Happy Fat Tuesday. Nearly a dozen parades have been rolling all day today in and around New Orleans to mark the last day of Carnival season, and for a live view of the scene on Bourbon Street, check this stream from EarthCam. But this year’s festivities haven’t been all merriment: Two paradegoers died after being struck by tandem floats in separate incidents over the past week. Officials responded by banning most tandem floats–those that are joined together and pulled by a single vehicle—and pledging to work on improving parade safety. Meanwhile, cities including Mobile, Pensacola, and Galveston have been hosting their own Mardi Gras fetes. Wherever you might be celebrating, we hope you enjoy, and please stay safe.

Katherine G. Johnson, one of the female African American mathematicians featured in the book Hidden Figures and the 2016 movie of the same name, died on Monday at 101. Though largely unheralded at the time, the West Virginia native and her fellow human “computers” played a vital role in the success of NASA’s early missions. Johnson continued to work at NASA until 1986, and as the agency writes, “Her calculations proved as critical to the success of the Apollo Moon landing program and the start of the Space Shuttle program, as they did to those first steps on the country’s journey into space.” For more on Johnson’s achievements and the book, read our interview with author Margot Lee Shetterly.

For the first time since 1792, Virginians might finally be able to legally swear in public. The state banned “profane swearing” more than two centuries ago, and as NPR reported, back then an infraction would set you back 83 cents. Though not heavily enforced, that fine has since risen to $250. A bill to overturn the antiquated law has passed through the state legislature and is awaiting a signature from Gov. Ralph Northam. 

R. Eric Thomas might be my favorite writer on the Internet—his “Eric Reads the News” columns for Elle.com always make me snicker, no matter how grim the news cycle. (Looking for a place to start? This oldie-but-goodie on Aretha Franklin sending a fax will split your sides.) Now the Baltimore native and award-winning playwright has published a terrific (and, per usual, hilarious) memoir-in-essays, Here for It: Or, How to Save Your Soul in America. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll have a whole new appreciation for church Easter egg hunts. 

Yes, the Summer Olympics don’t start until July, but I’m already getting pumped—I’m one of those people who plans their TV-watching around the games. This year marks the first time surfing will be an Olympic sport, and I’m pulling for the Melbourne Beach, Florida, native Caroline Marks, who was profiled in our special G&G Jr. edition. In December, the eighteen-year-old pro surfer became one of two women who will represent the USA in the event. If you’re looking to get revved up, too, follow her Instagram feed as she prepares for Tokyo (including totally tubular videos, like this one she posted last week).

We recently asked, “What’s your Fat Tuesday tradition?” Some of your responses:

I always have to work, so I bring in a king cake for the office with chicory coffee, zydeco tunes, masks, decorations, and beads, beads, beads. —Glenda V.

Making a huge batch of hurricane drinks and inviting all the neighbors over. Everyone has to wear something that has purple, gold, and green. Beads and masks are a must. New Orleans jazz music played in the background. We also play bead toss. Standing twelve feet from a bucket, players have sixty seconds to see how many beads they can get into the bucket. Winner gets a Mardi Gras-themed trophy and has to defend the title during next year’s party. —Ken C.

It’s not like I inflate and deflate. I’m fat all the time—Tuesday or not—so my tradition must be eating. I’ll go with BBQ brisket and a side of potato salad and a side of pinto beans. —Dan S.

The amazing jambalaya from G&G’s Southerner’s Cookbook! We have friends over, and it wows them every time. —Anne S.

Have to share the love with my fellow teachers. I’m a culinary arts teacher in Tarpon Springs, Florida. My students will take their cart out all day, full of beignets to be sure everyone feels the love. Of course they all know they’ve got to come on down to the kitchen to get a taste of that dark-brown gumbo. —Bob W.

Our parish, the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd in Covington, Georgia, organizes an annual all-you-can-eat pancake supper. The community is welcome, and all proceeds go back to the community as part of our parish outreach. —Maria G.

Tennessee Songwriters Week continues through Saturday with more than a thousand performances across the state. Songwriters compete in the hopes of becoming one of six finalists, who will get to show their stuff on the historic Bluebird Cafe stage in Nashville on March 29.

Johnny Cash would have turned 88 this Wednesday. For a different take on the Man in Black, read our look at the Arkansas native’s poetry.

The eleven-day Florida Strawberry Festival draws hundreds of thousands of visitors to Plant City in Hillsborough County, which accounts for about 15 percent of the nation’s strawberry production. Along with berries every which way (from cobbler to strawberry brisket tacos), headlining performers this year include Lynyrd Skynyrd and Reba McEntire.

On March 2, 1836, Texas formally declared its independence from Mexico at a convention in Washington, Texas. The Washington on the Brazos State Historic Site, “where Texas became Texas,” brings visitors back in time with a weekend of reenactments, demonstrations, and Lone Star State music.