In these last weeks of winter in the US, here are a few of our favorite diversions for the month. Diversions, not distractions. What’s the difference, you ask? Things that stretch your mind vs avoidance collateral. As connoisseurs of the former, here are a few new items for your collection. Let’s begin!
♟ Games People Play
On the left: Although you can still buy either a Mr. or a Mrs. Potato Head, last month Hasbro made the brand itself gender neutral. Little known fact: when Mr. Potato Head was invented in 1949, you had to provide your own potato. Any other fruit or vegetable would do, too. Watch the original TV commercial.
On the right: At the beginning of the cold war, getting kids into STEM was even more of a fervor than it is today. The Atomic Energy Lab included a (small) chunk of uranium for kids to play with. Sales were slow, thankfully, mostly due to its price: ~$500 in today’s dollars. Today’s version is DIY Biohacking kits, like this one - which are much safer.
Today, esports reign. And livestream chess is booming! Last month American grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura, who regularly gets 20,000 viewers per match, reached 1mm followers on twitch. According to the platform, in January 2021 viewers watched 18.3mm hours of chess, up from 1mm in Feb 2020. Queen’s Gambit, anyone?
Prefer family-friendly games? Try these pandemic themed loteria cards by Texas designer Rafael Gonzalez, Jr.
On the left: Basketball has changed too. According to basketball writer Kirk Goldsberry, the game is now played with much less risk. A vast preference for 3-pointers and slam dunks, over the combination of shots that characterized the early millennium.
On the right: Basketball is hardly the only place we’re reducing risks. A fascinating thread on what sectors US patents have been issued from the lightbulb to synthetic biology.
👩🔬 Women making history…on Mars.
In honor of Women’s History Month, we want to give a hell-yeah to NASA for naming the landing place of the rover Perseverance after sci-fi writer Octavia Butler. The landing clearly caused great excitement for two future space explorers, Rosalind (named after DNA discoverer Rosalind Franklin) and her brother Darwin. Ro’s pink X’s made it all the way to Feb 18, proving that women may not be from Mars, but they sure are ON it.
We still have work to do on Earth: a thoughtful essay on backlash in response to progress. Keep in mind that it’s possible the Senate needs 60 votes to turn the ERA into reality They don’t have them yet. If you want to see it pass, do call your Senators, even if you live in Kentucky.
💸 Speaking of Owning It
Hearing an awful lot about NFTs? After a series of digital creations sold for eye-popping amounts, the debate is raging about what exactly purchasers bought. It mostly boils down to the age old question, what is art? And the secondary question of provenance, plus the inevitability of cryptocurrencies.
While we agree a lot of what’s happening now is ridiculous hype, here are a few articles that made us think. Loosely related: How to launch a cryptocurrency, and the love-child of Nyan cat and Tom Waits.
🦠 How You Doin’? Pandemic-Induced Learnings
On the left: When photographer @GilesDuley was searching for a new flat in Hastings, he wanted a view of the sea. Bonus: local wildlife. Photo posted on Feb 21, 2021.
On the right: After 1 year into sheltering in place, designer @collinastrada’s spring collection virtual runway show promo, with morphs by @freekatet, really captures the #mood.
As the result of this unusual year, many people are contemplating new “adventures” of all kinds:
Move in with your SIM boyfriend as practice for pandemic life.
Put bar sounds on in the background with this jazz harpist on at the same time.
Make a mixtape to honor Lou Ottens, inventor of the cassette tape, who died last week.
Start naming the routes you take to do each of your daily routines. Scottish people have humorously named the routes of salt trucks that come after snow falls to clear the roads.
Take a flight to nowhere. No, wait — that’s been replaced with getting on a mystery flight.
Take up drawing. Hurdle #1.
Remember it’s not you, it’s all of us. Submarine officers and Mars simulation scientists’ advice on navigating the effects of prolonged isolation, aka the “third quarter effect.”
Donate like Mackenzie Scott (formerly Bezos). She’s supported the Y, food banks, and HBCUs. Since the pandemic began, the NYTimes reports she’s responsible for nearly 75% of all covid-related giving by billionaires and other high-net worth folks.
Become a better bystander against xenophobia.
Of course, there’s always the Bad Bitch Meditation too.
The point is, even though things are slowly starting to look up… there is still a lot of uncertainty. And it’s not just because it’s in-like-a-lion-out-like-a-lamb—and-wtf-in-between March. So if it helps, remind yourself that you are not the only one feeling like the wind is blowing every which way:
Your curators,
Lisa and Jordan
🧐 Curiouser and Supercuriouser
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