Journalist, columnist and author Jo Piazza writes on topics ranging from entertainment to religion to women’s issues around the globe. She began her career as a staff writer at the New York Daily News and her work has appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Glamour, Gotham, The Daily Beast and Slate. Her first book, a hard hitting look at the business of being famous, will be published later this year. Jo regularly appears as a commentator on CNN, Fox News, MSNBC and NPR.

Engineers Out to Squash the Competition

After countless trips to Lowe’s, hundreds of man hours, four binders filled with physics equations and nearly $800 spent on supplies, a New Jersey robotics team believes it has what it takes to hurl a pumpkin 250 yards through the air on Saturday.

Mount Olive Robotics, or Mort11 as this high-school team of engineering buffs is affectionately known, is the reigning champion of the Warren County Last Fling Pumpkin Sling, a competition that is equal parts “MythBusters” and Monty Python. Now in its second year, the Pumpkin Sling was inspired by the world championship Punkin Chunkin competition, a Super Bowl for engineering wonks held annually in Bridgeville, Del., and broadcast on the Discovery Channel..
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