Word: relics
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...McMansion, perhaps the most garish symbol of the age of real estate excess, is fast becoming a relic. For the first time in 15 years, the average size of a new house is falling, according to data from the National Association of Home Builders. That fits shifting demographics. As baby boomers gray, fewer people have kids at home. In 2000, 33% of households included children; by 2030, only 27% will. "Single people and households without children don't want big houses on big lots," says Arthur Nelson, director of metropolitan research at the University of Utah's College of Architecture...
Today, literal food stamps are a relic - purchases are made electronically, on plastic cards resembling credit cards. In fact, it's not even called the food-stamp program any longer; in classic bureaucratese, it's now known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. Recipients' incomes and property values must be below a certain level for them to qualify. In June, the average monthly benefit came to $294 per household and $133 per individual. Recently, officials have worked to make the program more convenient, distributing electronic benefit-card readers to farmers' markets so food stamps can be used there...
...Arts and Sciences Information Technology will discontinue its little-used dial-up internet service starting Sept. 30 in an effort to cut costs. The dial-up service was first offered over 20 years ago, when phone-based modems were considered cutting edge, and has since become something of a relic among Harvard internet users. Current usage has dwindled to an average of two users a day—a level at which FAS IT “can no longer justify the large expense of maintaining the service,” said spokesman Noah S. Selsby...
...what can the monks of Shwe Zedi do, besides point at words in a dictionary? I asked the abbot, who replied, "Pray." As I left Shwe Zedi, he handed me a tiny, ivory-hued bead. It was, the abbot said, a bone relic of the Buddha, or it symbolized as much. I thanked him for the lucky gift, but I couldn't help thinking that the monks of Burma needed the relic far more than...
...chief concern was the safety of the statue once the compound was being used to launch attacks on government forces. Later that same afternoon, the priests received orders from the bishop to remove the sacred relic and take it farther north, deeper into Tiger-held areas, rather than risk heading for the front. The journey that evening, to start at 6:30, was still fraught. Emilianuspillai recalls not just shelling but a heavy rain delaying departure and then, nearly a mile into the journey, a shell falling near the vehicle in front of the one bearing the statue...