Tag: Coronavirus

Covid, in Arizona they had it first!

Robin

Most of us heard the word “COVID” for the first time last year, in reference to the coronavirus that caused the ongoing pandemic, but it’s also the name of a company that has been operating for about four decades. Covid.inc is a company based in Tempe, Arizona. It specializes in high-quality audiovisual wall plates and cables, and sells its products all over the world. It has been in business for decades but, of course, it as only last year that it started making news headlines, for obvious reasons. Covid.inc CEO,…

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Poggiodomo: the hamlet in Italy where COVID never arrived

Danilo G.

In Italy there is a village that has never known COVID. It is Poggiodomo, located in the heart of Umbria, in central Italy. This small hamlet is living in its own world, and its ancient little houses and wild nature have kept Covid away, which, according to the local mayor, locals have only seen on TV. This village is now one of the few places in the world that has not known this virus, but how is it possible? The hamlet has just 96 inhabitants and this can certainly be…

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So, Japan’s 1,000-year-old cheese that’s back in fashion due to COVID-19 pandemic

Pavel

A year ago, on February 27, 2020, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe requested that all schools in Japan shut down until early April to stop the spread of COVID-19. And of course, by the following week, most schools across the country shuttered their doors. However, one of the biggest buyers of Japanese agricultural products is the school lunch program, which feeds elementary and middle school students across the whole country. To clarify, around 10% of all domestic food production goes to school lunch, which usually emphasizes local or domestic products and,…

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Nekobiyaka: the world’s only black cat cafe

Pavel

The Japanese castle town of Himeji is home to the only known black cat café in the world, Nekobiyaka, where you can enjoy a refreshing drink in the company of about a dozen felines, strictly black! Despite there are hundreds of cat cafes all over Japan, (including the one located in Tokyo’s district of Akihabara), but only one dedicated exclusively to black cats. Nekobiyaka opened in 2013 and has since become somewhat of a tourist attraction in Himeji. The owner, Ms. Yagi, came up with idea of a black cat…

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Around the world in pandemic Street Art

Pavel

Throughout the ages, artists have taken their messages to public spaces, from Pompeii’s walls in Roman times to New York City’s subway cars in the 1980s. Driven by the current pandemic and its unique and unusual aesthetic, made of knobby viruses, face masks and messages of solidarity, creatives around the world have continued to express themselves publicly. During lockdown, cities and not only were studded with love for healthcare workers, cynicism for politicians, frustration at the crisis, or simple encouragement. We have collected some of these messages, depicted in street…

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In India, people are praying to “Goddess Corona” in attempt to stop pandemic

Robin

While the world is still struggling with the coronavirus pandemic and researchers are busy finding an effective vaccine, in India people have found yet another way to help the world. India is one of the most affected countries by the Covid-19 pandemic, and people are turning to spiritual and divine powers in an attempt to protect themselves from the new coronavirus. Recently, Indian media reported on a group of women from a village in West Bengal who had decided to fight the coronavirus in their own way, by worshiping Corona…

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The surreal photos that show sanitation workers disinfecting historic monuments around the world

Pavel

From the Giza pyramid complex, to the Leaning Tower of Pisa. These historic sites and others all over the world are usually teeming with tourists, vendors, and any sort of people. We have already seen images of two major Italian cities, Venice and Milan, during the COVID-19 pandemic, completely free of visitors. And with monuments closed, the tourists have been replaced by other characters like municipal workers from sanitation and utility departments, that can be seen sanitizing these public places. Usually clad in masks, gloves, and protective suits, their job…

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Why European plague doctors wore those strange beaked masks?

randomcollabs

Four hundred years ago, dark figures with white beaks wandered the streets of Europe. But these were no boogeymen or other creepy figures, but healers, so dressed to stave off the current disease: the bubonic plague. The plague was once the most feared disease in the world, capable of killing hundreds of millions of people in seemingly unstoppable global pandemics and afflicting its victims with painfully swollen lymph nodes, blackened skin, and other macabre symptoms. Despite plagues were nothing new at the time, when outbreaks were routine in medieval Europe,…

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Is Saint Corona the patron saint of epidemics?

Anya016

Did you know Aachen Cathedral, Western Germany, may be able to claim a special spiritual connection with the global coronavirus pandemic? It is said that the cathedral, one of Europe’s oldest, house the relics of Saint Corona herself. What’s more, Saint Corona is believed to be the patron saint of protection against plague. Ironically, locals had begun renewing its focus on Saint Corona more than a year ago, well before the novel virus had spread as a public health threat and, originally, Aachen Cathedral had planned to put the saint’s…

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Over 1.8 million people join Facebook group where everyone pretends they are ants

Robin

Strange but true, “A group where we all pretend to be ants in an ant colony” seems to be one of the most popular (and unusual) Facebook groups ever created. It’s basically 1.8 million people pretending they are ants, posting photos and videos about being ants. They live to worship their fictional queen and find her food, such as crumbles, candy and ice cream, writing comments like “LIFT,” “MUNCH” and “LINK”. It is not strange that being stuck at home for weeks on end makes people do crazy and unusual…

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11 historic dishes born from tough times that you easily can make at home!

randomcollabs

To limit supermarket trips during social distancing, and while restaurants in lot of coutries are still closed, many home chefs are looking for ways to use every last bit of what’s in their cupboard or refrigerator. Even though COVID-19 pandemic may feel like an uncharted experience, actually history is filled with examples of cooks more or less expert getting creative in times of hardship. Like this. From the crispy burger born during the Great Depression to the simple delights of “desperation pies,” but also an apple pie that tastes just…

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The curious Coronavirus-Inspired Hairstyle that became popular in Kenya’s biggest slum

Nathan

Asking to get the coronavirus might sound absurd anywhere, of course. However in Kibera, Kenya’s biggest slum, a new hairstyle inspired by the spiky look of the COVID-19 has become a big trend. And that’s not a joke: the coronavirus has infected 582 and killed 26 in Kenya and wreaked havoc on the economy, especially for informal and low-wage workers. With client numbers dwindling and their income collapsing, hairstylists in Kibera had to come up with valid alternatives to avoid bankruptcy, including finding solutions relating to the problem. So, in…

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Bord för en: probably the only restaurant in the world that’s safe from Coronavirus!

Robin

While most regular restaurants and cafes around the world remain closed until further notice because of the Covid-19 pandemic, one Swedish restaurant claims to offer one of the safest dining experiences by only serving one person at a time, in the middle of an empty field. Saying to operate one of the world’s safest restaurants during a pandemic might seem a ridicoulous statement to make, but the creators of Bord för en (literally “Table for one”) can surely back it up. This eccentric restaurant consist of a simple wooden table…

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8 + 1 wonderful libraries you can visit also from your home

randomcollabs

Regular visitors to libraries may be missing the the welcoming atmosphere, the smell of old books, and wandering around quiet shelves. Many of these public, private, and academic spaces have closed like lot of other institutions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, as lot of museums, libraries around the world have created immersive, 360-degree tours of their interiors. Simulations that can offer more than inspiring views of the libraries, which often they serve as interactive platforms that provide information about the their history and resources. Recently, Harvard University’s Harry Elkins…

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Some wondrous museums you can visit from your home

randomcollabs

Random-Times projects are all about wonder and exploration and, since many of our readers are spending time at home to stay safe and healthy, we’re highlighting ways you can travel no matter where you are. While world governments and medical workers face to the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of us (including our collaborators, of course!) staying at home. Some public activities have paused their in-person programming as officials ask people to practice social distancing to limit the spread of the coronavirus. However, a growing number of institutions, including some wondrous libraries,…

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Florida: a man stalks beach as Death to protest reopening during pandemic

Nathan

Florida’s governor, Ron DeSantis, announced on last Friday that state parks will soon reopen, even as the coronavirus pandemic continued and Death himself still stalked the beaches of the Sunshine state. The same Death that goes viral on social media after a man dresses up to alert Floridians to the dangers of reopening their economy too soon. The “Grim Reaper” in question was actually Daniel Uhlfelder, a lawyer and campaigner for public beach access who put on a cowl and wielded a scythe. As a socially distanced interview with a…

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The images of a Venice free of tourists transformed by COVID-19

Anya016

In addition to being one of the most beautiful cities in the world, either with the snow, or with the high water, or during its magnificent carnival (and did you know that seen from above, its shape resembles that of a swan?), Venice is one of the full-of-tourist places in the Italy, maybe in Europe. Thousands of people flock to its narrow streets every day, up to the splendid Piazza San Marco, strictly passing through the Rialto Bridge, as the piercing chatter of tourists, in all the languages of the…

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Quarantine in Milan: here’s what it’s like in a coronavirus red zone.

Anya016

First Easter and Easter Monday. Then, Italy’s Liberation Day on April 25, a national Italian holiday commemorating the end of Nazi occupation during World War II and the victory of the Resistance in Italy, and May 1, international workers’ day. In any case, the “quarantine” in Milan and not only, facing the Coronavirus emergency, continues. The emergency has imposed restrictions all over Italy and, as a result, the cities have completely emptied. These are the squares and streets of Milan on a day in the midst of Covid-19 pandemic. Deserted…

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9 wondrous breads to make in Quarantine if you’ve not enough yeast!

randomcollabs

Baking has become a staple for many during the coronavirus pandemic, keeping people entertained at home. With yeast that is plundered in the supermarkets, many “home-bakers” who are sheltering at home are desperate, but probably don’t know that people have produced bread without yeast across history, cultures, and climes, leaving an incredible heritage to choose from when the much coveted yeast is limited. From the sticky-sweet steamed bread of Colonial New England to the Icelandic rye that rises in a hot spring, or a Canadian peanut butter bread of the…

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Coronavirus: ESA shows the recovery of pollution in China

Pavel

On March 5, NASA and ESA (European Space Agency) satellites showed a drastic reduction in air pollution in China, the precursor country of the Coronavirus pandemic. Carbon dioxide levels had fallen due to the total blockade of the social and economic world, not only limited to the epicenter of the epidemic but extended to various centers in the country. It was perhaps the only positive consequence of this pandemic, but unfortunately it did not last long. Below, the carbon dioxide pollution in early March: The new images of the Copernicus…

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