min.f069e2d289b9.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />

    

  
    <style type="text/css" media="screen">
        #article .lead-img .img {
            padding-bottom: 67.3958333333%;
        }

        .article-wide #article .article-cover,
        .article-wide #article .ad-article-wrapper {
            padding-top: 67.3958333333%;
            padding-top: -webkit-calc(67.3958333333% + 35px);
            padding-top: calc(67.3958333333% + 35px);

        }

        .article-wide #article .boxtop-most-popular {
            margin-top: 67.3958333333%;
            margin-top: -webkit-calc(67.3958333333% + 35px);
            margin-top: calc(67.3958333333% + 35px);
        }

        @media (max-width: 680px) {
            .article-wide #article .article-cover,
            .article-wide #article .ad-article-wrapper {
                padding-top: 67.3958333333%;
                padding-top: -webkit-calc(67.3958333333% + 20px);
                padding-top: calc(67.3958333333% + 20px);
            }

            .article-wide #article .boxtop-most-popular {
                margin-top: 67.3958333333%;
                margin-top: -webkit-calc(67.3958333333% + 20px);
                margin-top: calc(67.3958333333% + 20px);
            }
        }

        @media (max-width: 1010px) {
            
            .article-full #article .article-cover {
                padding-top: 67.3958333333%;
            }
        }
    </style>
    




    <script>
        var Atlantic = {};
        Atlantic.page_info = {"domain": "www.theatlantic.com", "image": "https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/mt/2017/09/36328732093_cdec3f0107_o_1/facebook.jpg?1506460889", "channels": ["science"], "article_type": "blog", "is_features": false, "trump_channel": "science", "twitter_image": "https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/mt/2017/09/36328732093_cdec3f0107_o_1/facebook.jpg?1506460889", "canonical_url": "https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/09/september-2017-hurricane-energy-record-irma-maria-harvey/541185/", "date": "2017-09-27T04:45:00-04:00", "is_amp": false, "is_freelance": false, "original_url": "https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/09/september-2017-hurricane-energy-record-irma-maria-harvey/541185/", "seo_title": "Why September 2017 Is the Strongest Hurricane Month Ever Recorded", "site_url": "http://www.theatlantic.com", "primary_channel": "science", "share_dek": "It\u2019s hard to compare the strength of hurricanes across centuries.", "is_instant": false, "share_title": "September Is the Strongest Hurricane Month Ever Recorded\u2014Probably", "description": "Why it\u2019s so hard to compare contemporary tropical cyclones to those from the 19th century", "tags": [], "is_404": false, "kicker": "", "authors": ["Robinson Meyer"], "hours_since_published": 0, "path": "/science/archive/2017/09/september-2017-hurricane-energy-record-irma-maria-harvey/541185/", "article_id": 541185, "categories": [], "share_text": "The 2017 Atlantic hurricane season is already one of the strongest years on record, @yayitsrob reports ", "url": "http://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/09/september-2017-hurricane-energy-record-irma-maria-harvey/541185/", "is_sponsored": false, "title": "September Is the Strongest Hurricane Month Ever Recorded\u2014<em>Probably</em>", "og_type": "article", "report": "", "is_magazine": false, "view": "article", "days_since_published": 0};
        Atlantic.STATIC_URL = "https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/static/b/";
        Atlantic.MEDIA_URL = "https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/";
        Atlantic.PROFILES_STATICFILES = {
  "CSS": [
    "https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/static/b/theatlantic/css/profiles.min.b5773bf7c74e.css"
  ], 
  "JS": "https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/static/b/janrain/profiles.c43f9fa7eaf6.js"
};
        Atlantic.PROFILES_URL = "https://accounts.theatlantic.com/"
        Atlantic.SESSION_URLS = {
            "session_start": "https://accounts.theatlantic.com/api/1.0/session_start/",
            "session_end": "https://accounts.theatlantic.com/api/1.0/session_end/"
        };
        Atlantic.GTM = {
            quantcastLabels: ["The Atlantic.Editorial.Title.September Is the Strongest Hurricane Month Ever Recorded\u2014<em>Probably</em>", "The Atlantic.Editorial.Author.Robinson Meyer", "The Atlantic.Editorial.Channel.science"],
            simplereach: {"is_404": false, "conf": {"channels": ["science"], "date": "2017-09-27T04:45:00-04:00", "title": "September Is the Strongest Hurricane Month Ever Recorded\u2014<em>Probably</em>", "url": "http://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/09/september-2017-hurricane-energy-record-irma-maria-harvey/541185/", "authors": ["robinson-meyer"], "tags": [], "page_url": "https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/09/september-2017-hurricane-energy-record-irma-maria-harvey/541185/"}}
        };

        
        var s_account = "atlanticprod";
        
    </script>
    

    <script type="text/javascript" src="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/static/b/theatlantic/js/head.min.82caef83c29a.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
    

<script>(function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':
new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],
j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src=
'https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);
})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-56LJR35');</script>




    
</head>

<body
    id=""
    class="article-wide header-extended header-flag "
    data-page-type="article"
    
>


<noscript><iframe src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-56LJR35" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript>



<div class="u-hidden"><?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><!DOCTYPE svg PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD SVG 1.1//EN" "http://www.w3.org/Graphics/SVG/1.1/DTD/svg11.dtd"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><symbol id="icon-arrow-right" viewBox="0 0 11 18"><path d="M1 1l8 7.928L1.267 17" fill-rule="evenodd"/></symbol><symbol id="icon-logo-a" viewBox="0 0 15 17"><path d="M11.435 3.13v5.913H7.609l3.826-5.913zM12.826 0L2.391 15.652H1V16h3.826v-.348H3.087l4.174-6.26h4.174v6.26h-1.74V16h4.522v-.348h-1.39V0z" fill-rule="evenodd"/></symbol><symbol id="icon-logo-atl" viewBox="0 0 82 25"><g><path d="M25.509.349h-.669L9.297 23.188H7.976l-.21.845h4.406l.212-.845H10.36l5.62-8.258h5.152l-.934 8.258h-1.803l-.212.845h6.185l.208-.845h-1.642L25.509.349zm-3.35 5.503l-.928 8.205h-4.656l5.584-8.205zM70.052 8.578c.812 0 1.423-.662 1.423-1.54 0-.811-.562-1.422-1.308-1.422-.825 0-1.424.659-1.424 1.567 0 .795.563 1.395 1.309 1.395zM29.809 20.791c-.421.962-1.131 2.084-1.747 2.084-.174 0-.352-.052-.352-.438 0-.2.053-.521.137-.823l2.641-10.29h2.205l.212-.842h-2.202l1.145-4.409H29.27l-1.145 4.409h-1.689l-.212.842h1.687l-2.408 9.445-.048.18c-.135.501-.275 1.02-.275 1.688 0 .764.485 1.653 1.853 1.653 1.438 0 2.605-1.028 3.467-3.058l.165-.359-.759-.305-.097.223zM35.675 20.797c-.279.678-1.073 2.078-1.744 2.078-.207 0-.323-.021-.323-.438 0-.287.031-.525.106-.823L39.118.807h-4.497l-.21.843h1.858l-4.9 19.124-.047.188c-.136.534-.276 1.086-.276 1.68 0 .799.487 1.651 1.853 1.651 2.263 0 3.335-2.664 3.527-3.198l.081-.227-.739-.299-.093.228zM77.5 13.191c0 .671.513 1.193 1.167 1.193.777 0 1.279-.625 1.279-1.593 0-1.199-.792-2.599-3.025-2.599-2.252 0-3.8 1.357-4.731 4.147-.444 1.311-1.272 3.747-1.272 6.406 0 1.712.908 3.542 3.456 3.542 1.238 0 2.98-.668 4.25-3.854l.14-.33-.829-.381-.1.238c-.32.762-1.293 3.081-2.889 3.081-.974 0-1.468-.744-1.468-2.211 0-2.229.673-4.556 1.332-6.534.797-2.386 1.245-3.233 2.168-3.233.56 0 .951.226.951.549 0 .284-.097.497-.2.723-.107.242-.229.51-.229.856zM70.573 10.48H64.79l1.117-4.409h-2.576l-1.117 4.409h-1.889l-.209.842h1.886l-2.41 9.447-.045.172c-.136.513-.277 1.041-.277 1.638 0 .789.5 1.71 1.91 1.71 2.166 0 3.246-2.664 3.441-3.197l.083-.228-.736-.296-.098.222c-.57 1.305-1.223 2.084-1.746 2.084-.189 0-.323-.031-.323-.438 0-.229.041-.475.136-.822l2.615-10.289 3.258.001-2.437 9.442c-.137.492-.324 1.168-.324 1.756 0 .814.507 1.768 1.938 1.768 2.157 0 3.245-2.663 3.441-3.197l.083-.228-.741-.274-.1.215c-.84 1.803-1.432 2.069-1.71 2.069-.281 0-.352-.055-.352-.466 0-.254.049-.483.135-.797l2.83-11.134zM58.158 20.88c-.27.546-.988 1.995-1.674 1.995-.297 0-.378-.088-.378-.408 0-.238.045-.523.134-.854l1.832-7.101.047-.18c.156-.593.304-1.151.304-1.886 0-1.094-.759-2.197-2.454-2.197-1.026 0-1.937.428-2.718 1.275l.261-1.045H49.09l-.279.842h1.884L47.431 24.03h2.577l2.281-8.802c.495-1.871 1.633-3.765 2.851-3.765.692 0 .837.44.837.809 0 .363-.102.762-.22 1.224l-1.872 7.306c-.117.477-.314 1.271-.314 1.83 0 .799.502 1.653 1.911 1.653.958 0 2.33-.538 3.428-3.103l.143-.315-.743-.3-.152.313zM47.765 20.866l-.743-.298-.097.223c-.789 1.812-1.432 2.083-1.745 2.083-.164 0-.217-.058-.235-.074-.069-.073-.101-.229-.088-.448 0-.158.045-.404.135-.737l2.857-11.133h-2.58l-.202.828c-.418-.74-1.128-1.114-2.12-1.114-2.718 0-3.95 2.378-4.641 4.167-.39 1.022-1.415 4.151-1.477 6.32-.047 1.209.25 2.183.857 2.812.5.521 1.201.796 2.026.796 1.22 0 2.087-.83 2.617-1.567.03.389.186.743.449 1.018.348.361.851.552 1.456.552 1.436 0 2.65-1.116 3.439-3.19l.092-.238zm-7.564 2.238c-.312 0-.538-.076-.69-.229-.208-.213-.305-.606-.291-1.171.072-2.161 1.23-6.062 1.904-8.028.385-1.136 1.073-2.491 2.167-2.491h.001c.299 0 .546.099.735.293.261.269.402.715.388 1.222-.053 1.295-.642 3.936-1.535 6.888-.692 2.2-1.693 3.516-2.679 3.516zM6.992 3.046l-.052.294h.721L8.322.75H2.71l-.658 2.59h.719l.062-.158c.582-1.478.76-1.665 1.593-1.665h.132L2.519 9.494h-.832l-.215.767h3.33l.225-.767H4.1l2.041-7.977h.186c.383 0 .622.02.707.121.153.184.058.849-.042 1.408zM9.119 6.277c.257-.957.775-1.679 1.204-1.679.163 0 .245.069.245.206 0 .204-.076.497-.144.736L9.67 8.45c-.039.116-.166.639-.166.954 0 .599.373.972.973.972.729 0 1.31-.506 1.745-1.547.089.996.686 1.546 1.713 1.546 1.378 0 2.041-1.46 2.211-1.908l.081-.211-.666-.336-.105.244c-.202.468-.642 1.253-1.329 1.253-.126 0-.511 0-.511-.699 0-.351.058-.703.113-.973 1.376-.358 3.193-1.427 3.193-2.829 0-.799-.519-1.276-1.389-1.276-1.643 0-3.315 2.465-3.329 4.896l-.528-.217-.097.225c-.248.576-.508.838-.613.876 0-.001-.01-.023-.01-.093 0-.156.069-.507.106-.656l.765-2.872c.076-.309.154-.627.154-.995 0-.578-.395-1.162-1.276-1.162a1.72 1.72 0 0 0-1.002.337l.829-3.228H8.424l-.217.768h.655l-2.243 8.742h1.466l1.034-3.984zm4.83.567c.392-1.402 1.132-2.437 1.585-2.437.184 0 .203.019.203.207.001.742-.715 1.759-1.788 2.23z"/></g></symbol><symbol id="icon-nav-latest" viewBox="0 0 24 24"><path d="M12 24c6.627 0 12-5.373 12-12S18.627 0 12 0 0 5.373 0 12s5.373 12 12 12zm0-2C6.477 22 2 17.523 2 12S6.477 2 12 2s10 4.477 10 10-4.477 10-10 10zm1-18.003a1 1 0 1 0-2 .006l.024 9c.002.893 1.085 1.335 1.712.7l3.976-4.034a1 1 0 0 0-1.424-1.404l-2.27 2.303L13 3.998z" fill-rule="evenodd"/></symbol><symbol id="icon-nav-magazine" viewBox="0 0 24 23"><path d="M22 19.108l-9 1.03V3.163l9-1.03v16.974zM2 2.134l9 1.03v16.973l-9-1.029V2.134zM23.001.006L12 1.266.999.005C.447-.057 0 .337 0 .887v19.01c0 .544.447 1.046.999 1.11l10.586 1.21a.928.928 0 0 0 .414.048h.002a.928.928 0 0 0 .414-.048l10.586-1.21c.552-.064.999-.566.999-1.11V.887c0-.55-.447-.944-.999-.88z" fill-rule="evenodd"/></symbol><symbol id="icon-nav-more" viewBox="0 0 22 22"><path d="M10 10V1a1 1 0 0 1 2 0v9h9a1 1 0 0 1 0 2h-9v9a1 1 0 0 1-2 0v-9H1a1 1 0 0 1 0-2h9z" fill-rule="evenodd"/></symbol><symbol id="icon-nav-popular" viewBox="0 0 24 22"><path d="M20.297 3.566l-7.198 12.602a1 1 0 0 1-1.695.068l-2.9-4.251-6.693 9.27a1 1 0 1 1-1.622-1.172L7.716 9.66a1 1 0 0 1 1.637.022l2.802 4.107L18.59 2.52l-4.365 1.007a1 1 0 0 1-.45-1.948l6.73-1.554a1 1 0 0 1 1.2.75l1.596 6.914a1 1 0 1 1-1.948.45l-1.056-4.574z" fill-rule="evenodd"/></symbol><symbol id="icon-nav-sections" viewBox="0 0 20 20"><path d="M1 20h18a1 1 0 0 0 0-2H1a1 1 0 0 0 0 2zm0-6h18a1 1 0 0 0 0-2H1a1 1 0 0 0 0 2zm0-6h18a1 1 0 0 0 0-2H1a1 1 0 1 0 0 2zm0-6h18a1 1 0 0 0 0-2H1a1 1 0 1 0 0 2z" fill-rule="evenodd"/></symbol><symbol id="icon-nav-writers" viewBox="0 0 24 23"><path d="M2.013 21.042l3.288.041h16.663c-.279-2.07-1.549-6.83-7.332-7.951a.956.956 0 0 1-.272-1.785c1.611-.865 2.613-2.564 2.613-4.435 0-2.755-2.174-4.995-4.845-4.995s-4.844 2.24-4.844 4.995c0 1.836.974 3.52 2.54 4.395a.957.957 0 0 1-.3 1.781c-5.827 1.03-7.192 5.857-7.51 7.954M23 23H5.289l-4.342-.055A.963.963 0 0 1 0 21.97c.002-.085.245-7.823 7.252-10.268a6.995 6.995 0 0 1-1.885-4.79C5.367 3.102 8.401 0 12.128 0c3.728 0 6.762 3.1 6.762 6.912 0 1.859-.721 3.596-1.961 4.87 6.942 2.543 7.03 10.176 7.03 10.26 0 .53-.43.958-.96.958" fill-rule="evenodd"/></symbol><symbol id="icon-social-email" viewBox="0 0 21 16"><path d="M21 2.254l-10.5 7.72L0 2.196A2 2 0 0 1 2 .222h17a2 2 0 0 1 2 2v.032zm0 2.369v9.155a2 2 0 0 1-2 2H2a2 2 0 0 1-2-2v-9.21c6.081 4.581 9.297 7.004 9.65 7.268.477.359.591.428.855.426.258-.001.372-.07.834-.415L21 4.623z" fill-rule="evenodd"/></symbol><symbol id="icon-social-facebook" viewBox="0 0 16 16"><path d="M15.117 0H.883A.883.883 0 0 0 0 .883v14.234c0 .488.395.883.883.883h7.663V9.804H6.461V7.389h2.085V5.61c0-2.067 1.262-3.192 3.106-3.192.883 0 1.642.065 1.863.095v2.16h-1.279c-1.002 0-1.196.476-1.196 1.176v1.541h2.39l-.31 2.415h-2.08V16h4.077a.883.883 0 0 0 .883-.883V.883A.883.883 0 0 0 15.117 0" fill-rule="evenodd"/></symbol><symbol id="icon-social-google" viewBox="0 0 16 16"><path d="M8.163 6.857V9.6h4.63c-.187 1.177-1.4 3.451-4.63 3.451-2.787 0-5.061-2.262-5.061-5.051s2.274-5.051 5.061-5.051c1.586 0 2.647.662 3.254 1.234l2.216-2.092C12.21.79 10.367 0 8.163 0 3.65 0 0 3.577 0 8s3.65 8 8.163 8C12.875 16 16 12.754 16 8.183c0-.526-.058-.926-.128-1.326H8.163z" fill-rule="evenodd"/></symbol><symbol id="icon-social-instagram" viewBox="0 0 16 16"><path d="M8 0C5.827 0 5.555.01 4.702.048 3.85.087 3.269.222 2.76.42a3.921 3.921 0 0 0-1.417.923c-.445.444-.719.89-.923 1.417-.198.509-.333 1.09-.372 1.942C.01 5.555 0 5.827 0 8s.01 2.445.048 3.298c.039.852.174 1.433.372 1.942.204.526.478.973.923 1.417.444.445.89.719 1.417.923.509.198 1.09.333 1.942.372C5.555 15.99 5.827 16 8 16s2.445-.01 3.298-.048c.852-.039 1.433-.174 1.942-.372a3.921 3.921 0 0 0 1.417-.923c.445-.444.719-.89.923-1.417.198-.509.333-1.09.372-1.942C15.99 10.445 16 10.173 16 8s-.01-2.445-.048-3.298c-.039-.852-.174-1.433-.372-1.942a3.921 3.921 0 0 0-.923-1.417A3.921 3.921 0 0 0 13.24.42c-.509-.198-1.09-.333-1.942-.372C10.445.01 10.173 0 8 0zm0 1.442c2.136 0 2.39.008 3.233.046.78.036 1.203.166 1.485.276.374.145.64.318.92.598.28.28.453.546.598.92.11.282.24.705.276 1.485.038.844.046 1.097.046 3.233s-.008 2.39-.046 3.233c-.036.78-.166 1.203-.276 1.485-.145.374-.318.64-.598.92-.28.28-.546.453-.92.598-.282.11-.705.24-1.485.276-.844.038-1.097.047-3.233.047s-2.39-.009-3.233-.047c-.78-.036-1.203-.166-1.485-.276a2.478 2.478 0 0 1-.92-.598 2.478 2.478 0 0 1-.598-.92c-.11-.282-.24-.705-.276-1.485-.038-.844-.047-1.097-.047-3.233s.009-2.39.047-3.233c.036-.78.166-1.203.276-1.485.145-.374.318-.64.598-.92.28-.28.546-.453.92-.598.282-.11.705-.24 1.485-.276.844-.038 1.097-.046 3.233-.046zM7.9 3.8a4.1 4.1 0 1 0 0 8.2 4.1 4.1 0 0 0 0-8.2zm0 6.761a2.661 2.661 0 1 1 0-5.322 2.661 2.661 0 0 1 0 5.322zM13.4 3.8a1 1 0 1 1-2 0 1 1 0 0 1 2 0z" fill-rule="evenodd"/></symbol><symbol id="icon-social-linkedin" viewBox="0 0 16 16"><path d="M3.502 15.925H.343V5.085h3.09v10.84h.07zM1.854 3.738C.687 3.738 0 2.916 0 1.87 0 .822.755 0 1.923 0 3.09 0 3.777.822 3.777 1.87c0 .971-.756 1.868-1.923 1.868zM16 15.925h-3.57v-5.607c0-1.496-.55-2.468-1.786-2.468-.962 0-1.442.673-1.717 1.346-.069.225-.069.598-.069.897V16H5.356s.069-9.944 0-10.916h3.502v1.72c.206-.748 1.305-1.795 3.09-1.795 2.198 0 3.983 1.57 3.983 4.935v5.981H16z" fill-rule="evenodd"/></symbol><symbol id="icon-social-pinterest" viewBox="0 0 16 16"><path d="M16 8c0-4.417-3.583-8-8-8a8.002 8.002 0 0 0-3.208 15.333c-.021-.562-.01-1.24.135-1.843 0 0 .156-.646 1.031-4.355-.26-.51-.26-1.27-.26-1.27 0-1.188.687-2.073 1.542-2.073.729 0 1.083.552 1.083 1.208 0 .73-.469 1.823-.708 2.833-.198.855.427 1.542 1.26 1.542 1.52 0 2.542-1.948 2.542-4.25 0-1.76-1.188-3.073-3.334-3.073-2.427 0-3.937 1.813-3.937 3.833 0 .698.208 1.188.531 1.573.146.177.167.24.115.448-.042.146-.125.5-.167.636-.052.208-.219.28-.396.208-1.114-.458-1.635-1.687-1.635-3.062 0-2.271 1.916-5 5.708-5 3.063 0 5.073 2.218 5.073 4.583 0 3.146-1.75 5.49-4.323 5.49-.865 0-1.677-.47-1.948-1a345.426 345.426 0 0 1-.562 2.197c-.167.615-.51 1.23-.813 1.709C6.46 15.885 7.21 16 8 16c4.417 0 8-3.583 8-8z" fill-rule="evenodd"/></symbol><symbol id="icon-social-rss" viewBox="0 0 16 16"><path d="M2.74 16a2.74 2.74 0 1 0 0-5.48 2.74 2.74 0 0 0 0 5.48zm11.89 0a1.37 1.37 0 0 1-1.37-1.37c0-7.335-4.556-11.89-11.89-11.89a1.37 1.37 0 0 1 0-2.74c4.331 0 8 1.384 10.625 4.005C14.62 6.625 16 10.3 16 14.63A1.37 1.37 0 0 1 14.63 16zm-5.185 0a1.37 1.37 0 0 1-1.37-1.37c0-4.449-2.256-6.705-6.705-6.705a1.37 1.37 0 0 1 0-2.74c6.001 0 9.445 3.442 9.445 9.444A1.37 1.37 0 0 1 9.445 16z" fill-rule="evenodd"/></symbol><symbol id="icon-social-twitter" viewBox="0 0 16 14"><path d="M14.115 2.13A3.393 3.393 0 0 0 15.558.25a6.437 6.437 0 0 1-2.085.825A3.226 3.226 0 0 0 11.077 0C9.265 0 7.795 1.523 7.795 3.401c0 .267.029.527.085.776C5.152 4.035 2.733 2.68 1.114.623a3.48 3.48 0 0 0-.445 1.71c0 1.18.58 2.22 1.46 2.83a3.183 3.183 0 0 1-1.486-.425v.043c0 1.648 1.131 3.023 2.633 3.335a3.18 3.18 0 0 1-1.483.059c.418 1.351 1.63 2.334 3.067 2.362A6.442 6.442 0 0 1 0 11.946a9.057 9.057 0 0 0 5.032 1.528c6.038 0 9.34-5.183 9.34-9.678 0-.148-.004-.294-.01-.44A6.811 6.811 0 0 0 16 1.595a6.385 6.385 0 0 1-1.885.536z" fill-rule="evenodd"/></symbol><symbol id="icon-social-youtube" viewBox="0 0 16 12"><path d="M11.428 6a.589.589 0 0 1-.267.506l-4.572 3a.508.508 0 0 1-.303.094.585.585 0 0 1-.277-.075A.613.613 0 0 1 5.714 9V3c0-.216.116-.422.295-.525a.542.542 0 0 1 .58.019l4.572 3c.17.103.268.3.268.506zM16 6c0-1.34 0-2.766-.277-4.069-.196-.919-.893-1.594-1.732-1.697C12.01 0 10 0 8 0 6 0 3.991 0 2.009.234 1.169.338.482 1.013.286 1.931 0 3.234 0 4.66 0 6c0 1.34 0 2.766.277 4.069.196.919.893 1.594 1.732 1.697C3.99 12 6 12 8 12c2 0 4.009 0 5.991-.234.84-.104 1.536-.779 1.723-1.697C16 8.766 16 7.34 16 6z" fill-rule="evenodd"/></symbol><symbol id="icon-ui-ellipses" viewBox="0 0 16 4"><g fill-rule="evenodd"><circle cx="2" cy="2" r="2"/><circle cx="8" cy="2" r="2"/><circle cx="14" cy="2" r="2"/></g></symbol><symbol id="icon-ui-lock" viewBox="0 0 12 14"><path d="M10 5h1.5a.5.5 0 0 1 .5.5v8a.5.5 0 0 1-.5.5H.5a.5.5 0 0 1-.5-.5v-8A.5.5 0 0 1 .5 5H2V4a4 4 0 0 1 4-4 4 4 0 0 1 4 4zM8 5V4a2 2 0 0 0-2-2 2 2 0 0 0-2 2v1z"/></symbol><symbol id="icon-ui-search" viewBox="0 0 16 16"><path d="M16 14.783l-4.896-4.83c.866-1.065 1.237-2.28 1.237-3.763C12.34 2.771 9.578 0 6.17 0 2.762 0 0 2.771 0 6.19c0 3.419 2.763 6.19 6.17 6.19 1.486 0 2.613-.33 3.678-1.207L14.742 16 16 14.783zM1.234 6.189c0-2.735 2.21-4.953 4.936-4.953 2.727 0 4.937 2.218 4.937 4.953a4.943 4.943 0 0 1-4.937 4.952c-2.726 0-4.936-2.217-4.936-4.952z" fill-rule="evenodd"/></symbol><symbol id="icon-ui-x" viewBox="0 0 16 16"><path d="M9.525 8l6.159 6.159a1.078 1.078 0 1 1-1.525 1.525L8 9.524l-6.159 6.16a1.076 1.076 0 0 1-1.525 0 1.078 1.078 0 0 1 0-1.525L6.476 8 .315 1.841A1.078 1.078 0 1 1 1.841.316L8 6.476l6.16-6.16a1.078 1.078 0 1 1 1.524 1.525L9.524 8z" fill-rule="evenodd"/></symbol></svg></div>



<div id="site" class="">
    

        
        <nav id="main-navigation" class="c-nav c-nav--main u-border-box u-smooth-font" role="navigation" aria-label="Main menu" data-omni-click="r'article',r'header',d,r' ',r' ',@href"><div class="c-nav__container"><ul itemscope itemtype="http://www.schema.org/SiteNavigationElement" class="c-nav__list c-nav__list--main" role="menubar" aria-hidden="false"><li class="c-nav__item c-nav__item--main c-nav__item--logo"><a href="#main-content" class="c-skip-link">Skip to content</a> <a href="/" class="c-nav__link c-nav__link--main c-logo c-logo--nav" data-omni-click="r'article',r'logo',d,r' ',r' ',@href"><span class="u-element-invisible c-logo__name">The Atlantic</span> <svg class="c-logo__icon o-icon" viewBox="0 0 256 84"><use xlink:href="#icon-logo-atl"></use></svg></a></li><li class="c-nav__item c-nav__item--main c-nav__item--popular js-nav-item" role="menuitem"><a itemprop="url" href="/most-popular/" class="c-nav__link c-nav__link--main" data-omni-click="inherit"><svg class="c-nav__icon o-icon"><use xlink:href="#icon-nav-popular"></use></svg> <span itemprop="name" class="c-nav__title c-nav__title--popular">Popular</span></a></li><li class="c-nav__item c-nav__item--main js-nav-item" role="menuitem"><a itemprop="url" href="/latest/" class="c-nav__link c-nav__link--main c-nav__link--latest" data-omni-click="inherit"><svg class="c-nav__icon o-icon"><use xlink:href="#icon-nav-latest"></use></svg> <span itemprop="name" class="c-nav__title c-nav__title--latest">Latest</span></a></li>  <li itemscope itemtype="http://www.schema.org/SiteNavigationElement" class="c-nav__item c-nav__item--main has-children js-nav-item" role="menuitem" aria-haspopup="true"><a href="javascript:void(0)" class="c-nav__link c-nav__link--main c-nav__link--sections has-children js-expandable-menu" data-omni-click="inherit"><svg class="c-nav__icon c-nav__icon--sections o-icon"><use xlink:href="#icon-nav-sections"></use></svg> <span class="c-nav__title c-nav__title--sections">Sections</span></a><div class="c-nav__menu c-menu c-menu--expandable" role="menu" aria-hidden="true"><strong class="c-menu__title"><span class="c-menu__name">Sections</span> <svg class="c-menu__close o-icon c-icon--sections"><use xlink:href="#icon-ui-x"></use></svg></strong><section class="c-menu__section"><ul class="c-menu__list" aria-hidden="true" role="menu">  <li itemprop="name" class="c-menu__item" role="menuitem"><a itemprop="url" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/" class="c-menu__link" tabindex="-1" data-omni-click="inherit">Politics &amp; Policy</a></li>  <li itemprop="name" class="c-menu__item" role="menuitem"><a itemprop="url" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/" class="c-menu__link" tabindex="-1" data-omni-click="inherit">Culture</a></li>  <li itemprop="name" class="c-menu__item" role="menuitem"><a itemprop="url" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/business/" class="c-menu__link" tabindex="-1" data-omni-click="inherit">Business</a></li>  <li itemprop="name" class="c-menu__item" role="menuitem"><a itemprop="url" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/science/" class="c-menu__link" tabindex="-1" data-omni-click="inherit">Science</a></li>  <li itemprop="name" class="c-menu__item" role="menuitem"><a itemprop="url" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/" class="c-menu__link" tabindex="-1" data-omni-click="inherit">Technology</a></li>  <li itemprop="name" class="c-menu__item" role="menuitem"><a itemprop="url" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/health/" class="c-menu__link" tabindex="-1" data-omni-click="inherit">Health</a></li>  <li itemprop="name" class="c-menu__item" role="menuitem"><a itemprop="url" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/education/" class="c-menu__link" tabindex="-1" data-omni-click="inherit">Education</a></li>  <li itemprop="name" class="c-menu__item" role="menuitem"><a itemprop="url" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/national/" class="c-menu__link" tabindex="-1" data-omni-click="inherit">U.S.</a></li>  <li itemprop="name" class="c-menu__item" role="menuitem"><a itemprop="url" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/international/" class="c-menu__link" tabindex="-1" data-omni-click="inherit">Global</a></li>  <li itemprop="name" class="c-menu__item" role="menuitem"><a itemprop="url" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/notes/" class="c-menu__link" tabindex="-1" data-omni-click="inherit">Notes</a></li>  <li itemprop="name" class="c-menu__item" role="menuitem"><a itemprop="url" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/letters/" class="c-menu__link" tabindex="-1" data-omni-click="inherit">Letters</a></li>  <li itemprop="name" class="c-menu__item" role="menuitem"><a itemprop="url" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/membership/" class="c-menu__link" tabindex="-1" data-omni-click="inherit">The Masthead</a></li>  </ul></section><section class="c-menu__section c-menu__section--secondary"><ul itemscope itemtype="http://www.schema.org/SiteNavigationElement" class="c-menu__list c-menu__list--secondary" aria-hidden="true" role="menu">  <li itemprop="name" class="c-menu__item c-menu__item--secondary" role="menuitem"><a itemprop="url" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/" class="c-menu__link" tabindex="-1" data-omni-click="inherit">Photo</a></li>  <li itemprop="name" class="c-menu__item c-menu__item--secondary" role="menuitem"><a itemprop="url" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/video/" class="c-menu__link" tabindex="-1" data-omni-click="inherit">Video</a></li>  <li itemprop="name" class="c-menu__item c-menu__item--secondary" role="menuitem"><a itemprop="url" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/events/" class="c-menu__link" tabindex="-1" data-omni-click="inherit">Events</a></li>  <li itemprop="name" class="c-menu__item c-menu__item--secondary" role="menuitem"><a itemprop="url" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/writers/" class="c-menu__link" tabindex="-1" data-omni-click="inherit">Writers</a></li>  <li itemprop="name" class="c-menu__item c-menu__item--secondary" role="menuitem"><a itemprop="url" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/projects/" class="c-menu__link" tabindex="-1" data-omni-click="inherit">Projects</a></li>  </ul></section></div></li><li itemscope itemtype="http://www.schema.org/SiteNavigationElement" class="c-nav__item c-nav__item--main has-children js-nav-item" role="menuitem" aria-haspopup="true"><a href="javascript:void(0)" class="c-nav__link c-nav__link--main c-nav__link--magazine has-children js-expandable-menu" data-omni-click="inherit"><svg class="c-nav__icon c-nav__icon--magazine o-icon"><use xlink:href="#icon-nav-magazine"></use></svg> <span class="c-nav__title c-nav__title--magazine">Magazine</span></a><div class="c-nav__menu c-menu c-menu--expandable" role="menu" aria-hidden="true"><strong class="c-menu__title"><span class="c-menu__name">Magazine</span> <svg class="c-menu__close o-icon"><use xlink:href="#icon-ui-x"></use></svg></strong><section class="c-menu__section"><ul class="c-menu__list" aria-hidden="true" role="menu">  <li itemprop="name" class="c-menu__item" role="menuitem"><a itemprop="url" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/" class="c-menu__link" tabindex="-1" data-omni-click="inherit">Current issue</a></li>  <li itemprop="name" class="c-menu__item" role="menuitem"><a itemprop="url" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/backissues/" class="c-menu__link" tabindex="-1" data-omni-click="inherit">All issues</a></li>  <li itemprop="name" class="c-menu__item" role="menuitem"><a itemprop="url" href="https://accounts.theatlantic.com/" class="c-menu__link" tabindex="-1" data-omni-click="inherit">Manage subscription</a></li>  <li itemprop="name" class="c-menu__item" role="menuitem"><a itemprop="url" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/locator/navdropdown/" class="c-menu__link" tabindex="-1" data-omni-click="inherit">Subscribe</a></li>  </ul></section></div></li><li class="c-nav__item c-nav__item--main has-children js-nav-item" role="menuitem" aria-haspopup="true"><a href="javascript:void(0)" class="c-nav__link c-nav__link--main has-children c-nav__link--more js-expandable-menu js-load-janrain" data-omni-click="inherit"><svg class="c-nav__icon c-nav__icon--more o-icon"><use xlink:href="#icon-nav-more"></use></svg> <span class="c-nav__title c-nav__title--more">More</span></a><div class="c-nav__menu c-menu c-menu--expandable" role="menu" aria-hidden="true"><strong class="c-menu__title"><span class="c-menu__name">More</span> <svg class="c-menu__close o-icon"><use xlink:href="#icon-ui-x"></use></svg></strong><section class="c-menu__section"><ul itemscope itemtype="http://www.schema.org/SiteNavigationElement" class="c-menu__list" aria-hidden="true" role="menu"><li class="c-menu__item"><a itemprop="url" href="https://accounts.theatlantic.com/register/" class="c-menu__link captureSignInLink signed-out-utils" tabindex="-1" data-omni-click="inherit"><span itemprop="name">Create account</span></a> <a itemprop="url" href="https://accounts.theatlantic.com/" class="c-menu__link captureProfileLink signed-in-utils" tabindex="-1" data-omni-click="inherit"><span itemprop="name">Your account</span></a></li><li class="c-menu__item"><a itemprop="url" href="https://accounts.theatlantic.com/" class="c-menu__link captureSignInLink signed-out-utils" tabindex="-1" data-omni-click="inherit"><span itemprop="name">Sign in</span></a> <a itemprop="url" href="javascript:void(0)" class="c-menu__link captureSignOutLink signed-in-utils" tabindex="-1" data-omni-click="inherit"><span itemprop="name">Sign out</span></a></li></ul></section><section class="c-menu__section c-menu__section--secondary"><ul itemscope itemtype="http://www.schema.org/SiteNavigationElement" class="c-menu__list c-menu__list--secondary" aria-hidden="true" role="menu">  <li itemprop="name" class="c-menu__item c-menu__item--secondary" role="menuitem"><a itemprop="url" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/sign-up/" class="c-menu__link" tabindex="-1" data-omni-click="inherit">Newsletters</a></li>  <li itemprop="name" class="c-menu__item c-menu__item--secondary" role="menuitem"><a itemprop="url" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/" class="c-menu__link" tabindex="-1" data-omni-click="inherit">Audio</a></li>  <li itemprop="name" class="c-menu__item c-menu__item--secondary" role="menuitem"><a itemprop="url" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/app/" class="c-menu__link" tabindex="-1" data-omni-click="inherit">iOS App</a></li>  <li itemprop="name" class="c-menu__item c-menu__item--secondary" role="menuitem"><a itemprop="url" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/timeline/" class="c-menu__link" tabindex="-1" data-omni-click="inherit">Life Timeline</a></li>  <li itemprop="name" class="c-menu__item c-menu__item--secondary" role="menuitem"><a itemprop="url" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/events/" class="c-menu__link" tabindex="-1" data-omni-click="inherit">Events</a></li>  <li itemprop="name" class="c-menu__item c-menu__item--secondary" role="menuitem"><a itemprop="url" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ebooks/" class="c-menu__link" tabindex="-1" data-omni-click="inherit">Books</a></li>  <li itemprop="name" class="c-menu__item c-menu__item--secondary" role="menuitem"><a itemprop="url" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/store/" class="c-menu__link" tabindex="-1" data-omni-click="inherit">Shop</a></li>  </ul></section><section class="c-menu__section c-menu__section--tertiary" aria-hidden="true" role="menu"><span class="c-menu__section__icon"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheAtlantic" target="_blank" rel="noopener" tabindex="-1" data-omni-click="inherit"><svg class="o-icon"><use xlink:href="#icon-social-facebook"></use></svg></a></span><span class="c-menu__section__icon"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/theatlantic/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" tabindex="-1" data-omni-click="inherit"><svg class="o-icon"><use xlink:href="#icon-social-instagram"></use></svg></a></span><span class="c-menu__section__icon"><a href="https://twitter.com/TheAtlantic" target="_blank" rel="noopener" tabindex="-1" data-omni-click="inherit"><svg class="o-icon"><use xlink:href="#icon-social-twitter"></use></svg></a></span><span class="c-menu__section__icon"><a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/follow-the-atlantic/#follow-rssfeeds" target="_blank" rel="noopener" tabindex="-1" data-omni-click="inherit"><svg class="o-icon"><use xlink:href="#icon-social-rss"></use></svg></a></span><span class="c-menu__section__view-all"><a href="/follow-the-atlantic/" class="c-menu__link" tabindex="-1" data-omni-click="inherit">View all</a></span></section></div></li>  <li class="c-nav__item c-nav__item--main c-nav__item--upper-shelf c-nav__item--subscribe js-nav-item" role="menuitem"><a itemprop="url" href="/locator/subscribe-magazine/" class="c-nav__link c-nav__link--main c-nav__link--subscribe" data-omni-click="inherit"><span itemprop="name" class="c-nav__title c-nav__title--subscribe">Subscribe</span></a></li><li class="c-nav__item c-nav__item--main c-nav__item--upper-shelf c-nav__item--search has-children"><div class="c-search__container--mobile"><a href="javascript:void(0)" class="c-nav__link has-children js-expandable-menu"><span class="u-element-invisible">Search</span> <svg class="c-search__icon"><use xlink:href="#icon-ui-search"></use></svg></a><div class="c-nav__menu c-menu c-menu--expandable"><strong class="c-menu__title"><span class="c-menu__name">Search</span> <svg class="c-menu__close o-icon"><use xlink:href="#icon-ui-x"></use></svg></strong><section class="c-menu__section"><form action="/search/" class="c-search__form c-search__form--mobile"><input type="search" name="q" class="c-search c-search--mobile" placeholder="The Atlantic..."> <input type="submit" class="c-search__submit c-search__submit--mobile"> <svg class="c-search__icon c-search__icon--inline c-search__icon--inline--mobile o-icon"><use xlink:href="#icon-ui-search"></use></svg></form><strong class="c-menu__title--secondary">Quick Links</strong><ul class="c-menu__list"><li class="c-menu__item c-menu__item--quick-link"><a href="/author/james-fallows/" class="c-menu__link" data-omni-click="inherit">James Fallows</a></li><li class="c-menu__item c-menu__item--quick-link"><a href="/author/ta-nehisi-coates/" class="c-menu__link" data-omni-click="inherit">Ta Nehisi Coates</a></li><li class="c-menu__item c-menu__item--quick-link"><a href="https://accounts.theatlantic.com/" class="c-menu__link" data-omni-click="inherit">Manage subscription</a></li></ul></section></div></div><div class="c-search__container__container js-search-container"><div class="c-search__container"><a href="javascript:void(0)" class="js-search-button c-search__open c-nav__search-icon-container"><svg class="c-search__icon"><use xlink:href="#icon-ui-search"></use></svg></a><form class="c-search__form" action="/search/"><input type="submit" class="c-search__submit" tabindex="-1" value="Submit"><label class="u-element-invisible" for="search">Search The Atlantic</label><input type="search" name="q" id="search" class="c-search js-search" placeholder="Search The Atlantic..." autocomplete="off" disabled="disabled"></form><a href="javascript:void(0)" class="js-close c-search__close" tabindex="-1"><svg class="c-search__icon" stroke-width="2"><use xlink:href="#icon-ui-x"></use></svg></a><div class="c-search__menu c-menu is-open"><section class="c-menu__section"><strong class="c-menu__title--secondary">Quick Links</strong><ul class="c-menu__list"><li class="c-menu__item c-menu__item--quick-link"><a href="/author/james-fallows/" class="c-menu__link" tabindex="-1" data-omni-click="inherit">James Fallows</a></li><li class="c-menu__item c-menu__item--quick-link"><a href="/author/ta-nehisi-coates/" class="c-menu__link" tabindex="-1" data-omni-click="inherit">Ta Nehisi Coates</a></li><li class="c-menu__item c-menu__item--quick-link"><a href="https://accounts.theatlantic.com/" class="c-menu__link" tabindex="-1" data-omni-click="inherit">Manage subscription</a></li></ul></section></div></div></div></li></ul></div></nav><div class="c-overlay js-overlay is-hidden"></div>

        

        

        
<article id="article" data-omni-click="r'article',r' ',d,r' ',r' ',r'541185'" itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="http://schema.org/NewsArticle">

    <!-- Google Microdata -->
    <div class="article-microdata" style="display: none;">
        <meta itemprop="mainEntityOfPage" content="https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/09/september-2017-hurricane-energy-record-irma-maria-harvey/541185/" />
        <meta itemprop="dateModified" content="2017-09-27T17:43:39" />
        <div itemprop="publisher" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Organization">
            <meta itemprop="name" content="The Atlantic" />
            <div itemprop="logo" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject">
                <meta itemprop="url" content="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/static/b/theatlantic/common/img/logo-black.c2cba3f6478a.png" />
                <meta itemprop="width" content="150" />
                <meta itemprop="height" content="50" />
            </div>
        </div>
        
    </div>

    <!-- Mobile only ad -->
    

    <gpt-ad id="ad-boxonly"
        targeting-pos="boxonly"
        class="ad ad-boxonly"
        
        lazy-load="0" 
        
        
        

        data-object-pk="2"
        data-object-name="boxonly"
        >
        
            <gpt-sizeset viewport-size="[0, 0]" sizes="[[300, 250]]"></gpt-sizeset>
        
            <gpt-sizeset viewport-size="[680, 0]" sizes="[]"></gpt-sizeset>
        
    </gpt-ad>



    <!-- Article "Cover" -->
    <div class="article-above fluid-container">

        
<div class="article-cover">
    <div class="article-cover-content-wrapper">
        <div class="article-cover-content" id="main-content">
            <h1 class="hed" itemprop="headline">September Is the Strongest Hurricane Month Ever Recorded—<em>Probably</em></h1>
            
            <p class="dek" itemprop="description">Why it’s so hard to compare contemporary tropical cyclones to those from the 19th century</p>
            
        </div>
    </div>

    
      

        <figure class="lead-img has-caption"  itemprop="image" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject">
            <div class="img-wrapper">
                <picture class="img">
                  
                    <img src="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/mt/2017/09/36328732093_cdec3f0107_o_1/lead_960.jpg?1506460889" alt="The massive circular eye of Hurricane Jose is seen from space at super high resolution. Convection is visible in the clouds that surround the well-defined eyewall, and the whitecaps of waves can be glimpsed through the center of the eye." />
                  
                    <!-- Google Metadata -->
                    <meta itemprop="url" content="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/mt/2017/09/36328732093_cdec3f0107_o_1/lead_960.jpg?1506460889" />
                    <meta itemprop="height" content="647" />
                    <meta itemprop="width" content="960" />
                </picture>
            </div>
                
                <figcaption>
                    
                        <span class="caption">The eye of Hurricane Jose over the open Atlantic Ocean, as captured by the Sentinel-2A satellite on September 9</span>
                    
                    
                        <a class="credit" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/150411108@N06/36328732093/">Antti Lipponen</a>
                    
                </figcaption>
                
        </figure>
        
    
</div>


        <div class="ad-article-wrapper">
        
            

    <gpt-ad id="ad-boxtop"
        targeting-pos="boxtop"
        class="ad ad-article"
        
        lazy-load="1.5" 
        
        
        

        data-object-pk="25"
        data-object-name="boxtop"
        >
        
            <gpt-sizeset viewport-size="[0, 0]" sizes="[]"></gpt-sizeset>
        
            <gpt-sizeset viewport-size="[1010, 0]" sizes="[[300, 250], [300, 251], [300, 351], [300, 600], [300, 850]]"></gpt-sizeset>
        
    </gpt-ad>


        
        </div>
        <div class="article-cover-extra-wrapper show-share">

            
                
                
                    



<aside class="boxtop-most-popular" data-omni-click="r'article',r' ',d,r'mostpop-noads',$li,@data-article-id">
    <h2 class="boxtop-most-popular__label">Most Popular</h2>
    <ol class="boxtop-most-popular__list">
    
        <li class="boxtop-most-popular__item">
            <h3 class="boxtop-most-popular__hed">
                <a class="boxtop-most-popular__link" href="/politics/archive/2018/02/trump-budget-congress/553085/" data-omni-click="inherit">
                    All the Trump Budget Cuts Congress Will Ignore
                </a>
            </h3>
            <ul class="metadata">
                <li><a href="/author/russell-berman/" title="Russell Berman">Russell Berman</a></li>
                <li>Feb 12, 2018</li>
            </ul>
        </li>
    
        <li class="boxtop-most-popular__item">
            <h3 class="boxtop-most-popular__hed">
                <a class="boxtop-most-popular__link" href="/politics/archive/2018/02/former-slaves-stories-abraham-lincoln/552917/" data-omni-click="inherit">
                    Abraham Lincoln's Secret Visits to Slaves
                </a>
            </h3>
            <ul class="metadata">
                <li><a href="/author/william-r-black/" title="William R. Black">William R. Black</a></li>
                <li>Feb 12, 2018</li>
            </ul>
        </li>
    
        <li class="boxtop-most-popular__item">
            <h3 class="boxtop-most-popular__hed">
                <a class="boxtop-most-popular__link" href="/magazine/archive/2015/04/the-irrationality-of-alcoholics-anonymous/386255/" data-omni-click="inherit">
                    The Irrationality of Alcoholics Anonymous
                </a>
            </h3>
            <ul class="metadata">
                <li><a href="/author/gabrielle-glaser/" title="Gabrielle Glaser">Gabrielle Glaser</a></li>
                <li>Mar 16, 2015</li>
            </ul>
        </li>
    
        <li class="boxtop-most-popular__item">
            <h3 class="boxtop-most-popular__hed">
                <a class="boxtop-most-popular__link" href="/technology/archive/2018/02/stupid-cities/553052/" data-omni-click="inherit">
                    Stop Saying 'Smart Cities'
                </a>
            </h3>
            <ul class="metadata">
                <li><a href="/author/bruce-sterling-1/" title="Bruce Sterling">Bruce Sterling</a></li>
                <li>Feb 12, 2018</li>
            </ul>
        </li>
    
        <li class="boxtop-most-popular__item">
            <h3 class="boxtop-most-popular__hed">
                <a class="boxtop-most-popular__link" href="/entertainment/archive/2018/02/the-selective-empathy-of-metoo-backlash/553022/" data-omni-click="inherit">
                    The Selective Empathy of #MeToo Backlash
                </a>
            </h3>
            <ul class="metadata">
                <li><a href="/author/megan-garber/" title="Megan Garber">Megan Garber</a></li>
                <li>Feb 11, 2018</li>
            </ul>
        </li>
    
    </ol>
</aside>

                
            

            <div class="article-cover-extra">
                <ul class="metadata">
                    
                    <li class="byline" data-omni-click="r'article',r' ',d,r'author',r' ',@href"><span itemprop="author" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Person"><a href="/author/robinson-meyer/" itemprop="url" title="Robinson Meyer" data-omni-click="inherit"><span itemprop="name">Robinson Meyer</span></a></span></li>
                    
                    <li class="date">
                        
                            <time itemprop="datePublished" datetime="2017-09-27T04:45:00">Sep 27, 2017</time>
                        
                    </li>

                    
                    <li class="category">
                        <a href="/science/" class="rubric" data-omni-click="r'article',r' ',d,r'rubric',r' ',@href">
                        Science</a>
                    </li>
                    
                    
                </ul>
                


<ul class="social-kit-top">
    <li class="social-kit__item">
        <a class="btn btn--social btn--facebook" href="#" data-share="facebook" data-omni-click="r'article',r' ',d,r'fb-top',r' ',r'541185 '">Share</a>
    </li>
    <li class="social-kit__item">
        <a class="btn btn--social btn--twitter" href="#" data-share="twitter" data-omni-click="r'article',r' ',d,r'tw-top',r' ',r'541185 '">Tweet</a>
    </li>
    <li class="social-kit__item c-dropdown">
        <button class="btn btn--sharekit js-dropdown-btn">&#x2026</button>
        <div class="c-dropdown__menu js-dropdown-menu" role="menu">
            <section class="c-dropdown__section">
                <ul class="c-dropdown__list">
                    <li class="c-dropdown__item" role="menuitem">
                        <a class="c-dropdown__link" href="#" data-share="linkedin" data-omni-click="r'article',r' ',d,r'lnkd-top',r' ',r'541185 '">LinkedIn</a>
                    </li>
                    <li class="c-dropdown__item" role="menuitem">
                        <a class="c-dropdown__link" href="mailto:?&subject=September Is the Strongest Hurricane Month Ever Recorded—&lt;em&gt;Probably&lt;/em&gt;&body=Why it’s so hard to compare contemporary tropical cyclones to those from the 19th century%0A%0ARead More:%0Ahttp://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/09/september-2017-hurricane-energy-record-irma-maria-harvey/541185/?utm_source=eb" data-omni-click="r'article',r' ',d,r'email',r' ',r'541185 '">Email</a>
                    </li>
                    <li class="c-dropdown__item" role="menuitem">
                        <a class="c-dropdown__link" href="#" data-share="print" data-omni-click="r'article',r' ',d,r'print',r' ',r'541185 '">Print</a>
                    </li>
                </ul>
            </section>
        </div>
    </li>
    <div class="text-resizer">
        <div class="resizer-title">Text Size</div>
        <div data-omni-click="r'decrease-text-size',d" class="minus"></div>
        <div data-omni-click="r'increase-text-size',d" class="plus"></div>
    </div>
</ul>

            </div>
        </div>
    </div>

    

    <div class="article-body" itemprop="articleBody">
    
        <div class="injector-promo-wrapper--article-top js-inject-promo"></div>
        

        <section id="article-section-1"><p>Harvey, Irma, Jose, Katia, and Maria. Over the past 30 days, some of the strongest hurricanes ever recorded in the Atlantic Ocean have prompted a diluvial flood, a mass migration, and an ongoing humanitarian crisis in Puerto Rico.</p><p>It can feel like there’s little precedent for so many hurricanes in so short a time. In fact, there isn’t—at least within living memory.</p><p>According to early estimates, September 2017 is already the most energetic month for hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean ever recorded, even though the month is not yet over. The month’s accumulated cyclone-energy index of 155.4 breaks the previous record of 155.0, set in September 2004.</p><p>“September 2017 has also set the monthly record for major hurricane days and looks to probably set the record for hurricane days (and possibly named storm days) as well,” says Phil Klotzbach, a meteorologist at Colorado State University who researches the history of Atlantic hurricanes.</p></section><div class="ad-boxinjector-wrapper"><gpt-ad id="boxinjector1" targeting-pos="boxinjector1" class="ad ad-boxinjector" lazy-load="2" data-object-pk="1" data-object-name="boxinjector"><gpt-sizeset viewport-size="[0, 0]" sizes="[[300, 250], [320, 350], [300, 350], [1, 3], [320, 520], [320, 430], [1, 4], [1, 5]]"></gpt-sizeset><gpt-sizeset viewport-size="[760, 0]" sizes="[[728, 90], [728, 350], [1, 3], [768, 350], [768, 520], [640, 360], [760, 350], [1, 4], [1, 5]]"></gpt-sizeset><gpt-sizeset viewport-size="[1010, 0]" sizes="[[728, 90], [728, 350], [970, 250], [1, 3], [768, 350], [768, 520], [640, 360], [970, 350], [760, 350], [1, 4], [1, 5]]"></gpt-sizeset><gpt-sizeset viewport-size="[1050, 0]" sizes="[[728, 90], [728, 350], [970, 250], [1024, 350], [1, 3], [970, 350], [760, 350], [1, 4], [1, 5]]"></gpt-sizeset></gpt-ad></div><section id="article-section-2"><p>The month was so powerful that it has assured certain records for the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season as a whole, which is already among the 10 strongest seasons ever measured. Two Category 5 storms (with wind speeds exceeding 157 miles per hour) formed this year. Only a handful of years before this one have seen multiple Category 5 storms take shape: 1932, 1933, 1961, 2005, and 2007.</p><p>And only once before in history, in 2007, did multiple Category 5 storms make landfall in North America.</p><p>The new record verifies that something extremely unusual is happening in the Atlantic Ocean this year. It also sets the coming autumn in perspective: <a href="https://weather.com/storms/hurricane/news/near-la-nina-atlantic-hurricane-season-oct-nov2017" data-omni-click="r'article',r'link',r'0',r'541185'">With a La Niña current budding in the Pacific</a>, the final two months of the Atlantic season will likely see a higher-than-normal number of tropical cyclones. (Hurricanes normally stop forming around November 30.)</p><p>But the record also provides a glance into the messy nature of the Atlantic hurricane record. Over the past decade, our understanding of that record has changed—as has what researchers can safely say about the effects of human-caused climate change.</p><aside class="pullquote instapaper_ignore">“It’s unambiguous that over the last 30 years, hurricane activity in the Atlantic has increased.”</aside><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accumulated_cyclone_energy" data-omni-click="r'article',r'link',r'1',r'541185'">Accumulated cyclone energy</a>, abbreviated ACE, measures the strength of a single hurricane over its lifetime. Because it’s a durational measure, it can also gauge the intensity of an individual month or an entire hurricane season. Meteorologists calculate ACE by taking a hurricane’s maximum wind speed every six hours, then summing the squares of those figures. They divide the final product by 10,000 to make it easier to use.</p></section><div class="ad-boxinjector-wrapper"><gpt-ad id="boxinjector2" targeting-pos="boxinjector2" class="ad ad-boxinjector" lazy-load="2" data-object-pk="1" data-object-name="boxinjector"><gpt-sizeset viewport-size="[0, 0]" sizes="[[300, 250], [320, 350], [300, 350], [1, 3], [320, 520], [320, 430], [1, 4], [1, 5]]"></gpt-sizeset><gpt-sizeset viewport-size="[760, 0]" sizes="[[728, 90], [728, 350], [1, 3], [768, 350], [768, 520], [640, 360], [760, 350], [1, 4], [1, 5]]"></gpt-sizeset><gpt-sizeset viewport-size="[1010, 0]" sizes="[[728, 90], [728, 350], [970, 250], [1, 3], [768, 350], [768, 520], [640, 360], [970, 350], [760, 350], [1, 4], [1, 5]]"></gpt-sizeset><gpt-sizeset viewport-size="[1050, 0]" sizes="[[728, 90], [728, 350], [970, 250], [1024, 350], [1, 3], [970, 350], [760, 350], [1, 4], [1, 5]]"></gpt-sizeset></gpt-ad></div><section id="article-section-3"><p>Hurricane records in some form go back more than a century. The U.S. Signal Service, a predecessor to the National Weather Service, began tracking Atlantic hurricanes in 1878. In that context, September 2017’s record can seem extraordinary: <em>the strongest hurricane month in 139 years</em>.</p><p>But climate scientists say that there are issues extrapolating hurricane history that far back, especially when measuring storms with ACE. Accumulated cyclone energy requires that meteorologists correctly observe the strongest winds in a cyclone every day. The National Weather Service does a much better job of that now, they say, than they did even a couple decades ago.</p><p>“The probability of us observing the true maximum of a storm now is much higher than it was 50 years, or 100 years, or even 20 years ago, honestly,” says Gabriel Vecchi, a professor of geoscience at Princeton University and a former climate modeler for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.</p><p>Why? In part, weather satellites have gotten better and more accurate. But meteorologists didn’t always have access to weather satellites. In fact, this exact problem—comparing hurricane intensity across 100-year time spans—is a microcosm of the current challenge facing climate scientists studying hurricanes. Over the past decade, it’s become clear that long-term hurricane data does not mesh together as seamlessly as some researchers had once hoped.</p></section><div class="ad-boxinjector-wrapper"><gpt-ad id="boxinjector3" targeting-pos="boxinjector3" class="ad ad-boxinjector" lazy-load="2" data-object-pk="1" data-object-name="boxinjector"><gpt-sizeset viewport-size="[0, 0]" sizes="[[300, 250], [320, 350], [300, 350], [1, 3], [320, 520], [320, 430], [1, 4], [1, 5]]"></gpt-sizeset><gpt-sizeset viewport-size="[760, 0]" sizes="[[728, 90], [728, 350], [1, 3], [768, 350], [768, 520], [640, 360], [760, 350], [1, 4], [1, 5]]"></gpt-sizeset><gpt-sizeset viewport-size="[1010, 0]" sizes="[[728, 90], [728, 350], [970, 250], [1, 3], [768, 350], [768, 520], [640, 360], [970, 350], [760, 350], [1, 4], [1, 5]]"></gpt-sizeset><gpt-sizeset viewport-size="[1050, 0]" sizes="[[728, 90], [728, 350], [970, 250], [1024, 350], [1, 3], [970, 350], [760, 350], [1, 4], [1, 5]]"></gpt-sizeset></gpt-ad></div><section id="article-section-4"><p>Before satellites, the National Weather Service (and its predecessors) pieced hurricanes together from a few types of data. The most significant of these were shipping records: observations taken by commercial or passenger vessels caught up in a storm. By slicing together multiple observations of the same storm, hurricanes emerge from the data.</p><p>The National Weather Service also monitors tropical cyclones through research flights and historical landfall accounts. It merges all of these different data—from ships, satellites, and land-bound weather stations—into a common set called HURDAT.</p><aside class="pullquote instapaper_ignore">“We know our data is problematic.”</aside><p>For many years, researchers knew HURDAT to have problems, especially further back in time. The National Hurricane Center suspected that the earliest part of the record missed between zero and five storms per year. But about 10 years ago, Vecchi and his colleagues at NOAA sought to model exactly how many tropical hurricanes it might be missing in the early 20th century.</p><p>They <a href="https://www.gfdl.noaa.gov/bibliography/related_files/gav0802.pdf" data-omni-click="r'article',r'link',r'2',r'541185'">split HURDAT in two parts</a>—to see if the technological past could detect the climatic present. First, they took the 40 years of hurricanes observed by satellites and made small, random changes to their paths, essentially creating a library of 650 years containing storms that <em>did</em> exist and storms that <em>could</em> have existed. Second, the team ran these 650 simulated years through each year of the observational network. They essentially asked: Would the ships and weather stations of 1878 detect storms across these 650 years? Would the ships and weather stations of 1879 detect storms across these years? And so on for all the years in the pre-satellite record.</p></section><div class="ad-boxinjector-wrapper"><gpt-ad id="boxinjector4" targeting-pos="boxinjector4" class="ad ad-boxinjector" lazy-load="2" data-object-pk="1" data-object-name="boxinjector"><gpt-sizeset viewport-size="[0, 0]" sizes="[[300, 250], [320, 350], [300, 350], [1, 3], [320, 520], [320, 430], [1, 4], [1, 5]]"></gpt-sizeset><gpt-sizeset viewport-size="[760, 0]" sizes="[[728, 90], [728, 350], [1, 3], [768, 350], [768, 520], [640, 360], [760, 350], [1, 4], [1, 5]]"></gpt-sizeset><gpt-sizeset viewport-size="[1010, 0]" sizes="[[728, 90], [728, 350], [970, 250], [1, 3], [768, 350], [768, 520], [640, 360], [970, 350], [760, 350], [1, 4], [1, 5]]"></gpt-sizeset><gpt-sizeset viewport-size="[1050, 0]" sizes="[[728, 90], [728, 350], [970, 250], [1024, 350], [1, 3], [970, 350], [760, 350], [1, 4], [1, 5]]"></gpt-sizeset></gpt-ad></div><section id="article-section-5"><p>They found that the pre-satellite record might have missed several storms per year, about as many as the National Hurricane Center estimated. It was most likely to miss storms before 1914, because—before the Panama Canal was opened—most ships stayed in the North Atlantic near Europe, and few traveled to the tropical Atlantic, where most hurricanes form. The record was also more likely to miss hurricanes during the two world wars.</p></section><figure class="full-width" style="max-width: 945.0px;"><picture style="display: block; position:relative; width:100%; height:0; overflow:hidden; padding-bottom:66.2433862434%;"><img alt="" data-srcset="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/posts/2017/09/Screen_Shot_2017_09_27_at_12.24.04_PM/5dd6704e4.png" class="lazyload" style="position:absolute; width:100%; height:100%; top:0; left:0; border:0;"></picture><figcaption class="caption">A graphic from Vecchi and colleagues’s 2008 paper. Figure A shows every known tropical storm path from 1966 to 2006. Figures B, C, and D show the density of ship routes through the North Atlantic Ocean at different periods of the 20th century. Notice how many ships avoided the tropical Atlantic before the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914. (Vecchi, et al. / <em>Journal of Climate</em>)</figcaption></figure><section id="article-section-6"><p>Over the next few years, the NOAA team was able to show how disjointedly the data sets fit together. Vecchi and his colleagues showed that most of the rise in hurricanes over the past century was due to the rise of small, one- or two-day storms. These hurricanes were mostly observed during the satellite era. Once they were accounted for, then the century-scale rise in hurricane intensity went away.</p><p>This isn’t to say that there <em>hasn’t</em> been an increase in storms over the last century, only that you can’t find it in the data. At the same time, the satellite record shows a clear increase in hurricane activity since 1980.</p></section><div class="ad-boxinjector-wrapper"><gpt-ad id="boxinjector5" targeting-pos="boxinjector5" class="ad ad-boxinjector" lazy-load="2" data-object-pk="1" data-object-name="boxinjector"><gpt-sizeset viewport-size="[0, 0]" sizes="[[300, 250], [320, 350], [300, 350], [1, 3], [320, 520], [320, 430], [1, 4], [1, 5]]"></gpt-sizeset><gpt-sizeset viewport-size="[760, 0]" sizes="[[728, 90], [728, 350], [1, 3], [768, 350], [768, 520], [640, 360], [760, 350], [1, 4], [1, 5]]"></gpt-sizeset><gpt-sizeset viewport-size="[1010, 0]" sizes="[[728, 90], [728, 350], [970, 250], [1, 3], [768, 350], [768, 520], [640, 360], [970, 350], [760, 350], [1, 4], [1, 5]]"></gpt-sizeset><gpt-sizeset viewport-size="[1050, 0]" sizes="[[728, 90], [728, 350], [970, 250], [1024, 350], [1, 3], [970, 350], [760, 350], [1, 4], [1, 5]]"></gpt-sizeset></gpt-ad></div><section id="article-section-7"><p>“I think it’s unambiguous that over the last 30 years, hurricane activity in the Atlantic has increased. I don’t think there’s reason to doubt that,” Vecchi told me. “The question then becomes, how does this increase fit into the larger century-scale record? And then there’s a lot more room for reasonable people to disagree there.”</p><p>The problems in long-term hurricane data have left hurricane researchers with a dilemma.</p><aside class="pullquote instapaper_ignore">“People say, the data in the past isn’t good, so we don’t know anything. That’s not true.”</aside><p>“Our theory, our understanding of how the atmosphere works—which is based on decades of research, thousands of studies by hundreds of people—indicates to us that as the planet continues to warm from greenhouse gases, we expect that the strongest storms on the planet should get stronger,” Vecchi told me. “That is what our theoretical expectation is, and it’s rooted in a lot of research and experience.”</p><p>“At the same time, looking back, we know our data is problematic, and that means that we can’t see that signal in the data. And that’s a troublesome situation to be in,” he said.</p><p>How long will it take to see a signal in the data? Vecchi and his colleagues have estimated that a human-caused climate-change signal should appear in the observational data by the middle of the century. And of course, the theory tells them what they should already expect.</p><p>All of these data problems point to why it’s difficult to compare hurricane records—especially durational records like ACE—from the early 1900s to those that follow the Carter administration. While the issues of merging disparate data sets isn’t limited to hurricane data, it is more acute there, because tropical cyclones are singular events that form and often die in the open ocean. Temperature records, for instance, are considered much more robust.</p><p>While September 2017 has broken records, it has not shot completely off the chart, only slightly exceeding the last strongest-ever month. But there are certain ways that the 2017 season really is anomalous, Klotzbach said. As late as the first of the month, 2017 seemed like an average hurricane season. But hurricane activity rapidly crescendoed after that, diverging from the historical norm.</p><hr><p><big><strong>2017 Hurricane Season ACE for the North Atlantic Ocean, Compared With the 1981-2010 Average </strong></big></p></section><figure class="full-width" style="max-width: 858.0px;"><picture style="display: block; position:relative; width:100%; height:0; overflow:hidden; padding-bottom:62.8205128205%;"><img alt="" data-srcset="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/posts/2017/09/unnamed/ed6021458.png" class="lazyload" style="position:absolute; width:100%; height:100%; top:0; left:0; border:0;"></picture><figcaption class="credit">Phil Klotzbach</figcaption></figure><section id="article-section-8"><p></p><hr><p>Vecchi said that the problems facing hurricane climatology do not make its findings any less stark.</p><p>“People say, the data in the past isn’t good, so we don’t know anything,” he told me. “That’s not true. We have our theory. We know the physics. We make forecasts of storms that we’ve never seen before—the forecast of Hurricane Sandy, for instance, was accurate many days out. So we can’t discount the theory going forward just because we know the data going backward are problematic.”</p><p>“It’s just that now we have to make decisions in this strange world,” he said.</p></section>
    
    </div>

    <div class="article-tools fluid-container">
        
        
        


<ul class="social-kit-bottom">
    <li class="social-kit__item">
        <a class="btn btn--social btn--facebook" href="#" data-share="facebook" data-omni-click="r'article',r' ',d,r'fb-bottom',r' ',r'541185 '">Share</a>
    </li>
    <li class="social-kit__item">
        <a class="btn btn--social btn--twitter" href="#" data-share="twitter" data-omni-click="r'article',r' ',d,r'tw-bottom',r' ',r'541185 '">Tweet</a>
    </li>
</ul>


        <div class="article-after">
            <div class="ad-article-wrapper-bottom">
                

    <gpt-ad id="ad-boxbottom"
        targeting-pos="boxbottom"
        class="ad ad-boxbottom"
        
        lazy-load="1.5" 
        
        
        

        data-object-pk="21"
        data-object-name="boxbottom"
        >
        
            <gpt-sizeset viewport-size="[0, 0]" sizes="[]"></gpt-sizeset>
        
            <gpt-sizeset viewport-size="[1010, 0]" sizes="[[300, 250]]"></gpt-sizeset>
        
    </gpt-ad>


            </div>

            
                



<div class="module module-related related-categorization video" data-omni-click="r'article',r' ',d,r'related',r' ',@href">
    <h2 class="module-label">
        <a href="/video/">Latest Video</a>
    </h2>

    




<a href="/video/index/552878/history-of-sports/" data-omni-click="inherit">


    
    
    
    
        <figure>
            <img class="lazyload" data-src="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/video/img/2018/02/Thumb1c/thumb_wide_300.jpg?1518128838" />
            
        </figure>
    


<h2 class="hed">A Visual History of Sports</h2>
</a>
<p class="dek has-dek">
    From the Mayan ballgame Pitz to ancient Greece’s bull-leaping, here’s a tour of the history of athletic games.
</p>

<ul class="metadata">
    
    
    <li class="byline"><a href="/author/jackie-lay/" title="Jackie Lay">Jackie Lay</a></li>
    
    
    <li class="date">
        <time datetime="2018-02-09">
        
            Feb 9, 2018
        
        </time>
    </li>
    
</ul>

</div>


            

            
            <div id="about-the-authors" class="module module-authors">
                <h2 class="module-label">About the Author</h2>
                


<ul class="authors">
    
    <li class="author">
        
            
            <img src="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/authors/m/robinson-meyer/headshot/headshot.jpg?1460648965" class="headshot" height="62" width="59" alt="Robinson Meyer" />
        
        <div class="bio">
            
                <a href="/author/robinson-meyer/" class="author-link">Robinson Meyer</a> is an associate editor at <em>The Atlantic</em>, where he covers technology.

                
            
        </div>

        
            <ul class="links">
                
                
                <li><a href="https://twitter.com/intent/user?screen_name=yayitsrob" class="twitter">Twitter</a></li>
                
                
                <li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/yayitsrob" class="facebook">Facebook</a></li>
                
                
                <li><a href="mailto:rob@theatlantic.com" class="email">Email</a></li>
                
            </ul>
        
    </li>
    
</ul>

            </div>
            
        </div>
    </div>
</article>



<div class="article-revcontent-wrapper">
    
        <div id="rcjsload_b2bd2c" class="revcontent"></div>


    <gpt-ad id="rc-signal-ad"
        targeting-pos="revcontent-signal"
        class="ad ad-revcontent-signal"
        
        lazy-load="0" 
        
        prevent-reload="1"
        

        data-object-pk="237"
        data-object-name="revcontent-signal"
        >
        
            <gpt-sizeset viewport-size="[0, 0]" sizes="[[13, 1]]"></gpt-sizeset>
        
    </gpt-ad>




   

</div>

<div id="article-most-popular" class="most-popular-container fluid-container nocontent" data-omni-click="r'article',r' ',d,r'mostpop',$li,@data-article-id">

    <div class="most-popular-header">
        <h2>Most Popular</h2>
        <div class="presented-by" data-enable-if-ad="ad-logo">
            Presented by
            

    <gpt-ad id="ad-logo"
        targeting-pos="logo"
        class="ad ad-logo"
        
        lazy-load="1" 
        
        
        

        data-object-pk="38"
        data-object-name="logo"
        >
        
            <gpt-sizeset viewport-size="[0, 0]" sizes="[[88, 31], [120, 60], [240, 120]]"></gpt-sizeset>
        
    </gpt-ad>


        </div>
    </div>

    
    

<div class="most-popular-list">
    <ul class="most-popular">
        
            
            


<li class="most-popular-article " itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="http://schema.org/NewsArticle">
    <a href="/politics/archive/2018/02/trump-budget-congress/553085/" class="article-link" data-article-id="553085" data-omni-click="inherit" itemprop="mainEntityOfPage">
        
            <figure class="lead-img" itemprop="image" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject">
                <img data-src="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/mt/2018/02/RTX4VQEH/hero_wide_640.jpg?1518471066" alt="Copies of President Trump&#39;s fiscal 2019 budget proposal in a cardboard box" class="lazyload">
                <meta itemprop="url" content="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/mt/2018/02/RTX4VQEH/hero_wide_640.jpg?1518471066"></meta>
                <meta itemprop="width" content="640"></meta>
                <meta itemprop="height" content="400"></meta>
                
                <figcaption class="credit">Jonathan Ernst / Reuters</figcaption>
                
            </figure>
        

        <h3 class="hed" itemprop="headline">All the Trump Budget Cuts Congress Will Ignore</h3>
    </a>
    <ul class="metadata">
        <li class="byline"><span itemprop="author" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Person"><a href="/author/russell-berman/" itemprop="url" title="Russell Berman" data-omni-click="inherit"><span itemprop="name">Russell Berman</span></a></span></li>
        

    </ul>
    <meta itemprop="datePublished" content="2018-02-12T16:52:30" />
    <meta itemprop="dateModified" content="2018-02-13T02:49:03" />

    <div itemprop="description" class="article-content ">
        <p class="dek">Lawmakers scoffed at the president’s calls to slash funding across the government a year ago. With a new spending deal now in place, they’re likely to do so again.</p>
        
        <div class="excerpt">
            <p>Within the thousands of pages the White House transmitted to Congress on Monday morning as part of President Trump’s second annual budget request, there is a line that pretty much sums up the whole ritual.</p>

<p>“Many of the eliminations and reductions in this volume reflect a continuation of policies proposed in the 2018 President’s Budget that have not yet been enacted<br>
by the Congress,” the sentence reads. It’s included in the introduction of a 222-page document titled “Major Savings and Reforms.”</p>

<p>Those are all the cuts the Trump administration is proposing, and they’re going nowhere.</p>

<p>Trump again wants to take a meat cleaver to the Environmental Protection Agency, chopping its budget by one-third. He’s asking Congress to scrap entirely community-development block grants and heating assistance for low-income housing. And he wants to eliminate funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the national endowments for the Arts and the Humanities, and <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/05/here-are-the-independent-agencies-trump-wants-to-stop-funding/519786/">a slew of other independent agencies</a>.</p>


        </div>
        
    </div>
    <a class="read-more" href="/politics/archive/2018/02/trump-budget-congress/553085/" data-omni-click="inherit">
        
        Continue Reading
        
    </a>

    <div itemprop="publisher" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Organization" style="display:none;">
        <meta itemprop="name" content="The Atlantic" />
        <div itemprop="logo" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject">
            <meta itemprop="url" content="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/static/b/theatlantic/common/img/logo-black.c2cba3f6478a.png" />
            <meta itemprop="width" content="150" />
            <meta itemprop="height" content="50" />
        </div>
    </div>
</li>

        
            
            


<li class="most-popular-article " itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="http://schema.org/NewsArticle">
    <a href="/politics/archive/2018/02/former-slaves-stories-abraham-lincoln/552917/" class="article-link" data-article-id="552917" data-omni-click="inherit" itemprop="mainEntityOfPage">
        
            <figure class="lead-img" itemprop="image" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject">
                <img data-src="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/mt/2018/02/AP_01122601111/hero_wide_640.jpg?1518202105" alt="A drawing of Abraham Lincoln on horseback" class="lazyload">
                <meta itemprop="url" content="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/mt/2018/02/AP_01122601111/hero_wide_640.jpg?1518202105"></meta>
                <meta itemprop="width" content="640"></meta>
                <meta itemprop="height" content="400"></meta>
                
                <figcaption class="credit">AP</figcaption>
                
            </figure>
        

        <h3 class="hed" itemprop="headline">Abraham Lincoln's Secret Visits to Slaves</h3>
    </a>
    <ul class="metadata">
        <li class="byline"><span itemprop="author" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Person"><a href="/author/william-r-black/" itemprop="url" title="William R. Black" data-omni-click="inherit"><span itemprop="name">William R. Black</span></a></span></li>
        

    </ul>
    <meta itemprop="datePublished" content="2018-02-12T10:07:22" />
    <meta itemprop="dateModified" content="2018-02-13T02:49:03" />

    <div itemprop="description" class="article-content ">
        <p class="dek">In the mid-1930s, the Federal Writers’ Project interviewed thousands of former slaves, some of whom claimed the president came to their plantations disguised as a beggar or a peddler, telling them they’d soon be free.</p>
        
        <div class="excerpt">
            <p>Shortly before the election of 1860, a man <a href="https://www.loc.gov/resource/mesn.130/?sp=231">came upon</a> a plantation near Marlin, Texas, some 20 miles southeast of Waco. Though nobody knew who he was, the plantation owner took him in as a guest. The stranger paid close attention to how the enslaved people working on the plantation were treated—how they subsisted on a weekly ration of “four pounds of meat and a peck of meal,” how they were whipped and sometimes sold, resulting in the tearing apart of families. Eventually, the stranger said goodbye and went on his way, but a little while later he wrote a letter to the plantation owner, informing him he would soon have to free his slaves—“that everybody was going to have to, that the North was going to see to it.” The stranger told the owner to go into the room where he’d slept, and see where he’d carved his name into the headrest. And when the slaveholder went and looked, he saw the name: “A. Lincoln.”</p>


        </div>
        
    </div>
    <a class="read-more" href="/politics/archive/2018/02/former-slaves-stories-abraham-lincoln/552917/" data-omni-click="inherit">
        
        Continue Reading
        
    </a>

    <div itemprop="publisher" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Organization" style="display:none;">
        <meta itemprop="name" content="The Atlantic" />
        <div itemprop="logo" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject">
            <meta itemprop="url" content="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/static/b/theatlantic/common/img/logo-black.c2cba3f6478a.png" />
            <meta itemprop="width" content="150" />
            <meta itemprop="height" content="50" />
        </div>
    </div>
</li>

        
            
            


<li class="most-popular-article " itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="http://schema.org/NewsArticle">
    <a href="/magazine/archive/2015/04/the-irrationality-of-alcoholics-anonymous/386255/" class="article-link" data-article-id="386255" data-omni-click="inherit" itemprop="mainEntityOfPage">
        
            <figure class="lead-img" itemprop="image" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject">
                <img data-src="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/2018/01/1920/hero_wide_640.jpg?1515613595" alt="" class="lazyload">
                <meta itemprop="url" content="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/2018/01/1920/hero_wide_640.jpg?1515613595"></meta>
                <meta itemprop="width" content="640"></meta>
                <meta itemprop="height" content="400"></meta>
                
                <figcaption class="credit">Dan Saelinger</figcaption>
                
            </figure>
        

        <h3 class="hed" itemprop="headline">The Irrationality of Alcoholics Anonymous</h3>
    </a>
    <ul class="metadata">
        <li class="byline"><span itemprop="author" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Person"><a href="/author/gabrielle-glaser/" itemprop="url" title="Gabrielle Glaser" data-omni-click="inherit"><span itemprop="name">Gabrielle Glaser</span></a></span></li>
        

    </ul>
    <meta itemprop="datePublished" content="2015-03-16T20:25:23" />
    <meta itemprop="dateModified" content="2018-02-13T02:49:03" />

    <div itemprop="description" class="article-content ">
        <p class="dek"><span><span>Its faith-based 12-step program dominates treatment in the United States. But researchers have debunked central tenets of AA doctrine and found dozens of other treatments more effective.</span></span></p>
        
        <div class="excerpt">
            <p><span class="smallcaps">J.G. is a lawyer</span> in his early 30s. He’s a fast talker and has the lean, sinewy build of a distance runner. His choice of profession seems preordained, as he speaks in fully formed paragraphs, his thoughts organized by topic sentences. He’s also a worrier—a big one—who for years used alcohol to soothe his anxiety.</p>

<p>J.G. started drinking at 15, when he and a friend experimented in his parents’ liquor cabinet. He favored gin and whiskey but drank whatever he thought his parents would miss the least. He discovered beer, too, and loved the earthy, bitter taste on his tongue when he took his first cold sip.</p>

<p>His drinking increased through college and into law school. He could, and occasionally did, pull back, going cold turkey for weeks at a time. But nothing quieted his anxious mind like booze, and when he didn’t drink, he didn’t sleep. After four or six weeks dry, he’d be back at the liquor store.</p>


        </div>
        
    </div>
    <a class="read-more" href="/magazine/archive/2015/04/the-irrationality-of-alcoholics-anonymous/386255/" data-omni-click="inherit">
        
        Continue Reading
        
    </a>

    <div itemprop="publisher" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Organization" style="display:none;">
        <meta itemprop="name" content="The Atlantic" />
        <div itemprop="logo" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject">
            <meta itemprop="url" content="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/static/b/theatlantic/common/img/logo-black.c2cba3f6478a.png" />
            <meta itemprop="width" content="150" />
            <meta itemprop="height" content="50" />
        </div>
    </div>
</li>

        
            
            


<li class="most-popular-article " itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="http://schema.org/NewsArticle">
    <a href="/technology/archive/2018/02/stupid-cities/553052/" class="article-link" data-article-id="553052" data-omni-click="inherit" itemprop="mainEntityOfPage">
        
            <figure class="lead-img" itemprop="image" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject">
                <img data-src="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/mt/2018/02/StupidCities01/hero_wide_640.jpg?1518474767" alt="A photograph of a gargoyle overlooking Paris" class="lazyload">
                <meta itemprop="url" content="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/mt/2018/02/StupidCities01/hero_wide_640.jpg?1518474767"></meta>
                <meta itemprop="width" content="640"></meta>
                <meta itemprop="height" content="400"></meta>
                
                <figcaption class="credit">lillisphotography / Getty / Emily Jan / The Atlantic</figcaption>
                
            </figure>
        

        <h3 class="hed" itemprop="headline">Stop Saying 'Smart Cities'</h3>
    </a>
    <ul class="metadata">
        <li class="byline"><span itemprop="author" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Person"><a href="/author/bruce-sterling-1/" itemprop="url" title="Bruce Sterling" data-omni-click="inherit"><span itemprop="name">Bruce Sterling</span></a></span></li>
        

    </ul>
    <meta itemprop="datePublished" content="2018-02-12T15:39:12" />
    <meta itemprop="dateModified" content="2018-02-13T02:49:03" />

    <div itemprop="description" class="article-content ">
        <p class="dek">Digital stardust won’t magically make future cities more affordable or resilient.</p>
        
        <div class="excerpt">
            <p>The term “smart city” is interesting yet not important, because nobody defines it. “Smart” is a snazzy political label used by a modern alliance of leftist urbanites and tech industrialists. To deem yourself “smart” is to make the <span class="smallcaps">NIMBY</span>ites and market-force people look stupid.</p>

<p>Smart-city devotees all over this world will agree that London is particularly smart. Why? London is a huge, ungainly beast whose cartwheeling urban life is in cranky, irrational disarray. London is a god-awful urban mess, but London does have some of the best international smart-city conferences.</p>

<p>London also has a large urban-management bureaucracy who emit the proper smart-city buzzwords and have even invented some themselves.  The language of Smart City is always Global Business English, no matter what town you're in.</p>


        </div>
        
    </div>
    <a class="read-more" href="/technology/archive/2018/02/stupid-cities/553052/" data-omni-click="inherit">
        
        Continue Reading
        
    </a>

    <div itemprop="publisher" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Organization" style="display:none;">
        <meta itemprop="name" content="The Atlantic" />
        <div itemprop="logo" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject">
            <meta itemprop="url" content="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/static/b/theatlantic/common/img/logo-black.c2cba3f6478a.png" />
            <meta itemprop="width" content="150" />
            <meta itemprop="height" content="50" />
        </div>
    </div>
</li>

        
            
            


<li class="most-popular-article " itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="http://schema.org/NewsArticle">
    <a href="/entertainment/archive/2018/02/the-selective-empathy-of-metoo-backlash/553022/" class="article-link" data-article-id="553022" data-omni-click="inherit" itemprop="mainEntityOfPage">
        
            <figure class="lead-img" itemprop="image" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject">
                <img data-src="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/mt/2018/02/GettyImages_693966282toned/hero_wide_640.jpg?1518466680" alt="Woody Allen speaks onstage during an American Film Institute gala in 2017" class="lazyload">
                <meta itemprop="url" content="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/mt/2018/02/GettyImages_693966282toned/hero_wide_640.jpg?1518466680"></meta>
                <meta itemprop="width" content="640"></meta>
                <meta itemprop="height" content="400"></meta>
                
                <figcaption class="credit">Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty</figcaption>
                
            </figure>
        

        <h3 class="hed" itemprop="headline">The Selective Empathy of #MeToo Backlash</h3>
    </a>
    <ul class="metadata">
        <li class="byline"><span itemprop="author" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Person"><a href="/author/megan-garber/" itemprop="url" title="Megan Garber" data-omni-click="inherit"><span itemprop="name">Megan Garber</span></a></span></li>
        

    </ul>
    <meta itemprop="datePublished" content="2018-02-11T13:03:00" />
    <meta itemprop="dateModified" content="2018-02-13T02:49:03" />

    <div itemprop="description" class="article-content ">
        <p class="dek">From Donald Trump to recent op-eds, the male perspective remains—stubbornly, perniciously—the default point of view.</p>
        
        <div class="excerpt">
            <p>The tweet, as so often happens, was at once shocking and deeply predictable.</p>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Peoples lives are being shattered and destroyed by a mere allegation. Some are true and some are false. Some are old and some are new. There is no recovery for someone falsely accused—life and career are gone. Is there no such thing any longer as Due Process?</p>
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/962348831789797381?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 10, 2018</a></blockquote>

<p></p>

<p>That was President Trump, on Saturday, ostensibly reacting to the fact that, this week, allegations of domestic abuse <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/02/new-kids-on-the-block/552911/">led to the resignations of two high-level staffers at the White House</a>. He was also, obliquely, weighing in on #MeToo. The president’s 48-word assessment of the reckoning so many Americans are painfully but productively engaged in made for rich (but thoroughly unsurprising) irony: Trump, of course, has been <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/12/what-about-the-19-women-who-accused-trump/547724/">accused of sexual impropriety by 19 women</a>—and has also been <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/10/the-trump-tapes/503417/">caught on tape</a> bragging about sexual assault, and has also boasted, <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/donald-trump-1994-putting-wife-work-dangerous-thing/story?id=39537935">on national television</a>, about advising friends to “<a href="https://www.vox.com/2016/6/2/11833912/donald-trump-1994-women-buildings-misogyny">be rougher</a>” toward their wives, and has also been elected president of the United States. His tweet is revealing both in spite and because of those facts: “<i>Peoples</i>[sic],” in the plural; <i>allegation</i>, in the singular. The <i>peoples </i>meaning the “men’s”; the <em>allegation</em>—though in its context, the diminishing adjective is redundant—being a “mere” one.</p>


        </div>
        
    </div>
    <a class="read-more" href="/entertainment/archive/2018/02/the-selective-empathy-of-metoo-backlash/553022/" data-omni-click="inherit">
        
        Continue Reading
        
    </a>

    <div itemprop="publisher" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Organization" style="display:none;">
        <meta itemprop="name" content="The Atlantic" />
        <div itemprop="logo" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject">
            <meta itemprop="url" content="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/static/b/theatlantic/common/img/logo-black.c2cba3f6478a.png" />
            <meta itemprop="width" content="150" />
            <meta itemprop="height" content="50" />
        </div>
    </div>
</li>

        
            
            


<li class="most-popular-article " itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="http://schema.org/NewsArticle">
    <a href="/international/archive/2018/02/north-korea-olympics-kim-yo-jong/553064/" class="article-link" data-article-id="553064" data-omni-click="inherit" itemprop="mainEntityOfPage">
        
            <figure class="lead-img" itemprop="image" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject">
                <img data-src="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/mt/2018/02/RTX4UZSZ/hero_wide_640.jpg?1518458794" alt="" class="lazyload">
                <meta itemprop="url" content="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/mt/2018/02/RTX4UZSZ/hero_wide_640.jpg?1518458794"></meta>
                <meta itemprop="width" content="640"></meta>
                <meta itemprop="height" content="400"></meta>
                
                <figcaption class="credit">KCNA / Reuters </figcaption>
                
            </figure>
        

        <h3 class="hed" itemprop="headline">The Fetishization of Kim Yo Jong</h3>
    </a>
    <ul class="metadata">
        <li class="byline"><span itemprop="author" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Person"><a href="/author/krishnadev-calamur/" itemprop="url" title="Krishnadev Calamur" data-omni-click="inherit"><span itemprop="name">Krishnadev Calamur</span></a></span></li>
        

    </ul>
    <meta itemprop="datePublished" content="2018-02-12T18:08:38" />
    <meta itemprop="dateModified" content="2018-02-13T02:49:03" />

    <div itemprop="description" class="article-content ">
        <p class="dek">A dictator’s sister gets positive reviews at the Olympics.</p>
        
        <div class="excerpt">
            <p>Call it the diplomacy of low expectations: After Kim Jong Un’s regime spent much of the past year threatening its neighbors and the U.S. with its nuclear weapons, his sister got a surprisingly warm reception at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. And North Korea—having sent athletes and cheerleaders to the Games as well—got the kind of publicity that should have been reserved for South Korea, which organized, paid for, and is hosting event.</p>

<p>Here are some of the recent headlines:</p>

<p><a href="https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-olympics-2018-northkorea-diplomacy-an/north-korea-heads-for-diplomacy-gold-medal-at-olympics-analysts-idUKKBN1FV0JV">North Korea heads for diplomacy gold medal at Olympics: analysts</a> (Reuters)</p>

<p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/11/world/asia/kim-yo-jong-mike-pence-olympics.html">Kim Jong-un’s Sister Turns On the Charm, Taking Pence’s Spotlight</a> (<em>The New York Times</em>)</p>

<p><a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/winter-olympics-2018/2018/02/11/north-korea-cheerleaders-bring-feeling-home-winter-olympics-e/327122002/">North Korea cheerleaders making quite an impression at Winter Olympics</a> (<em>USA Today</em>)</p>


        </div>
        
    </div>
    <a class="read-more" href="/international/archive/2018/02/north-korea-olympics-kim-yo-jong/553064/" data-omni-click="inherit">
        
        Continue Reading
        
    </a>

    <div itemprop="publisher" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Organization" style="display:none;">
        <meta itemprop="name" content="The Atlantic" />
        <div itemprop="logo" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject">
            <meta itemprop="url" content="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/static/b/theatlantic/common/img/logo-black.c2cba3f6478a.png" />
            <meta itemprop="width" content="150" />
            <meta itemprop="height" content="50" />
        </div>
    </div>
</li>

        
            
            


<li class="most-popular-article " itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="http://schema.org/NewsArticle">
    <a href="/entertainment/archive/2018/02/netflix-cloverfield-paradox-annihilation-extinction-release/553067/" class="article-link" data-article-id="553067" data-omni-click="inherit" itemprop="mainEntityOfPage">
        
            <figure class="lead-img" itemprop="image" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject">
                <img data-src="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/mt/2018/02/netflix/hero_wide_640.jpg?1518452815" alt="A still from &#39;The Cloverfield Paradox&#39;" class="lazyload">
                <meta itemprop="url" content="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/mt/2018/02/netflix/hero_wide_640.jpg?1518452815"></meta>
                <meta itemprop="width" content="640"></meta>
                <meta itemprop="height" content="400"></meta>
                
                <figcaption class="credit">Netflix</figcaption>
                
            </figure>
        

        <h3 class="hed" itemprop="headline">Could Netflix Be Giving Up on Prestige Films?</h3>
    </a>
    <ul class="metadata">
        <li class="byline"><span itemprop="author" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Person"><a href="/author/david-sims/" itemprop="url" title="David Sims" data-omni-click="inherit"><span itemprop="name">David Sims</span></a></span></li>
        

    </ul>
    <meta itemprop="datePublished" content="2018-02-12T14:10:00" />
    <meta itemprop="dateModified" content="2018-02-13T02:49:03" />

    <div itemprop="description" class="article-content ">
        <p class="dek">The surprise release of<em> The Cloverfield Paradox</em>, along with acquisitions of other schlocky genre movies, suggests the company is leaning in to its “direct-to-video” approach.</p>
        
        <div class="excerpt">
            <p>Just a year ago, at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, Netflix was a big player. The streaming company was a little more than a year into releasing its own original movies for its subscribers, and it was looking for prestige hits to gain a foothold as a distributor Hollywood could take seriously. It acquired one of the best-reviewed films of the festival, <em>Mudbound</em>, <a href="http://www.indiewire.com/2017/01/netflix-mudbound-sundance-film-acquisition-1201773462/">for $12.5 million</a>, and the Grand Jury Prize winner <em>I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore,</em> among others. In terms of prestige, Netflix was lagging behind its competitor Amazon, which had nabbed a <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2017/01/how-amazon-got-a-best-picture-oscar-nomination/514325/">Best Picture nomination</a> for its major Sundance acquisition of 2016, <em>Manchester by the Sea</em>. Maybe Netflix’s new slate of indie favorites would turn things around.</p>


        </div>
        
    </div>
    <a class="read-more" href="/entertainment/archive/2018/02/netflix-cloverfield-paradox-annihilation-extinction-release/553067/" data-omni-click="inherit">
        
        Continue Reading
        
    </a>

    <div itemprop="publisher" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Organization" style="display:none;">
        <meta itemprop="name" content="The Atlantic" />
        <div itemprop="logo" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject">
            <meta itemprop="url" content="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/static/b/theatlantic/common/img/logo-black.c2cba3f6478a.png" />
            <meta itemprop="width" content="150" />
            <meta itemprop="height" content="50" />
        </div>
    </div>
</li>

        
            
            


<li class="most-popular-article " itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="http://schema.org/NewsArticle">
    <a href="/science/archive/2018/02/an-explosion-was-audible-inside-each-toad/552608/" class="article-link" data-article-id="552608" data-omni-click="inherit" itemprop="mainEntityOfPage">
        
            <figure class="lead-img" itemprop="image" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject">
                <img data-src="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/mt/2018/02/ExploadingBeetle/hero_wide_640.jpg?1518035006" alt="A bombardier beetle inside a toad" class="lazyload">
                <meta itemprop="url" content="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/mt/2018/02/ExploadingBeetle/hero_wide_640.jpg?1518035006"></meta>
                <meta itemprop="width" content="640"></meta>
                <meta itemprop="height" content="400"></meta>
                
                <figcaption class="credit">Ear Iew Boo / Michal Zduniak / Shutterstock / The Atlantic</figcaption>
                
            </figure>
        

        <h3 class="hed" itemprop="headline">How to Survive Being Swallowed by Another Animal</h3>
    </a>
    <ul class="metadata">
        <li class="byline"><span itemprop="author" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Person"><a href="/author/ed-yong/" itemprop="url" title="Ed Yong" data-omni-click="inherit"><span itemprop="name">Ed Yong</span></a></span></li>
        

    </ul>
    <meta itemprop="datePublished" content="2018-02-07T07:00:00" />
    <meta itemprop="dateModified" content="2018-02-13T02:49:03" />

    <div itemprop="description" class="article-content ">
        <p class="dek">“An explosion was audible inside each toad.”</p>
        
        <div class="excerpt">
            <p>In the 1997 movie <em>Anaconda</em>, there are, to put it mildly, a few scientific inaccuracies. Chief among them: Anacondas do not regurgitate their still-living prey to experience the thrill of a second kill, as the movie’s snake <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdgB9_hjrMc">does with Jon Voight</a>. They will sometimes puke up a meal, but since they constrict their victims before swallowing, the expelled individual would be very much dead.</p>

<p>But some animals <em>can </em>travel down a predator’s gullet and return to tell the tale. Consider the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombardier_beetle">bombardier beetles</a>. There are 500 species of them, named for their ability to spray scalding, caustic liquid from their backsides. They do so by mixing chemicals housed in two separate glands. Separately, these substances are inert. Together, they react with explosive results. The beetles can create around <a href="http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2015/04/30/how-this-beetle-creates-500-explosions-per-second-in-its-bum/">500 of these explosions</a> every second, creating chemical streams that reach over 100 degrees Celsius and travel at up to 22 miles per hour.</p>


        </div>
        
    </div>
    <a class="read-more" href="/science/archive/2018/02/an-explosion-was-audible-inside-each-toad/552608/" data-omni-click="inherit">
        
        Continue Reading
        
    </a>

    <div itemprop="publisher" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Organization" style="display:none;">
        <meta itemprop="name" content="The Atlantic" />
        <div itemprop="logo" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject">
            <meta itemprop="url" content="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/static/b/theatlantic/common/img/logo-black.c2cba3f6478a.png" />
            <meta itemprop="width" content="150" />
            <meta itemprop="height" content="50" />
        </div>
    </div>
</li>

        
            
            


<li class="most-popular-article " itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="http://schema.org/NewsArticle">
    <a href="/photo/2018/02/photos-of-carnival-2018-around-the-world/553055/" class="article-link" data-article-id="553055" data-omni-click="inherit" itemprop="mainEntityOfPage">
        
            <figure class="lead-img" itemprop="image" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject">
                <img data-src="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/photo/2018/02/photos-of-carnival-2018-around-the/c01_916748650-1/hero_wide_640.jpg?1518455256" alt="" class="lazyload">
                <meta itemprop="url" content="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/photo/2018/02/photos-of-carnival-2018-around-the/c01_916748650-1/hero_wide_640.jpg?1518455256"></meta>
                <meta itemprop="width" content="640"></meta>
                <meta itemprop="height" content="400"></meta>
                
                <figcaption class="credit">Octavio Passos / Getty</figcaption>
                
            </figure>
        

        <h3 class="hed" itemprop="headline">Photos of Carnival 2018 Around the World</h3>
    </a>
    <ul class="metadata">
        <li class="byline"><span itemprop="author" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Person"><a href="/author/alan-taylor/" itemprop="url" title="Alan Taylor" data-omni-click="inherit"><span itemprop="name">Alan Taylor</span></a></span></li>
        

    </ul>
    <meta itemprop="datePublished" content="2018-02-12T11:34:03" />
    <meta itemprop="dateModified" content="2018-02-13T02:49:03" />

    <div itemprop="description" class="article-content ">
        <p class="dek">Images of Carnival season 2018, already underway, with celebrations in Brazil, Portugal, Hungary, Bolivia, Haiti, Spain, Italy, and more.</p>
        
        <div class="excerpt">
            <p>Carnival season 2018 is underway across Europe and the Americas. These pre-Lent festivals, often a blend of local pagan and Catholic traditions, usher out winter and welcome in spring. The largest and most famous—the Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil—took place over the past few days.  Gathered here are images of Carnivals around the world, including images from Brazil, Portugal, Hungary, Bolivia, Haiti, Spain, Italy, and more. Depending on available photos, there may be a follow-up post later this week with more from Mardi Gras and other celebrations.</p>

        </div>
        
    </div>
    <a class="read-more" href="/photo/2018/02/photos-of-carnival-2018-around-the-world/553055/" data-omni-click="inherit">
        
        Continue Reading
        
    </a>

    <div itemprop="publisher" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Organization" style="display:none;">
        <meta itemprop="name" content="The Atlantic" />
        <div itemprop="logo" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject">
            <meta itemprop="url" content="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/static/b/theatlantic/common/img/logo-black.c2cba3f6478a.png" />
            <meta itemprop="width" content="150" />
            <meta itemprop="height" content="50" />
        </div>
    </div>
</li>

        
            
            


<li class="most-popular-article " itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="http://schema.org/NewsArticle">
    <a href="/science/archive/2018/02/trump-budget-nasa-wfirst-telescope/553082/" class="article-link" data-article-id="553082" data-omni-click="inherit" itemprop="mainEntityOfPage">
        
            <figure class="lead-img" itemprop="image" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject">
                <img data-src="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/mt/2018/02/wfirst_bright_left_0/hero_wide_640.jpg?1518469049" alt="An illustration of NASA’s Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST)" class="lazyload">
                <meta itemprop="url" content="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/mt/2018/02/wfirst_bright_left_0/hero_wide_640.jpg?1518469049"></meta>
                <meta itemprop="width" content="640"></meta>
                <meta itemprop="height" content="400"></meta>
                
                <figcaption class="credit">NASA Goddard Spaceflight Center / CI Lab</figcaption>
                
            </figure>
        

        <h3 class="hed" itemprop="headline">The NASA Space Telescope Trump Wants to Cancel</h3>
    </a>
    <ul class="metadata">
        <li class="byline"><span itemprop="author" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Person"><a href="/author/marina-koren/" itemprop="url" title="Marina Koren" data-omni-click="inherit"><span itemprop="name">Marina Koren</span></a></span></li>
        

    </ul>
    <meta itemprop="datePublished" content="2018-02-12T15:55:48" />
    <meta itemprop="dateModified" content="2018-02-13T02:49:03" />

    <div itemprop="description" class="article-content ">
        <p class="dek">The president’s budget proposal has some troubling news for the space agency’s next big astronomy mission.</p>
        
        <div class="excerpt">
            <p dir="ltr">The Trump administration has released its <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/msar-fy2019.pdf">budget proposal for fiscal year 2019</a> and put dozens of federal programs on the chopping block, including a brand-new <span class="smallcaps">NASA</span> space telescope that scientists say would provide the biggest picture of the universe yet, with the same sparkling clarity as the Hubble Space Telescope.</p>

<p dir="ltr">The proposal, released Monday, recommends eliminating the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST), citing “higher priorities” at <span class="smallcaps">NASA</span> and the cost of the new telescope.</p>

<p dir="ltr">“Given competing priorities at <span class="smallcaps">NASA</span>, and budget constraints, developing another large space telescope immediately after completing the $8.8 billion James Webb Space Telescope is not a priority for the administration,” the proposal states. “The budget proposes to terminate WFIRST and redirect existing funds to other priorities of the science community, including completed astrophysics missions and research.”</p>


        </div>
        
    </div>
    <a class="read-more" href="/science/archive/2018/02/trump-budget-nasa-wfirst-telescope/553082/" data-omni-click="inherit">
        
        Continue Reading
        
    </a>

    <div itemprop="publisher" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Organization" style="display:none;">
        <meta itemprop="name" content="The Atlantic" />
        <div itemprop="logo" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject">
            <meta itemprop="url" content="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/static/b/theatlantic/common/img/logo-black.c2cba3f6478a.png" />
            <meta itemprop="width" content="150" />
            <meta itemprop="height" content="50" />
        </div>
    </div>
</li>

        
        
            
            


<li class="most-popular-article most-popular-video" itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="http://schema.org/NewsArticle">
    <a href="/video/index/409927/dont-sneak-a-fathers-command-to-his-gay-son-in-the-1950s/" class="article-link" data-article-id="409927" data-omni-click="inherit" itemprop="mainEntityOfPage">
        
            <figure class="lead-img" itemprop="image" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject">
                <img data-src="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/video/img/2015/10/Screen_Shot_2015_10_11_at_4.47.41_PM/hero_wide_640.jpg?1444597691" alt="" class="lazyload">
                <meta itemprop="url" content="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/video/img/2015/10/Screen_Shot_2015_10_11_at_4.47.41_PM/hero_wide_640.jpg?1444597691"></meta>
                <meta itemprop="width" content="640"></meta>
                <meta itemprop="height" content="400"></meta>
                
            </figure>
        

        <h3 class="hed" itemprop="headline">'Don't Sneak': A Father's Command to His Gay Son in the 1950s</h3>
    </a>
    <ul class="metadata">
        <li class="byline"><span itemprop="author" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Person"><a href="/author/nadine-ajaka/" itemprop="url" title="Nadine Ajaka" data-omni-click="inherit"><span itemprop="name">Nadine Ajaka</span></a></span></li>
        

    </ul>
    <meta itemprop="datePublished" content="2015-10-11T22:47:17" />
    <meta itemprop="dateModified" content="2018-02-13T02:49:15" />

    <div itemprop="description" class="article-content without-excerpt">
        <p class="dek">In a StoryCorps animation, Patrick Haggerty remembers the remarkable advice he got from his dairy farmer dad.</p>
        
    </div>
    <a class="read-more" href="/video/index/409927/dont-sneak-a-fathers-command-to-his-gay-son-in-the-1950s/" data-omni-click="inherit">
        
        Watch Video
        
    </a>

    <div itemprop="publisher" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Organization" style="display:none;">
        <meta itemprop="name" content="The Atlantic" />
        <div itemprop="logo" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject">
            <meta itemprop="url" content="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/static/b/theatlantic/common/img/logo-black.c2cba3f6478a.png" />
            <meta itemprop="width" content="150" />
            <meta itemprop="height" content="50" />
        </div>
    </div>
</li>

        
            
            


<li class="most-popular-article most-popular-video" itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="http://schema.org/NewsArticle">
    <a href="/video/index/552812/globe-of-death/" class="article-link" data-article-id="552812" data-omni-click="inherit" itemprop="mainEntityOfPage">
        
            <figure class="lead-img" itemprop="image" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject">
                <img data-src="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/video/img/2018/02/Globe_of_Death/hero_wide_640.png?1518116102" alt="" class="lazyload">
                <meta itemprop="url" content="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/video/img/2018/02/Globe_of_Death/hero_wide_640.png?1518116102"></meta>
                <meta itemprop="width" content="640"></meta>
                <meta itemprop="height" content="400"></meta>
                
            </figure>
        

        <h3 class="hed" itemprop="headline">The Gravity-Defying Globe of Death</h3>
    </a>
    <ul class="metadata">
        <li class="byline"><span itemprop="author" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Person"><a href="/author/emily-buder/" itemprop="url" title="Emily Buder" data-omni-click="inherit"><span itemprop="name">Emily Buder</span></a></span></li>
        

    </ul>
    <meta itemprop="datePublished" content="2018-02-08T14:51:01" />
    <meta itemprop="dateModified" content="2018-02-13T02:49:15" />

    <div itemprop="description" class="article-content without-excerpt">
        <p class="dek">Lucius Zafalon is a daredevil motorcycle rider who risks his body in the pursuit of the perfect Globe of Death act.</p>
        
    </div>
    <a class="read-more" href="/video/index/552812/globe-of-death/" data-omni-click="inherit">
        
        Watch Video
        
    </a>

    <div itemprop="publisher" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Organization" style="display:none;">
        <meta itemprop="name" content="The Atlantic" />
        <div itemprop="logo" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject">
            <meta itemprop="url" content="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/static/b/theatlantic/common/img/logo-black.c2cba3f6478a.png" />
            <meta itemprop="width" content="150" />
            <meta itemprop="height" content="50" />
        </div>
    </div>
</li>

        
            
            


<li class="most-popular-article most-popular-video" itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="http://schema.org/NewsArticle">
    <a href="/video/index/551975/twisted-film-niagara/" class="article-link" data-article-id="551975" data-omni-click="inherit" itemprop="mainEntityOfPage">
        
            <figure class="lead-img" itemprop="image" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject">
                <img data-src="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/video/img/2018/01/Twisted_Site/hero_wide_640.jpg?1517420231" alt="" class="lazyload">
                <meta itemprop="url" content="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/video/img/2018/01/Twisted_Site/hero_wide_640.jpg?1517420231"></meta>
                <meta itemprop="width" content="640"></meta>
                <meta itemprop="height" content="400"></meta>
                
            </figure>
        

        <h3 class="hed" itemprop="headline">An Urban Legend Is Born</h3>
    </a>
    <ul class="metadata">
        <li class="byline"><span itemprop="author" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Person"><a href="/author/emily-buder/" itemprop="url" title="Emily Buder" data-omni-click="inherit"><span itemprop="name">Emily Buder</span></a></span></li>
        

    </ul>
    <meta itemprop="datePublished" content="2018-01-31T13:14:42" />
    <meta itemprop="dateModified" content="2018-02-13T02:49:15" />

    <div itemprop="description" class="article-content without-excerpt">
        <p class="dek">It’s an incredible story. But did it actually happen?</p>
        
    </div>
    <a class="read-more" href="/video/index/551975/twisted-film-niagara/" data-omni-click="inherit">
        
        Watch Video
        
    </a>

    <div itemprop="publisher" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Organization" style="display:none;">
        <meta itemprop="name" content="The Atlantic" />
        <div itemprop="logo" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject">
            <meta itemprop="url" content="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/static/b/theatlantic/common/img/logo-black.c2cba3f6478a.png" />
            <meta itemprop="width" content="150" />
            <meta itemprop="height" content="50" />
        </div>
    </div>
</li>

        
    </ul>
    <div class="more-stories-wrapper">
        <a class="more-stories" href="/most-popular/" data-omni-click="r'.',r' ',d,r'mostpop',r'more',r'/most-popular'">More Popular Stories</a>
    </div>
</div>

    
</div>



<div id="article-comments">
    

    <!-- Ad not available -->


</div>



<script type="text/injector-promo" data-obj-id="2" data-name="Daily " data-rate-limit="0.1">
    <aside>
    <form id="injector-signup-daily" action="" method="post"  data-newsletter-signup="1">
        <p>
            Like <em>​The Atlantic</em>? Subscribe to <strong>​</strong><a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/daily/" target="_blank">The Atlantic Daily​</a>, our free weekday email newsletter.
        </p>
        <input type="hidden" name="newsletters" value="7581216"><input type="email" name="email" class="email-address" placeholder="Email"><input type="submit" value="Sign up">
        <p class="message"></p>
    </form>
</aside>

</script>





<script id="video-social-links-template" type="text/template">
    <div class="article-embed-share">
        <ul class="share social-icons round color">
            <li><a href="#" class="facebook social-icon" data-share="facebook" data-share-text="<%= title %>" data-share-url="<%= original_url %>" data-omni-click="r'videoembedshare_fb',<%= video_id %>">
            </a></li>

            <li><a href="#" class="twitter social-icon" data-share="twitter" data-share-text="<%= title %>" data-share-url="<%= original_url %>" data-omni-click="r'videoembedshare_tw',<%= video_id %>" data-share-via="theatlantic">
            </a></li>
        </ul>
    </div>
</script>


<script type="application/ld+json">[]</script>


        
            
            <div id="janrain-screens" class="profile-screens"></div>
        

        
            <nav id="action-bar" class="c-action-bar u-border-box u-smooth-font is-hidden">
    <section class="c-action-bar__container">
        <ul class="c-share-kit">
            <li class="c-share-kit__item">
                <a class="c-btn c-btn--home" href="/" role="button" data-omni-click="r'article',r' ',d,r'home-action-bar',r' ',r'541185'">
                    <svg class="c-btn__icon"><use xlink:href="#icon-logo-a"></use></svg>
                    <span class="c-btn__name">Home</span>
                </a>
            </li>
            <li class="c-share-kit__item">
                <a class="c-btn c-btn--facebook" href="javascript:void(0)" role="button" data-share="facebook" data-omni-click="r'article',r' ',d,r'fb-action-bar',r' ',r'541185'">
                    <svg class="c-btn__icon"><use xlink:href="#icon-social-facebook"></svg>
                    <span class="c-btn__name">Share</span>
                </a>
            </li>
            <li class="c-share-kit__item">
                <a class="c-btn c-btn--twitter" href="javascript:void(0)" role="button" data-share="twitter" data-omni-click="r'article',r' ',d,r'tw-action-bar',r' ',r'541185'">
                    <svg class="c-btn__icon"><use xlink:href="#icon-social-twitter"></use></svg>
                    <span class="c-btn__name">Tweet</span>
                </a>
            </li>
        </ul>
        
        <a href="/science/archive/2017/09/hurricanes-pets/541092/" class="c-action-bar__next" data-omni-click="r'article',r' ',d,r'next-prev-nav',r'2',r'541092'">Next story in <strong>Science</strong></a>
        
    </section>
</nav>

            




<footer id="site-footer" data-omni-click="r'article',r'footer',d,r' ',r' ',@href">
    
    <div class="row">
        <section class="subscribe">
            <div class="footer-content border">
                <div id="subscribe-header" >
                    <div class="footer-title">Subscribe</div>
                    <p class="promo-tag">Support 160 years of independent journalism.</p>
                </div>
                <a href="/subscribe/footer-cover" data-omni-click="inherit">
                    <div id="issue-image">
                        
                        
                        
                        
                        
                        <img class="cover lazyload" data-src="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/issues/2017/12/06/0118Cover/large.jpg?1512601304" alt="">
                        
                        
                        
                    </div>
                </a>

                <div class="wrap-form">
                    <form action="/subscribe/embedded-footer-features/" method="post" id="footerCircForm" class="labeled">

    <input type="HIDDEN" name="lsid" value="50301515139038984">
    <input type="HIDDEN" name="vid" value="1">
    <input type="HIDDEN" name="cds_page_id" value="173343">
    <input type="HIDDEN" name="cds_mag_code" value="ATL">
    <input type="HIDDEN" name="cds_form_submitted" value="subscription_US_billme:subscription_US_billme1">
    <input type="HIDDEN" name="cds_doms_order_number" value="">
    <input type="HIDDEN" name="cds_doms_offer_code" value="">
    <input type="HIDDEN" name="cds_doms_package_offer_id" value="">
    <input type="HIDDEN" name="cds_config_id" value="">
    <input type="HIDDEN" name="cds_series_status" value="">

    <label class="u-element-invisible" for="cds_name">Name</label>
    <input class="name label" name="cds_name" id="cds_name" type="text" value="" placeholder="Name" keyev="true">

    <label class="u-element-invisible" for="cds_address_1">Address 1</label>
    <input class="address1 label" name="cds_address_1" id="cds_address_1" type="text" value="" placeholder="Address 1">

    <label class="u-element-invisible" for="cds_address_2">Address 2</label>
    <input class="address2 label" name="cds_address_2" id="cds_address_2" type="text" value="" placeholder="Address 2">

    <label class="u-element-invisible" for="cds_city">City</label>
    <input class="city label" name="cds_city" id="cds_city" type="text" value="" placeholder="City">

    <div class="styled-select">
        <label class="u-element-invisible" for="cds_state">State</label>
        <select class="state" name="cds_state" id="cds_state">
            <option selected disabled value="">State</option>
            <option value="AL">Alabama</option>
            <option value="AK">Alaska</option>
            <option value="AB">Alberta</option>
            <option value="AS">American Samoa</option>
            <option value="AE">APO/FPO-Africa</option>
            <option value="AE">APO/FPO-Canada</option>
            <option value="AE">APO/FPO-Europe</option>
            <option value="AE">APO/FPO-Middle East</option>
            <option value="AA">APO/FPO-Americas</option>
            <option value="AP">APO/FPO-Pacific</option>
            <option value="AZ">Arizona</option>
            <option value="AR">Arkansas</option>
            <option value="BC">British Columbia</option>
            <option value="CA">California</option>
            <option value="CO">Colorado</option>
            <option value="CT">Connecticut</option>
            <option value="DE">Delaware</option>
            <option value="DC">District of Columbia</option>
            <option value="FL">Florida</option>
            <option value="GA">Georgia</option>
            <option value="GU">Guam</option>
            <option value="HI">Hawaii</option>
            <option value="ID">Idaho</option>
            <option value="IL">Illinois</option>
            <option value="IN">Indiana</option>
            <option value="IA">Iowa</option>
            <option value="KS">Kansas</option>
            <option value="KY">Kentucky</option>
            <option value="LA">Louisiana</option>
            <option value="ME">Maine</option>
            <option value="MB">Manitoba</option>
            <option value="MH">Marshall Islands</option>
            <option value="MD">Maryland</option>
            <option value="MA">Massachusetts</option>
            <option value="MI">Michigan</option>
            <option value="FM">Micronesia</option>
            <option value="MN">Minnesota</option>
            <option value="MS">Mississippi</option>
            <option value="MO">Missouri</option>
            <option value="MT">Montana</option>
            <option value="NE">Nebraska</option>
            <option value="NV">Nevada</option>
            <option value="NB">New Brunswick</option>
            <option value="NH">New Hampshire</option>
            <option value="NJ">New Jersey</option>
            <option value="NM">New Mexico</option>
            <option value="NY">New York</option>
            <option value="NF">Newfoundland</option>
            <option value="NL">Newfoundland-Labrador</option>
            <option value="NC">North Carolina</option>
            <option value="ND">North Dakota</option>
            <option value="MP">Northern Mariana Isles</option>
            <option value="NT">Northwest Territories</option>
            <option value="NS">Nova Scotia</option>
            <option value="NU">Nunavut</option>
            <option value="OH">Ohio</option>
            <option value="OK">Oklahoma</option>
            <option value="ON">Ontario</option>
            <option value="OR">Oregon</option>
            <option value="PW">Palau</option>
            <option value="PA">Pennsylvania</option>
            <option value="PE">Prince Edward Island</option>
            <option value="PR">Puerto Rico</option>
            <option value="PQ">Quebec</option>
            <option value="QC">Quebec</option>
            <option value="RI">Rhode Island</option>
            <option value="SK">Saskatchewan</option>
            <option value="SC">South Carolina</option>
            <option value="SD">South Dakota</option>
            <option value="TN">Tennessee</option>
            <option value="TX">Texas</option>
            <option value="UT">Utah</option>
            <option value="VT">Vermont</option>
            <option value="VI">Virgin Islands</option>
            <option value="VA">Virginia</option>
            <option value="WA">Washington</option>
            <option value="WV">West Virginia</option>
            <option value="WI">Wisconsin</option>
            <option value="WY">Wyoming</option>
            <option value="YT">Yukon Territories</option>
        </select>
    </div>

    <label class="u-element-invisible" for="cds_zip">Zip Code</label>
    <input name="cds_zip" id="cds_zip" type="text" pattern="\d*" size="10" value="" placeholder="Zip" class="zip label" />
    
    <label class="u-element-invisible" for="cds_country">Country</label>
    <input name="cds_country" id="cds_country" type="text" value="United States" placeholder="Country" class="country label" />

    <label class="u-element-invisible" for="cds_email">Email Address</label>
    <input name="cds_email" id="cds_email" type="email" value="" placeholder="Email" class="email label" />

    <input class="submit" type="submit" value="Order Now" name="Submit" />
</form>

                </div>
                <div class="fraud-alert">
                    <a href="/personal/archive/2013/10/fraud-alert-regarding-i-the-atlantic-i/280278/" data-omni-click="inherit">Fraud Alert regarding The Atlantic</a>
                </div>
            </div>
        </section>

        <section class="newsletters toggleable">
            <div class="footer-content border">
                <div class="footer-title toggle">Newsletters<span>+</span></div>
            </div>
            <div class="footer-content toggleable-content" id="footer-newsletter-signup" data-newsletter-signup="1">
                <form action="" method="post" id="footer-newsletter-signup">

    <fieldset class="newsletter-column wide">

        <legend class="newsletter-header">The Atlantic</legend>

        <div class="newsletter-sub-column">
            <div class="checkbox">
                <label>
                    <input type="checkbox" value="7581216" name="newsletters">
                    <i>The Atlantic</i> Daily
                </label>
            </div>
            <div class="checkbox">
                <label>
                    <input type="checkbox" value="7574845" name="newsletters">
                    This Week
                </label>
            </div>
            <div class="checkbox">
                <label>
                    <input type="checkbox" value="7581269" name="newsletters">
                    This Month
                </label>
            </div>
        </div>

        <div class="newsletter-sub-column">
            <div class="checkbox">
                <label>
                    <input type="checkbox" value="7581260" name="newsletters">
                    New Photo Galleries
                </label>
            </div>
            <div class="checkbox">
                <label>
                    <input type="checkbox" value="7581275" name="newsletters">
                    Top Videos This Week
                </label>
            </div>
            <div class="checkbox">
                <label>
                    <input type="checkbox" value="7581281" name="newsletters">
                    Politics &amp; Policy Daily
                </label>
            </div>
        </div>

    </fieldset>

    <fieldset class="newsletter-column">
        <legend class="newsletter-header">CityLab</legend>
        <div class="checkbox">
            <label>
                <input type="checkbox" value="7607485" name="newsletters">
                Today’s Top Stories
            </label>
        </div>
        <div class="checkbox">
            <label>
                <input type="checkbox" value="7607490" name="newsletters">
                This Week's Most Popular Stories
            </label>
        </div>
    </fieldset>

    <fieldset class="newsletter-column signup">
        <div class="opt-in checkbox">
            <label>
                <input type="checkbox" value="7607877" checked name="newsletters">
                <em>I want to receive updates from partners and sponsors.</em>
            </label>
        </div>
        <div class="newsletter-input newsletter-email">
            <label class="u-element-invisible" for="newsletter-email">Email Address</label>
            <input class="full-width" type="email" id="newsletter-email" name="email" placeholder="Email">
        </div>
        <div class="newsletter-input newsletter-submit">
            <input class="full-width submit" type="submit" id="newsletter-submit" value="Sign up">
        </div>
    </fieldset>

    <p class="message"></p>
</form>

            </div>
        </section>
    </div>
    
    <div class="row">
        <section class="follow toggleable">
            <div class="footer-content border">
                <div class="footer-title toggle">Follow<span>+</span></div>
            </div>
            <div class="footer-content toggleable-content">
                <ul class="nav-social-links social-icons color round">
                    <li><a data-omni-click="inherit" class="social-icon facebook" href="https://www.facebook.com/TheAtlantic">Facebook</a></li>
                    <li><a data-omni-click="inherit" class="social-icon twitter" href="https://twitter.com/TheAtlantic">Twitter</a></li>
                    <li><a data-omni-click="inherit" class="social-icon linkedin" href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-atlantic">LinkedIn</a></li>
                    <li><a data-omni-click="inherit" class="social-icon instagram" href="https://www.instagram.com/theatlantic">Instagram</a></li>
                    <li><a data-omni-click="inherit" href="http://theatlantic.tumblr.com/" class="social-icon tumblr">Tumblr</a></li>
                    <li><a data-omni-click="inherit" href="https://www.pinterest.com/theatlantic/" class="social-icon pinterest">Pinterest</a></li>
                    <li><a data-omni-click="inherit" class="social-icon rss" href="/follow-the-atlantic/#follow-rssfeeds">RSS</a></li>
                    <li><a data-omni-click="inherit" class="social-icon apple" href="https://itunes.apple.com/app/id397599894">App Store</a></li>
                </ul>
            </div>
        </section>
        <section class="about toggleable">
            <div class="footer-content border">
                <div class="footer-title toggle">About<span>+</span></div>
            </div>
            <div class="footer-content toggleable-content">
                <ul class="links">
                    <div class="about-link-group">
                        <li><a data-omni-click="inherit" href="/masthead/">Masthead</a></li>
                        <li><a data-omni-click="inherit" href="/faq/">FAQ</a></li>
                        <li><a data-omni-click="inherit" href="/press/">Press</a></li>
                        <li><a data-omni-click="inherit" href="/jobs/">Jobs</a></li>
                    </div>
                    <div class="about-link-group">
                        <li><a data-omni-click="inherit" href="/store/">Shop</a></li>
                        <li><a data-omni-click="inherit" href="/ebooks/">Books</a></li>
                        <li><a data-omni-click="inherit" href="/emporium/">Emporium</a></li>
                        <li><a data-omni-click="inherit" href="/manage-subscription-footer/">Manage Subscription</a></li>
                    </div>
                </ul>
                <ul class="links">
                    <div class="about-link-group">
                        <li><a data-omni-click="inherit" href="/contact/">Contact Us</a></li>
                        <li><a data-omni-click="inherit" href="/tips/">Send a News Tip</a></li>
                        <li><a data-omni-click="inherit" href="/privacy-policy/">Privacy Policy</a></li>
                        <li><a data-omni-click="inherit" href="/advertise/">Advertise</a></li>
                        <li><a data-omni-click="inherit" href="http://cdn.theatlantic.com/static/front/docs/ads/TheAtlanticAdvertisingGuidelines.pdf?v1">Advertising Guidelines</a></li>
                    </div>
                    <div class="about-link-group">
                        <li><a data-omni-click="inherit" href="/terms-and-conditions/">Terms and Conditions</a></li>
                        <li><a data-omni-click="inherit" href="/responsible-disclosure-policy/">Responsible Disclosure</a></li>
                        
                        
                        <li><a data-omni-click="inherit" href="/site-map/">Site Map</a></li>
                    </div>
                </ul>
            </div>
        </section>
    </div>
    <div class="copyright">
        <p> TheAtlantic.com Copyright (c) 2018 by The Atlantic Monthly Group. All Rights Reserved.</p>
    </div>
</footer>

        

    
</div>




<script type="gpt-config">
    {
  "detective": {
    "url": "/assets/static/theatlantic/img/sherlock.gif"
  }, 
  "peer39": true, 
  "lazy_load": 3, 
  "adomik": true, 
  "amazon": "3239", 
  "globals": {
    "src": "article", 
    "xpost": [], 
    "rubric": "science", 
    "title": "september-is-the-strongest-hurricane-month-ever-recordedemprobablyem", 
    "type": "non-mag-reg", 
    "id": 541185, 
    "cat": []
  }, 
  "perfUrl": "https://cdn.atlanticinsights.com/perf.gif", 
  "zone": "/4624/TheAtlanticOnline/channel_science", 
  "adtest_domain": "dctestsite", 
  "patchEventHandlers": true, 
  "headerbidding": true, 
  "criteo": true, 
  "outofpage": true
}
</script>


<div class="native-promo-slider s-native s-native--slider">
    <button class="close"><span>Close</span></button>
     

    <gpt-ad id="native-slider"
        targeting-pos="native-slider"
        class="ad c-native-container"
        
        lazy-load="0" 
        defer="1" 
        prevent-reload="1"
        

        data-object-pk="10"
        data-object-name="slider"
        >
        
            <gpt-sizeset viewport-size="[0, 0]" sizes="[[300, 150], [1, 2]]"></gpt-sizeset>
        
    </gpt-ad>

 
</div>





<div id="outofpage"></div>




<script src="https://cdn.optimizely.com/js/335305610.js"></script>



    <script src="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/static/b/js/s_code.js"></script>
    <script src="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/static/b/frontend/jspm_packages/system.js"></script>
    
    <script>
        SystemJS.config({
            baseURL: "https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/static/b/frontend/"
        });
        SystemJS.set('pageInfo', SystemJS.newModule(window.Atlantic.page_info));
        SystemJS.set('profilesConfig', SystemJS.newModule({
            profiles_url: window.Atlantic.PROFILES_URL,
            janrain: window.Atlantic.SESSION_URLS
        }));
    </script>

    <script type="text/javascript" src="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/static/b/theatlantic/js/footer.min.5f73118b17e4.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
    
        <script type="text/javascript" src="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/static/b/theatlantic/js/vendors.min.383c4847cd4c.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
    




<script type="text/javascript" src="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/static/b/theatlantic/js/article.min.d8444155675b.js" charset="utf-8"></script>


    <div class="bottompersistent-wrapper">
        <button class="close" data-omni-click="r'close-bottompersistent'">
            <span>Close</span>
        </button>
        

    <gpt-ad id="bottompersistent"
        targeting-pos="bottompersistent"
        class="ad ad-bottompersistent"
        
        lazy-load="0" 
        
        prevent-reload="1"
        

        data-object-pk="67"
        data-object-name="bottompersistent"
        >
        
            <gpt-sizeset viewport-size="[1050, 0]" sizes="[[728, 91]]"></gpt-sizeset>
        
            <gpt-sizeset viewport-size="[0, 0]" sizes="[]"></gpt-sizeset>
        
    </gpt-ad>


    </div>
    <script type="text/javascript">
        (function(){
            function closeBottomPersistent() {
                $(".bottompersistent-wrapper").slideUp(250, function(){
                    this.remove();
                });
            }

            $("#bottompersistent").on("ad-loaded", function(){
                $(".bottompersistent-wrapper").show();
            }).on("viewable-impression", function(){
                setTimeout(function(){
                    $(window).one("scroll", closeBottomPersistent)
                }, 20000);
            });

            $(".bottompersistent-wrapper .close").on("click", closeBottomPersistent);
        })();
    </script>





    <script type="text/javascript">
(function (s) {
    // Set all mandatory properties that don't change.
    s.account = "atlanticprod";
    s.charSet="UTF-8";
    s.currencyCode="USD";
    s.trackDownloadLinks=true;
    s.trackExternalLinks=true;
    s.trackInlineStats=true;
    s.linkDownloadFileTypes="exe,zip,wav,mp3,mov,mpg,avi,wmv,doc,pdf,xls";
    s.linkInternalFilters="javascript:,thewire.com,citylab.com,theatlantic.com,localhost";
    s.linkLeaveQueryString=false;
    s.linkTrackVars="None";
    s.linkTrackEvents="None";
    s.visitorNamespace="atlanticmedia";
    s.trackingServer="atlanticmedia.122.2o7.net";

    // Optimizely Adobe Analytics SiteCatalyst Integration
     window.optimizely = window.optimizely || [];
     window.optimizely.push("activateSiteCatalyst");

    // We don't want to track page views for iframes loaded on TheAtlantic.com
    // to prevent pages from being double counted
    var track_page_views = true;
    try {
        if (window.parent !== window && window.parent.location.hostname === "www.theatlantic.com") {
            track_page_views = false;
        }
    } catch(e) {}

    if (track_page_views && s.t) {
        /************* DO NOT ALTER ANYTHING BELOW THIS LINE ! **************/
        var s_code = s.t();
        if (s_code) document.write(s_code)
        if (navigator.appVersion.indexOf('MSIE') >= 0) document.write(unescape('%3C') + '\!-' + '-');
    }
})(window.s);
</script>
<noscript><img src="http://atlanticmedia.122.2o7.net/b/ss/atlanticprod/1/H.23.6--NS/0"
height="1" width="1" border="0" alt="" /></noscript><!--/DO NOT REMOVE/-->
<!-- End SiteCatalyst code version: H.23.6. -->


    <script type="text/javascript">
    (function() {
        // Duplicate a few existing s.props to be passed with linkTrackVars. If
        // we just reused the existing s.props, data would be recorded twice.
        s.prop66 = location.pathname;
        s.prop67 = Atlantic.page_info.view;
        s.prop68 = s.prop23; // Viewport
        s.prop69 = ""; // Referring domain.

        // You can coerce a URL into a URL object by creating a fake <a>
        // element and setting the href. Newer browsers have a real URL
        // constructor but this works in IE<10.
        if (document.referrer !== "") {
            var tmp = document.createElement("a");
            tmp.href = document.referrer;
            s.prop69 = tmp.hostname;
        }

        s.linkTrackVars =
        "prop37,prop61,prop66,prop67,prop68,prop69,prop43,prop44,eVar21,eVar22,eVar25,eVar26,eVar27,eVar32,eVar33,eVar35,eVar36,eVar37,eVar38,eVar39,eVar40,eVar20,evar41,evar43";
    })();
    </script>

    
    <noscript><div><a href="http://www.omniture.com" title="Web Analytics" ><img
    src="//atlanticmedia.122.2o7.net/b/ss/atlanticprod/1/H.22--NS/0"
    height="1" width="1" alt="" /></a></div></noscript>
    






<!-- Media.net, GPT Script, and Scroll -->

<script src="https://contextual.media.net/bidexchange.js?cid=8CUD82U22&amp;version=3.3&amp;https=1" async="async"></script>



<script src="https://static.criteo.net/js/ld/publishertag.js" async="async"></script>


<script src="https://www.googletagservices.com/tag/js/gpt.js" async="async"></script>

<script>
  (function(a,c,d,e){if(!a[c]){var b=a[c]={};b[d]=[];b[e]=function(a){b[d].push(a)}}})(window,'Scroll','_q','do');
  Scroll.config = {
    orientation: 'bottom',
    detected: document.cookie.indexOf("scroll0=") > -1
  };
</script>
<script async src="https://static.scroll.com/js/scroll.js"></script>




    
    <script>
  window.fbAsyncInit = function() {
    FB.init({
      appId: '100770816677686',
      xfbml      : false,
      version    : 'v2.7'
    });
  };

  (function(d, s, id){
     var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];
     if (d.getElementById(id)) {return;}
     js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;
     js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js";
     fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);
   }(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));
</script>

    <!-- Twitter -->
<script id="twitter-wjs" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" async="async"></script>







<script type="text/javascript">
    /**
     * Route blockers
     */
     (function(){
        function redirect() {

            // Chrome 54-57 has a bug with its extensions that breaks
            // whitelisting on the first pageview when sent through
            // a shortened url. We can't detect shorturls reliable,
            // so let it slide.
            var chromeFreePV = (function(){
                var host = window.location.protocol + "//" + window.location.host;
                var isFirstPV = (document.referrer.indexOf(host) !== 0);
                var isChrome = (window.navigator.userAgent.match(/Chrome\//) !== null);
                return isFirstPV && isChrome;
            })();

            var isCrawler = (function(){
                var botsRe = "(Googlebot|Bingbot|Yahoo! Slurp|DuckDuckBot|facebookexternalhit)";
                return (window.navigator.userAgent.match(botsRe) !== null);
            }());

            if ((navigator.onLine === false) ||
                isCrawler ||
                chromeFreePV ||
                Atlantic.User.isMember() ||
                Atlantic.User.isAdFree({strict: false})) {
                    return;
            }
            var next = encodeURIComponent(window.location.href);
            var url = window.location.protocol + "//" + window.location.host + "/please-support-us/?next=";
            window.location.href = url + next;
        };

        // Prevent race condition
        if (Modernizr["blocker-enabled"]) {
            redirect();
        } else {
            $(window).one("blocker-detected", redirect);
        }
     })();
</script>







<script>
document.addEventListener("onBoomerangLoaded", function(e) {
    e.detail.BOOMR.init({
        beacon_url: "https://cdn.atlanticinsights.com/rum.gif",
        log: null
    });
});

(function(){
  var dom,doc,where,iframe = document.createElement('iframe');
  iframe.src = "javascript:void(0)";
  (iframe.frameElement || iframe).style.cssText = "width: 0; height: 0; border: 0";
  var where = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0];
  where.parentNode.insertBefore(iframe, where);

  try {
    doc = iframe.contentWindow.document;
  } catch(e) {
    dom = document.domain;
    iframe.src="javascript:var d=document.open();d.domain='"+dom+"';void(0);";
    doc = iframe.contentWindow.document;
  }
  doc.open()._l = function() {
    var js = this.createElement("script");
    if(dom) this.domain = dom;
    js.id = "boomr-if-as";
    js.src = 'https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/static/b/theatlantic/js/boomerang-1.0.1509573276.min.js';
    this.body.appendChild(js);
  };
  doc.write('<body onload="document._l();">');
  doc.close();
})();
</script>


<!-- 2018-02-13T02:56:27.641335 -->
<!-- PAGE_COMPLETED -->

</body>
</html>
