IT'S INTERNATIONAL STAND UP TO BULLYING DAY 🥺

While I think today's random occasion has its heart in the right place, this seems like one of those problems that just isn't going anywhere.*

* See: story this week about non-binary teen Nex Benedict who died after being assaulted by their classmates in a high school restroom.

Sometimes people end up the way you'd expect, though. I googled my middle school bully several years ago and the only thing that came up was her mugshot.

This girl had the build of a linebacker even in the 7th grade and towered over me, tripping me in the hall and doing her best to try to make me miserable. I was entirely too small to do any standing up to her at the time, but it sounds like karma caught up to her eventually. If only karma were on a tighter timeline.

I hope whichever bullies made your life difficult as a kid are having the day they deserve now. 

Sometimes it's the only thought, Taylor.

GIF via Taylor Swift

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While you're waiting for your new Boredwalk gear to arrive you can also treat your earholes to the latest episode of the Boredwalk Podcast!

This week Tess and I lamented the soggy L.A. weather reflecting the generally cursed vibe of 2024 thus far. Turns out targeted social media ads and organic content are no help in this regard! Just an endless doom scroll of posts about war-torn Gaza and Ukraine, endangered & neglected animals, and environmental catastrophe. What fun!

This discussion of the present dystopia led to us pondering whether or not we are actually in Hell, and curiosity as to what each of us did in our past lives to warrant such torment.

Fittingly, Tess lightened the mood with a 5-star review of Boredwalk's darkly humorous dystopian activity book Adventures in the Abyss. If you can't leave the hellscape, you may as well laugh at it, right?

Things have been mercifully subdued on the internet troll front, but that is largely to do with social media platform shenanigans on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, which I explain in an exasperated but (hopefully) amusing fashion.

Moving along, Tess read fan responses to our recent Question of the Day "What life experience drastically changed your thinking on something?" and she and I share our own answers. Strap in, because we got deep!

We wrapped things up by trading questions & answers from the Venting and Joy editions of the Delve Deck! First we respond to the query "What is your least favorite home decor trend?" and then close things out with "What have you watched recently that you can't stop recommending?" 

Get in on the action and listen to the hilarity on the platform of your choice!

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Here are a few historical tidbits and famous birthdays to kick off your weekend:

• Scientists announced the first successful cloning of an animal on this day in 1997 (this animal is referenced in our 1990s activity book, which you should definitely get if you don't have it yet and want to get nostalgic about the 1990s).

• The Tootsie Roll was introduced on this day in 1896. Thank goodness better candy options have come along since!

Birthday shoutouts for composer George Frideric Handel (1685), activist W.E.B. Du Bois (1868), actor Peter Fonda (1940), singer-songwriter Howard Jones (1955), actress Niecy Nash (1970), actress Emily Blunt (1983), and actress Dakota Fanning (1994)

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OK, that's it for this week!

We'll be back here in your inbox on Monday with another email and FINALLY a fresh customer Q&A! If you'd like to be featured in an upcoming email, reply to this one and let us know!

Peace, love, and karma,

Meredith

IN CASE YOU DIDN'T GET YOUR FILL OF SUGARY TREATS LAST WEEK, IT'S NATIONAL STICKY BUN DAY

Yeah, we're talking gooey yeasty sticky pastries, perhaps loaded with nuts and maple syrup for good measure. What's not to love?

Our Delve Deck Joy Edition asks what dessert you'll always order if it's on the menu, and some sort of cinnamon roll or sticky bun is at the top of my list. It's a dopamine rush in edible form.

If you could use a little treat to brighten your day, perhaps a Delve Deck Joy Edition or some other fun item from our site, you can get FREE US SHIPPING on any order today with code STICKY at check out.

Sticky buns may not solve your problems, but they will momentarily distract you from them. Take what you can get. 🤷‍♀️

GIF via Rosanna Pansino

Want a few interesting historical tidbits and famous birthdays before we get to amusing links to brighten your day? Have at them:

• The peace symbol was designed by Gerald Holtom on this day in 1958. The symbol was commissioned by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) and combines the semaphore symbols for the letters N and D - an abbreviation of "Nuclear Disarmament"

 • The world's first telephone book was issued in New Haven, Connecticut on this day in 1878. If you are too young to remember telephone books, go ask your parents about these behemoths.

• The New Yorker magazine began publication on this day in 1925

• The first Legend of Zelda game was released on this day in 1986

• Birthday sticky buns all around for: fashion designer Christian Dior (1905), author Erma Bombeck (1927), actress of Golden Girls fame Rue McClanahan (1934), singer-songwriter Nina Simone (1933), actor Alan Rickman (1946), singer-songwriter Mary Chapin Carpenter (1958), actress Jennifer Love Hewitt (1979), actor/filmmaker Jordan Peele (1979), and actor Elliott Page (1987)

Alright, on to the main course: amusing links to brighten your day...

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1. 😈️ Can men and women just be friends?

Tess and Gabe from Boredwalk's content team might not think so, but they have some very different reasons why!

For more LOLs from our team be sure to follow us on our OG social accounts such as Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and/or Facebook.

2. 🤖 Watch out for Alexa, she has an agenda

Humorist Emily Morrow imagines the robot uprising we're all dreading/expecting.

3. 💀 Are you attempting to blend in with the human population?

Horror/humor creator Ashur Gharavi has some ideas for you. I have to admit, I was transfixed by Ashur's content and binged all of his videos. If you like super bizarre funny spooky content (and if you're a Boredwalk fan, I bet you do) you'll probably enjoy a lot of his content.

4. 😆 If planet Earth were on a dating app

Humor creator Hila imagines what Earth's dating profile would say to try to get some right swipes.

5. 🧙 Why Terry the gnome finds himself in the corner

Terry isn't getting his gnome bacon due to his dark magic antics. Will he learn his lesson? Doubtful.

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We'll be back here in your inbox on Friday with more nonsense holidays to dissect, more notable birthdays (and maybe even some notable deathdays!) to celebrate, and more witty content in general. Until then...

Peace, love, and pastries,

Meredith

SIGN. ME. UP!

Happy National Pancake Week! If anything could possibly snap me out of the interminable malaise of winter, it would an entire week dedicated to this fluffy, spongy, delicately sweet conveyance for maple syrup.

Why indeed, Leslie.

GIF via NBC / Parks And Recreation

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However, in case starchy breakfast treats aren't your thing, today is also:

• National Chocolate Mint Day. An infinitely superior flavor pairing to that of chocolate and orange, I'll be celebrating with some After Eights tonight. It's also Girl Scout Cookie season, so Thin Mints are an excellent alternative!

• National Airboat Day. Ugh, seriously?! Hard pass. Anything that is both obnoxiously loud AND designed to put me closer to the mouths of alligators is not to be celebrated.

• National Vet Girls Rock Day. Now we're talking! Thanks to the over 2 million female veterans in the U.S. for their service. Including our dearly departed Bea Arthur! Dorothy the Golden Girl served as a truck driving Staff Sergeant in the Marine Corps during WWII.

February 19th's historical happenings of note: