Youth Corner Weekly Newsletter
Intro
June 15, 2020
This week, we have three strange, unusual, and amazing stories. Learn about Grigori Lup, the man who invented the famous social distancing shoes. Read about The Singing Bridge, and take a quick trip through New Zealand’s response to the pandemic. Then, we have some jokes and inspirational quotes. Lastly, meet Luna and Charlie, the cat and dog advice column duo. Enjoy!
Social Distancing Shoes
These past few months at home during the coronavirus lockdown have been quite unproductive for most. But one man, Grigori Lup, found himself with lots of time on his hands, and suddenly got an idea. He decided to make “social distancing shoes”. The main part of the shoes fit regularly, but the “toe” of the shoe is extremely long. “If two people wearing my shoes were placed in front of each other, there would be a separation of about a meter and a half [about five feet] between them,” he says. Mr. Lup’s shoes are about “size 75”. In comparison, an average man’s shoe size in the U.S. is about a size 44 (10.5 in the U.S. system).
At first, Mr. Lup was only going to make three pairs of these “social distancing shoes” and post pictures of them on his website, to remind everyone how important social distancing is. But they soon became a huge hit, and now, there are many different styles of the shoes, and they sell for about $115 a pair.
If you have a crazy idea, don’t be afraid to try it. It could turn into something huge!
The Singing Bridge
The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California, is one of the most famous bridges in the world. Tourists flock to the city just to see the bridge. So when the city of San Francisco added some railings to the bridge’s bike path, people knew about it in an instant.
A little while after the railings were added to the bridge, people began to comment on the noises the bridge would make, which some described as a humming or whining noise.
Some people found this sound relaxing, while most didn’t.
Many were upset about these noises.
“We can hear this in our house more than three miles away from the bridge!” someone said.
The city says that the noise is caused by the wind blowing through the railings, and they also say that there is no way to fix the noise besides changing the railings again.
Who knew some added protection could cause so much annoyance?
New Zealand Reopens, Free of Coronavirus
While some countries are just getting into this lockdown, New Zealand has declared itself “coronavirus free” and has decided to reopen.
The country has moved to “Level 1” in its coronavirus alert system, which means that life in New Zealand is almost back to normal.
Moving to “Level 1” means that businesses and schools are now allowed to reopen. Large public gatherings are now permitted. Social distancing is encouraged, but not mandatory.
Getting to this stage was not easy. On March 25, 2020, New Zealand entered a strict lockdown – “Level 4” of its system. Schools and businesses were closed, and people were expected to stay at home.
After five weeks, the country moved to “Level 3”, allowing some non-essential businesses to open, and allowing people to order take-out food from restaurants.
In the middle of May, the country moved to “Level 2”, which permitted most schools and businesses to reopen. Gatherings were still limited to ten people or less, though, and social distancing was still encouraged.
The transition to “Level 1” was initially planned for June 22, but after having no new coronavirus cases for 17 straight days, New Zealand decided to move to “Level 1” early.
New Zealand only has five million people (in comparison, the U.S. has about 331 million people), and is separated from other countries by miles of ocean, so it was easier to get the virus under control than most other places, but it still required a lot of teamwork between the government and the people of New Zealand.
New Zealand joins eight other countries that have gotten rid of the coronavirus completely. Most of these countries, such as Papua New Guinea and Fiji, are small island nations.
In total, New Zealand had only 1,154 cases of coronavirus (California alone has 149,000) and only 22 people have died (California has had 5,063 deaths).
Through teamwork, you can do anything from earning some pocket money to ridding your country of a life threatening virus!
Jokes
Why do we tell actors to break a leg?
Because every play has a cast!
Yesterday I saw a guy spill all his Scrabble letters on the road.
I asked him, “what’s the word on the street?”
Did you hear about the claustrophobic astronaut?
He just needed a little space!
Someone stole my mood ring.
I don’t know how I feel about it!
What did one eye say to the other?
Between you and me, something smells!
Quotes:
The elevator to success is out of order. You’ll just have to take the stairs, one step at a time.
– Joe Girard
The way I see it, if you want the rainbows, you gotta put up with the rain.
– Dolly Parton
Life is too short to be serious all the time. So if you can’t laugh at yourself, call me… I’ll laugh at you.
– Anonymous
If someone was mean to you, remember this:
Some people just need a high-five. In the face. With a chair.
– Anonymous
Cupcakes are muffins that believed in miracles.
– Anonymous
Advice Column: Pet Power | Part 1
(I did not write this, it was written by Deborah Underwood. I changed the names and some other small details.)
Dear Charlie,
I love your advice column! I read it every day.
But now, I want to get adopted. I’m a cat in a shelter. What should I do?
Love,
Luna
Dear Luna,
Great question!
First, make sure you look clean and well groomed. People will like you more that way.
Do you have a cute purr or meow? Definitely use it. Be as adorable as possible. When someone comes to the shelter, curl up in their lap.
You can play a little, but don’t do it too much. Most people like calm, quiet pets.
I hope you get adopted!
Love,
Charlie
Dear Charlie,
I’m so glad you answered! A wonderful girl came in today. She’s wearing a shirt that says “Pet Power”, so I think we’ll get along just fine. She’s asking her mom right now. Any other tips or ideas?
Love,
Luna
Dear Luna,
That’s great! I’m so glad that you’re getting –
Wait. A shirt that says “Pet Power?” Was she wearing bright pink sneakers?
Love,
Charlie
Dear Charlie,
Yes! They had a faint smell of dog, but that’s fine with me. I love dogs!
Anyway, what else should I do?
Love,
Luna
Continue reading, see column at right.
Contd. from left column:
Dear Luna,
Claw at her leggings. Run around your cage and meow as loud as you can. Then hack up a nice big hairball.
Love,
Charlie
Dear Charlie,
Really?
Love,
Luna
Dear Luna,
Yes! Trust me.
Love,
Charlie
Dear Charlie,
Okay, I did it. The girl and her mom are talking to the pet store people now. They look worried. Anything else?
Love,
Luna
Dear Luna,
Barf. Right on the pink sneakers.
Love,
Charlie
Dear Charlie,
I thought they hated that!
Love,
Luna
Dear Luna,
Just trust me!
Luna, what’s going on?
Luna, I need an update!
Dear Charlie,
Thank you so much for your amazing advice! If I hadn’t listened to you, I would have just acted cute and that wouldn’t have worked at all. After I did what you said, the girl and her mom thought that the shelter was stressing me out, so they’re going to bring me home tonight!
Thank you!
Love,
Luna
Outro
Thank you so much for reading this edition of The Fabulous Times. Come back next time for more world events, quotes, part 2 of Pet Power, and more. See you later!
By Ari V.
Sources:
newsforkids.net
theplanetd.com