Access Weekly JOYFLASH

April 17, 2020

We are living in unprecedented times and the news is overwhelming. At Access, our teams are knee deep in communicating and reporting on how Coronavirus is impacting our clients, their industries and how the situation itself is changing daily. It’s a lot. That’s why, we’ve decided to create a happy distraction… so, until further notice, the Access JOYFLASH will be coming your way every Friday, each week curated by a different researcher’s sense of All the News That Does Not Suck. enJOY

Not Everyone is an Asshole, Continued

• 99-year-old British WWII vet raises $22 million for health workers
  “It isn’t for me, it’s for all the people, the doctors and nurses, whichever country you are in.”
• Michael Che honors his late grandmother by covering rent for 160 public housing units
  “I’m paying one month’s rent for all 160 apartments in the NYCHA building she lived in.”‘
• John Krasinski will be your 2020 high school prom DJ
  “The Office” star announced that he’s going to be hosting a virtual prom tonight.
• José Andrés project to pay to reopen kitchens at more than 400 restaurants nationwide
  World Central Kitchen relief operation aims to help laid-off employees by putting them back to work making meals for communities in need.

The therapeutic effects of watching sick Rube Goldberg Machines

• Bored? Rube Goldberg’s granddaughter wants you to build an elaborate soap machine
  “People actually have time to put into these machines.”
• Watch family’s epic two-story Rube Goldberg machine score foosball goal during COVID-19 lockdown
  Books, dominoes, an exercise ball, stuffed toys, building blocks, a skateboard
• Pass The Pepper: Social Distancing is Nothing to Sneeze At
  Completely safe, germ-free passing of condiments across the table!
• Couple Build Rube Goldberg Machine to Drop Ball into Bowl to Occupy Themselves During Quarantine
• “The end goal was to drop the golf ball in a bowl.”

Let’s be More Like Dogs

• The Plan for Dogs to Hunt Out the Coronavirus
  Scientists say we may be just weeks away from unleashing them to spot virus spreaders.
• Florida animal shelter celebrates emptying a kennel for the first time ever
  One Florida kennel was filled instead with cheering staff and volunteers because all of the animals have found new homes.
• Therapy dog, ‘Dogtor Loki,’ delivers ‘Hero Healing Kits’ to health care workers
  Dogtor! Come on! That’s great!
• This blind and deaf dog is melting the internet with her human
  Good doggo. Real good.

Now bid me run, And I will strive with things impossible.

• A man ran the length of a marathon all from his balcony during France’s coronavirus lockdown
  Elisha Nochomovitz ran the length of a marathon on his 23-foot long balcony in 6 hours and 48 minutes.
• Coronavirus: Running marathons under lockdown
  Wojtek Machnik circled his bed in Warsaw 5,626 times for a marathon time of almost 9 hours.
• Man runs marathon in backyard during coronavirus lockdown
  James Campbell of Cheltenham, England, completed his backyard marathon in 5 hours and 5 minutes.
• Adidas Runner Lee Ryan Completes a Full Marathon in His Own Backyard
  Lee Ryan only needed 1,407 laps around his garden to complete 26.2 miles in 5 hours and 24 minutes.
• Four Dubai residents ran marathons this weekend – in a garden, on a balcony and in a studio apartment
  Collin and Hilda Allin completed their balcony marathon – together! – in 4 hours and 35 minutes!

Cool Science!

• NASA sets a date for historic SpaceX launch, the first flight of NASA crews from U.S. in nearly a decade
  Astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley are scheduled to fly May 27.
• NASA discovery of planet remarkably like ours gives hope for ‘second Earth’
  Scientists unearthed a hidden exoplanet from old Kepler Space Telescope data.
• This Tool Reveals What The Hubble Space Telescope Saw On Your Birthday
  The venerable telescope is currently celebrating its 30th anniversary.
• Help NASA Save the World’s Coral By Playing a Video Game
  In NeMO-NET, players virtually travel into the ocean, identifying all the corals they encounter.
• ‘Dancing’ star’s weird, spirograph orbit proves Einstein right (again)
  Score one more for the theory of general relativity!

Just some great stuff to watch, really.

• Super Mario Bros. Any% Speedrun in 4:55.646
  Just a guy beating a game I’ve still never beaten in under 5 minutes.
• 20 Bob Ross quotes from The Joy of Painting – “How to be happy by Bob Ross”
  Deep thoughts with the master relaxer.
• Welcome to the Jungle (6-year-old drummer)
  Maybe I’ll take up the drums during quarantine…
• Marvin Gaye – I Heard It Through The Grapevine (A capella)
  Marvin: Hold My Instruments

And finally, next time you’re feeling particularly stressed…

• If You’re Anxious, Play Tetris, Study Says
  Tetris players can achieve a state of blissful distraction known as “flow.”