1. Three Vanderbilt seniors capitalized on Corona with a copper phone case
Most Vanderbilt students pumped the brakes on efforts to climb the corporate ladder since the outbreak of COVID-19, but seniors Andrew Medland, Nick O’Brian and Isaac Lichter only got started. The trio dropped their start-up’s first product, Aeris: an antimicrobial copper phone case. The case is said to harness the natural antimicrobial properties of the metal, thus constantly disinfecting your phone, which has the notorious ability to harvest germs. Aeris is a “buy one, give one” product in that for every unit sold, one will be donated to a medical worker on the frontlines. You can get your hands on this new release for $29 through preorder on their Indiegogo. I guess that’s one way to spend your quarantine.
https://twitter.com/cryptoseneca/status/1248059698496053248
Editor’s Note: The Vanderbilt Hustler cannot attest to the efficacy or antimicrobial properties of the Aeris Phone Case.
2. #ThingsAmazonWontDeliver was trending on Twitter
Some much-needed comedic relief was delivered yet again by Twitter this week. The hashtag #ThingsAmazonWontDeliver highlighted the things that we’re still missing in quarantine, taking it from lighthearted jokes (get me a DQ blizzard!) to serious requests like hand sanitizer. Twitter has a reputation for being one of the most political social media sites, but we can’t deny the endless entertainment that the platform’s steady stream of consciousness provides.
3. Nashville siblings set up a free toilet paper stand
I don’t know about you, but the last couple of weeks have brought me face-to-face with the realities of who the favorite child is in my family (spoiler: it’s not me). As I am sacrificed to the barren wasteland of our town’s supermarket to get a carton of milk, it’s hard not to notice the lack of basic necessities in stock—specifically, toilet paper. Three Nashville siblings took this problem into their own hands. Winston, Ransom and Ivy Diffenderfer mass-ordered toilet paper off of an industrial website and broke it up into smaller packs to give to the public from a coffee shop parking lot. Sayonara, lemonade stands.
4. Red Sox organist Josh Kantor brought solace to baseball fans missing their season
Sports fans are among the most disappointed parties during this pandemic. Had the athletic seasons not been compromised, quarantine would have allowed for people to watch hours of baseball uninterrupted, and I can’t even imagine the strategy that would have been devised behind March Madness brackets. But alas, Fenway Park’s organist, Josh Kantor, has tried to keep the spirit of the baseball season alive with his daily 30-minute Facebook Live show, 7th-Inning Stretch. Taking song requests from viewers, Kantor plays his organ while adorned in Red Sox gear and requests donations to local food banks. Can he DM me stadium popcorn?
5. Religious leaders sought ways to come together for the Catholic Holy Week despite social distancing
This past week was significant for many practicing religions, and their figureheads struggled to find ways to bring the community together while abiding by social distancing. Not many priests are fluent in the language of Zoom, so to celebrate the week, they had to get creative. Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley spoke to the Boston Globe about the endurance of religion in these times of need. He was in Washington when Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated and fires, soldiers and bayonets lined the streets. He survived Hurricane Hugo when it overturned the U.S. Virgin Islands, reducing cathedrals to rubble, yet he raised millions to rebuild the communities. Many are forced to spend this year’s Passover without their families, and today marks an Easter unlike any other. But if anyone proves that faith can be found in times of crisis, it’s Cardinal O’Malley. Today, he will celebrate Easter Mass inside an empty church with T.V. cameras on-site to broadcast his message.
6. Netflix squeezed the last drop out of “Tiger King” with the release of a new special, “The Tiger King and I”
At this point, “Tiger King” is like the 2020 version of “Happy” by Pharell Williams. It was good while it lasted, sure, but now it’s overplayed, overanalyzed and frankly, I’m over it. With that being said, you can’t blame Netflix for trying to profit off of what was unquestionably their most successful docu-series of the year thus far. Today, “The Tiger King and I” was released on the platform: a new special hosted by Joel McHale that features a slew of interviews with fan-favorites like Jeff Lowe. Are we going to learn anything new about whether or not Carole Baskin killed her hubby? Probably not. But you better believe I’ll watch it anyway.
7. There was so much TikTok drama I almost forgot they were in high school
This week, the drama behind the scenes of famous TikTok stars came to an apex with a slew of broken relationships, sneaky business deals and explosive YouTube videos. The Hype House, a home in L.A. where a number of famous TikTokers (Addison Rae, Charli D’Amelio, etc.) film their videos, has lost all of its tween clout. House co-founder Daisy Keech filed a lawsuit for not getting her fair share of management and brand partnerships, and in the meantime, D’Amelio and boyfriend Chase Hudson broke the hearts of doe-eyed 13-year-olds everywhere with cheating allegations. Usually, we would have no time to worry about the love lives of famous teenagers, but things have changed. If you need some reality-show level drama to pass the time for the rest of quarantine, do yourself a favor and keep up with the dirt on the Hype House.
