As of November 1, 2020 in the state of Washington you can compost human bodies rather than having them cremated or buried. Of course there’s already a company, called Recompose, offering that service. Details here.
In a most imaginative act of product diversification an iconic independent bookstore in Portland is selling what it calls a “unisex fragrance” that allows you to smell like, well, old books. Here’s the description of Powell’s Unisex Fragrance:
Description:
Like the crimson rhododendrons in Rebecca, the heady fragrance of old paper creates an atmosphere ripe with mood and possibility. Invoking a labyrinth of books; secret libraries; ancient scrolls; and cognac swilled by philosopher-kings, Powell’s by Powell’s delivers the wearer to a place of wonder, discovery, and magic heretofore only known in literature.
It will be available on January 6, 2021 and a 1 ounce bottle will set you back $24.99.
Dorking, aka “Let me Google that for you”, is the practice of using advanced queries on search engines to find anything on the Internet. Learn about it here.
Here’s how you find specific pages within a website. In this example we’ll search for any page on my blog that references poop. Just type this in your search bar:
site: jonlowder.com poop
Apartment rents in several big, and expensive, US cities have plummeted over the past year. New York (-17%), San Francisco (-23.4%), Boston (-15.9%), and Seattle (-12.2%)
Source: Apartment List via GlobeSt.com
High speed internet access is not available to everyone in the United States. Here are the states with the highest and lowest rates of connectivity (Source – Rotary Magazine):
Most Connected
1. New Jersey
2. New York
3. Maryland
4. Rhode Island
5. Florida
Least Connected
46. Vermont
47. Nebraska
48. New Mexico
49. Montana
50. Alaska
11% of US households were food insecure before COVID-19 outbreak; by late April, within 1 month of the start of lockdowns, the rate had doubled to 22.7% – Source: November, 2020 issue of Rotary Magazine
State Senators in North Carolina receive a salary of $13,951 a year.
Source: Ballotpedia
Today I learned that the team currently known as the Boston Red Sox was originally known at the Boston Americans. From the 1901-1907 seasons they were the Americans and from 1908 to today they have been the Red Sox. Oh, and some dude named Cy Young was their best player for most of those years. You may have heard of him.
Source: https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/BOS/index.shtml
Ever wonder where the name “bonfire” comes from? Me either, but it ends up it is interesting.
Bonfires are typically associated with celebrations, backyard burnings, and toasting marshmallows, and although these are all good things, the bon in bonfire isn’t related to the French for “good.” Instead, bonfire actually stems from the Middle English bonefire, literally referring to a fire of bones.
Source: https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/the-secret-history-of-bonfire
Befuddled 