In the 1880s, American dinner parties themed around the colour brown were fashionable, and hosts served brown dishes including sautéed mushrooms, which were then nicknamed brownies. By the 1890s these parties had turned into sweet banquets, with chocolate ice cream and molasses cakes called brownies. Early brownie recipes were cakey, made with creamed butter and sugar and often no chocolate, such as one in the 1896 Boston Cooking-School Cook Book. Fannie Farmer added chocolate to her recipe in 1906, and that edition spread the brownie across the entire United States. A Maine recipe called the Bangor Brownie added an extra egg and more chocolate, creating the fudgier style that became standard.

Israeli reports also say the cabinet directed the military to prepare for a possible new attack on Iran.

Angkor, near Siem Reap in northern Cambodia, was the capital of the Khmer Empire, which ruled much of mainland Southeast Asia between roughly the 9th and 15th centuries. At its height the city spread across about 3,000 square kilometres, making it the largest pre-industrial city on Earth by area. Its growth depended on water: huge reservoirs called barays, along with canals and embankments, stored monsoon rain and carried it to rice fields. That system let farmers harvest more than once a year and fed a very large population through the dry season. The temple complex of Angkor Wat, built in the early 12th century, is the best-known monument and still stands at the heart of the park.