Things I learned lately 6 August

• The pandemic, in particular our forced isolation from each other, has had some interesting side effects. Not being able to communicate face-to-face for many months, whether it’s with coworkers, friends, family or even strangers, has made our social skills a little rusty. We may forget what’s appropriate to share with a stranger until we see a look of surprise, shock, or horror spread across their face as we describe what's going on in our lives. We missed out on over a year of meaningful human interaction. The pandemic essentially robbed us of the opportunity to connect with others in the ways that we usually would have pre-pandemic, and our craving for connection may be prompting us to be more open than typical. Now that we’re outside and able to connect and link up with people, now it’s kind of verbal diarrhea. Some people are finding it difficult to stop themselves, feeling they don't have time for boundaries anymore. We can crave telling someone, anyone, about our day. I've noticed a subtle shift in my behaviour. I don't typically strike up conversations in lines at the store, and other similar situations, but I have been lately.
• At Olympic swimming events, sprinklers spray water across the surface of the pool near where the divers will enter the water. This aids the divers in their visual perception of the surface of the water. The sprinklers create ripples across the water, which makes it easier for divers to see how far they are from the surface of the pool. That way, they can time their flips and twists to culminate right before they hit the water, avoiding a botched landing or full-on belly flop.
• A gremlin bell is a thing I just discovered.
  
  
  
• At the age of 16, Janis Ian met comedian Bill Cosby backstage at a Smothers Brothers show where she was promoting "Society's Child". She was underage and was accompanied by a chaperone while touring. After her set, Ian had been sleeping with her head on her chaperone's lap, an older female family friend. Janis was told by her then manager that Cosby had interpreted their interaction as lesbian and made it his business to warn other television shows that Ian wasn't suitable family entertainment and shouldn't be on television because of her sexuality. So he basically tried to blacklist her.
• According to Goldman Sachs, copper will be replacing oil. Not exactly as a new source for energy, but the material will be crucial in decarbonization and in producing more renewable energy sources. Copper has the physical attributes needed for creating, storing and distributing clean energy. Demand could significantly increase, by up to at least 600% by 2030.
• Fish wasn't a very popular thing to eat in America until fish sticks were created. It made fish less smelly, easier to store, cook and eat. And kids loved them.
• There's a giant perogy in Glendon AB.