On September 15th, the North Pole would still have 24-hour sun, but it would be near the horizon. That's why it looks so sunny and the shadows are long.
I had trouble picturing what you are talking about, then I realized that I was thinking of my own bedroom door, which opens out. Most bedrooms aren't like that.
My next door neighbors are Orthodox, so <strike>they can do their Christmas shopping at the clearance sales</strike> their outside decorations stay up later than most, but they also have small children, so their tree stays up until around March. Which is nice, because I can see their tree lights from my bed.
The caption of that picture says he's a juvenile, so I guess he's like all those high school students you see who wear shorts and no coats no matter the temperature.
You are right that four flat sides are the intended appearance, but underneath, the star shape is for stability. A closer analogy would be taking the paint off a car and bragging about how sturdy the steel is.
Yep, happens all the time. We love to read stories about how a community or some benefactor came to the rescue, when we should be asking why, as a society, we don't prioritize keeping all of our people out of such dire circumstances.