PIPING HOT PEPPER POT, APPARENTLY

Happy National...Pepper Pot Day? No, today is not a day celebrating Tony "Iron Man" Stark's fictitious executive assistant Virginia "Pepper" Potts — rather, today is all about the spicy soup made of (blecch) beef tripe, veggies, and copious quantities of peppercorns. Duh.

While I'm sure pepper pot has its modern devotees, it's telling that even Campbell's decided to discontinue their take on this "classic" in 2010 after selling it since 1899. I guess beef tripe-based soup is a very 20th century foodstuff. Maybe some historic soup buff will orchestrate a comeback for it. What say you, Soup Nazi?

Oof, tough crowd!

I think the main takeaway here is that after Hanukkah, Saturnalia, Yule, Kwanzaa, et al, December feels well within its rights to phone it in the rest of the month. 

Speaking of stuff being discontinued, Boredwalk is getting in on that action, too. 

This coming weekend we'll be discontinuing a few hundred designs to make room for new art coming your way in 2022! It's always sad to have to say bye-bye to designs, but the stuff we're removing from our website either isn't a strong seller or doesn't really fit the Boredwalk aesthetic anymore. Chances are most, if not all, of the designs in question will not be missed and their absence will go unnoticed. If anything, it'll make the site easier to navigate with less fluff to sort through!

The other thing we're discontinuing this weekend that probably will be noticed (and definitely missed) are our current prices. I'll share a bit more about that in Friday's email, but thought it was important enough to mention it here, too, while we're discussing discontinuation of things. 

Moving on, let's discuss happier things, like notable December 29th birthdays!

• Actors Mary Tyler Moore (1936), Ted Danson (1947), Patricia Clarkson (1959), Jude Law (1972), Katherine Moennig (1977), and Alison Brie (1982)

• The great state of Texas, admitted as the 28th state in the Union on this day in 1845!

Now let's get to some amusing links!

1. A dapper tweeting llama recaps 2021

I mean, not a REAL llama, but Twitter user @LlamaInATux kept tabs on all the topics that dominated their particular feed throughout the year and has listed those topics in one place — the thread linked above — for posterity. Turns out a lot of crazy sh!t happened this year!

2. A red panda spends 45 seconds wildin' out in the snow

My promise to you, dear reader: to never miss an opportunity to share videos of adorable red pandas doing adorable red panda things.

3. Tanbo is the art form I didn't know I was missing from my life

Tanbo, or rice paddy art, is a community-organized living art project in rice-growing regions in Japan. The designs are made by planting different varieties of rice that grow in varying colors. The level of detail in some of these is stunning!

4. Holiday shrubs 32 ways

Cartoonist John Atkinson, who can be found on Instagram @wrong.hands, recently shared his take on how famous artists throughout history likely viewed celebratory conifers. Apparently his first 16-tree roundup wasn't comprehensive enough, as he just added a second volume.

5. Salmon, but make it inedible and interlocking

What is it about stop motion Lego videos that is so mesmerizing? We may never know.

OK! Hopefully these little diversions helped to brighten your day! We'll be back here in your inbox on Friday with more entertainment and Boredwalk news! Until then...

Peace, love, and spicy soup,

Matt