Thing #1 - Turtle tunnels on railway tracks

The amazing folks over at the West Japan Railway Company has launched a new project that places u-shaped tunnels that go under railway tracks to let turtles cross without getting crushed by passing trains. It’s simple, it’s effective, and it’s a great example of using design to benefit the planet. Snaps to them!

Thing #2 - The reason why we have squirrles in cities

I’ve taken it for granted that squirrels are just a ubiquitous part of city living around the world. I assumed they’d just always been there, like rats, or coin-fed laundromats. But get this, they were imported, just like swans! Philadelphia transplanted some of them to urban parks in the nineteenth century to encourage people to visit green spaces and feed them if they didn’t have the means to visit the countryside on a regular basis . There were reports of squirrels becoming so fat that they’d fall out of trees so cities started planting nut-bearing trees for healthier options. At one point, the Boy Scouts started advocating feeding them to “cure boys of their tendency toward cruelty.” Gonna take a lot of squirrels to do that nowadays.

Thing #3 - A fungus expert grew shrooms from his new book because he’s clearly a genius

A biologist by the name of Merlin Sheldrake just released a new book called Entangled Life as part of the announcement, he laced one of the books with oyster mushroom spores and let it bloom. Genius. The book is all about the hidden world of mushrooms and how they affect our day-to-day life.

Thing #4: Commodity City is the reality show I never knew I needed

Film director Jessica Kingdon has invited us along for a brief glimpse into the Yiwu International Trade Market in China, the world’s largest wholesale market that measures roughly five miles and hosts over 75,000 different vendors. I’ll never be able to look at our local farmers markets the same again. The work is simple and beautiful, my favorite combination. And all I want is a live feed that we can switch between cameras on our own and follow along. Like, did that little boy ever get his toys back?!

Thing #5: An inn in Washington is using mannequins to enforce social distancing

The Inn at Little Washington had a brilliant idea to reopen during the first phase of the pandemic when they were told only 50 percent of seats could be occupied - to have fancy mannequins sit at half of the tables. The models are dressed in 1940s-era costumes to match the feel of the restaurant and his staff will wear custom-made masks that have Marilyn Monroe smiles and George Washington chins printed on them. Originality and creativity is the best way to respond to a crisis and I’m so inspired. Photo via their Instagram page.

Thing #6: Sarah Ramos reenacting movie scenes on her Instagram is giving me life

Thing #7: Raquel Welch’s Space Dance

CBS spent $350,000 on a television special in 1970 devoted to showcasing Raquel Welch’s talents and all it got them was this. But I’m not mad about it. In fact, I can’t stop thinking about how fun it would be to redo this in Downtown Orlando.

Thing #8: Lego releases centaur figures to make kids gay

I’m just kidding, they’re not trying to make anyone gay so stop writing that email, Karen. Lego just released a few new Harry Potter inspired sets including their first-ever centaur figures and I can’t stop thinking that I would have given up a limb when I was a child to have like 20 centaurs in my toy chest. I used to pile up my laundry and throw a blanket over it all to make mountains so I could build up a special world of legos, creatures, and play-dough things and I’d try to leave it there for as long as possible before my mom brought Ragnar-block and destroyed it all.

Thing #9: A swan-shaped hat that I must have

The more I stay home these days, the weirder my outfits. It’s just a natural progression of not being around social pressures to wear pants, or brush my face, or refrain from wearing swans on my head. Which is why, when I came across RaeSwon on Etsy, I knew I’d stumbled into a situation that I wasn’t prepared for. I had to immediately hide my wallet and turn off my online payment platforms because I’m not trained yet to say no to things like this. A massive needle-felted swan hat to wash dishes in … or wear while in the bath tub listening to sonnets on Sir Patrick Stewart’s Instagram page. This beautiful creation that I don’t really need in my life but totally want is $495 and looking for a home. Check out her Siamese cat hat while you’re there.