Good evening. That pitter-patter you’ve been hearing all day isn’t a squirrel in the attic—it’s the sound that Nike trainers attached to Lululemon-adorned legs make when heading to Starbucks. The Pumpkin Spice Latte, the coffee chain’s most-popular seasonal beverage, returned to its menu today, along with other fall favorites like the Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew.

This means it must already be the Great Pumpkin season:

• Dutch Bros, Peet's, Dunkin', and First Watch each released pumpkin-laden Fall 2025 menus ahead of Starbucks.
• 7-Eleven debuts two new pumpkin-flavored coffee drinks tomorrow, while McDonald's is launching the McCafé Pumpkin Spice Latte and Pumpkin & Crème Pie nationwide starting Friday.
• You can even buy limited-edition dog treats in the seasonal flavor.

…but like in Charlie Brown, the Great Pumpkin has its doubters: Sonic (the fast-food chain, not the hedgehog) this week debuted its "Save a Pumpkin" campaign—which aims to draw consumers away from beverages flavored with the orange fruit synonymous with Halloween, and towards its new Salted Caramel Toffee iced coffee and croissant bites.

Big picture: There was a ~34% increase in mentions of “pumpkin spice” on US menus between Fall 2014 and Fall 2024, according to Technomic.

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Each of the following events happened on August 26. Your challenge is to put them in the order in which they occurred by year, earliest to latest. Answers at the bottom!

• A) The first televised Major League baseball game is broadcast. Announcer Red Barber calls the matchup between the Cincinnati Reds and the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, New York, which takes place at a time when TV is still in its infancy. Regular programming doesn’t yet exist, and very few people own TV sets—there are only ~400 total in the New York area.
• B) The Soviet Union announces that it has successfully tested an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capable of being fired “into any part of the world.” The announcement causes great concern in the United States, and starts a national debate over the “missile gap” between America and Russia.
• C) San Francisco 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick remains seated as other players stand to observe the national anthem prior to an NFL preseason game. This simple action gives rise to a controversy that will bring to light the racial tensions within American sports, help determine the fate of Kaepernick’s football career, and reverberate across the sporting world for years to come—including recently, when ESPN scrapped a Spike Lee documentary series on the subject after the NFL took a 10% stake in the sports media giant.
• D) The Anglo-Egyptian Treaty establishes Egypt as a semi-sovereign state after 50 years of British occupation.

Hint: You only need to move one event to put them all in order

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If you’re looking for the keys to today’s Conjoiner sequence, you’ll have to put one of three pedals to the metal and solve a string of clues before the hammer drops.

The first clue of today’s sequence is: “Elton John famously plays this instrument”...

Mini

The feeling of completing today’s mini crossword has been compared to looking at your computer screen after finally cleaning it because that one smudge bothered you for the 4-millionth time. It’s that satisfying.

• Play today’s puzzle here.

Sudoku

Like roulette, today’s sudoku requires you to pick your numbers carefully—and they’re often a gamble.

• Play today's puzzle here.

Click to play any (or all) of the three GOATWars’ challenges below, then pick the GOAT through a series of head-to-head matchups. This data-driven process was developed to create definitive best-of-all-time lists using a more objective approach than random bloggers just publishing controversial opinions for clicks.

• 📺 THE GREATEST LEONARDO DICAPRIO MOVIES OF ALL TIME
• 🔫 THE GREATEST FORTNITE WEAPONS OF ALL TIME
• 🗽 THE GREATEST STATUES OF ALL TIME

🏈 THE GREATEST COLLEGE FOOTBALL PROGRAMS OF ALL TIME

1. Alabama Crimson Tide
2. Ohio State Buckeyes
3. Michigan Wolverines

Explore the full list.

🎮 THE GREATEST MASSIVELY MULTIPLAYER ONLINE ROLE-PLAYING GAMES (MMORPGs) OF ALL TIME

1. World of Warcraft
2. Final Fantasy XIV
3. Elder Scrolls Online

Explore the full list.

🧑‍🍳 THE GREATEST CHEFS OF ALL TIME

1. Thomas Keller
2. Gordon Ramsay
3. Joël Robuchon

Explore the full list.

Note: Results are as of the published time; these lists are dynamic and may change.

D, A, B, C

• D) 1936: The Anglo-Egyptian Treaty establishes Egypt as a semi-sovereign state after 50 years of British occupation.
• A) 1939: The first televised Major League baseball game is broadcast.
• B) 1957: The Soviet Union announces that it has successfully tested an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capable of being fired “into any part of the world.”
• C) 2016: San Francisco 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick remains seated as other players stand to observe the national anthem prior to an NFL preseason game.