Twenty years ago today, the people of East and West Berlin tore down the hated Berlin Wall—and event that is being widely celebrated, and justly so, the world over.

In less than 48 hours, beginning today, November 9, in 1938, at least 96 Jews were killed, 7,500 businesses were destroyed, and countless Jewish cemeteries and schools were vandalized. A total of 30,000 Jews were rounded up and sent to concentration camps. The broken glass strewn through the streets of Germany from the mayhem led the pogrom to be called “Crystal Night” or Kristallnacht.

It was the beginning of the end for German Jewry, and telegraphed the fate of all Jews who would come under Nazi control.

I learned last week (via Arts & Letters Daily) that the Left Behind series of apocalyptic novels by Jerry Jenkins and Tim LaHaye is selling as well as ever despite having come to a conclusion a couple of years ago with a sixteenth installment.

Frank Schaeffer notes the unintended irony of the title Left Behind:

“The evangelical/fundamentalists, from their crudest egocentric celebrities to their ‘intellectuals’ touring college campuses trying to make evangelicalism respectable, have been left behind by modernity.”

Founded in 1915, The Renaissance Society at the University of Chicago aims to encourage the growth and understanding of contemporary art through exhibitions, publications, and events.

All programs are guided by the goal of maintaining The Society’s integrity as one of the finest resources of vanguard art in the nation, and we’re happy to highlight our work, ideas, and exhibitions here at the Britannica Blog.

Here the Society’s Director, Susanne Ghez, discusses the importance of showing work by regional artists.

The long queues at this establishment are worth putting up with!

Breakfast is the best time to nab a table.

Another classic scene from Lucy, Lucille Ball:

Each Saturday we highlight a humorous and sometimes poignant video, interview, comic, or skit concerning different “careers,” past and present. From W.C. Fields to Rowan Atkinson, from classic films and commercials to Monty Python—all and everything will be tapped for this look each week at various professions and pastimes.

Click here for all of the videos and careers highlighted to date.

In the spotlight today is Ladurée, the place Sophia Coppola turned to for their pastel creations for her movie Marie Antoinette, although Ladurée wasn’t actually around during the dauphine’s head-rolling time.

We really had no idea of the impending demise of one of Chicago’s most unique treasures - The Prairie Avenue Bookshop - when we filmed there last June.

Through no fault of its own, after 50 years in business, the Prairie Avenue has fallen victim to the modern trend of Internet retailing with big volume and deep discounts. This has affected street-level businesses selling books, movies, and music.

These unique, independent stores are increasingly scarce, so check out the video and view the kind of institutions dying in our midst.

To live outside the law, says the poet, you must be honest. Two outlaws discovered this week that you’d better live outside caves, too.

Come along on a whirlwind tour of Antarctica, Leonardo da Vinci, Claude Lévi-Strauss, Carl Reiner (the Shakespearean), and that great anthem of civilized life, the Addams Family theme song.

Next up in my series: 1728.

Particularly noteworthy is “The Pompadour Room,” where Madame de Pompadour (Louis XV’s mistress) allegedly held court while her home was under construction.