Thanks to Brian Aprille for joining us today. If you want information on Brian’s comedy you can find it at
The Good
No traffic
No line at Costco gas station
People heard the birds singing in Paris — a first time for many.
Los Angeles has less smog. If the shutdown continues, that city may see green leaves instead of brown.
Mono Lake in California has a huge population of frogs that normally croak in unison to keep predators from locating and targeting individual frogs. Jets, trains, chainsaws and other man-made noises kick the frogs out of sync. This year, with the new silence, the frogs are always in sync. Good for the frogs, bad for the owls that like to eat them.
The upside of coronavirus? The world has gotten quieter, something Alaskans know all about Author: John Schandelmeier
The Bad
Online Shopping
Coronavirus Shopping Trends: 8 Popular Product Categories Right Now
Here are eight other key product categories that are seeing some of the biggest jumps:
1. Webcams
From taking calls with classmates and colleagues to capturing a livestream of farm animals, the popularity and creative uses of webcams lately are astounding.
2. Sleepwear & Loungewear
3. Shaving & Grooming Gear
With no professional stylist to go to, consumers are taking their locks—and those of their families—into their own hands.
4. Small Animal Supplies
Coronavirus news caused pet adoption rates in the US to climb and inspired people to foster animals left in shelters.
5. Baking Items
According to Google Trends, searches for ‘’banana bread” have gone up 54% globally in the last month.
6. Gaming Equipment
According to Verizon, video game usage in the US went up 75% a week after the WHO declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic.
7. Outdoor Furniture
Yards, patios, and gardens are getting decked out with things like folding chairs, stools and tables, outdoor tables, seating, and furniture covers.
8. Exercise Bands
Exercise bands were up in Germany (+725%), the UK (+504%), Australia (+488%), the US (+86%), and Poland (+82%), compared to the first four weeks of the year.
Quarantine 15
Panicked Buying
Delish recently asked its Instagram followers to share their weirdest panic purchases and some of their responses may help you feel a little better about your own. One woman made fun of her father after a run to Costco: “Was at Costco with my father. He went one way. I went one way … 45 minutes later, this man meets back up with me with a case of Spam. Then he goes on to tell me he hasn’t had Spam in over 34 (years) since before I was born, when he came to America. But he bought it because, ‘Hell, we might as well get some now, because everything else is running low. And at least I remember what it tastes like!’”
One Delish follower confessed, “I bought 32 packets of yeast and don’t know how to bake bread.”
Another said they were preparing against a condiment coup, saying, “8 massive bottles of ketchup. I can’t go through the apocalypse with 3 kids and not have ketchup. They’ll kill me.”
Singing looks like a big danger.
Most people have come across the terrifying Los Angeles Times article by Richard Read describing how 45 members of a 121-person choir in Washington State got infected (and two died) after gathering for a night of practice. But that story isn’t unique. Enclosed spaces in which people raise their voices together have time and again proven to be the sites of major outbreaks.
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