In a few weeks, it is Christmas, and the year 2020 will finally come to an end. A dynamic year; a pandemic, protests for and against every imaginable thing, and, not to be forgotten, presidential elections in the USA. Whoever is able to make sense of this year, will undoubtedly write a book about it in 2021. I already feel sorry for future generations of students having to discuss ‘the chapter on 2020’ in history class.
I, for one, do not want to discuss it. Particularly as I feel more distanced from the world now that it has taken a few unexpected turns, and as if I am living in my own, private, reality.
In this reality, my housemates and I search for ways to surround ourselves with random or good news. Thus, we decided to start writing positive news on our kitchen door, which doubles as a blackboard. We even decided to turn it into a fun fact competition. Everyone searches for fun facts that may remain on the board after a democratic vote.
Everyone searches for fun facts that may remain on the board after a democratic vote
It may sound slightly crazy, and it is, in fact, somewhat crazy. But you have no idea how much fun I had searching for the best fun facts.
Did you know, for example, that birds and other small animals perceive us, humans, as moving in slow motion? This has to do with the fact that more signals from their senses travel to their brain per second. To us, birds on the ground appear to move in ‘fragmented’ motions, hopping. While in the birds’ eyes, these movements are flowing. Our eyes aren’t fast enough to see the animal’s actual movements. The larger the animal, and thus the smaller the chance it has of being eaten, the ‘slower’ it becomes.
Now, it is not my intention to add this procrastination technique to your day, because the internet is a bottomless pit of fun facts, but: do look for the good news. It is out there, and it will make your day just that much better.
Livia Franssen is a second-year Bachelor’s student of Environmental Sciences, and lives at Droef.